Smart Grid Reduces Home Energy Use 20 Percent Duke Says

November 19, 2009

If you need more proof the smart grid is a powerful weapon in the battle against global warming, consider a recent pilot project by Duke Energy.

The company installed sensing devices and software in a bevy of homes near its headquarters in Charlotte and remotely managed the use of appliances. Turn on a dishwasher, and Duke might delay its operation to a time when energy demand is less.

Customers didn't see any difference in the quality of their services, says Duek CEO James Rogers

Run an air conditioner, and Duke might cycle down the refrigerator to reduce its electrical consumption.

The result was a 20 percent reduction in home energy use without “customers seeing any difference in the quality of their service,” CEO James Rogers said Wednesday evening.

Rogers held up the test as evidence that technology will drive new efficiencies in energy use. There is little doubt “energy efficiency gains will come with the deployment of technology,” he said at the GreenBeat 2009 conference in San Mateo.

The company’s strategy, he explained, is to use its financial muscle and customer reach to put the latest devices in the hands of ratepayers.

Duke expects to roll out smart meters to its 4 million customers within five years. It then sees itself as a distributor of technology – paying to put software and hardware in homes and reaping a return from ratepayers on its investment.

The smart meter is a communications device, Rogers said, and open standards will allow third parties to develop products that plug into the grid. “We can’t even envision the products that are coming,” he says.

The company has strengthened its capital reserves for the task – raising $6 billion recently at interest rates under 4 percent. “I want to step in and make that investment in the home,” he says, perhaps even leavings rooftops to install solar panels.

The smart grid is coming and Duke is figuring out how to make it pay.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

John Doerr Names His Top Green Investment Ideas

November 18, 2009

Green tech investing is not for the faint of heart. Competing takes money (lots of it), patience and technical know-how (lots of it, too).

In its formative pre-public years, Google required only $25 million of venture capital. Secretive fuel-cell start-up Bloom Energy has already raised $250 million. And after seven years it is still in stealth development. Another two years may be needed.

Green tech investing takes more money and its take more time, says venture capitalist John Doerr

Green tech investing “takes more money (and) it takes more time,” says legendary venture capitalists John Doerr. “You’re messing with atoms and molecules.”

Nevertheless, Doerr says he’s got patience – and the expectation of handsome returns.

At the GreenBeat 2009 conference, Doerr laid out his favorite investment themes and dropped the news that smart grid start-up Silver Spring Networks could go public next year.

“I hope it does,” he said of the company he funded at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

When it comes to his favorite investment ideas, Doerr highlighted:

*Low cost ways to make biofuels;
*Innovations in large-scale grid energy storage;
*Solar cell development to achieve price parity with fossil fuels;
*And technology to lower the cost of wind turbines.

In the area of next-generation lighting, Doerr says he has found nothing of interest yet. But then, there is always tomorrow.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Green Economy Coming Faster Than Expected, John Doerr Says

November 18, 2009

The federal government has dangerously under invested in clean-energy technology.

The government has woefully under invested in green technology, said venture investor John Doerr

Yet the green economy is coming faster than many observers believe, legendary start-up investor John Doerr said Wednesday.

“I think we will get to a low-carbon economy much faster and at a lower cost than anybody believes,” the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers venture capitalist said at the GreenBeat 2009 conference.

Doerr sounded a warning that America may not lead this next technology revolution the way it did the last. U.S. companies such as Google, Yahoo, Amazon and Facebook are the hands down leaders of the Internet.

But only four of today’s top 30 clean-tech companies were founded in the United States. Even if people haven’t yet accepted man’s role in creating greenhouse gases, they should be alarmed by the entrepreneurial shift, he said.

Part of the reason is the lack of federal investment under the head-in-the-sand Republican George Bush. “In green (tech) we’re woefully under funded,” Doerr said. Federal funding was less than $1 billion last year, and research at universities is nothing like it was during the early years of high tech.

President Barack Obama has changed direction. The Obama Administration has steered billions into promising solar, smart-grid and energy-conservation efforts.

