Clean energy backers tout jobs at Tri-City conference February 8, 2010

The expansion of clean energy represents the next major source of economic development and job growth in Washington, and the Tri-Cities is at the epicenter, a Washington congressman said Sunday.

Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., told attendees during the opening day of the 10th Harvesting Clean Energy Conference that more than 11,000 jobs in the state are associated with the production of clean energy — including hydro, wind, solar, nuclear, biomass and more.

The goal of the conference, which runs through Tuesday at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick, is to promote rural economic development in the Northwest through clean energy development and production, organizers said.

And passage of energy legislation by Congress this year will help spur creation of even more jobs, said Inslee, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Agriculture and the development of the aerospace and software industries represented the first three waves of job creation in the state, with clean energy technology the newest rung, he said.

“The Tri-Cities is perfectly positioned for the next great wave of technological development,” Inslee said, citing in particular electrical generation work by Energy Northwest and solar technology by Infinia Corp. of Kennewick.

The House already has passed an energy bill. In the Senate, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and John Kerry, D-Mass., are developing bipartisan energy legislation, Inslee said.

Approval of energy legislation is crucial, Inslee said, and not only for job growth and climate protection. America also is in a research and development race with China to create clean energy technology.

“They have made the decision they want to dominate the clean energy industrial base in the next 10 years,” Inslee said.

Conference workshops Sunday included sessions on hydropower, tapping the resources available to farms and rural communities from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the promise of biochar — charcoal prepared from biomass that is used to generate energy and improve the productivity of soil.

In agriculture and industry, electric vehicles quietly are becoming more commonplace because they don’t pollute and have lower long-term maintenance costs.

There are plug-in electric buses and hybrid school buses, short-haul trucks, tractors, forklifts used in agricultural warehouses and an electric utility vehicle — similar to an ATV — made by an Oregon-based company.

The electric utility vehicle made by Barefoot Motors of Ashland is being used by ranchers and those involved in vineyards and orchards, electric utilities and forestry companies, among others, because of its workload capacity, low energy and maintenance costs and quiet operation, said Barefoot’s Bob Acheson.

Electric vehicles, however, tend to be expensive because of the cost of lead-acid or lithium-ion batteries.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory are working to improve battery technology, said Tim Murphy, who is involved with the lab’s advanced vehicle testing effort.

“The potential payoffs for cost-effective batteries are huge for us,” Murphy said. “I look at it as a real energy, security and quality of life issue.”

Conference workshops today will include sessions on biomass, wind power, Smart Grid technologies and generating energy from food processing waste.

Richard Wynne, director of geopolitical and policy analysis for Boeing, will give the keynote address this morning on agriculture’s potential role in developing renewable energy sources for aviation.

Kevin McCullen, TriCity Herald – http://www.tri-cityherald.com/kennewick_pasco_richland/story/893449.html

Tricities considering Oregon company’s EV-charging system November 26, 2009

An Oregon company wants the Tri-Cities to be ready for electric vehicles.

A company representative made a presentation Monday to about 18 community and business leaders on the OpConnect Electric Vehicle Charging System at the Richland Community Center.

The Tri-Cities may be small but it’s forward-looking, said Nathan Isaacs, business development manager for Beaverton, Ore.-based Optimization Technologies, and a former Herald reporter.

Electric vehicles are a viable alternative to vehicles that run on fossil fuel technology, and they are expected soon to grow in a big way, Isaacs said while talking about the benefits of the charging system his company has developed.

The production of electric cars like Nissan’s Leaf and General Motors’ Chevy Volt is being highly anticipated because they will help reduce carbon emissions, he said. “If you wait until something happens, then you’re too late.”

A DOE pilot project already is under way in several metro communities across the nation, including Seattle and Portland, to promote electric vehicles. The first part of the plan is to set up 2,500 charging stations before Nissan makes available 1,000 of its electric cars in those communities late next year, he said.

Though the whole concept may be more applicable to large metro areas, it has potential use in the communities like the Tri-Cities, Isaacs said.

A few years ago PNNL researchers concluded that the nation’s electric grid could meet the needs of about 70 percent of all U.S. light duty vehicles if their batteries were charged during nonpeak hours. And his presentation is the next step to educate decision makers about a new technology, he said.

His company’s system can be used by residential customers, businesses and public agencies, he said.

The system runs on a software with multiple smart applications that help customers charge their vehicles during nonpeak hours, help utility companies manage grid load, integrate renewable energies and provide useful data to car and battery manufacturers, Isaacs said.

The presence of more charging stations will help remove range anxiety for EV drivers, he said.

The system, which can simultaneously serve about four vehicles, can be installed — ready for use — for about $10,000, he said. A stripped-down home version would cost about $1,000.

