Nissan and 4R Energy Develop new Solar EV Charging System

Nissan and 4R Energy Corporation today announced that the two companies have developed a charging system for electric vehicles that combines a solar power generation system with high-capacity lithium-ion batteries. Testing of this new charging system began today at Nissan's Global Headquarters in Yokohama.

With the new charging system, electricity is generated through solar cells installed at Nissan's Global Headquarters, and is stored in lithium-ion batteries which are equivalent to four units of Nissan LEAFs. With seven charging stations (three quick charge, four normal charge) located in the headquarter grounds, the total electricity that can be generated and stored is the equivalent to fully charging approximately 1,800 Nissan LEAFs annually.

This new system will enable electric vehicles, which do not emit any CO2 when driven, to be charged through a completely renewable energy source. This is one solution to create a cycle where CO2 emissions resulting from driving is zero. By using the same lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles as stationary storage batteries, electricity can also be supplied to EVs regardless of the time of day or weather, enabling efficient use of renewable energy sources.

4R Energy Corporation, a joint venture established by Nissan and Sumitomo Corporation in September 2010, has already started tests on a compact electricity storage system installed with second-life lithium ion batteries previously used in Nissan LEAFs. Based on the outcome of this larger system, 4R Energy plans to enter the market of mid-sized electricity storage systems for commercial and public facilities.

Nissan and 4R Energy Corporation will continue various efforts to help move toward a sustainable, zero-emission society.
Demonstration test outline Solar cell: Maximum power output: 40kW (Solar Frontier)
Power conditioner: Rated power output: 40kW (10kW×4)
(Sanyo Denki Co., Ltd.)
Storage battery capacity: 96kWh (Automotive Energy Supply Corporation)
Grid management unit: Rated power output: 200kW
(Sanyo Denki Co., Ltd.)
EV charging equipment: Quick charger: 3 (50kW×3)
Regular charger:4 (3.3kW×14)
Outline of 4R Energy Corporation President: Takashi Sakagami
Company Address: Queen's Tower C 12F, 2-3-5, Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama City
Capital: 450 million yen
Date of Establishment: September 14, 2010
Stakeholders: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (51%)
Sumitomo Corporation (49%)
Business Description: Demonstration tests and commercialization study for the second-life use of lithium-ion batteries previously used in EVs

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Toyota City smart homes to use EVs for standby power

The Toyota City Low-Carbon Society Verification Promotion Council, an organization of 26 entities, including Toyota City and private companies, has completed model smart houses*1 in the Higashiyama and Takahashi districts of Toyota City for testing energy-management systems and has started trial operations under the Verification Project for the Establishment of a Household and Community-based Low-Carbon City in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture.

1. Project Description

The Verification Project is being conducted as a Next-Generation Energy and Social System Demonstration project (a five-year project running from 2010 to 2014) of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Toyota City was selected as a demonstration area for the Verification Project in April 2010 to support development of testing equipment and information systems. The key feature of the project is the pursuit of optimal energy use in living spaces at the community level.

1) Optimization of Household Energy Use
Household energy consumption is increasing. The Verification Project seeks to coordinate supply and demand within communities in conjunction with the use of both grid and renewable natural energy to achieve local production of energy for local consumption. Verification of distributed power supply from storage batteries and reduced carbon emissions from homes will be carried out, with the overall aim to reduce household carbon dioxide emissions by 20% (70% or more for smart houses).

2) Achieving Compatibility between Environmental Preservation and Resident Satisfaction
The Verification Project will predict and control energy consumption and support activities using an original energy data management system (EDMS) and home energy management system (HEMS). The aim is to maximize the use of renewable energy while achieving energy savings and conservation that maintains community quality-of-life levels and comfort.

3) Creation of Low-Carbon Traffic Systems
In addition to reducing the carbon dioxide emissions from road traffic through the introduction of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs), electric vehicles (EVs), and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), the Verification Project will use IT and ITS technologies to efficiently integrate motor vehicles and public transportation for commuting and other travel with the aim of reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the transport sector by 40%.

2. Verification of the Household and Regional Energy Sectors

This year, the Verification Project’s second year, marks the start of the testing phase for energy management at the household and community levels. Sales of the smart houses, where trial operation of the system will be conducted, began on June 3. The first phase of verification testing will begin in September at 14 of the smart houses.