“The president has a very clear agenda when it comes to green” he said. As a result, the country will be better prepared when the green economy arrives.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

At Home Wind Turbines Still Expensive

November 18, 2009

The home market for silent-spinning wind turbines has promise. As turbines improve, the energy they produce can cover the needs of a typical home, selling power to the grid when it is not needed.

Viryd sees $100 milliion in annual sales from its first home turbine, which will be available next year

However cost remains a market inhibitor.

Consider the efficient new spinner from Viryd Technologies. The Viryd 8000 will hit the market in the first half of 2010. It will generate relatively little noise and is rated at 8 kilowatts, roughly what a home demands.

It’s cost: $30,000 installed. Even though some states offer rebates of as much as $10,000, the turbine remains an expensive purchase to avoid home electric bills of $200 a month.

About 14 or so makers of home wind turbines serve the market today. But Viryd CEO John Langdon sees an attractive opportunity for his company of $100 million in annual U.S. sales.

He said at the Dow Jones Alternative Energy Innovations conference the company will initially target markets in Portland, Or, Las Vegas and San Bernardino County, where steady, strong winds justify the use of turbines.

“Small wind is a growth market,” Langdon said. That will certainly be the case when volume production cuts turbine prices in half.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

PGE Wants To Invest Up To $1.5 Billion In Solar And Wind Farms

November 18, 2009

The hurdles to building large-scale wind and solar farms are substantial.

Communities sometimes object to projects for aesthetic and environmental reasons. Water for cooling can be hard to find, and technology is often new and unproven.

On top of that, major transmissions lines frequently don’t run nearby, financing and Department of Energy loan guarantees aren’t easy to come by.

The company is looking for projects with the goal of investing between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, says PG&E's Fong Wan

To grease the skids, PG&E intends to set aside between $1 billion to $1.5 billion to take equity stakes in projects, says Fong Wan, senior vice president of energy procurement at the company.

Wan said the company doesn’t know yet whether it will invest in large-scale projects or smaller ones that are easier to put together. But the company is evaluating proposals.

Nevertheless, working with a utility can require patience. BrightSource, with its thermal solar technology, is proof. The company approached PG&E about three years ago and the utility reviewed its technology.

“At the end of the day, no one really knew” whether it would work, Wan said at the Dow Jones Alternative Energy Innovations conference. Most thermal solar technologies use temperatures of 350 degree Celsius. BrightSource uses temperatures of 550 degrees Celsius.

PG&E demanded a demonstration site, which the BrightSource built in Israel, says Wan. It worked. Now “whether they can scale it…remains to be seen.”

Despite the long review period, when it comes to investments, “we’re looking,” says Wan.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

PGE Vows To Meet 20% Renewables Target In California – On A Technicality

November 18, 2009

California utility PG&E says it will meet California’s 20 percent renewables target for 2010, but on a technicality.

The state's more ambitious 33 2020 goal is going to be very demanding, says PG&E's Fong Wan

However, the more ambitious 33 percent target set for 2020 is anyone’s guess. “It’s going to be very demanding,” says Fong Wan, senior vice president energy procurement at the company. “No one really knows” if the state’s utilities will make it.

Wan said the rules governing 2010’s 20 percent target permit a utility to average the amount of energy its gets from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, for the years 2010 to 2014. So the excess PG&E expects to receive in 2013 can balanced against the deficiency in 2010.

The utility presently gets 14 percent of its power from renewable sources, but “we have signed far, far in excess of 20 percent” in future contracts, Wan said at the Dow Jones Alternative Energy Innovations conference.

“We will met the RPS,” he said, referring to the renewables portfolio standard.

The challenge facing utilities is that many renewables projects are confronted with technical, financial, siting and water-cooling hurdles.

Nevertheless, Wan in optimistic about 2020’s goal. “I plan to meet it,” he said.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Price Watch: Apple To Slash Prices On iPods, Macs Next Week?

November 18, 2009

BGR obtained that Apple flier which indicates a price drop of up to 30% on all iPods, and up to 25% on all Macs!

If this report from BGR is correct, Apple will be heavily discounting its iPods and Macs next week. And if this is the case – and checks at retailers seem to confirm that – you’d better wait one more week if you plan to purchase an Apple product.