It typically would take about two hours to fully recharge a battery, though a lot would depend on the battery and charging process, he said. Some of the new cars prevent total drainage of battery power by shutting off some ancillary operations, he said. That helps makes sure you never have to begin charging your car battery from an absolute low point, he said.

It’s a futuristic concept but Ben Franklin Transit would be interested in looking at the commercial version of the product as electric transit buses become popular, said Dick Ciccone, maintenance and special projects manager at BFT.

Pratik Joshi, Tri City Herald - http://www.tri-cityherald.com/business/story/804747.html

Electric vehicles, infrastructure power 2009 Beyond Oil conference November 13, 2009

Shiny new electric vehicles, emitting only low-whirring sounds, glistened as they darted among the few sun breaks in Seattle outside a Cascadia Center conference titled Beyond Oil: The Sustainable Communities Initiative.

Charge Northwest displayed its ChargePoint charging technology, which is offered for plug-in electric vehicles in the Pacific Northwest.

The all-electric Ford Focus made its debut at the late-October event, co-sponsored by Idaho National Laboratory. Ford’s Focus added to a charged atmosphere around the Department of Energy’s $100 million grant for a 36-month transportation study in five states. The Pacific Northwest is jointly pursuing a vision of electrified transportation in the I-5 corridor from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Eugene, Ore., as part of the study.

More than 300 attendees convened on the Microsoft Redmond campus near Seattle to hear from more than 50 experts about innovative transportation strategies, e-car technologies, infrastructure challenges and the vulnerability of the nation’s reliance on oil. One presenter argued for vehicles capable of operating on a full spectrum of alternative fuels that includes electricity.

INL is a strong partner in helping the region pursue the electrified transportation vision by managing e-vehicle demonstrations, collecting data to adjust strategies for transportation systems, and devising new clean energy systems appropriate for the Pacific Northwest.

Most recently, INL joined eTec’s electric vehicle infrastructure demonstration project with the Nissan automotive company and regional partners. The project will analyze performance and infrastructure data for 1,000 Nissan “LEAF” zero-emission vehicles.

The forum built on previous planning sessions and joined with the Clean Cities Conference. Its goal was to learn from regional governments and organizations about activities to realize the vision of electrified transportation systems, new clean energy systems and new infrastructures for improving communities. As part of DOE’s larger study, Puget Sound’s Clean Cities received a $15 million grant for its petroleum reduction project to create a regional sustainable market for renewable alternative fuel and advanced vehicle technologies.

INL gets senatorial endorsement
Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah addressed the forum via recorded video message and opened his remarks by saying how pleased he was to see INL as a major sponsor.

“I am sure that you all are aware of the old phrase, ‘Hi, I’m with the government, and I am here to help,’” he said. “Well, if you hear someone from the Idaho National Lab say that, you can believe it because they mean it. And, they can really help.”

INL joined Ford Motor Company, Microsoft, the University of Washington, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and the Cascadia Center in sponsoring the forum.

Sen. Orrin Hatch recognized INL’s efforts during a message televised at the Cascadia conference.

INL speakers opened and closed the conference. INL Deputy Lab Director David Hill joined representatives from Microsoft, Ford and the National Transportation Policy Project to welcome participants.

“The Pacific Northwest is a tremendous place to focus on electric vehicle integration where there are grand transportation challenges and a strong advocacy for change,” Hill said.

J.W. “Bill” Rogers Jr., INL’s associate laboratory director for Energy and Environment, closed the conference with a presentation that connected the need to develop clean energy systems with transportation advances such as both electric and plug-in electric vehicles. He also detailed INL’s groundbreaking research in hybridizing clean energy systems, as well as the potential contributions by both light-water and high-temperature gas nuclear reactors.

“Over the past few years, INL has built partnerships in the Pacific Northwest to support its DOE customer and continues today to serve as a key regional asset in providing clean energy solutions,” said Mike Hagood, INL’s program development manager. “Our growing relationships in the area will provide INL an opportunity to identify and address key research challenges associated with advanced transportation integration and their connection with clean energy sources.”

The combined forum offered more than 20 sessions about the challenges in electric vehicle technologies, infrastructure and marketplace competition.

Anne Korin of Set America Free advocated ending oil’s monopoly in the transportation sector by replacing the nation’s transportation fleet with flex fuel vehicles so the marketplace can determine which feedstock, fuel generation processes and fuels are most competitive. Korin cited the volatile impact exerted on global economies by OPEC’s 1973 oil embargo and high oil prices during 2008. She added that there is an excellent business case for vehicles operating on electricity and flex fuels made from a combination of gasoline and a variety of alcohols (ethanol, methanol and butanol made from renewable energy sources).

Tim Murphy, INL’s Energy Storage and Transportation Systems manager, described INL’s ongoing plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and electric vehicle infrastructure demonstrations across America. He explained how INL’s Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity and Vehicle Data Management System are used to collect and analyze vehicle, battery and infrastructure data critical to the successful implementation of the eTec-Nissan-INL electric demonstration in the region.