In each house, a HEMS will link energy-generating devices (solar cells, fuel cells, etc.) and energy storage devices (household storage batteries, EcoCute heat-pump water heaters, etc.) in the home with next-generation vehicles (PHVs and EVs) and intelligent household appliances to optimize and make possible visualization of electric-power supply and demand and control of individual household devices. Storage batteries connected to and controlled by the HEMS will support low-cost and low-carbon energy consumption in the home and can serve as an emergency power source.

On the community level, the EDMS will coordinate the balance of the electric power supply and demand within the region by linking homes, convenience stores, schools, and the like with the aim of achieving local production of energy for local consumption by the community. For example, if a shortage of power generated by solar panels in the community is predicted, residents will be advised to limit their energy consumption, and eco-points will be awarded for conduct in accordance with those recommendations. Also, information concerning electricity usage and accumulated eco-points can be sent to specialized terminals, PCs and smart phones to encourage ongoing environmentally-friendly behavior that can be reasonably carried out.

In addition to charging PHVs and EVs from household electricity, V2H*2 (vehicle to home) supply of electric power from motor vehicle batteries to the home will also be tested. During normal times, vehicle batteries can store excess power from the home and from the community, contributing to efficient energy usage. And during emergencies, the batteries support regional energy autonomy by acting as mobile power sources.

List of Member Organizations and Businesses of the Toyota City Low-Carbon Society Verification Promotion Council (26 organizations as of June 30, 2011):
Aichi Prefecture, Toyota City and (in alphabetical order): Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., Circle K Sunkus Co., Ltd., Denso Corporation, Dream Incubator Inc., Eneres Co., Ltd., Fujitsu Limited, Hewlett-Packard Japan, Ltd., KDDI Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, Nagoya Railroad Co., Ltd., Nagoya University, Secom Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Systems Engineering Consultants Co., Ltd., Toho Gas Co., Ltd., Toshiba Corporation, Toyota Housing Corporation, Toyota Industries Corporation, Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Smile Life Inc., Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Yamato Transport Co., Ltd., Yazaki Corporation

*1Houses that contain an IT network of electrical appliances and other household equipment, solar panels, household storage batteries, onboard automobile storage batteries, and other devices, enabling household power leveling and optimized energy usage
*2Charging of PHV and EV batteries from household electricity and supplying electric power from onboard automobile storage batteries to the home

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Mitsubishi Debut Solar-Powered Vehicle Charging Station

Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA, Inc. (Mitsubishi Electric) and Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) today debuted a solar-powered charging station for electric vehicles at the MMNA headquarters in Cypress, California. This charging facility, the first of its kind in Cypress, symbolizes MMNA's commitment to electric vehicle readiness, and will help kick off the preparations as certified Mitsubishi dealers become EV-ready in anticipation of the scheduled launch date of Mitsubishi i for each state. The charging station is powered by 96, 175W photovoltaic modules from Mitsubishi Electric.

This charging station will help support CHAdeMO compatible electric vehicles such as the Mitsubishi i, which will arrive in showrooms in November of this year. Mitsubishi i vehicles are now being reserved by prospective owners through a pre-order process available at i.mitsubishicars.com.

Able to charge up to four vehicles at once, the station features three types of chargers with different voltages: standard level 1 voltage (110v) will deliver a 100 percent charge in 22 hours on the new Mitsubishi i; level 2 (220v) which can charge the vehicle in six hours; and level 3 CHAdeMO Quick Charger, which can charge to 80 percent battery capacity in 25 minutes.

The DC Quick Charger used for the Cypress charging station is manufactured by the Eaton Corporation, and is the first-of-its-kind CHAdeMO Quick Charger certified for U.S. sale and public utility. The actual installation of the charging equipment and the supporting electrical infrastructure was handled by Rogers Electric. The twin-arch structure for the charging station was designed by California Green Designs.

The charging station is the first such collaboration between the two similarly named companies, whose headquarters are just a few blocks apart in northern Orange County. Situated near the junction of the 405 and 605 freeways, the hope is that the Cypress charging station, with its Quick Charge capability, can serve as a gateway charging pad for Mitsubishi i users commuting between Los Angeles and Orange counties.

"This project will build awareness of solar power's versatility and efficiency," said Katsuya Takamiya, president and chief executive officer, Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA. "As electric vehicles' popularity grows, we expect to see more charging stations at large employers, automobile dealerships, shopping centers and schools, where cars can charge while people work, shop or study."

