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Coda Seeks to Mark a Change in Energy Use

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It might seem like a strange idea to launch a car company these days, especially in the challenged electric vehicle sector. But viewed from the perspective of evolving energy technology and shifting generation and energy use priorities, electric cars are in many ways just one facet of energy storage at a scale accessible to most consumers.

Coda, a California company that views itself as an advanced technology firm leveraging the lithium phosphate battery, is also an electric car company. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 24, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Young Americans Ditch the Car

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America’s young people just aren’t buying cars like they used to.

The share of new cars purchased by those aged 18-34 dropped 30% in the last five years, Keep reading →

 /  Published September 17, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Oregon Eco-Winery Goes Beyond LEED

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In 2002, more than a dozen structures and countless trees were scorched in the course of the Biscuit Fire, which took down roughly 500,000 acres in southern Oregon. Now a Dayton-area winery with a history of green innovation – Stoller Family Estate – has put a number of those trees to use in its new tasting room, along with a whole lot of solar power.

This wood comes courtesy of the “standing dead,” i.e., trees that were killed by the fire but were left standing, often in excellent shape for those willing to make use of salvaged wood. Stoller put that wood to work in constructing its new tasting room, which features mostly reclaimed wood. Wood from the Biscuit fire was used in the building’s rolling ceiling, while the tasting room’s large support columns were upcycled from an old Portland warehouse. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 12, 2012 at 1:15 PM

Smart Meters: A Human Rights Issue in Canada?

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Smart meters have been called a lot of things by people opposed to them. In British Columbia, they may become a human rights issue, due to a decision by the province’s Human Rights Tribunal to accept a complaint from a group charging BC Hydro with discrimination.

According to a report in The Globe and Mail, the Tribunal has accepted a complaint
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from Citizens for Safe Technology whose members contend BC Hydro discriminates against people with certain medical conditions and disabilities by refusing to accommodate their request for wired meters instead of wireless smart meters. The group says it has members who suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity or other disabilities and doctors have advised them to avoid wireless technology. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 7, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Meeting Global Energy Demand with Intelligent Oil 2.0 Infrastructure

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Consumer demand for energy is expected to rise 40 percent by 2030. More complex product processes, such as oil sands and deep water drilling, have become more attractive due to higher oil prices. As a result, oil and gas exploration companies are increasing frontier production in remote locations, which demand a reliable and robust network communications infrastructure. At the same time, oil and gas companies are seeing the benefits of implementing next-generation “Oil 2.0” or “Smart Field” applications that go beyond simple connectivity to streamline operations, enable closer monitoring of assets, and deliver new cost benefits. By taking a holistic approach to implementing intelligent wireless broadband technology, oil fields that once seemed too expensive or too remote, can now become economically viable.

Cost of Disjointed Processes Keep reading →

 /  Published September 6, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Appetite Grows Among Consumers for Green Brands in Latin America

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Data show that consumers in Latin America value products made with renewable energy sources, but no single brand currently stands out as having this distinction, giving companies an opportunity to establish a “green” reputation ahead of the curve.

The Global Consumer Wind Study conducted by wind turbine manufacturer Vestas in partnership with Bloomberg quantifies and analyzes the importance people around the world place on addressing climate change and various means of doing so.

Citizens in the Latin American countries analyzed in the GCWS – Brazil, Chile and Mexico – ranked climate change as one of the more serious challenges facing the world today. Greater than 90% of the respondents in these countries said they would like to see an “increased use of” renewable energy over the next five years.

At the same time, fewer than 10% of Latin American respondents want to see an increased use of fossil fuels over the next five years.

Putting Their Money Where Their Mouths Are

Consumers in Latin America also expressed a willingness to pay a premium for a wide range of products including cars, software, cell phones and clothes, if they were made with renewable energy sources. For example over 30% of Latin American consumers “would definitely be willing” to pay a premium for a car manufactured using renewable energy, compared with only 11% in the United States, according to the GCWS.

The evidence appears to show that consumers in Latin America find climate change a pressing global concern that can be mitigated through increased use of renewable energy and would even pay more for products that advanced this goal.

However, there is currently no mechanism in the Latin American countries queried for identifying which products or brands are “greener” than others. In Brazil, 77% of respondents said that a label identifying products manufactured from renewable energy would be “very important” to them. Such a label would be very important to 59% of respondents in Mexico and 54% in Chile.

In addition, 30% to 40% of the respondents in Latin American countries said current guidance about which products are made with renewable energy is “not at all sufficient” and fewer than 10% found this guidance to be “very sufficient.”

The Brazilian Wind Energy Association (ABEEólica) and the Brazilian Clean Energy Generation Association (ABRAGEL) recognize the appetite on behalf of consumers for this kind of information and are launching a clean energy certificate program, “which will be given to companies that buy energy directly from renewable energy generators, such as wind farms, ABEEólica told Breaking Energy in an email.

“This certificate is aimed to enhance socio-environmental responsibilities of companies, and giving consumers information on the environmental impacts of their consumption, and also the option to choose a more environmental-friendly product,” ABEEólica said.

This piece appears on Breaking Energy as part of the Energy Transparency series in partnership with Vestas.

 /  Published August 29, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Are VCs Missing Out on the Next Trillion Dollar Market?

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It isn’t gold.

Weakening venture capital funding for one of the globe’s fastest-growing sectors isn’t a mystery for sector watchers, but with increasing adoption of disruptive monitoring technology, the market opportunity isn’t a matter of if, but when. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 20, 2012 at 1:00 PM

Big Utility Calls for Big Data Collaboration on Smart Grid

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Collaboration between utilities and third party software developers will be crucial in the implementation of the smart grid, bringing innovation to large energy suppliers and reliable customers for data firms.

Large utility companies need to embrace “big data analytics” to better understand the “health of our assets,” Karen Austin, the senior price president and chief information officer at Pacific Gas and Electric, said. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 17, 2012 at 8:30 AM

To Save Energy, Hit The Pub For Olympics Viewing

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Forget about the LED lighting and the R-38 ceiling insulation. The way to drive down electricity use is to put on massively popular sporting events that draw people together to watch in large groups, and to time the events to take place when folks would typically be doing stuff around the house.

That’s the slightly tongue-in-cheek – or maybe it’s hopeful – message from Opower, the energy report and analytics company. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 10, 2012 at 11:00 AM

How Your Business Can Save Energy This Summer

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An aerial view of New Yorkers taking in the sun on Manhattan rooftops on August 4, 2012 in New York City.

With summer upon us, now is the time for businesses to take steps to save energy before the temperature rises. Upgrading to high-efficiency cooling equipment and lighting are two ways businesses can use less energy and improve comfort this summer. Here are some specific tips to stay cool, save energy and keep energy costs under control. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 8, 2012 at 11:00 AM
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