The Ability of Light to Produce Electrons, and Thus Electricity, Has Been Known For Over 100 Years.

At the Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Sandia National Laboratories, scientists have developed tiny glitter-sized photovoltaic cells that could revolutionize the way solar energy is collected and used.

The tiny solar particles, fabricated of crystalline silicon, hold the potential for a variety of new applications. They are expected eventually to be less expensive and have greater efficiencies than current photovoltaic collectors that are pieced together with 6-inch- square solar wafers.

The cells are fabricated using micro-electronic and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) techniques common to today’s electronic foundries.

Sandia lead investigator Greg Nielson said the research team has identified more than 20 benefits of scale for its micro-photovoltaic cells. These include new applications, improved performance, potential for reduced costs and higher efficiencies.

“Eventually units could be mass-produced and wrapped around unusual shapes for building-integrated solar, tents and maybe even clothing,” he said. This would make it possible for hunters, hikers or military personnel in the field to recharge batteries for phones, cameras and other electronic devices as they walk or rest.

For large-scale power generation, said Sandia researcher Murat Okandan, “One of the biggest scale benefits is a significant reduction in manufacturing and installation costs compared with current PV techniques.”

Part of the potential cost reduction comes about because microcells require relatively little material to form well-controlled and highly efficient devices.

From 14 to 20 micrometers thick (a human hair is approximately 70 micrometers thick) and 0.25 to 1 millimeter across, they are 10 times thinner than conventional 6-inch-by-6-inch brick-sized cells, yet perform at about the same efficiency.

100 times less silicon generates same amount of electricity.

“Since they are much smaller and have fewer mechanical deformations for a given environment than the conventional cells, they may also be more reliable over the long term”, said Okandan.

Another manufacturing convenience is that the cells, because they are only hundreds of micrometers in diameter, can be fabricated from commercial wafers of any size, including today’s 300-millimeter (12-inch) diameter wafers and future 450-millimeter (18-inch) wafers. Further, if one cell proves defective in manufacture, the rest still can be harvested, while if a brick-sized unit goes bad, the entire wafer may be unusable. Also, brick-sized units fabricated larger than the conventional 6-inch-by-6-inch cross section to take advantage of larger wafer size would require thicker power lines to harvest the increased power, creating more cost and possibly shading the wafer. That problem does not exist with the small-cell approach and its individualized wiring.

Other unique features are available because the cells are so small. “The shade tolerance of our units to overhead obstructions is better than conventional PV panels,” said Nielson, “because portions of our units not in shade will keep sending out electricity where a partially shaded conventional panel may turn off entirely.”

Each cell is formed on silicon wafers, etched and then released inexpensively in hexagonal shapes, with electrical contacts prefabricated on each piece, by borrowing techniques from integrated circuits and MEMS.

Offering a run for their money to conventional large wafers of crystalline silicon, electricity presently can be harvested from the Sandia-created cells with 14.9 percent efficiency. Off-the-shelf commercial modules range from 13 to 20 percent efficient.

A widely used commercial tool called a pick-and-place machine — the current standard for the mass assembly of electronics — can place up to 130,000 pieces of glitter per hour at electrical contact points pre-established on the substrate (including flexible substrates); the placement takes place at cooler temperatures. The cost is approximately one-tenth of a cent per piece with the number of cells per module determined by the level of optical concentration and the size of the die, likely to be in the 10,000 to 50,000 cell per square meter range. An alternate technology, still at the lab-bench stage, involves self-assembly of the parts at even lower costs.

Solar concentrators — low-cost, prefabricated, optically efficient microlens arrays — can be placed directly over each glitter-sized cell to increase the number of photons arriving to be converted via the photovoltaic effect into electrons. The small cell size means that cheaper and more efficient short focal length microlens arrays can be fabricated for this purpose.

High-voltage output is possible directly from the modules because of the large number of cells in the array. This should reduce costs associated with wiring, due to reduced resistive losses at higher voltages.

Other possible applications for the technology include satellites and remote sensing.

The work is supported by DOE’s Solar Energy Technology Program and Sandia’s Laboratory Directed Research & Development program.

….. as the green future unfolds.

