GreenEnergyForEarth.com – Solar & Wind Power Products

Feb 4, 2010 – The seedlings for the first 100 hectares (250 acres) have been planted.  Daimler AG has started a new project for the cultivation of the biodiesel raw material jatropha in the south of India.  Daimler is supporting several village communities in the state of Tamil Nadu with funds and expertise from its already successfully completed research projects.  Jatropha plants are cultivated and their seeds will be harvested in cooperation with farmers from these village communities.  The seeds provide the basic raw material for biodiesel production.  Only non-arable land that is no longer suitable and used for the cultivation of food crops is cultivated with jatropha plants.  Thus, the jatropha fuel does not compete with local food production.

“One of our core tasks is the engineering of sustainable mobility that is also viable for the future.  By promoting fuels made from jatropha, we are making yet another contribution.  At the same time, by supporting village communities we are also creating economic prospects for socially weak regions of this earth”, said Professor Herbert Kohler, VP of E-Drive & Future Mobility and Chief Environmental Officer of Daimler AG.

Daimler is ensuring financial support to the farmers in the communities over a period of 5 years by providing surety for small loans.  With these funds, the farmers can buy jatropha seedlings and fulfill their tasks till the first harvest after four years.  The income from the sale of the seeds, which Daimler ensures through a purchase guarantee, enables the loans to be paid back from the fifth year onwards. The loan repayments are collected in a revolving fund, which is used to grant loans to more farmers who decide to participate in the project.  This creates an economic cycle that benefits many communities. The sureties ensure that the farmers suffer no financial threat to existence if the harvest fails because of reasons outside their control.

Working together for a plant full of promise

A local project management facilitates close teamwork with the local cooperatives.  This enables regular contact between Daimler and the smallholders and ensures sustainable agricultural development work in the communities.  The project is also supported by the DEG (Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft).  In addition, Daimler AG has been working for over a year with Bayer CropScience AG towards further development of methods for sustainable cultivation of jatropha.  As part of this cooperation, Bayer CropScience AG is also supporting the current project.  The Indian subsidiary of Bayer CropScience provides expertise and products from its portfolio for effective pest and disease control for jatropha plants. Experts from the company provide training to the project staff, who then pass the knowledge directly to the participating farmers.

Jatropha – A high energy plant with potential

During the 5-year research project completed in 2007, Daimler AG demonstrated that jatropha is suitable for the production of high-quality biodiesel.  The use of the fuel was tested successfully in test vehicles with modern common rail diesel engines from Mercedes-Benz.  The biodiesel manufactured from the seeds of the jatropha seed has similar properties to fuels from other oilseeds.  It also has a positive CO2 balance and offers an ecological advantage over fossil diesel fuels, particularly when the specific advantages of the plant are properly harnessed.  For example, jatropha can be cultivated on non-arable, eroded soil, thus making a contribution to environmental protection without interfering with the food sources for the local people.

Photo courtesy & © Daimler AG

Feb 4, 2010 – John M. Broder reports in The New York Times that President Obama moved on Wednesday to bolster the nation’s production of corn-based ethanol and other alternative liquid fuels and ordered the rapid development of technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of coal.

The president is trying to expand the portfolio of American energy sources to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, a factor in global warming, and spur advances in alternative technologies. Last week he expressed support in his State of the Union address for increased generation of nuclear power and offshore drilling for oil and gas.

Mr. Obama’s motives are environmental, economic and political.  He is trying to address climate change by replacing dirty fuels with cleaner sources, jump-start an American clean-energy industry, reduce dependence on foreign oil and attract Republican votes for legislation to do all three.

Efforts to pass a broad energy and climate bill remain mired in the Senate, with some senators challenging the notion that the earth is warming.  “Now, there’s no reason that we shouldn’t be able to work together in a bipartisan way to get this done,” Mr. Obama said after opening a meeting with several cabinet officers and a bipartisan group of about a dozen governors to discuss his energy agenda.

“I know that there is some concern about how energy fits together with climate change,” he said.  “I happen to believe that climate change is one of the reasons why we’ve got to pursue a clean energy agenda, but it’s not the only reason.”  “So even if you don’t believe in the severity of climate change, as I do, you still should want to pursue this agenda. It’s good for our national security and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. It’s good for our economy because it will produce jobs.”

Read the full story in The New York Times.

Feb 3, 2010 – BP reported a sharp year-on-year increase in 4Q profits as it announced that its oil and gas production increased by more than 4% in 2009 and the company continued its industry-leading 17-year run of increasing reserves.

The increase in production was well ahead of the company’s expected long-term average growth rate of 1-2% and reflected the ramp-up and start-up of major new projects, including the first full year of production from the Thunder Horse field in the US Gulf of Mexico.  BP’s reserve replacement ratio for the year was 129% – making 2009 the 17^th consecutive year of reserve replacement of at least 100%.  The company announced that underlying replacement cost profit for the 4Q of 2009, before non-operating items and fair value accounting effects, was $4.4 billion – an increase of 70% on the same period in 2008. Full year replacement cost profit for 2009 was $14 billion, down 45% on the record full year profit of 2008, mainly reflecting the weaker market environment of lower average oil and gas prices and depressed refining margins.