Mitsubishi Motors North America President Yoichi Yokozawa said "We hope that our dealers, learning institutions, and municipalities will look to this technology with a keen eye towards the future, and bear in mind that the gradual acceptance of the pure-EV transportation will be aided by increasing the number of facilities like this one."

Mitsubishi Electric's solar panels are made with 100 percent lead-free solder, and have one of the higher sunlight-to-energy conversion ratios in the industry, adding to the project's efficiency and sustainability.

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Zero Emission Hypersonic Plane Could Fly London-Sydney in 3.5 Hours [video]

European aerospace giant EADS has unveiled its "Zero Emission Hypersonic Transportation" (Zehst) rocket plane it hopes will be able to fly from Melbourne to London in under 3.5 hours by around 2050.

The trip between Paris and Tokyo could be completed in under 2.5 hours.

"I imagine the plane of the future to look like Zehst," EADS' chief technical officer Jean Botti said as the project was announced at Le Bourget airport the day before the start of the Paris International Air Show.

The low-pollution plane to carry between 50 and 100 passengers will take off using normal engines powered by biofuel made from seaweed before switching on its rocket engines at altitude.

The rocket engines, powered by hydrogen and oxygen whose only exhaust is water vapour, propel the plane to a cruising altitude of 32 kilometres (20 miles), compared to today's passenger jets which fly at around 10,000 metres.

"You don't pollute, you're in the stratosphere," Botti said.

To land, the pilot cuts the engines and glides down to Earth before reigniting the regular engines before landing. EADS hopes to have a prototype built by 2020 and for the plane to eventually enter service around 2050. The project is being developed in collaboration with Japan and uses technology that is already available.

A four-metre model of the plane, which looks similar to the now defunct Concorde supersonic jet, will be on show at Bourget for the biannual aerospace showcase which begins on Monday and opens to the general public on Friday.

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Hyundai Heavy moving into tidal power business

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the world’s biggest shipbuilder, completed the site trial of a prototype 500 kW tidal current power system at Uldolmok Passage in Jeollanam-do, southwest Korea.

Tidal current power is a form of hydropower that converts the kinetic energy of the tidal currents into electricity using turbines. Hyundai Heavy’s prototype tidal current power system directly connects a tidal turbine, a gearbox, and a generator for power transmission. The system can operate regardless of current direction using a specially designed turbine system.

After completing factory and basin tests last year, HHI successfully produced target power generation from site trials this May. Based on the data collected from the trials, Hyundai Heavy plans to pursue tidal current power farm projects by scaling up power generators. The Ulsan-based company is also part of the government-backed National Project for Developing MW-class Tidal Current Power Farm with other Korean companies. The project is due to be completed in 2014.

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Kirk Sorensen explains Energy from Thorium @ TEDxYYC [video]

Kirk Sorensen is chief nuclear technologist at Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville, Alabama and is an advocate for nuclear energy based on thorium and liquid-fluoride fuels.

For five years he has authored the blog "Energy from Thorium" and helped grow an online community of thousands who support a renewed effort to develop thorium as an energy source. He is a 1999 graduate of Georgia Tech in aerospace engineering and is also a graduate student in nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee.

He has spoken publicly on thorium at the Manchester International Forum in 2009, at NASA's Green Energy Forum in 2008, and in several TechTalks at Google. He has been featured in Wired magazine, Machine Design magazine, the Economist, the UK Guardian and Telegraph newspapers, and on Russia Today.

He also taught nuclear engineering at Tennessee Technological University as a guest lecturer. He is active in nonprofit advocacy organizations such as the Thorium Energy Alliance and the International Thorium Energy Organization. He is married and has four small children.

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Fully Charged Episode 21 Solar PV [video]

Robert Llewellyn follows the installation process of his photovoltaic panels and demonstrates how cutting edge he is by using his solar system to charge his Nissan Leaf.

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BritNed 1 GW HVDC Interconnector between UK and EU [video]

The 1000 MW high voltage connection between the Isle of Grain in Kent and Maasvlakte near Rotterdam will transmit power in both directions, driven by supply and demand patterns and by price differentials between the two power markets. BritNed was completed on time and within the budget of £500 million.

BritNed is a joint venture between National Grid and TenneT, the Dutch Transmission System Operator. The new subsea cable benefits security and diversity of electricity supply in both countries. The interconnector contributes to integrating European markets, providing greater import and export opportunities. It also will enable the integration of electricity generated by wind farms on the European continent and the UK into the European and UK-grid.