From the flier:

  1. Up to 30% off on all iPods, including iPod Touch which could fetch at around $150; consistent with the Walmart promotion;
  2. Up to 30% off on all Macs;
  3. Up to 15% off on all accessories, Apple software and hardware (including the new wireless Magic mouse).

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Solar Boasts New Progress Toward Besting Fossil Fuels

November 18, 2009

It may be four or five years out. But solar companies continue to show progress toward the critical crossover, where the costs of energy from the sun best those from fossil fuels.

Utility industry executives say the timeline they see for solar panels is becoming more convincing. Costs over the next five years seem likely to drop substantially, increasing the possibility of major deployments.

It's no walk in the park, but technology timelines are more convincing.

For their part, solar manufacturers say development hurdles remain. But laboratory work continues on products that in the next couple years will pave the path for what the industry likes to call “grid parity” in the years to follow.

One such manufacturer is Applied Quantum Technology, which is presently raising $20 million of venture capital. The Santa Clara company projects its thin-film cells will reach 14 percent efficiency next year and up to 18 percent efficiency by 2014. By 2014, or 2013 at the earliest, the cells should cost 50 cents a watt, or comparable to the cost of fossil fuels, CEO Michael Bartholomeusz said Tuesday at the Dow Jones Alternative Energy Innovations conference.

“It’s certainly not a walk in the park,” he said during an interview. But it is achievable.

Cryscade Solar is using a technology patterned after photosynthesis

The company plans to produce its CIGS, or copper iridium gallium sulfide/selenium, cells in six-inch squares so they can easily substitute for today’s polysilicon cells.

Cryscade Solar also claims significant progress with cell efficiency. The company’s technology is patterned after plant photosynthesis and is projected to reach 20 percent efficiency by 2011.

A more ambitious cell with 49 percent efficiency is a longer-range target and will lead to costs of 13 cents a watt, says Chairman Pavel Lazarev. The early stage company wants to raise $15 million.

Further along is Solexant, which just completed a 2 MW manufacturing facility in San Jose. Early next year production will begin on thin-film cells costing 30 cents a watt. The company’s technology prints circuits on a piece of flexible backing.

By 2010, their efficiency should reach a “double digit” percentage, says CEO Damoder Reddy.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Price Watch/War: Portable GPS Under $70

November 18, 2009

Price war is finally coming to the portable GPS market

We’re finally seeing some action in the portable GPS market.

While hovering mostly at over $100 for most of the year – even during last year’s Black Friday sales – prices for portable GPS devices are now dropping like a rock.

Yesterday, we reported that Walmart will be selling a Tom Tom branded device for $59.

But  today, you can get a cheap GPS device without lining up at 4AM with thousands of other people at Fry’s, which offers a Roadmax portable GPS for $69.

And if this second-tier brand isn’t any good, you can still return it before Black Friday and try to get the Tom Tom one!

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Posted by TechPulse 360

Walmart Amazing Black Friday Tech Deals: TVs, iPod Touch, Blu-Ray,GPS

November 17, 2009

For Black friday next week, Walmart will slash $100 off Sanyo's 50" Plasma TV price, that now retails for $698

A CNNMoney.com report revealed some of Walmart’s amazing “doorbusters” planned for next week’s Black Friday.

TVs/Blu-ray

  1. Sanyo 50-inch plasma 720p HDTV for $598;
  2. Emerson 32-inch LCD 720p HDTV for $248;
  3. Emerson 42-inchPlasma 720p HDTV ($448)
  4. Magnavox Blu-ray player for $78;

Computers

  1. eMachine laptop with a 15.6-inch LCD display, 2GB memory and 160GB hard drive for $198;
  2. Hewlett-Packard laptop with a 15.6-inch display, 3GB memory and 250GB hard drive for $298;

Electronics

  1. iPod Touch 8GB for $195 with a $50 iTunes gift card;
  2. Tom Tom GPS for $59;

Best Buy, Target and perhaps Fry’s are going to have a hard time to beat Walmart prices. I don’t have much hope for the other “smaller” retailers like Office Depot, OfficeMax and the likes.

Moreover, Wal-Mart will match the price of any local competitor’s printed ad for an identical product.

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Posted by TechPulse 360

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