Rinspeed’s Zero Emission sQuba

Go ahead and day dream, it’s supposedly good for you and you can have what ever you want without costing a dime. Need a subject? Well picture this; the futuristic 2 door sportster “sQuba” is a James Bond inspired, zero-emissions, electric aqua-car from CEO Frank M. Rinderknecht and the geniuses at Swiss Rinspeed Design Company. The sQuba “moves like a fish in water” to depths of up to 33 feet (10 meters) and still manages to reach speeds of around 75mph (120kmh) when on dry land. In the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, 007 dove below the waves in a futuristic vehicle that moments before seemed to be an ‘ordinary’ car. Well, that really didn’t happen – it was movie magic. Not only is this vehicle real, it’s better because it’s green. The zero-emissions sQuba can transport a driver and passenger in its open cockpit design which is intended to allow the occupants easy escape, in case of emergency. When underwater, the occupants breathe air carried in the vehicle through scuba-style rebreathers and without occupants the sQuba will surface automatically.

The twin water jets mounted on rotating louvers at the front of the vehicle provide steering and lift while it is underwater and the propellers at the rear provide forward movement. On dry land a single 54 kW electric rear-wheel drive powertrain, utilizing rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, powers the sQuba allowing it to achieve 0-50 mph (0-80kmh) in 7.1 seconds. In the water it will do 4 mph (6 kmh) on the surface and 1.5 mph (3 kmh) underwater.

The sQuba features powerful yet energy-saving LED lighting technology and employs carbon nano-tubes to keep the weight down and buoyancy just right. It floats on the surface until the operator floods the interior to submerge. It is designed to “fly” when underwater like a submarine, not to drive along the surface at the bottom of the water. The salt-water resistant interior of the one-off (Lotus Elise) concept is built to stand the punishment of a marine environment and yet able to feature genuine mother-of-pearl trim and diamond-plated non-slip inlays. The high-tech instrument cluster and controls create a futuristic ambiance and allow controlling all vehicle functions even while submerged.

But that’s not all! On terra firma the sQuba can drive entirely autonomously (without a driver), at the touch of a button made possible by laser technology called LUX from the Hamburg-based company, Ibeo. LUX laser sensors permit a variety of driver assistance functions using one single small device, such as automatic emergency braking, pedestrian protection, collision protection, traffic jam assistant and others.

Rinderknecht sai d that because they have used a zero emission engine, it was very clear from the beginning to minimize the pollution in every aspect, especially because this vehicle also moves in the precious element of water. All the lubricants and greases in use are made rapidly biodegradable.

The prototype cost more than $1.5 million to build. When the sQuba enters production, they are expected to “cost less than a Rolls-Royce”, according to Rinderknecht.

Rinderknecht is known for his extraordinary automotive creations. The acknowledged James Bond enthusiast kept revisiting that scene in his mind over and over: “For three decades I have tried to imagine how it might be possible to build a car that can fly under water. Now we have made this dream come true. The sQuba lets me be one with the elements and lets me immerse myself in a new and fascinating world. It is our duty to protect this world in which we are guests to the best of our ability.”

If Rinspeed can devote enough resources to a concept car obviously marketed as a “toy for rich people”, yet at the same time ensure that the vehicle maintain an environmental consciousness, that should be a wake up call to those who would steer away from ecological innovation and continue to toe the status quo line.

I take my green-dreaming – shaken, not stirred.

…. as the green future unfolds.

Home Wind Systems are Selling well in spite of a soft US economy.  Wind Energy 7 is
helping homeowners to build and install wind/solar hybrid systems.  They have complete
kits of matching components starting at $2450 and going up to whatever size project a
customer needs. The best selling is the smaller rooftop mounted turbines that connect
with a solar panel to give clean reliable power.

Rooftop wind turbine and solar hybrid

The cycles of heavy wind season in winter, heavy solar season in summer go hand in
hand with their hybrid wind/solar systems.

Wherever wind resources are available, a solar system should have a wind turbine to
supplement it.   Wind blows more at night, sun is stronger by day. Wind is stronger
in winter seasons, sun is stronger in summer seasons. Our systems have more balance
than a straight wind or solar system. By combining wind/solar as a hybrid system,
their charging capability is more steady and consistant.

Wind Energy 7 designs, develop, and fabricate wind/solar hybrid energy products
that they sell online.  Customers have found the kits to be easy to deploy and
understand.