Proposed Smart Mobility Hub at Freighthouse Square in Tacoma, WA – integrating information technology and sustainable transportation and smart growth principles.

“We are growing our relationships in the West and Pacific Northwest,” he said, “where we have found exceptionally receptive and proactive partners for researching e-vehicle technologies.”

In addition to the new electric Ford Focus, Cascadia hosted displays of Tesla’s electric roadster, Ford’s Hybrid Plug In SUV and Ranger EV truck, Toyota’s Prius, Rapid Electric Vehicles (REV), and Véhicule Électrique. Other alternative vehicles included Western Washington University’s biomethane compressed natural gas-powered vehicle and several propane-propelled vehicles.

Infrastructure demonstrations included charging station technologies from Plug In America, Charge Northwest, as well as vehicles and support technologies from Pacific EV, Evergreen Fleets, MC Electric Vehicles and more.

INL presented a large graphic display on transportation and clean energy systems, which detailed the Pacific Northwest vehicle testing programs, DOE/INL’s Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity and INL’s Hybrid Energy System concept with a proposed testing laboratory to research various combinations of energy systems.

by Keith Arterburn, INL Communications & Governmental Affairs – https://inlportal.inl.gov/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=1269&mode=2&featurestory=DA_526613

Bioelectricity More Efficient than Ethanol for Transportation, Study Shows May 10, 2009

In a new study published online yesterday in the journal Science, researchers led by Elliott Campbell of the University of California, Merced modeled entire fuel systems all the way from crop cultivation to vehicle propulsion, comparing cumulative greenhouse-gas emissions for both biofuels and bioelectricity. They found that the bioelectric pathway came out ahead of both corn ethanol and advanced cellulosic ethanol made from switchgrass.

“We expected that electricity would look better than corn ethanol, but it was surprising to see that this was also the case for the more advanced second-generation ethanols,” Campbell says. “In all cases, the electricity pathway uses a lot less land to achieve the same amount of transportation.”

The study suggests than electric vehicle powered by biomass will travel an average of 81% farther than an internal-combustion vehicle powered by cellulosic ethanol if both are produced from the same area of cropland.

The results also suggest that alternative bioenergy pathways have large differences in how efficiently they use the available land to achieve transportation and climate goals.

>>Listen to an interview with lead author Elliott Campbell from Science Podcast

Timothy B. Hurst, Gas 2.0 - http://gas2.org/2009/05/08/bioelectricity-more-efficient-than-ethanol-for-transportation-study-shows/

Oregon may get electric car plant April 17, 2009

Oregon is one of eight states in consideration for an electric car manufacturing plant that could employ 900 workers.

Representatives from Think North America will visit Portland on Tuesday in an appearance with Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a spokesman confirmed Friday morning.

The Norway-based company announced in March that it’s in discussions with eight states about building a manufacturing plant and technical center for its compact electric car, the Think city.

The plant would initially employ 300 and be capable of producing 16,000 cars per year. It would ultimately grow to 60,000 cars per year and 900 workers, the company said.

The tiny four-seat all-electric car can reach more than 60 mph and travel 112 miles on a single charge, operating either on sodium or lithium-ion batteries, the company claims. It’s designed to have a low carbon footprint and features recyclable plastic body panels and a fully recyclable interior.

Spokesman Brendan Prebo said the company hopes to get the price of the car down to $20,000 after tax incentives, but must reduce the cost of the battery to meet that goal.

U.S. production is expected to start in 2010, with the first-year volume of 2,500 units available to pilot and demonstration projects, the company said.

Thus far, the company has only identified California and Michigan, its North American headquarters, as Oregon’s competition for the plant.

The contest is moving quickly.

Prebo said the company will choose a site in the next couple of months in order to meet its goal of starting production by mid-2010.

That means Think is eyeing existing brownfield sites and preferably a location that has existing and available manufacturing space. Prebo said Think has identified several U.S. sites with existing manufacturing space, but wouldn’t say whether any of those were in Oregon.

Kulongoski has put a target on the fast-rising electric vehicle industry and hopes to cement Oregon’s reputation as an early adopter of the technology.

Already Portland holds the oft-cited record of having the most hybrid-fuel vehicles per capita of any city in the nation.

Portland General Electric Co. earlier this year began installing electric vehicle charging stations throughout its service station. And the state Department of Transportation earlier this week began soliciting bids for electric charging manufacturers, the first solicitation of its kind in the nation.

Kulongoski and Sen. Ron Wyden will join Think CEO Richard Canny for a test drive of a Think city vehicle Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. the World Trade Center building, next to PGE’s electric charging station at 121 S.W. Salmon Street.

Portland Business Journal – http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/03/30/daily53.html

EV Industry: Startups invest millions in scooter market March 25, 2009

When it comes to electric vehicles, the Tesla Roadster and Chevrolet Volt get all the love. But there are other EVs rolling around, and they’re balancing on two wheels.