This is the first electricity connection between UK and Europe in since the commissioning of the IFA link with France 25 years ago. BritNed will strengthen the links between UK and Central Western Europe (CWE) and the Nordic countries - 9 countries in all.

Nick Winser, executive director of National Grid said:
“Our investment in this interconnector means that we are joining a much wider European electricity market. This ability that we will now have to move power across national borders means we can use the full potential of renewable energy from wind – making it easier to import when wind is not available and export when there is a surplus.

“The connection of UK to wider European markets will increase competition among suppliers and also give electricity generators more opportunities. Overall, this should be of benefit to business and consumers.”

Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change said:

“This is good news for our energy security, for UK renewables and for consumers. It plugs the UK directly into a wider European electricity market, allowing us to import our peak needs cheaply rather than hold expensive plant in readiness. Renewables win as it means surplus wind power can be easily shared. Consumers win as a single European market puts pressure on prices. And more new cables are planned so by 2020 we could have over 10GW of additional electricity flowing under the North Sea.”

The link will facilitate competition and contribute to the European Commission's desire for greater interconnection to achieve a common European energy market. Therefore, it has been identified as a 'priority' project in the European power market.

Bill Russell, director BritNed said:
"Via market coupling BritNed provides UK traders for the first time a gateway to the highly liquid European market. Earlier experience of coupling cross border markets has witnessed an increase of liquidity and volumes and the creation of a stable reference price. We expect that the UK market will now benefit from the same experience.”

This commercial, or 'non-socialised' interconnector, is funded and operated independently from National Grid and TenneT's regulated businesses and allows 100% third-party-access for all market participants. Customers have open access to the capacity through a combination of 'implicit' auctions (day ahead) facilitated by APX-ENDEX, and BritNed's 'explicit' auctions (annual, monthly, intraday). This approach gives customers real choice about how they bid for capacity and ensures that BritNed supports the ambitions for greater transparency in the European energy markets.

BritNed:
BritNed is a joint venture between National Grid and TenneT. The goal is to construct and commercially operate an electricity link between Great Britain and the Netherlands. The BritNed cable will have a capacity of 1,000 MW and will be 260 km long.


Cable facts & figures
Voltage: ± 450 kV DC
Cable capacity: 1.000 MW
Weight 44 kg/metre (single cable)
Length sea cable: 250 km (two cables, bundled)
Length land cable: 7 km (NL) and 2 km (GB), two cables, laid together
Conductor: 1 x 1430 mm2 Cu (copper)


Converter stations
The two converter stations are built at Maasvlakte and at the Isle of Grain. The stations convert direct current to alternating current and then transfer the electricity to the British and Dutch high-voltage electricity transmission systems.


Contractors
ABB High Voltage Cables was responsible for producing and laying the cable on behalf of BritNed. The BAM Nuttall / Siemens consortium was responsible for the construction of the converter stations and for manufacturing and installing the converter equipment.

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Solar Field to Power Chevrolet Volt Assembly Plant

The largest photovoltaic solar array in Southeast Michigan will be built at the General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, turning sunlight into electricity to help power the home of the Chevrolet Volt electric car.

The 516-kilowatt project, announced Wednesday by GM and DTE Energy, will generate electricity capable of charging 150 of the electric cars with extended-range capability every day for a year – a total of 54,750 Volts.

The 264,000-square-foot project is expected to be completed at the end of the summer and will save the facility approximately $15,000 per year over the 20-year easement agreement. The Detroit-Hamtramck facility was chosen because it has available space for the array and because it is home to the Volt.

"This array will significantly decrease energy consumption by combining solar power with ongoing efficiency tactics such as lighting and equipment upgrades and automating equipment shut-down," said Bob Ferguson, vice president of GM Public Policy. "Making sustainable choices is good for both the environment and our bottom line. Obviously cost savings is critical for GM, and the ability to save $15,000 per year while being environmental serves us well."

The Detroit-Hamtramck installation is part of DTE Energy's SolarCurrents pilot that calls for enough photovoltaic systems to be installed on customer property or rooftops during the next five years to generate 15 megawatts of electricity throughout Southeast Michigan. DTE is investing $3 million in the array at Detroit-Hamtramck.

"Our partnership with GM is another example of how our companies work to build a more energy-efficient and sustainable future," said Trevor Lauer, Detroit Edison vice president, Marketing & Renewables. "Our SolarCurrents program was designed to increase the demand for renewable technologies in Michigan, and it is our hope that installations like this one do exactly that."