I know this is still expensive for most folks but it is a start with the right
combination.  From what I can tell this will take care of most of your energy
needs.

Planet Green is now in Greensburg filming 6 new episodes on how the town is
coming along in their effort to be the first green town in America.

They also went on the trip to China for the EcoPartnership with a town hit by the
earthquakes. There were 4 guys from Greensburg that went on that trip. The new mayor
(Bob Dixon) the City Administrator (Steve Hewitt) the Superintendent (Darin Headrick)
and the President of the Chamber (Steve Kirk).

Greensburg was one of seven governmental or business entities of this country signing
separate cooperative agreements with corresponding Chinese agencies as part of the
American-Sino affair. Greensburg’s agreement was a three-year cooperative partnership
with the Chinese city of Mianzhu, a part of Sichuan Province, where a devastating
earthquake last May 12 killed nearly 100,000 Chinese, including around 10,000 school
children.

Steve Hewitt said two things that stand out for him was visiting what was their
version of FEMAville at one spot, where they had 30,000 people living in one area
of government housing. We complained back here about having to live in trailers,
but we at least had running water and sewer, which they didn’t. Little separate
cubicles with paper thin walls, no insulation, and no heat. But the people there
were so positive. Steve says he remembers one gentleman was set up in a little
makeshift shop outside his quarters with a shoe repair business. You saw that over
and over. A second thing that struck him was seeing the rebuilding of a special needs
school.

Steve also says the main thing that hit him is the difference in how we’ve been able
to approach our rebuilding in Greensburg as a part of the U.S. We’ve been able to
meet as a City and as a County, to hold open meetings to make a lot of our own
decisions as to how we were going to proceed, how much we wanted to make use of the
federal and state government’s help, and so forth. Over there, the central government
sends down to the local people how they’re going to rebuild, it’s all directed from
central planning. It gets done a lot faster that way — no months spent dealing and
renegotiating with FEMA — but it’s mostly out of the local peoples hands. I have a
much greater appreciation for how our democratic society works and allows us to
participate. We can learn a lot from their spirit and attitude, but I like our
process a lot better.

As we learn more about going green in other countries, we may find that we
may approach it differently but come to the same result.

My bet is that they learned alot from the trip and the folks that they talked
with will be coming to Greensburg in the spring to see how the city has been
rebuilt.

There will be more news next week just to tide you over… until then.

If you do not think that there is a movement beginning, you are wrong!

A little town very close to me here in deep East Texas, Lindale, has decided
they need to develop some opportunities to grow the city.  They are now working
with Decker Energy International, Inc., a Florida based privately held company,
to assist them in building a 35-50 megawatt wood-fired biomass power plant.
This plant will have 25 full time jobs.  Along with more jobs to build it. Yeah!

The proposed site is 43 acres that is currently owned by the Lindale Economic
Development Corporation (LEDC) which will also be part of the Lindale
Industrial Park.  This project will cost the city about $130 million.

They have already applied for a air quality permit from the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality.  This a lengthy process that takes a couple of
months as the commission will have to ascertain whether this project will
be detrimental to the health of the public.  The plant will be called
Lindale Renewable Energy.

The plant is part of a “green initiative” in that biomass energy provides
significant greenhouse gas benefits and is carbon neutral because no new
carbon is added to the active carbon cycle.

Wood chips would be used as fuel for an enclosed boiler to create steam,
which drives a steam turbine.  The wood used would come from construction,
demolition waste, forest residuals, and of course, storm damage.

According to Decker Energy, the use of waste wood products for fuel instead
of allowing them to decay in a landfill, on the forest floor, or on the
side of the road, helps reduce the quantities of methane production.

The plant will be able to supply 40,000 homes and that the electric co-ops
could purchase the energy without affecting the consumers electricity rates.

So far, there is no opposition to the proposed plant.  It will take approx.
1 year before ground can be broken.  And since NO COAL is involved with this
plant, there should be only steam coming from the pipes to be seen probably
on cold nights.

The grass roots movement of going green is alive and well in deep East Texas.