Group chief executive Tony Hayward said 2009 had been a “very good” year for BP, exceeding many of the expectations he had set out for the company at the beginning of the year, despite the weak external environment.  “These results provide the clearest demonstration of the progress we have made and the momentum we have established in growing our business and making it more efficient,” Hayward said.

Upstream production had been very strong in 2009, he said. 2010 production is expected to be slightly lower, reflecting the benefit in 2009 of the absence of a significant hurricane season.  This expected level of 2010 production is in line with the guidance given to analysts in BP’s strategy update in March last year. Production growth is expected to resume in 2011, and BP’s longer term guidance is unchanged.  BP’s refineries were largely restored to their full operating capability, delivering their highest level of availability since 2004.

Cash costs for 2009 were more than $4 billion lower than for 2008, with approximately 60% of that total delivered by direct interventions by the company.  Reducing the underlying cost structure of the Group remains a management priority in 2010.  The company’s drive to streamline and simplify its business, begun in late 2007, has, in addition, resulted in a net headcount reduction of around 7,500.  “I am pleased at the track record we are building of delivering on our promises to shareholders,” Hayward said.

Capital expenditure for the full year totaled $20 billion, while BP’s level of gearing ended the year at the bottom of the target range of 20-30 per cent. Proceeds from disposals, as the company optimized its portfolio, were $2.7 billion for the full year.  BP indicated that it expected organic capital expenditure of around $20 billion and disposal proceeds of $2-3 billion in 2010. It also announced that, subject to shareholder approval, it intends to replace the current dividend reinvestment programs with an optional scrip dividend for those shareholders who choose to take their dividends in shares rather than cash.

During the year the company gained access to significant new resource opportunities such as the Rumaila oilfield in Iraq – one of the great oilfields of the world – coalbed methane in Indonesia and onshore gas in Jordan, as well as strengthening its position in existing core areas including the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and Egypt’s Nile Delta. BP’s track record of exploration success also continued with the ultra-deep giant Tiber discovery and confirmation of the Mad Dog South extension in the Gulf of Mexico, and three further discoveries in block 31 offshore Angola.  Hayward said that this success in exploration and access in 2009 meant “our confidence in the longer term has been reinforced.”

In Refining and Marketing, 2009 earnings were impacted by extremely weak trading conditions, particularly in the fourth quarter.  However, operational improvements across all of BP’s refineries resulted in refinery availability of 94 per cent. Progress in simplification and an exit from some retail businesses reduced cash costs in Refining and Marketing by over 15%.  “We will remain focused on further reducing costs and further increasing availability in 2010,” said Hayward.  Looking forward, Hayward said that BP expects recovery in the major economies of the US and Europe to be “slow and gradual.” While oil markets look well supported by OPEC, the company expects gas markets to remain volatile and refining margins to remain depressed for the foreseeable future.

“Our strategy remains the same: delivering profitable growth in the upstream; driving cost efficiency in the downstream and at the corporate centre; and investing with discipline and focus in Alternative Energy.  “2009 has been one of the best years for BP and its shareholders since the merger with Amoco. But we are not resting on our laurels. There’s a lot more to be done.”

Feb 2, 2010 – Mireya Navarro reports in The New York Times that a panel of experts convened by the mayor and City Council issued more than 100 recommendations Monday on how to make New York City’s building codes more environmentally sound by imposing energy-saving requirements on construction and renovation work.

The measures, presented to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the Council’s speaker, Christine C. Quinn, include rules for insulating glass skyscrapers and a plan that would place temperature controls in individual apartments, eliminating the winter ritual of opening windows to vent excess heat.

Many of the proposals would need to be approved by the City Council.  “A lot of these are incremental gains, but together they amount to a big gain,” said the panel’s chairman, Russell Unger, the executive director of the New York chapter of the United States Green Building Council, which certifies green design and construction. “By changing code, everybody can have lower utility bills.”

The recommendations are the city’s latest attempt to reduce the greenhouse gases produced by its buildings, which are estimated to be the source of about 75 percent of the city’s emissions over all. In December, the City Council passed legislation requiring owners of New York’s largest buildings to pay for energy audits, upgrade lighting and take other steps to reduce energy consumption.

Read the full story in The New York Times.

Feb 1, 2010 – J. David Goodman reports on “An Electric Boost for Bicyclists” in The New York Times.  Detroit may be introducing electric car designs and China may be pushing forward with a big expansion of its highways and trains.  But people by the millions are taking part in a more accidental transportation upheaval.  It began in China, where an estimated 120 million electric bicycles now hum along the roads, up from a few thousand in the 1990s.  They are replacing traditional bikes and motorcycles at a rapid clip and, in many cases, allowing people to put off the switch to cars.  In turn, the booming Chinese electric-bike industry is spurring worldwide interest and impressive sales in India, Europe and the United States. China is exporting many bikes, and Western manufacturers are also copying the Chinese trend to produce models of their own. From virtually nothing a decade ago, electric bikes have become an $11 billion global industry.