DTE Energy and GM will build the array on a six-acre tract of land located on the south side of the plant. This placement allows it to face true South to maximize solar output.

The array will complement other green activities at the plant, which was recently named a Michigan Clean Corporate Citizen for its commitment to the environment. Environmentalism is evident by a 16.5 acre certified wildlife habitat on the site and the voluntary installation of an oxidizer that greatly reduces the amount of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide released into the atmosphere. In addition, efficient lighting upgrades and other energy efficiency projects will save the plant nearly $3 million per year in energy costs.

GM is one of the leading users of renewable energy in the manufacturing sector, deriving energy for manufacturing operations from solar, hydro, and landfill gas resources. In the United States alone, 1.4 percent of GM energy consumption comes from renewable resources.

"We strive to reduce the impact our facilities have on the environment, and Detroit-Hamtramck continues to make progress in sustainability," said Ferguson.

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Largest Solar Project in the Southern Hemisphere Approved

Final approval has been granted to one of the world’s largest solar projects, the $104.7 million Kogan Creek Solar Boost Project, the Australian Federal and Queensland State Governments have announced.

CS Energy’s 750 megawatt (MW) coal-fired Kogan Creek Power Station near Chinchilla in southwest Queensland will soon be home to a 44 MW solar thermal addition representing the largest solar project in the Southern Hemisphere and the world’s largest solar integration with a coal-fired power station.

CS Energy Chief Executive David Brown said that the innovative solar project represents one of the most significant investments to date in solar thermal technology and is part of CS Energy’s commitment to producing cleaner electricity from existing coal-fired power stations.

The Kogan Creek Solar Boost Project will increase the amount of electricity generated by up to 44 MW during peak solar conditions, providing an additional 44,000 MW hours of electricity per year.

“In simple terms, the solar addition will enable Kogan Creek Power Station to produce more electricity with the same amount of coal,” Mr Brown said.

The project will use AREVA Solar’s Australian-pioneered compact linear Fresnel reflector (CLFR) technology to supply additional steam to the power station’s turbine, supplementing the conventional coal-fired steam generation process.

The technology uses heat from the sun to convert water to steam with zero emissions. It is the most land-efficient solar technology, generating 1.5 to 2.6 times more peak power per acre of land than competing solar technologies and is the only CLFR provider to supply superheated steam which has specific application to the power generation market.

“The location is ideally suited for a solar thermal system due to the good levels of solar insolation, or more simply the amount of sunshine, in the region,” Mr Brown said.

“Already Kogan Creek Power Station is one of the largest and most energy efficient power stations in Australia’s electricity market,” Mr Brown said.

The solar power will also be generated directly into the electricity transmission grid.

The Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES) has welcomed the announcement of the Federal Government funding for the Kogan Creek Solar Boost project.

“This is an excellent example of the potential of Big Solar to help combat Australia’s emissions, and create jobs and investment in regional Australia,” said John Grimes, Chief Executive of AuSES.

“Pricing carbon provides an opportunity to do much more, and we call on the federal government to use a portion of the carbon price revenue to target Big Solar”.

Construction on the Kogan Creek Solar Boost Project is scheduled to commence in the first half of 2011.

This project is distinct from the CS Energy Solar Flagships program project, although both are located at the same sight. CS Energy is in partnership with Parsons Brinkerhoff, Siemens, John Holland, Infrastructure Capital Group, the Queensland University of Technology and Curtin University to develop the Solar Flair Project, a 600 MW solar thermal project based on based on Parabolic Trough Collector technology.

Kogan Creek Solar

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SKF Electromagnetic Regenerative Active Suspension System [video]

SKF and Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) engineers have jointly developed computer controlled electromagnetic suspension that can also regenerate energy.

The Eindhoven suspension as it is called is not only electronic but also active, it is connected to a variety of sensors and accelerometers via an onboard computer which adjusts the suspension as per the road conditions within a fraction of a second.

We have reported on a number of regenerative suspension systems based on both electric motors and hydraulic systems. Eindhoven researchers say hydraulics cant match the speed of an electromagnetic system.

About the same size as a conventional shock absorber, the system consists of a passive spring, a tubular linear actuator, a control unit and batteries.

Unlike in a similar system developed by Bose, the spring provides springing action, while linear stepper motors provide active control. If the batteries should fail, the system will still work as a purely mechanical suspension.