Energy efficiency boom leads 9 clean technology predictions for 2009

SHANGHAI, China, December 4th, 2008 – Continuing an annual tradition, the Cleantech
Group™, founders of the cleantech investment category and providers of leading global
market research and financial services for the cleantech ecosystem, today issued nine
predictions for clean technology markets in 2009, forecasting progress in some sectors,
but delays and setbacks in others.

A reflection of undercurrents in the global clean technology category from the company’s
conversations with industry and government leadership worldwide, the nine predictions
include a global focus on energy efficiency as a job creation and economic engine, and an
increase in valuations of global wind companies.

At the same time, challenges are predicted in the year ahead, including a doubling in the
failure rate of cleantech startups, delays in global climate change and U.S. carbon cap
and trade legislation, a decline in clean technology venture investment from an all-time
peak in 2008 and a shakeout in thin film solar.

“This list reflects input from industry and government figures in places like Singapore,
Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Dubai, London, Barcelona, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and
Johannesburg,” said Cleantech Group Executive Chairman Nicholas Parker, introducing the
predictions at a press conference at the company’s Cleantech Forum™ event in Shanghai, an
industry gathering of hundreds of the world’s leading clean technology investors,
entrepreneurs, policy makers and large corporate buyers of clean technologies.

The Cleantech Group’s nine predictions for 2009 are as follows:

1. Energy efficiency infrastructure boom initiated
The Cleantech Group sees a quadruple bottom-line benefit driving a global focus on energy
efficiency in 2009. Energy efficiency drives job creation, boosts secular competiveness,
addresses the need for carbon reduction and reduces the demand for imported energy. And
with a relatively short lead time to enter the market, the company thinks energy
efficiency will be a common denominator around investments in generating green jobs and
renewed clean infrastructure in 2009 and moving forward.

2. Global climate talks bog down – no serious deal until 2011/12
Governments have reiterated their commitments to moving the climate change agenda
forward, but the Cleantech Group forecasts that governments are going to find themselves
distracted, and conversations are going to become more complex than realized. Technology
transfer to India and China, for instance, is expected to be a conflict point. The
company does not see a global deal in 2009, possibly not even in 2010.

3. U.S. passes national RPS, but cap & trade bill only in 2010
U.S. president-elect Barack Obama says he’s committed to a carbon cap and trade bill, but
the Cleantech Group expects it will take the U.S. Congress until 2010 to get it passed,
forecasting slow progress because of the complexity of issues, and political pushing and
shoving. Cleantech Group projects a U.S. national RPS (renewable portfolio standard) to
be passed beforehand in 2009.

4. Wind stocks come back; thin film PV shakeout
Many clean technology stocks are currently under siege on worldwide markets. However, the
Cleantech Group expects wind stocks in particular to surge in 2009, partly driven by a
new national RPS in the U.S., continued growth in China and emerging awareness of wind as
one of the most cost competitive alternative energy asset classes. At the same time, the
company cites over-investment in thin film photovoltaics (PV) in the private capital
markets and inflated valuations in the public capital markets as driving failures and
consolidations in thin film solar in 2009.

5. Clean technology VC stabilizes at $7B globally; PE more active
While a robust amount of capital has entered the clean technology space over the last 6-8
weeks, Cleantech Group sees a slight decline globally in venture capital (VC) investment,
down from a predicted 8 billion in 2008 to 7 billion in 2009, forecasting a possible
decline in venture capital entering the sector for the first time in the history of
cleantech. It also forecasts more private equity (PE) players entering venture capital,
and perhaps a slight retreat for hedge funds.

6. Failure rate of cleantech startups doubles
The Cleantech Group believes clean technology investors, as in other sectors, will focus
in 2009 on the most promising companies in their portfolios, and allow the weaker or
cash-constrained ones to merge, be acquired or fail. It expects the failure rate of earl
stage cleantech companies to potentially double this year, up from the typical 20 percent
to about 40 percent.

7. IT turns to the energy opportunity
While forward-looking IT and telecom companies like IBM, Autodesk, Cisco, Intel and
Applied Materials have been engaged in clean technology for some time, the Cleantech
Group predicts the IT industry will seize energy as a significant 2009 revenue
opportunity. Growth sectors are expected to include integrated energy management systems,
smart grid, carbon content reduction in supply chains, next generation solar materials
and systems, among others.

