University of Minnesota Enters 2008 North American Solar Challenge

I know there are a lot of schools competing in this race, but you gotta have pride for the hometown team!

The 2008 North American Solar Challenge is a 2,400 mile race from Dallas to Calgary, held in July. There are 26 international teams competing to design, build, and drive the fastest solar-powered car. Here are some of the race specs, according to Wikipedia:

• Race consists of a series of timed stages between predetermined locations; all teams begin and end each race day in the same location
• The team with the lowest overall elapsed time wins
• The total area of all solar cells and related reflectors, etc. must not exceed 6 square meters
• When the vehicle has stopped, the solar array may be reoriented toward the sun for charging batteries
• Strict specifications and engineering scrutiny process is provided for vehicle configuration, safety requirements, and other standards.
  

The University of Minnesota's car is called Centaurus - it's three feet tall, 16 feet long, about six feet wide, and weighs just over 400 pounds. Students have spent about 30,000 hours building this thing. The University took 2nd place in 2005, the last time the race was held. Here's a video of their 2008 car:

New Studies Out on Wind Power, Energy Efficiency, Carbon Dioxide Levels

A couple of studies have come out this month that paint motivating pictures for a new, cleaner energy system: Wind power that can safety and economically supply a big part of our electricity supply and progress made with energy efficiency initiatives.

A study by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) found that wind power can supply 20 percent of our electricity by 2030.

The report examines the U.S.'s technological and manufacturing capabilities, future costs of energy sources, the quality of U.S. wind sources, and the environmental and economic impacts of wind power development.

Specifically, the DOE found that an energy mix of 20 percent wind power would:

• Reduce carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation by 25 percent in 2030
• Reduce natural gas use by 11%
• Reduce water consumption associated with electricity generation by 4 trillion gallons by 2030
• Increase annual revenues to local communities to more than $1.5 billion by 2030
  
• Support roughly 500,000 jobs in the U.S., with an average of more than 150,000 workers directly employed by the wind industry

Download the full report.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) says we've been doing something right for the past 40 years: Since 1970, U.S. energy consumption (as measured per dollar of economic output) has been slashed in half.

This is a great success story, but the ACEEE points out that energy efficiency can do even more to help us meet increasing energy demands quickly and cost-effectively while still cut global warming emissions. Additional findings include:

• Given the right choices and investments in the many cost-effective but underutilized energy efficiency technologies, the United States can cost-effectively reduce energy consumption by an additional 25-30% or more over the course of the next 20-25 years.
  
  
• Annual investments in energy efficiency technologies currently support 1.6 million U.S. jobs. The $300 billion invested in energy efficiency in 2004 was three times the amount invested in traditional energy infrastructure.
  
  
• Investments in energy efficiency technologies are estimated to have generated approximately 1.7 quads of energy savings in 2004 alone – roughly the equivalent of the energy required to operate 40 mid-sized coal-fired or nuclear power plants.
  
  
• Since 1970, energy efficiency has met about three-fourths of the demand for new energy-related services while conventional energy supply has covered only one-fourth of this demand.

• Total investments in more energy efficiency technologies could increase the annual energy efficiency market by nearly $400 billion by 2030, resulting in an annual efficiency market of more than $700 billion – and total additional investments over the period 2008-2030 of nearly $7 trillion.

Download the full report.

Both of these reports are good news, especially considering the more sobering findings of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere have reached record highs at 387 parts per million (CO2 is a major contributor to global warming). That's up almost 40 percent since the industrial revolution and it's the highest concentration in the last 650,000 years. NOAA says CO2 is increasing faster than scientists expected.

Martin Perry, co-chair of the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said:

"Despite all the talk, the situation is getting worse. Levels of greenhouse gases continue to rise in the atmosphere and the rate of that rise is accelerating. We are already seeing the impacts of climate change and the scale of those impacts will also accelerate, until we decide to do something about it."

Here are the graphs from the research.

Kohl's Adding More Solar Power

About this time last year, Kohl's announced that it was adding solar power to 75 of its stores.

The Wisconsin-based retailer says it will now add another 50 stores in Connecticut, New Jersey and Maryland to its growing list of solar-powered locations. The company says these new projects will make it "largest retail host of solar power."

