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Welcome to the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization (SJVCEO). We are a non-profit located in the heart of California tasked and dedicated to leading the eight-county region that makes up the San Joaquin Valley. Our vision is to help improve the quality of life by significantly increasing the Valley's use and reliance on clean energy (energy efficiency and renewable energy sources).
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Top 5 electric cars go head to head
I don't know. Really. I believe in clean energy, but I'm sold on gasoline (even though at 14 I blew myself up in Fairbanks trying to start a pile of debris on fire with my 5-gallon container of chainsaw fuel. But that's another Human Torch type story.)
Gas has that hard-acceleration, immediate-return-on horsepower, lust-for-life feeling.
But give me $101,500 or $9,900 for a deposit and $1,658 a month for a lease and maybe I'll change my mind. That's the price for a Tesla Roadster. At 3.7 seconds from 0 to 60 mph and a range of 245 miles, it's pretty close to perfect.
I pause here on a mental trip in that imaginary Roadster -- black, by the way -- down Highway 99 to Bakersfield. Make that past Bakersfield and up the Grapevine to Vallejo and Magic Mountain, stomping the guts of BMWs and Mercedes that attempt to be fast. Ah ...
For purposes of this post, I have eliminated hybrids. No Toyota Prius or Camry. Skip the Honda Insight and Ford Escape. Electric only. Nor have I included lead-acid or lithium battery conversions.
And at this point, we only have Tesla on the road with a production vehicle. Actually, ZAP has to be tossed into the mix as well. The Santa Rosa-based company manufactures a line of small transporters. In July, the company inked a deal in which ZAP will acquire 51 percent of Chinese automaker Zhejiang Jonway Automobile Co. Ltd. for $29 million "as part of a strategy to capitalize on the growing automotive and electric vehicle market in China."
This list includes models expected to be available soon. So here goes.
- Tesla: Hands down. It's fast, cool looking and I could truly blow the doors off my friend Al's TA in OK City. He likes to race that hopped up big block 1977 Pontiac on the track.
- Chevy Volt. Very practical. It's versatile and not bad looking. The price is $41,000 and the range id 40 miles. However, it is supplemented by a gasoline-powered generator that allows it to go another 340 miles. Due out this fall.
- Nissan LEAF. Not bad. Sort of looks like an early generation Prius with a custom back end. The price tag for the SV package was listed as $32,780, while the SL package was $33,720. The SV includes a photovoltaic spoiler, rearview monitor and universal transceiver. Range is 100 miles. Due in California in December.
- Coda. Cool name. Last Led Zep album comes to mind. But unproven company in the United States. I was impressed with the website which calculated an annual expense comparison of my 2000 VW Passat and a Coda. Passat: $725, Coda: $124. Coda's sticker price is not listed on its site but it's expected to be in the low to mid $30,000 range.
- Sigma. ElectricCars.com lists Sigma/Montelle kit cars as a viable option. Manufactured by EV Concepts, it goes from 0 to 60 in 6 seconds and has a top speed of 100-120 mph. Price for two-wheel-drive models start at $23,000, and all-wheel-drive models start at $55,000.
Fisker Automotive Inc. of Irvine is also coming out with a car, but it's going to be a hybrid.
Disclosure. I've not test driven any of these cars. For that I'd have to defer to Katie Fehrenbacher of Earth2Tech.com, who can be seen in video piloting some of them.
The viability of going electric appears more likely by the month. But who knows. A friend of mine who's worked most of his life in the oil patch says, "Bah!" to most of this talk. His prediction: There's just too much oil and natural gas in reserve, counting shale and oil sands.
Photo: Sigma by EV Concepts.
Posted on September 3, 2010 | 4:29 pm
Should There Be A National Retrofit Program?
It is no secret that retrofitting existing buildings is the best and fastest way to cut energy use. We've written about it here and here, but it's a difficult concept for some people to grab.
Now, the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan research group in Washington D.C., and independent power producer Energy Resource Management are calling for a national program to retrofit homes, offices and factories for energy efficiency.
The report examines effective programs in various states, and suggests those could be models for a national program that mobilizes private sector investment. The paper identifies 10 effective policies; lists 10 states with cutting-edge energy programs (California is there) and 10 states that have strong potential for development of energy-efficiency programs; and acknowledges certain market barriers.