8. R&D stagnates; corporates acquire green growth assets
With government and large corporation research and development (R&D) spending on energy
and other clean technologies largely flat, the Cleantech Group predicts 2009 will be a
year of acquisitions of green growth assets. For example, a notable deal in late November
was Panasonic’s acquisition of Sanyo in Japan, primarily because of its solar and battery
divisions.

9. Energy-water-food nexus emerges
There is increased recognition of the relationship between energy and food – as evidenced
this past year regarding the tradeoffs of grain based ethanol. And there is some
understanding of the relationship between energy and water (much energy is used move
water for agricultural purposes.) But there isn’t yet a wide understanding of the
confluence of the three. The Cleantech Group forecasts an increasing awareness of this
nexus in the coming year, and predicts that smart entrepreneurs and investors bringing
solutions to the table will enjoy triple returns if helping to address all three of these
challenges at once.

About the Cleantech Group, LLC
The Cleantech Group pioneered the cleantech investment category in 2002. Today, it
accelerates the development and market adoption of clean technologies globally through
membership in the largest global network of investors and companies representing more
than $3 trillion in assets. Member investors, growth companies/vendors, enterprises,
service providers, and others receive access to capital, investment deal flow, market
leading research and data, insight, sales leads, human capital, and promotional
opportunities. The Cleantech Group also produces the premier Cleantech Forum events
worldwide. Details at http://www.cleantech.com.

Starbucks addresses water wastage following tabloid indictment

Following the revelation in British rag-mag The Sun that constantly running
dipper wells waste a humongous amount of water, a Starbucks spokesperson confirms, “Stores will be instructed to switch off the dipper well tap and will wash
spoons after use.” And the plot thickens: According to PRWeek.com, a senior-
level source at an unnamed PR agency claims, “We warned [Starbucks] several
years ago that their usage of water was not good for their environmental
credentials and could be a potential problem for them. They listened, but
they didn’t do anything about it.” Starbucks has tried to polish its green
image, saying that by 2010 it wants to source 50 percent of its energy from
renewables, use green-building practices in all new stores, and “reestablish”
ceramic mugs as the “global standard” for in-store drinkers. As for water use,
Starbucks will continue to look into dipper-well alternatives, including those
newfangled — whaddayacallem? — dishwashers.

Sources: BusinessGreen

Clorox’s Green Works line now top-selling green cleaners in U.S.

Clorox’s first entree into the green-cleaning market, released just this year, is going swimmingly so far with the $5.3 billion company on track to sell over $40 million worth of its Green Works cleaners in the U.S., according to sales figures. The Clorox Company already captures a large swath of the conventional-cleaner market with brands like Formula 409, Liquid-Plumr, Pine-Sol, and Tilex. Now Clorox is also the proud owner of the best-selling line of green cleaning products in America. Overall sales of its Green Works line have already surpassed well-known purveyors Seventh Generation and Method. However, Clorox hasn’t managed to shrink the other brands’ market share; instead, Green Works appears to be attracting buyers who otherwise would have reached for conventional cleaners. Wal-Mart is partially to blame for the brand’s strong sales — a partnership with the retailer promotes the products in-store and gives them prominent shelf space. Another Green Works sales boost came from a controversial partnership with the Sierra Club to use the conservation group’s logo on the cleaners in exchange for an undisclosed sum of money.

Sources: San Francisco Chronicle

New Apple laptop is “greenest MacBook ever”

The new Apple laptop that your geeky officemate is swooning over is “the greenest MacBook ever,” according to the company. Instead of being cobbled together from various pieces, the new MacBook’s main frame is cut out of a single piece of aluminum, and the discarded metal is recycled. It arrives to stores in 41 percent less packaging than the previous generation, and can be returned to Apple for recycling at the end of its life. Like other Apple offerings, the newbie boasts arsenic-free glass, is backlit with energy-efficient LEDs, and contains no mercury, brominated flame retardants, or PVC. The new MacBook even won a Gold rating from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. (But remember, kids: Hanging on to your current laptop is even greener.)

Sources: Apple

I do not know if you have heard about the latest FDA proposal.  So, here is
the skinny.

They are proposing rules that would allow the sale of gene-altered milk or
meat without requiring labeling.  You and I, as consumers, have a NEED TO
KNOW what we are buying and putting on our families tables.

