Earth Policy Institute/Today's Show

We've been working to bring them on the show for awhile and, thanks to our Boston Co-host, Jack Gregg, we interviewed one of their key researchers, J. Mathew Roney.  We recorded the show and will broadcast it soon on WARL 1320 AM, and their great worldwide stream, http://1320warlradio.com/gs/.

Here's background on Matt and EPI



J Matthew Roney, Research Associate, graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2006 with a BS in Environmental Conservation, summa cum laude. Matt has been with Earth Policy Institute since 2007, working closely with the research team on many publications and scanning internet resources for relevant news clips and scientific studies. In 2012, Matt completed a master’s degree in environmental sciences and policy from Johns Hopkins University.

Earth Policy Institute is an independent non-profit environmental organization based in Washington DC in the United States. It was founded by Lester R. Brown in 2001 and functions as an environmental think-tank, providing research and analysis on environmental indicators and making policy and lifestyle recommendations aimed at promoting environmental and economic sustainability.

Cited by environmental advocates,^[1] as well as policymakers and journalists^[2] alike, the Institute is a nonprofit that provides articles, data resources, and select free downloads of their books on their website.

The Earth Policy Institute functions as a think-tank, providing policy research and recommendations on sustainable development and living, as well as on environmental issues.

EPI’s goals are (1) to provide a global plan for moving the world onto an environmentally and economically sustainable path, (2) to provide examples demonstrating how the plan would work, and (3) to keep the media, policymakers, academics, environmentalists, and other decision-makers focused on the process of building a Plan B economy.

As promised, more good news on the solar side

US Solar Employment Growing at 10 Times the National Average

When it comes to job creation, it appears that the U.S. economy has undergone radical change over the past couple of decades as the full extent of neoconservative economic, trade and tax policies, along with rapid technological change, have been more fully realized.

Historically wide and growing disparities in wealth and income in developed and developing countries alike was a focal point of discussion for the world’s super-wealthy at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, while the need to create more and better jobs and economic opportunities for all Americans was the theme of President Obama’s State of the Union (SOTU) address Tuesday evening.

The potential to spur sustainable, well-paying job growth — as well as lasting environmental and social benefits — has been one of the principal reasons the president has espoused policies and legislation that promote and foster development of renewable energy and clean technology. Though policies, legislation and regulations aimed at fostering "green" job growth have been criticized, refuted, opposed and undermined, the latest report from the Solar Foundation reveals that the U.S. solar energy sector continues to create jobs at a much higher rate than the economy overall.

56 new U.S. solar jobs a day — for over a year

Nearly 24,000 Americans got jobs in the U.S. solar industry in 2013, bringing the total number of U.S. solar industry jobs to 142,698 as of November 2013, according to the Solar Foundation’s, "National Solar Jobs Census 2013."

"Employment in the U.S. solar industry has been rising at a nearly 20 percent rate since 2012, 10 times faster than that for average national employment, according to the Solar Foundation’s report. The U.S. solar energy sector added an average 56 new employees a day between September 2012 and November 2013, surpassing forecasts."

- See more at: http://renewablenow.biz/renewable-business.html#sthash.mxldTWh9.dpuf

SunEdison, Saudi Arabia Considering $6.4 billion Solar PV Plant

What a wild ride it has been for Sun Edison as evidenced by this story we ran this week on renewablenow.biz.  From humble beginnings on the rooftop of a supermarket in Providence, RI (a rooftop we can see from our studios in Providence), to a feasibility study for installing a grid-sized PV system in Saudi Arabia, this is one of our great success stories and highlights the phenomenal growth in the green economy.

This story gives us insight, too, into the changing investments in clean energy ramping up across the globe, including, very interestingly, in oil-rich nations like Saudi Arabia.  What a potentially powerful economic change that is starting to take shape.