Some federal energy retrofit initiatives already exist, such as the Weatherization Assistance Program, which helps low-income families. In addition, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided millions in stimulus dollars for such projects.
But, the money hasn't necessarily translated to results, as this blog post and this letter from the state Office of the Inspector General in California note.
However, a national program could yield stunning results, the Center for American Progress says. A national retrofit program that retrofitted only 40% of the residential and commercial buildings in the United States would generate 625,000 jobs, spark $500 billion in new investments to 50 million homes and office buildings and generate $64 billion in energy savings.
That $64 billion is more than the $41 billion cited in a the aforecited Pike Research report, but the point is clear: retrofits are more bang for the buck.
Now, the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan research group in Washington D.C., and independent power producer Energy Resource Management are calling for a national program to retrofit homes, offices and factories for energy efficiency.
The report examines effective programs in various states, and suggests those could be models for a national program that mobilizes private sector investment. The paper identifies 10 effective policies; lists 10 states with cutting-edge energy programs (California is there) and 10 states that have strong potential for development of energy-efficiency programs; and acknowledges certain market barriers.
Some federal energy retrofit initiatives already exist, such as the Weatherization Assistance Program, which helps low-income families. In addition, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided millions in stimulus dollars for such projects.
But, the money hasn't necessarily translated to results, as this blog post and this letter from the state Office of the Inspector General in California note.
However, a national program could yield stunning results, the Center for American Progress says. A national retrofit program that retrofitted only 40% of the residential and commercial buildings in the United States would generate 625,000 jobs, spark $500 billion in new investments to 50 million homes and office buildings and generate $64 billion in energy savings.
That $64 billion is more than the $41 billion cited in a the aforecited Pike Research report, but the point is clear: retrofits are more bang for the buck.
"In the United States today, it takes nearly twice the energy required to produce every dollar of economic output compared with European and Asian nations, the American Progress study says. "But our current inefficiency is also a hidden resource."
The San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization is a nonprofit dedicated to improving our region's quality of life by increasing its production and use of clean and alternative energy. The SJVCEO works with cities and counties and public and private organizations to demonstrate the benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy throughout the eight-county region of the San Joaquin Valley.
The San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization is a nonprofit dedicated to improving our region's quality of life by increasing its production and use of clean and alternative energy. The SJVCEO works with cities and counties and public and private organizations to demonstrate the benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy throughout the eight-county region of the San Joaquin Valley.
Posted on September 3, 2010 | 3:45 pm
State OKs Valley retrofit energy grants
The partnership is an alliance including the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization and 36 cities and counties in the Valley. It was formed to help jurisdictions administer Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants.
The grants are direct allocations of federal stimulus funds and have been languishing for months as state officials worked to satisfy the many requirements involved in their distribution.
However, most of the $37.3 million approved statewide for lighting, air conditioning and other energy efficiency retrofits won't reach cities and counties until the jobs are complete. And that's still a long way off for most.
For partnership cities and counties, it means finally getting started installing the $4 million worth of work already listed and identified in the EECBG applications. Cities will need permits pulled for projects that require them. Copies of those permits will be electronically filed with the CEC, and a document stating none is needed also will have to be filed in cases that require it.
Waste management plans will be needed. These require documents that says the old fluorescent bulbs, ballasts and electric motors will go into the appropriate place. They require registering for a specific number with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or CalEPA.
I expect to encounter glitches.
Of course, the real retrofit work will need to be accomplished. Thus far all that's been done to get this stimulus money into the economy has been paperwork.
Requests for proposals must be generated so that contractors promising to buy American and pay prevailing wage can actually get started. The SJVCEO will tackle the RFP task next week.
In some cases, cities or counties plan to do the work in house, saving money and jobs.
And that's what it's all about. Jobs. Let's hope this money saves some while saving kilowatts and money formerly spent on electricity.
Posted on September 3, 2010 | 11:28 am
China and US team for clean energy
China will play an integral part of a wide-ranging clean energy collaboration involving U.S. government agencies, the private sector and institutions of higher learning. Project members will research clean coal and electric vehicle technologies.
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu made the announcement Thursday. The project, dubbed the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, will receive a total of about $100 million over the next five years. Half comes from the Chinese and another $25 million from the U.S. government. The balance will matched other partners.
A consortium led by the University of Michigan will head up vehicle research, while another, led by West Virginia University, will focus on clean coal. Each would contribute a match to the federal contribution.