Solar power typically provides 30 percent of a store's annual energy use. The company expects to add systems to some of its Wisconsin stores, as well.

McCain Gives Global Warming Speech

Been short on blogging time lately, but Jesse over at Watthead takes a good look at McCain's speech on global warming earlier this week.

Clean Energy Quick Clicks

I'm watching Jim Cramer on Mad Money (CNBC). He's going nuts about wind power - says he loves wind because it's the cheapest form of energy (not just renewable energy) and he thinks it's going to be huge in 2009.

• A high speed train to could get you from San Francisco to Los Angeles Clayton in two hours? Read more over at Gas 2.0

• Random fun: Check out this video of Dean Cain being approached by someone really passionate about solving global warming with giant, floating reflectors (at the very end). via ecorazzi.

Terminology Tuesday: HCCI

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) is engine technology that uses the best of diesel and gasoline in its quest for greater fuel efficiency. Gas engines use spark ignition, while diesel engines are compression ignition (using the pressure of the piston to compress the air-fuel mixture to create heat and ignition, rather than spark plugs like a gas engine). General Motors is experimenting with both technologies to find a more efficient, less-polluting engine.

Read more about it from the guys over at EcoGeek.

Midwest Renewable Energy News

Midwest Monday: Coal Plant Dealt Death Blow

Big Stone II is - was - a coal plant proposed for Milbank, South Dakota, just two miles from the Minnesota border. The pulverized coal plant's power was meant for Minnesota but utility investors had to build it in SD because of MN's more stringent mercury pollution laws.

Opponents have fought the $1.6 billion plant for years, both on the SD and MN side of the border. While SD had approved the permits to build the plant, power lines still had to be build through southwestern Minnesota to carry the power from Big Stone II into the state. This is where MN advocates have most recently focused their fight: on permitting the construction of the power lines. No power lines, no power, no coal plant.

Last week, two administrative law judges in Minnesota delivered the coal plant a major blow. They recommended against the construction of the power lines in Minnesota because the regional power companies building the plant did not prove that the transmission lines were needed and because they failed to show that less expensive efficiency efforts and additional renewable energy could not meet the demand. They judges also noted that the utilities significantly underestimated likely future costs associated with global warming pollution.

While utility investors have been dropping out of the project for the last several months because of financial risks associated the coal plant's global warming pollution, this recommendation is a major victory for clean energy in the Upper Midwest. Big Stone II representatives' response to the recommendation was:

"We're really perplexed by this. We really don't know what to make of it."

Next step: The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will hear Big Stone II's case in June. The PUC - appointed by Governor Pawlenty (R) - has the final say about permitting the power lines. However, one clean energy advocate told me that it would be "almost impossible" for the PUC to ignore the judges' recommendation at this point.

In fact, even Governor Pawlenty's Department of Commerce agrees that the carbon price the Big Stone II utilities used to justifying building the plant was too low. In addition, Commerce said the actually additional energy needed was less than half of what the Big Stone II developers were requesting.

Via Star Tribune and Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy

Capitols Get Free Energy Audit From...Wal-Mart?!

Is there anything this company doesn't get itself in to? Wal-Mart just announced that it's selected capitol buildings in 19 states and Puerto Rico to assist with cutting emissions and save on energy costs.

Wal-Mart will actually pay engineers to perform the energy audits and make recommendations for the capitol complexes. Beginning this year and extending through 2009, the engineers will look at lighting, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, and other big potential sources for energy savings. The recommendations for improvements will incorporate the technology Wal-Mart has used to make its own stores more efficient.

The states included are: Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Minnesota Governor and chair of the National Governors Association, Tim Pawlenty (R), said in a news release:

"The cleanest and cheapest energy is the energy we do not use. This partnership is a clear example of how governors across the country are taking tangible steps to improve energy efficiency. Enhancing the energy efficiency of state capitol complexes will set an example we hope will spread across our states while also ensuring that taxpayer resources are being used as wisely as possible."

But Wal-Mart is doing this for us, not our elected leaders. A business had to step in to get the job done. If the result, however, is energy efficiency savings and lower global warming emissions, perhaps that end does justify the means.

via Star Tribune