Personally, I have not consented to be experimented with genetically-modified
foods.

As of now, we have no idea how the food from gene-altered animals would
affect human health, wildlife, domesticated animals or the environment.  They
are talking about pigs that are going to have mouse genes in them to help
improve their digestion.  Why? They are talking about milk from cows engineered
to produce antibiotics.  Why?  They are talking about goats that produce
spider silk in their milk.  Why?  Where are the ethics?

Grrr!  So many questions and no answers.  And yet, the FDA is going to set
into motion rules that keep the consumers in the blind about what they are
going to buy, cook and eat by not requiring the labeling of these products.

Not only should the milk and meat from these animals be studied to determine
if they are safe, they should be labeled so we know exactly what we are buying.
But we only have until October 31 to gather comments to the FDA.

So, If you do not want to be a guinea pig, want the ability to know what we
are buying and eating, along with the right to say “NO” to gene-altered
food, sign this petition before October 31.

Let the FDA know how you feel for your family, the environment and humanity.

If you think the wind industry is sitting still, you have another thing
coming.  There are companies investing, building and offering jobs along
with T. Boone.  So here they are:

Little Rock, Arkansas

Polymarin Composites and Wind Water Technologies (WWT) announced October 8
that it will invest $20 million to transform the former Levi Building into a
combined wind turbine blade and nacelle manufacturing facility, creating 830
new jobs with an average wage of $15/hour.  General Wesley Clark is a principal
of WWT’s parent company, EWT.

Muncie, Indiana

Brevini USA, the U.S. subsidiary of an Italian wind turbine manufacturer
announced this week plans for a new facility to make gearboxes.  Brevini will
invest more than $60 million to retrofit an existing 60,000-square-foot building
and add 150,000 square-feet of manufacturing space at the site in 2010.   The
facility will create about 450 permanent local jobs with annual pay averaging
more than $46,000.

Faribault, Minnesota

Moventas, a Finland-based gearbox manufacturer, will build a 75,000-square-
foot North American assembly and distribution facility using the Faribault-based
Met-Con construction company. The plant, announced by Moventas in September, is
set to open in October 2009 with 90 workers. Employment is expected to swell to
335 by adding 30 employees each year through 2023.

Newton, Iowa

TPI Composites opened its 316,000-square-foot wind turbine blade manufacturing
facility in September. The newly-built plant replaces a former Maytag facility
that was closed in 2006, causing huge job losses in Newton.  At full capacity,
TPI Iowa plans to employ 500 Iowans.

Granted that some of these companies may have gotten some incentives from the
bailout but hey, they are here going green.

Hopefully, folks in these towns are able to be part of the wind industry growth.

Source:  treehugger

Afsaneh Rabiei, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at
North Carolina State University, has invented a space-age material so light and
strong that it could revolutionize everything from vehicle bumpers to armor to
biomedical devices.  A brand new material that can save energy and lives.

“Basically, it is a new material for all sorts of safety devices,” said Rabiei
Her invention isn’t the first metal foam, but she says it’s the strongest. The main weakness of
existing metal foams is the varying sizes of their cells – tiny pockets
of space inside the material. Instead, Rabiei used cells of standard sizes and
combined them with a metallic matrix to support the cell walls.

The National Science Foundation awarded her a CAREER award in 2003, and her goal
with the funding was to develop a light, strong material that could be used saving
lives and energy in the aerospace, medical, automotive and other industries

After five years of work – with a group of her students – she has the results.
With a car going approx. 28 mph, her metal foam absorbs the impact which
feels like an impact at 5 mph. Probably not for the folks inside the car but
the end result is what the experiment showed.

The steel of a bumper is 3 times heavier than the steel foam.  The automotive
industry should take a hard look at this invention.  Not only does it improve
safety but gas mileage as well due to the lightness of steel foam.

Rabiei sees plenty of uses for her invention, including in airplanes, boats, and structures that
need impact protection with maintaining low weight. It’s this high strength-to-density ratio -
defining a material that’s both strong and light – that
makes Rabiei’s foam unique.

Do you hear a standing ovation from me?  This kind of news is exciting!

*  Congratulations, Professor Rabiei!