With a peak consumption of 500 watts, the suspension uses about a quarter of the power of hydraulic systems. It also stretches its battery life by using road vibrations to generate electricity.

The company has tested the system on a simulator and claims that it offers a 60% ride improvement. Eindhoven University developed the system in collaboration with Swedish mechatronics company SKF, which has patented the technology and is looking into marketing it.

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Carbon Nation Trailer

Something that might be of interest - the official theatrical trailer for Carbon Nation.

A movie for those who DON'T believe in climate change. There have always been a long list of issues behind the move towards EVs and one of those happened to be climate change. Unfortunately, most marketing efforts post-Gore have focussed almost exclusively on the climate angle and it has proved hard to move opinion in certain, usually older, generations.

So here's a docu-movie attempting to shift the focus and list all the 'other' reasons to go green.

Opens in theaters this month! www.carbonnationmovie.com

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World's largest solar-powered boat [Video]

The world's largest solar powered boat will sail around the world to show solar power is a viable source of energy.


A nearly 100-feet long and 50-feet wide ship named "Planet Solar" weighs 60 tons, and is decked with photovoltaic modules. The vessel was launched in Monaco on Monday.

German entrepreneur Immo Stroeher and Swiss project founder, Raphael Domjan made their dream a reality.

They're taking it on a record-breaking round-the-world trip to show that solar power is a viable source of energy for transport.

On board batteries allow the boat to sail for about three days without fresh solar power.

According to the German shipbuilders, the vessel should be able to reach speeds of up to 15 nautical miles per hour. The crew of six hope to make it around the world in 160 days, all of them fossil-fuel free.

The catamaran will stop in Miami, Cancun, San Francisco, Sydney, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi.

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Clean tech at heart of Siemens' record results

Siemens has beat analysts' predictions, with a record set of quarterly results that appear to, once again, vindicate the company's focus on emerging clean technologies.

The German engineering giant today said its income from continuing operations reached a record level of €1.79bn (£1.54bn) in the last three months of 2010, increasing 17 per cent on the previous year.

Net income increased 15 per cent on the previous year to €1.75bn, exceeding analyst predictions that had averaged €1.47bn in a Reuters poll.

Commenting on the announcement, an analyst at Cheuvreux told Bloomberg: "Siemens is on the right track strategically. It is executing well and capturing market share."

In particular, Siemens' order book was boosted by its focus on public transport, including orders for 10 new high-speed Eurostar trains and an order to upgrade Munich's subway system.

New orders for the Siemens Energy division also climbed 27 per cent, bolstered mainly by its fossil fuel business. But the company's renewable energy activities were also credited with driving a 14 per cent increase in the division's revenue.

The company's renewable energy business posted a strong rise in revenue – to €868m on conversion of a number of large orders. As a result, first-quarter profit increased year-on-year, despite significantly higher expenses for research and development, marketing and selling linked to the expansion of its wind business and integration of its solar thermal business.

Chief executive Peter Löscher reiterated a forecast of "moderate" sales growth for the year, despite the company's success. "Capital-efficient growth is our aspiration. We have lived up to it," he said.

He added that success of the company was also driven by its focus on green innovation. The company now has 80,000 patents in clean technology, he said, adding that the number of inventions registered by employees doubled in the last decade.

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World Can Be Powered by Alternative Energy in 20-40 Years

If someone told you there was a way you could save 2.5 million to 3 million lives a year and simultaneously halt global warming, reduce air and water pollution and develop secure, reliable energy sources -- nearly all with existing technology and at costs comparable with what we spend on energy today -- why wouldn't you do it?

According to a new study coauthored by Stanford researcher Mark Z. Jacobson, we could accomplish all that by converting the world to clean, renewable energy sources and forgoing fossil fuels.

"Based on our findings, there are no technological or economic barriers to converting the entire world to clean, renewable energy sources," said Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering. "It is a question of whether we have the societal and political will."

He and Mark Delucchi, of the University of California-Davis, have written a two-part paper in Energy Policy in which they assess the costs, technology and material requirements of converting the planet, using a plan they developed.

The world they envision would run largely on electricity. Their plan calls for using wind, water and solar energy to generate power, with wind and solar power contributing 90 percent of the needed energy.

Geothermal and hydroelectric sources would each contribute about 4 percent in their plan (70 percent of the hydroelectric is already in place), with the remaining 2 percent from wave and tidal power.