Read the full article in The New York Times.

Feb 1, 2010 – The Florida Council for Economic Outreach welcomed Bren-Tronics Energy Systems, Inc. (BES) to Alachua County.  BES will create 15 jobs with an average wage of at least $40,000.  This comes in the midst of economic uncertainty amid a continued push toward clean energy independence.

The existing facility and machinery, located at Phoenix Commercial Park on US Hwy 441, will undergo an update suitable for the company’s development and manufacture of lithium-ion cells for rechargeable batteries.  Renovations and upgrades to the facility are expected to cost approximately $10 million and will occur over a two-year period.  Brent Christensen, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce and Council for Economic Outreach, noted that CEO has been working to recruit BES since October 2009.

“Bren-Tronics Energy Systems, Inc. was naturally attracted to Alachua County by the valuable equipment housed at Phoenix Commercial Park, and we pledge to assist in nurturing this company to new heights by connecting it to the area’s innovative resources in technology, advanced workforce development and unparalleled quality of life,” Christensen said.  The company considered other areas throughout North America and Asia, ultimately choosing Florida and Phoenix Commercial Park.  ”Bren-Tronics Energy Systems, Inc. is a perfect fit for Phoenix Commercial Park, as Phoenix focuses on becoming the center of exciting new energy product research and manufacturing in the southeast,” said Lisa Albertson, landlord of the facility.

“We are very fortunate to have a tenant like Bren-Tronics, a strong company with a grounded business philosophy.  It is our belief that the company’s presence in Alachua County is a very positive move toward drawing other clean energy partners to this area. We would like to thank the CEO group and the Alachua County Commissioners for their support.”  Bren-Tronics Energy Systems, Inc. will be eligible to receive $82,500 in performance-based economic development tax rebate incentives to locate here, 20 percent of which will originate from Alachua County.

Richard Drummond, Alachua County Assistant County Manager, said, “Bren-Tronics’ decision to locate portions of its research and manufacturing operations to Alachua County is a significant milestone.  This provides new jobs in a growth segment of the economy that represents innovation and alternative energy development.  In addition, the facility being occupied by Bren-Tronics Energy Systems, Inc. contains valuable lithium-ion manufacturing equipment unique to North America and the United States.  This will allow for the retention of that equipment locally resulting in the export rather than import of lithium-ion cells, and providing for future expansion of this market segment.”

Feb 1, 2010 – The Concept ActiveE achieves entirely CO₂-free mobility.  But this achievement does not hinder incredible performance.  The ActiveE will go up to 100 miles on one charge, depending on conditions and can accelerate from 0-60 in under 9 seconds.

The style of the all-new vehicle is similar to that of the 1 Series, offering sporty design and incredible agility.  Further performance enhancements include both an overall weight-reduced construction and the optimal placement of the electric motor in the rear axle.  The low center of gravity and axle load distribution create the exhilarating, power-driven handling enjoyed in all BMW vehicles.

Jan 28, 2010 – Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) (NASDAQ: ENER) and Enfinity Corporation announced plans to collaborate on the development of a 10MW portfolio of rooftop solar installations in Ontario, Canada.

ECD and Enfinity will partner to co-develop a series of rooftop solar projects throughout Ontario, Canada under the province’s new feed-in-tariff program. The companies expect to complete construction of approximately 10MW of projects during 2010.  ECD, through its wholly owned subsidiary, United Solar Ovonic, will provide a combination of UNI-SOLAR® photovoltaic laminates and its new PowerTilt™ product for the projects.

The rooftop installations will be on a number of different roofing materials, and ECD’s new PowerTilt product is particularly well-suited for the Ontario market given its easy installation on any roof type, light weight, and higher energy production. ECD will also provide development equity during the construction phase of the projects.

Enfinity will lead the rooftop acquisition from its Ottawa office, and will arrange construction debt and take-out equity financing for the projects.  Upon commercial operation, the projects portfolio will be sold to the permanent equity owners.

Mark Morelli, ECD’s president and CEO, said, “We are pleased to announce this expanding partnership with Enfinity with the collaboration on this Ontario portfolio. Since announcing the Framework Agreement with Enfinity last year, thus far we have partnered on nearly 6MW of projects in Belgium and France that are being supplied by our roofing materials channel partners. This co-development approach in Ontario is a further example of our demand-creation strategy where we will partner on solar projects that have attractive rates of return for project investors. The Ontario Power Authority has demonstrated an impressive commitment to the promotion of renewable energy development and ECD intends to be a major player in the province in the years to come.”

“We consider ECD to be one of our key global partners, and together we are moving quickly on this co-development effort,” explained Rafael Dobrzynski, CEO of Enfinity Corp. “The feed-in-tariff structure in Ontario rewards investors with higher incentives for distributed rooftop solar and it is the objective of Enfinity to finance and develop projects that produce steady, predictable power for stable and secure investments. The UNI-SOLAR laminates are ideal, having proven capable of meeting our performance requirements given the environmental and climate variables of this region.”