Since 2007, when Vectrix of Middletown, R.I., first rode onto the scene with its battery-powered Maxi Scooter, a growing number of U.S. startups have entered the plug-in two-wheeler market. They’ve invested millions of dollars in vehicles, many of which are poised for production within a year.

Led by pioneers with impressive résumés, these companies predict growth despite the down economy, and they’re laying claim to niche markets with such boasts as “first” and “fastest” as they stake out territory in what many believe is the future of transportation.

“It’s amazing how inefficient the vehicles we’re driving today really are,” said Forrest North, founder and chief executive of Mission Motorsports, a San Francisco company that unveiled the prototype for its 150 mph, 150-mile-range electric motorcycle at the Technology, Entertainment, Design conference in Long Beach, Calif., last month.

“Electricity is just so many orders of magnitude more efficient that it’s the only way to go,” said North, a former mechanical designer with Tesla and leader of Stanford University’s solar-car team in the mid-1990s.

Like many EV entrepreneurs, North, 33, had looked into hydrogen and biodiesel as power sources but found them impractical. Hydrogen is abundant, but turning it into fuel and developing a distribution infrastructure is costly. Biodiesel can take more energy to produce than it generates.

With electricity, the infrastructure already exists: Electrical outlets are abundant. Battery technology is also improving by about 8 percent each year, North said, allowing bikes to easily upgrade once the chemistry comes along. Already, electric two-wheelers get the equivalent of about 300 to 500 miles per gallon. As technologies improve, they’ll be able to generate even more energy with less weight and cost.

Debut product

Billed as “the world’s fastest production electric sport bike,” Mission’s debut product is called the Mission One. Scheduled to ship in early 2010, its estimated retail price is $68,000 — most of which is attributable to a large lithium-ion battery pack designed to compete with a gas-powered, performance-oriented sport bike.

It’s the power-to-weight ratio of existing batteries that is, in part, driving development of electric two-wheelers.

Weighing less than 25 percent of a typical passenger car, two-wheeled scooters and motorcycles require fewer expensive batteries to bring them to speed. They are also simpler; they require fewer components and safety features; and they aren’t subject to the stringent governmental requirements for passenger cars.

That makes two wheels a less-complicated and less-expensive entry point than cars for entrepreneurs, which is why electric two-wheelers also are coming on the market faster and more affordably than their four-wheeled brethren. The majority of available electric two-wheelers cost less than $10,000.

Vectrix was the first company to manufacture a production electric two-wheeler. Since introducing its $11,000, 62 mph Maxi Scooter in August 2007, it has unveiled a second model and sold more than 1,500 vehicles globally. While that isn’t a lot compared with the millions of cars sold every year, it represents a 300 percent increase in annual sales from 2007 to 2008.

“Any time you bring a new technology to market, when you can horizontally grow that product, it validates to the consumer that it’s a real technology,” Vectrix Chief Executive Mike Boyle said. This spring, Vectrix will roll out a third scooter model, the $5,195, 30 mph VX-2.

Spring is also the launch date for two other electric two-wheelers — Zero Motorcycles’ Zero S and Brammo Motorsports’ Enertia. Like Vectrix, The S and Enertia are oriented toward the commuter market. Unlike Vectrix, they are motorcycles.

“The market is definitely getting excited for an electric motorcycle,” said Neal Saiki, 42, founder of Zero Motorcycles in Santa Cruz, Calif. “It’s going to grow really rapidly as people realize how practical and fun and fast these motorcycles are. They can be environmental and have fun.”

Ex-NASA engineer

Zero was the second manufacturer, after Vectrix, to make a production electric two-wheeler.

Founded by Saiki, a former NASA engineer, and funded, in part, by former Sun Microsystems executive Gene Banman, who now is Zero’s chief executive, Zero has sold 200 of its $7,500 Zero X models — an off-road electric motorcycle with a 50 mph maximum speed and 40-mile range off a single charge.

Craig Bramscher, of Brammo Motorsports in Ashland, Ore., says he raised $10 million in venture capital last year.

And when his 300 Enertia electric motorcycle rolls off the line in May, he’s thinking his company will be aided by the $787 billion stimulus package.

The program includes a 10 percent tax credit on the purchase price of two- and three-wheeled electric vehicles with batteries generating at least 2.5 kilowatt hours of power.

“It seems like the right place, right time,” said Bramscher, former owner of a software-technology firm. “A lot of people haven’t forgotten we’ve got an oil problem.”

By Susan Carpenter, Los Angeles Times – http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008905434_electricbikes23.html

Obama Announces $2.4 Billion for Electric Vehicles March 19, 2009

President Barack Obama today announced the launch of two major programs that will drive the development of the next generation of electric vehicles in the United States and support the growth of domestic jobs. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the release of two competitive solicitations for up to $2 billion in federal funding for competitively awarded cost-shared agreements for manufacturing of advanced batteries and related drive components as well as up to $400 million for transportation electrification demonstration and deployment projects.