"The U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center will help accelerate the development and deployment of clean vehicle and clean coal technologies here at home," Chu said in a statement. "This new partnership will also create new export opportunities for American companies, ensure the United States remains at the forefront of technology innovation and help to reduce global carbon pollution."
President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao formally announced the formation of the center during the president's trip to Beijing last November, DOE officials said. At the time, Secretary Chu joined Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang and Chinese National Energy Administrator Zhang Guobao to sign the protocol launching the center.
The United States and China are considered the world's top energy consumers, energy producers and greenhouse gas emitters. Author and environmental activist Bill McKibben said on David Letterman's Late Show this week that China's making a serious effort to get into clean energy.
"The Chinese are doing more than we are," McKibben said. He also said that if the percentage of Chinese families with cars reached U.S. rates, the world would be in trouble. As it stands, various sources peg automobile ownership by the Chinese in the single digits.
However, the Chinese are catching up -- fast. The blog Early Warning took data from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics and said if current trends continue, Chinese automobile ownership will surpass that of the United States by 2017.
Here are details of the two China-U.S. programs, according to DOE:
Clean coal: West Virginia University will lead a consortium that includes the University of Wyoming, University of Kentucky, Indiana University, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Energy Technology Laboratory, World Resources Institute, U.S.-China Clean Energy Forum, General Electric, Duke Energy, LP Amina, Babcock & Wilcox and American Electric Power. The consortium will develop and test new technologies for carbon capture and sequestration.
Clean vehicles: The University of Michigan will lead a consortium that includes Ohio State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sandia National Laboratories, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratories, General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Chrysler, Cummins, Fraunhofer, MAGNET, A123, American Electric Power, First Energy and the Transportation Research Center. The consortium will focus on electric vehicles.
The $25 million in U.S. government funding will be used to support work conducted by U.S. institutions and individuals only, DOE said. Chinese partners will be announced in the coming months by the Chinese government.
The announcement of another $12.5 million to a third winning consortium focused on building energy efficiency will be made this fall.
There's always Return of the Dragon, which brought us Chuck Norris. Keeping this analogy, Norris would represent this country. And nobody messes with Chuck Norris.
Posted on September 2, 2010 | 4:15 pm
On the upside, the California Public Utilities Commission appears poised to launch an incentive program meant to boost renewable energy projects and San Luis Obispo County moved the 250 megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch a big step forward by issuing a draft environmental impact report.
On the downside, the California Legislature failed to pass a renewable energy bill and the industry still faces the potential passage of Prop. 23, which would roll back 2006 climate change laws.
The proposed CPUC decision issued this week would require California utilities to purchase power from solar and other renewables that produce from one megawatt to 20 megawatts. A megawatt is about the amount consumed by 1,000 homes.
The measure would establish what is known in the industry as a feed-in tariff, which essentially gives renewable energy generators about what it costs to produce power.
Adam Browning, executive director of Vote Solar, hailed the CPUC decision. He said in a statement that the proposed measure would assist mid-sized solar projects, helping them secure support similar to the state's "robust policies for developing large, utility-scale solar power plants and for putting smaller systems on homes and businesses."
Browning said his organization looks forward to working with the CPUC to finalize details of the measure.
The "CPUC proposal is designed to unlock that missing piece, providing an additional opportunity for solar market and job growth and for quickly bringing massive new amounts of clean energy to the state,” he said.
The San Luis solar project is bound for 1,900 acres in the Carrizo Plains, an environmentally sensitive region known for endangered wildlife. Eric Wesoff of greentechmedia.com wrote that the environmental impact report, or EIR, involved 60 biologists and 30 biological surveys.
The EIR goes through a public comment period before heading back to county government for possible passage. Wesoff said trucks commissioned by developer San Jose-based SunPower could begin rolling by next summer.
The renewable energy bill ran out of time in the senate by the midnight deadline Tuesday. SB 722 would have turned an executive order signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger last year requiring that 33 percent of California's energy come from renewable sources by 2020 into law.
The failure disappointed supporters. Lauren Sommer of kqed.org quoted Laura Wisland, a clean energy analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, as saying, "We think not establishing a 33 percent renewable portfolio standard this year is a huge loss to California's environment and economy."
Posted on September 2, 2010 | 11:40 am