Vehicles, ships and trains would be powered by electricity and hydrogen fuel cells. Aircraft would run on liquid hydrogen. Homes would be cooled and warmed with electric heaters -- no more natural gas or coal -- and water would be preheated by the sun.

Commercial processes would be powered by electricity and hydrogen. In all cases, the hydrogen would be produced from electricity. Thus, wind, water and sun would power the world.

The researchers approached the conversion with the goal that by 2030, all new energy generation would come from wind, water and solar, and by 2050, all pre-existing energy production would be converted as well.

"We wanted to quantify what is necessary in order to replace all the current energy infrastructure -- for all purposes -- with a really clean and sustainable energy infrastructure within 20 to 40 years," said Jacobson.

One of the benefits of the plan is that it results in a 30 percent reduction in world energy demand since it involves converting combustion processes to electrical or hydrogen fuel cell processes. Electricity is much more efficient than combustion.

That reduction in the amount of power needed, along with the millions of lives saved by the reduction in air pollution from elimination of fossil fuels, would help keep the costs of the conversion down.

"When you actually account for all the costs to society -- including medical costs -- of the current fuel structure, the costs of our plan are relatively similar to what we have today," Jacobson said.

One of the biggest hurdles with wind and solar energy is that both can be highly variable, which has raised doubts about whether either source is reliable enough to provide "base load" energy, the minimum amount of energy that must be available to customers at any given hour of the day.
Jacobson said that the variability can be overcome.

"The most important thing is to combine renewable energy sources into a bundle," he said. "If you combine them as one commodity and use hydroelectric to fill in gaps, it is a lot easier to match demand."

Wind and solar are complementary, Jacobson said, as wind often peaks at night and sunlight peaks during the day. Using hydroelectric power to fill in the gaps, as it does in our current infrastructure, allows demand to be precisely met by supply in most cases. Other renewable sources such as geothermal and tidal power can also be used to supplement the power from wind and solar sources.

"One of the most promising methods of insuring that supply matches demand is using long-distance transmission to connect widely dispersed sites," said Delucchi. Even if conditions are poor for wind or solar energy generation in one area on a given day, a few hundred miles away the winds could be blowing steadily and the sun shining.

"With a system that is 100 percent wind, water and solar, you can't use normal methods for matching supply and demand. You have to have what people call a supergrid, with long-distance transmission and really good management," he said.

Another method of meeting demand could entail building a bigger renewable-energy infrastructure to match peak hourly demand and use the off-hours excess electricity to produce hydrogen for the industrial and transportation sectors.

Using pricing to control peak demands, a tool that is used today, would also help.

Jacobson and Delucchi assessed whether their plan might run into problems with the amounts of material needed to build all the turbines, solar collectors and other devices.

They found that even materials such as platinum and the rare earth metals, the most obvious potential supply bottlenecks, are available in sufficient amounts. And recycling could effectively extend the supply.

"For solar cells there are different materials, but there are so many choices that if one becomes short, you can switch," Jacobson said. "Major materials for wind energy are concrete and steel and there is no shortage of those."

Jacobson and Delucchi calculated the number of wind turbines needed to implement their plan, as well as the number of solar plants, rooftop photovoltaic cells, geothermal, hydroelectric, tidal and wave-energy installations.

They found that to power 100 percent of the world for all purposes from wind, water and solar resources, the footprint needed is about 0.4 percent of the world's land (mostly solar footprint) and the spacing between installations is another 0.6 percent of the world's land (mostly wind-turbine spacing), Jacobson said.

One of the criticisms of wind power is that wind farms require large amounts of land, due to the spacing required between the windmills to prevent interference of turbulence from one turbine on another.

"Most of the land between wind turbines is available for other uses, such as pasture or farming," Jacobson said. "The actual footprint required by wind turbines to power half the world's energy is less than the area of Manhattan." If half the wind farms were located offshore, a single Manhattan would suffice.

Jacobson said that about 1 percent of the wind turbines required are already in place, and a lesser percentage for solar power.

"This really involves a large scale transformation," he said. "It would require an effort comparable to the Apollo moon project or constructing the interstate highway system."

"But it is possible, without even having to go to new technologies," Jacobson said. "We really need to just decide collectively that this is the direction we want to head as a society."

Jacobson is the director of Stanford's Atmosphere/Energy Program and a senior fellow at Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment and the Precourt Institute for Energy.

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