By contributing to the reduction of petroleum use and greenhouse gas emissions, these projects will advance the United States’ economic recovery, national energy security, and environmental sustainability. Today’s announcement will also help meet the president’s goal of putting one million plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road by 2015.

EERE – http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=152

Ore. Electric ATV maker hopes to tap organic farm market March 15, 2009

Electric all-terrain vehicles may not impress the dune- and trail-riding crowd that rides for recreation, but a few small companies expect organic farmers and vineyard growers will pay a premium to gather cattle and spray vines without the carbon footprint of a gas vehicle.

While automakers are toiling to produce electric cars that will fit the demands of American drivers, Ashland-based Barefoot Motors is on the verge of turning out heavy-duty ATVs that can go 50 miles on a charge costing about 90 cents.

“I think a lot of attention is focused on the more glamorous vehicles—the cars,” said Chief Executive Max Scheder-Bieschin. “But there are lots of other applications where the strength of the technology can be focused.”

Debby Zygielbaum, vineyard manager at organic Robert Sinskey Vineyards in Napa, Calif., test-drove an early Barefoot prototype last year and is eager to be an early adopter when production starts in June. She’d like to haul her spraying equipment without fogging the vines with exhaust fumes, and the ATV could get free power from the vineyard’s solar panels.

“It’s becoming feasible where it will actually become a working vehicle to use in the field,” she said.

The Barefoot ATV’s $12,000 price is 50 percent higher than a heavy-duty gas-powered ATV. But with gas around $2 a gallon and electricity averaging 11.35 cents a kilowatt-hour nationally, the cost evens out over seven years if a farmer drives 5,000 miles a year. It’s even more cost-efficient for farms producing their own power from solar panels or manure digesters, and as gas prices go up.

Barefoot is not the first electric ATV coming to market. Bad Boy Buggies in Natchez, Miss., has vehicles intended for hunters. Doran Electric Vehicles in Huntington Beach, Calif., has been selling the Gorilla for years. Zap Electric Vehicles in Santa Rosa, Calif.—where Scheder-Bieschin formerly worked—has a model called the Dude coming out soon.

The high price of Barefoot’s model comes from the lithium iron phosphate batteries, the same technology General Motors Corp. is putting in the Chevrolet Volt electric car. To keep the price of the Dude around $5,000, Zap had to use lead-acid batteries, which charge slower and have less power.

“I think with electric vehicles, it’s going to be hard, unless you use very expensive and exotic battery technology, to match the performance and price of gasoline vehicles,” said Zap spokesman Alex Campbell. “Our goal was to simply make an affordable and powerful ATV that can satisfy the majority of the needs for ATV owners.”

Rick Doran, president of Doran Electric Vehicles, is also skeptical that electric ATVs will replace gas-powered machines. He said his company has sold only a couple hundred at prices around $8,000. Some have gone to underground mining operations and electric utilities where the lack of exhaust and short turning radius are a plus.

“Personally, I don’t think it’s practical yet,” he said of the technology.

But Scheder-Bieschin said customers don’t have to compromise on performance, as long as their needs fit the vehicle. Farms smaller than 1,000 acres are perfect. The vehicle can work the morning, get recharged at lunch, and go back out in the afternoon, all while staying close to their power source.

“Our goal is not necessarily to replace all the million ATVs sold every year,” he said. “There is room for a different technology. There may be people who love their noise, who love their Harleys. But a guy going up and down the rows of a vineyard doesn’t like the noise, doesn’t like the fumes. If we can get 10,000 of those guys every year we’ll be happy.”

Albert Straus, president of Straus Family Creamery in Marshall, Calif., is so into sustainability that his milk is sold in glass bottles, he uses methane gas from his cows to produce electricity and hot water, and he drives an electric Toyota RAV4 EV.

“My goal has been to get away from fossil fuels as much as possible,” he said.

But he finds it hard to justify the expense of buying an electric ATV for gathering cows and fixing fences until there are tax incentives.

“I think if we can get the government and society backing this type of technology, it is going to make things happen a lot faster,” he said.

Barefoot’s majority owner, Mary Jo Gresens, said the company plans to start slowly, producing 120 vehicles in the first year and growing with the awareness of global warming.

“Up until now, the ATV market has concentrated on fun, sport kinds of things,” said Gresens, a Detroit native who has worked in the automotive industry in the U.S. and Europe. “We’re not that vehicle.”

Barefoot’s first prototype was a stock utility ATV retrofitted with golf cart batteries. But engineers Dave Mounce and Eli Schless have put the production model together from the ground up, taking care to reduce drag from things like brakes and improve efficiency from the drivetrain and steering, which translates into greater range.

