Frankly Green

Hawaii in Early Stages of Energy Revolution

By John King, CNN Chief National Correspondent

View Full Article via www.cnn.com

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Using alternate energy, Susan Chandler's energy bill is a third of what it was a year ago
  
• Hawaii's electricity rates are the highest in the country
  
• State law now requires new homes to use solar panels at least to heat hot water

It was an energy audit at work that first nudged Susan Chandler to think green.

"The first thing I did was change all my light bulbs" to energy-efficient models, Chandler said during a recent visit to her Honolulu home. "Then I started tracking my energy bill."

She began walking into rooms her husband and son had just left to turn off the lights. A significant cutback in the use of the clothes dryer was another step. Still, Chandler said she wanted to do more.

"So I put up the panels."

World's First Sun-Powered City

Video: Waves and Tides Next Frontier for Energy Exploration

Lithium Batteries Charge Ahead

Thanks to Terry G. for sending in this article!

Researchers demonstrate cells that can power up in seconds.

Geoff Brumfiel
Link to Article

Two researchers have developed battery cells that can charge up in less time than it takes to read the first two sentences of this article. The work could eventually produce ultra-fast power packs for everything from laptop computers to electric vehicles.

Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge have found a way to get a common lithium compound to release and take up lithium ions in a matter of seconds. The compound, which is already used in the electrodes of some commercial lithium-ion batteries, might lead to laptop batteries capable of charging themselves in about a minute. The work appears in Nature1 this week.

Silver Spring's Smart Look at Power

Thanks to my friend Ryan for this article. Having real-time information about consumption can really change behavior and encourage conservation. Someday we will all have real-time displays in our homes that will allow us to monitor our consumption and see what we are paying for it in real-time. Very cool stuff!

by Rebecca Buckman - Forbes.com
Link to article

The stock market's blowup is crippling many Silicon Valley startups that need cash. Raising funds privately is hard, going to the public markets next to impossible.

Then there's an outlier: Silver Spring Networks, an under-the-radar firm that expects $100 million-plus in revenue this year and double that in 2010. The Redwood City, Calif. company boasts big-name backers and is making a play in the politically popular business of upgrading the nation's aging, out-of-shape electric grid. (The Obama stimulus package contains money for "smart grid" projects, among other goodies.)

Silver Spring's networking gear is being deployed on a large scale by utilities such as California's Pacific Gas & Electric and Washington, D.C.'s Pepco Holdings, which together have 7 million customers. Last year the company hired Warren Jenson, who ran the books at Amazon.com and nbc, as financial chief. He presumably knows a thing or two about managing money at a public company.

Homeowners Can Harness the Wind

Paul Kilduff, San Francisco Chronicle
Link to Article

When it comes to renewable energy, a new wind may literally be blowing on the horizon: a small but growing movement to erect wind turbines on or near urban rooftops.

Once associated with farms and other rural environments, wind turbines are making their way to the city. Although still a tiny industry - the American Wind Energy Association estimates that just 1 percent of the 10,000 turbines purchased annually are of the small rooftop or residential variety - the current interest in wind as a renewable energy resource is undeniable. Celebrities like Jay Leno and Ed Begely Jr. have installed them. Boston's Logan Airport has a set. Even New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is calling for wind turbines on the city's skyscrapers and bridges.

Video: From Dump to Dump

One man believes he has found a way to become more energy self-sufficient.

8 Solar Gadgets, From Serious to Silly

Looking for so solar powered holiday gifts? Check out this piece on MSNBC!

From a cell phone-charging ski jacket to a battery-extending iPhone case

Link to Article

Friedman: Bailout (and Buildup)

Another great piece by Thomas Friedman!

Link to Article

“Is the economic crisis going to be the end of green?” asks David Rothkopf, energy consultant and author of “Superclass.” “Or, could green be the way to end the economic crisis?”

It has to be the latter. We can’t afford a financial bailout that also isn’t a green buildup — a buildup of a new clean energy industry that strengthens America and helps the planet.

But how do we do that without any policy to affect the price signal for gasoline and carbon?

Here are some ideas: First, Washington could impose a national renewable energy standard that would require every utility in the country to produce 20 percent of its power from clean, non-CO2-emitting, energy sources — wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, biomass — by 2025. About half the states already have these in place, but they are all different. It would create a huge domestic pull for renewable energy if we had a uniform national mandate.

Charging Stations for Electric Cars Growing in Number

   

    * Public charging stations for electric cars are sparse around the country
    * Most electric car owners charge at home while sleeping
    * More public charging stations are popping up in states like California, Oregon

Thanks to Jim A. for this link!

Link to Article

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- Owning an electric vehicle requires more than global-cooling ambitions. It takes guile, planning, sharp vision, a silver tongue -- and a 50-foot extension cord.

Steve Bernheim knows accessible outlets like a firefighter knows hydrants. He has to -- his Corbin Sparrow runs only 25 miles on a charge.

"You do guerrilla charging where you locate these plugs," said Bernheim, an attorney who lives in the Seattle suburb of Edmonds. "I'm an expert at finding them."