“We’re talking about a Yugo versus a Ferrari as far as the level of technological difference,” Mounce said.

Components will be outsourced—batteries from China, most of the rest from the U.S.—and assembled in Ashland. Barefoot expects to expand its staff from five people to as many as 15 when production gets going.

The company started in Santa Rosa, Calif., in 2007, and moved to Oregon to be closer to the growing organic farming and vineyard market and take advantage of Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s efforts to promote green energy.

Current tax credits for electric vehicles apply only to on-road vehicles, but the budget pending in the Legislature would go even further to promote renewable sources of electricity, particularly solar, said Jillian Schoene, a spokeswoman for the governor.

KEZI – http://kdrv.com/news/business/story-98099

Clean Energy Aspects of now signed recovery act February 18, 2009

President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on Tuesday and the measure includes US $16.8 billion for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The funding is a nearly tenfold increase for EERE, which received $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2008.

The act also directs DOE to analyze the nation’s electrical grid to determine if significant potential sources of renewable energy are locked out of the electrical market by a lack of adequate transmission capacity. DOE must then provide recommendations for achieving adequate transmission capacity.

While the bulk of the new EERE funding is supporting direct grants and rebates, $2.5 billion will support EERE’s applied research, development and deployment activities, including $800 million for the Biomass Program, $400 million for the Geothermal Technologies Program, and $50 million for efforts to increase the energy efficiency of information and communications technologies.

An additional $400 million will support efforts to add electric technologies to vehicles. And separate from the EERE budget, $400 million will support the establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), an agency to support innovative energy research, modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The economic stimulus act also stipulates that $5 billion will go towards the Weatherization Assistance Program, and the act also increases the eligible income level under the program, increases the funding assistance level to $6,500 per home, and allows new weatherization assistance for homes that were weatherized as recently as 1994.

A complementary measure in the act provides $4 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to rehabilitate and retrofit public housing, including increasing the energy efficiency of units, plus an additional $510 million to do the same for homes maintained by Native American housing programs. HUD will receive an additional $250 million to increase the energy efficiency of HUD-sponsored, low-income housing.

The act also directs $2 billion in EERE funds toward grants for the manufacturing of advanced battery systems and components within the United States, as well as the development of supporting software. The battery grants will support advanced lithium-ion batteries and hybrid electric systems. Another $300 million will support an Alternative Fueled Vehicles Pilot Grant Program, and an additional $300 million will support rebates for energy efficient appliances, while also supporting DOE’s efforts under the Energy Star Program.

The act also stipulates that $3.2 billion will go toward Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, which were established in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, but were not previously funded. The grants will go toward states, local governments and tribal governments to support the development of energy efficiency and conservation strategies and programs, including energy audit programs and projects to install fuel cells and solar, wind, and biomass power projects at government buildings. For background on the program, see pages 176-183 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

The act also stipulates that $3.1 billion of EERE funds will go toward the State Energy Program for additional grants that don’t need to be matched with state funds, but the act only allows such grants for states that intend to adopt strict building energy codes and intend to provide utility incentives for energy efficiency measures. To help states implement the measures, a separate portion of the act allocates $500 million to the Department of Labor to prepare workers for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Renewable Energy and Smart Grids

The act includes $6 billion to support loan guarantees for renewable energy and electric transmission technologies. The funds are expected to guarantee more than $60 billion in loans. The act requires the DOE Loan Guarantee Program to only make loan guarantees to projects that will start construction by September 30, 2011, and that involve renewable energy, electric transmission, or leading-edge biofuel technologies.

The act also directs DOE to analyze the nation’s electrical grid to determine if significant potential sources of renewable energy are locked out of the electrical market by a lack of adequate transmission capacity. DOE must then provide recommendations for achieving adequate transmission capacity. To help achieve those recommendations, the act includes a provision allowing the Western Area Power Administration to borrow up to $3.25 billion from the U.S. Treasury for transmission system upgrades, particularly for facilitating the delivery of power from renewable energy facilities.

In addition, the act provides $4.5 billion for the DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability for activities to modernize the nation’s electrical grid, integrate demand-response equipment and analyze, develop and implement smart grid technologies. The funds will also support research in energy storage technologies, efforts to facilitate recovery from energy supply disruptions and efforts to enhance the security and reliability of the nation’s energy infrastructure. A complementary section of the act opens smart grid demonstration projects to electric systems in all areas of the country and establishes a smart grid information clearinghouse to share data from the demonstration projects.

Greener Federal Buildings and Fleets

Federal buildings and fleets will become greener under a measure of the new bill. The act provides $4.5 billion to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to convert federal buildings into high-performance green buildings, which generally combine energy efficiency and renewable energy production to minimize the energy use of the buildings. The act also directs $4 million toward the establishment of an Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings within the GSA. In addition, the act provides $100 million for the Energy Conservation Investment Program within the Department of Defense, as well as another $100 million for energy conservation and alternative energy projects at facilities of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

For federal vehicle fleets, the act provides $300 million to cover the costs of acquiring greener motor vehicles, including hybrids, electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid vehicles, once they become commercially available. Buying plug-in hybrids could be an iffy proposition, however, as the funds must be spent by September 30, 2011.

Renewable Energy Tax Credits

The tax section of the act provides a three-year extension of the production tax credit (PTC) for most renewable energy facilities, while offering expansions on and alternatives for tax credits on renewable energy systems. The extension keeps the wind energy PTC in effect through 2012, while keeping the PTC alive for municipal solid waste, qualified hydropower, and biomass and geothermal energy facilities through 2013.

In addition, a two-year extension of the PTC for marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy systems will keep that tax credit in effect through 2013. The PTC provides a credit for every kilowatt-hour produced at new qualified facilities during the first 10 years of operation, provided the facilities are placed in service before the tax credit’s expiration date.

For 2008, biomass facilities fueled with dedicated energy crops (“closed-loop biomass”), as well as wind, solar, and geothermal energy facilities earned 2.1 cents per kilowatt-hour, while other qualified facilities earned 1 cent per kilowatt-hour.

Unfortunately, the current slump in business activity means that fewer businesses are seeking tax credits, which means that renewable energy producers are having trouble taking advantage of the PTC. With that in mind, the act also allows owners of non-solar renewable energy facilities to make an irrevocable election to earn a 30% investment credit rather than the PTC. The option remains in effect for the current period of the PTC, that is, through 2012 for wind energy facilities and through 2013 for other qualified renewable energy facilities.

Alternately, the facility owner could choose to receive a grant equal to 30% of the tax basis (that is, the reportable business investment) for the facility, so long as the facility is depreciable or amortizable. The grants are also available for renewable energy facilities that would normally earn a business energy credit of 10%-30%, including systems using fuel cells, solar energy, small wind turbines, geothermal energy, microturbines and combined heat and power (CHP) technologies.

To earn a grant, the facility must be placed in service in 2009 or 2010, or construction must begin in either of those years and must be completed prior to the termination of the PTC. For facilities that would normally earn a business tax credit, construction must be completed prior to 2017. The grants will be paid directly from the U.S. Treasury. A separate measure in the act removes limitations on the business credit based on how the systems are financed and also removes a business credit limit on small wind energy systems.

The stimulus bill also provides greater tax credits for clean energy projects at homes and businesses and for the manufacturers of clean energy technologies. For homeowners, the act increases a 10% tax credit for energy efficiency improvements to a 30% tax credit, eliminates caps for specific improvements (such as windows and furnaces), and instead establishes an aggregate cap of $1,500 for all improvements placed in service in 2009 and 2010 (except biomass systems, which must be placed in service after the act is enacted).

The act also tightens the energy efficiency requirements to meet current standards. For residential renewable energy systems, the act removes all caps on the tax credits, which equal 30% of the cost of qualified solar energy systems, geothermal heat pumps, small wind turbines and fuel cell systems. The act also eliminates a reduction in credits for installations with subsidized financing.

For businesses and individuals buying electric vehicles, the act simplifies and expands the available tax credits. For electric low-speed vehicles, motorcycles, and three-wheeled vehicles, a 10% tax credit is available through 2011, with a cap of $2,500. For vehicles converted into qualified plug-in electric vehicles, a 10% tax credit is also available through 2011, with a cap of $4,000. And starting in 2010, full-scale commercial plug-in electric vehicles can earn a maximum tax credit of $7,500, depending on their battery capacity. The credit will phase out over a year for each manufacturer after they sell 200,000 plug-in vehicles.

The act also provides a bonus to homeowners or business owners installing clean fuel refueling systems at their homes or businesses. For businesses, the maximum credit for installing such refueling systems increases to $50,000 for most systems, up from $30,000, and it increases to $200,000 for hydrogen refueling stations. For homeowners, the credit is doubled from $1,000 to $2,000. Homeowners might install their own natural gas refueling system for a natural gas vehicle, or they might install recharging systems for plug-in electric vehicles. The credit is available through 2010 for most refueling systems and through 2014 for hydrogen refueling systems.

The economic stimulus act has also added a new tax credit to encourage investment in the manufacturing facilities that help make such clean energy projects possible. A new 30% investment tax credit is available for projects that establish, re-equip or expand manufacturing facilities for fuel cells, microturbines, renewable fuel refineries and blending facilities, energy saving technologies, smart grid technologies and solar, wind and geothermal technologies.

The credit also applies to the manufacture of plug-in electric vehicles and their electric components, such as battery packs, electric motors, generators and power control units. The credit may also be expanded in the future to include other energy technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Secretary of Treasury must establish a certification program within the next 180 days and may allocate up to $2.3 billion in tax credits.

Clean Energy Bonds Expanded

Two bonding mechanisms for financing renewable energy and energy efficiency systems have been expanded under the tax section of the act. The act authorizes the allocation of as much as $1.6 billion in new Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs), which are tax credit bonds for financing renewable energy projects. CREBs were previously limited to a maximum of $800 million. The act also authorizes the allocation of $2.4 billion in qualified energy conservation bonds, up from the current limit of $800 million. These tax credit bonds are allocated to states and large local governments to finance a variety of clean energy projects.

Unlike normal bonds that pay interest, tax credit bonds pay the bondholders by providing a credit against their federal income tax. In effect, the new tax credit bonds will provide interest-free financing for clean energy projects. But because the federal government essentially pays the interest via tax credits, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service must allocate such credits in advance. However, tax credit bonds require the investment of a bondholder that will benefit from the federal tax credits, and those investors may be hard to find during the current business downturn. To try to draw more investment, a separate measure in the tax bill will allow regulated investment companies to pass through to their shareholders the tax credits earned by such bonds. Yet another measure adds a prevailing wage requirement to projects financed with CREBs or energy conservation bonds.

RenewableEnergyNews.com – http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/02/clean-energy-aspects-of-the-american-recovery-and-reinvestment-act

South Seattle CC offers electric vehicle classes January 27, 2009

South Seattle Community College, in partnership with the Seattle Elecctric Vehicle Association, is offering a number of non-credit electric vehicle classes, including a six-day Electric Vehicle Conversion workshop. Team-taught by a group of experienced instructors who have converted over two dozen vehicles, the six-day workshop guides students through the complete process of converting a vehicle from a gasoline engine to electric power. By the end of the workshop, the group will have completed one running electric car conversion capable of highway speeds, with a 30-60 mile range on one charge.

Electric Vehicle Conversion Workshop: 8 am – 5 pm M T W Th F Sa 3/30-4/4 $899

Additional non-credit Electric Vehicle classes:

Electric Vehicle Technology: Learn the current best practices in electric vehicle technology; see tooling used in electric car conversions, and more. 6:30 – 8:30 pm T 2/3 $29

Electric Vehicles – Introduction: Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of all forms of electric vehicles including street vehicles, both freeway capable and NEV’s (Neighborhood Electric Vehicles), electric racing, electric boats, electric assisted bicycles, and scooters. Bio-Diesel, Ethanol, CNG, wind power, and solar power, and especially the vibrant movement toward Plug-In Hybrid cars will be discussed. Two sessions offered. 6 – 9 pm W 3/4 $49 or 9 am – 12 pm S 3/28 $49

Electric Vehicles – Batteries: Topics include: general overview of popular suitable batteries for EVs; comparison of costs and specs on various batteries available; calculating the kWhr rating of my pack; how to extend battery life; charging and recycling of batteries. Two sessions offered. 6 – 9 pm W 3/11 $49 or 1-5 pm S 3/28 $49

Electric Vehicle Safety Systems: Learn how to keep your electric vehicle safe; how a DC system works, what parts go into it, and why you should have these parts. 6:30 – 8:30 pm T 2/17 $29

Electric Vehicle classes fill quickly and interested students are encouraged to sign up early.

Register online at www.LearnAtSouth.org, or call (260) 764-5339 for more information.

http://www.westseattleherald.com/articles/2009/01/27/news/local_news/news08.txt

Electric car line designed and to be manufactured in Portland December 9, 2008

After three years of quietly designing prototypes, Porteon Electric Vehicles Inc. wants to raise $15 million to begin production of a lineup of electric cars.

With volatile gas prices and frenzied consumer demand for green products, CEO Ken Montler said the company’s potential is enormous.

“We will not be limited by sales, but by how fast we want to crank up manufacturing” said Montler from the company’s unmarked office in Northwest Portland.

Whether manufacturing will happen in Portland, however, remains an open question.

The company wants to make its cars here, but Montler said local officials, such as Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Mayor-elect Sam Adams, remain focused on attracting Asian automakers at the expense of local companies.

Meanwhile, Porteon is being wooed by other states, as well as Mexico. The opportunities to manufacture elsewhere could be too good to pass up.

“We want to assemble in Portland,” Montler said. “Everybody wants us to move.”

Montler doesn’t want to compete with General Motors, Toyota, or other traditional automakers building highway-friendly electric vehicles.

Porteon’s vehicles, which will retail for around $10,000, are designed for 35 mph speed limits and get about 40 miles per charge, making them more useful as secondary vehicles.

Montler, a former executive of Gem Electric Motorcars, said the vehicles are designed to serve urban communities. He said 75 percent of all vehicle trips are short jaunts to the grocery story or other neighborhood destinations.

http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/12/08/story6.html?b=1228712400^1743054