We hope to see this system built out and we'll be there to report on their success:

SunEdison, the company that started right from a supermarket roof top in Providence, RI is now now helping to turn one of the world's oil producing capitals into a sustainable kingdom. Pretty impressive when you think that a company like SunEdison humble begiinngs began in the smallest State in the U.S.  And for those of us here at ReNewable Now we hope this story inspires other businesses to see the possibilities that could be right in your own community. Nothing is impossible.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is positioning itself as a future solar energy powerhouse, with industry heavyweight SunEdison announcing it will join with local agencies in a feasibility study for the construction of an estimated $6.4 billion, 3 GW solar PV (photovoltaic) manufacturing plant at Wa'ad Al Shammal.
 
The announcement follows successful preliminary talks in 2013 between SunEdison and KSA’s National Industrial Clusters Development Program (NICDP), a government agency designed to foster growth in five specific industries, including solar energy.
 
The Government of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Saudi Arabian Investment Company (Sanabil Investments) have both committed to the proposed project.

The plant would use SunEdison's proprietary high pressure silane fluidized bed reactor (HP-FBR) polysilicon and continuous Czochralski (CCz) crystal ingot technology to produce solar wafers, cells and panels for domestic use and to further develop the Kingdom’s solar export market.
 
"We anticipate substantial growth of solar PV within the Kingdom and the region. This project will support that growth, and the growth aspirations of SunEdison and our Saudi partners," said Ahmad Chatila, CEO of SunEdison.
 
“The combination of SunEdison technology, and the Kingdom's world-class manufacturing and energy sector expertise will enable us to capitalize on substantial growth in the Kingdom and the region, and maximize the value of solar PV projects supported by this venture.”

The proposed plant has strong government support, with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals and the Saudi Electrical Company (SEC) pledging to provide natural gas and other energy needs should construction begin; which could occur in 2017.

Eng. Azzam Shalabi, President of NICDP said, “This project will be capable of building a complete industrial eco-system that is sustainable and able to compete on a global level by utilizing pioneering technology developed by SunEdison to produce high purity polysilicon, and high-efficiency, low-cost mono-crystalline ingots, in addition to benefiting from economies of scale given the size and vertically integrated nature of the complex.”

Next up:  Story on continued positive employment trends in the solar industry.

Lockheed inks deal to produce energy from ocean waves in Australia

This is a great story that we talked about yesterday with our Boston co-host, Jack Greg, who sent us this.   Clean energy spans lots of technologies.  Here in New England we have tremendous potential using wave energy.  Certainly, too, the installation would be less controversial then wind.

It also strikes us that Lockheed is a company in transition, doing a nice job of positioning for the future and getting fully engaged in the green economy.  With a starred history of space exploration, defense-related innovation and much more, Lockheed certainly has the resources and brain trust to push large-scale, clean projects like this one in Australia.

We commend everyone here for a great investment in the business side of green, and we'll reach out to Lockheed and others to do a radio show on this:

 BY ANDREA SHALAL-ESA

WASHINGTON Tue Feb 11, 2014 9:13am EST

(Reuters) - Top U.S. arms maker Lockheed Martin Corp on Tuesday said it had signed an agreement with a unit of Ocean Power Technologies Inc to harness the motion of ocean waves to generate electricity off the coast of Victoria, Australia.

The A$230 million ($205.68 million) deal will produce the world's largest wave energy project using power buoys designed by Ocean Power Technologies that tap energy from the surface motion of waves.

Once completed around 2018 or 2019, the project will generate 62.5 megawatts of peak power, enough to meet the needs of 10,000 homes, Lockheed said. That is about one-third the capacity of a small coal-fired power plant in the United States.

"Ocean energy is a tremendously large, untapped resource which has global applicability," said Tim Fuhr, director of ocean energy for Lockheed. "You can pretty much get ocean energy on coastlines around the world. It's essentially clean and the fuel is free."

The agreement is part of a drive by Lockheed - the maker of F-35 fighter jets and coastal warships - to expand its foothold in the alternative energy business as it seeks to offset a slump in U.S. and European military budgets.

The company last year announced a deal with Chinese consumer firm Reignwood Group to design the biggest power station fueled by differences in ocean temperatures.

Energy from ocean waves is more predictable than wind and solar energy, and can generate electricity for more hours in the year than other alternate energy sources, Lockheed said.

The power buoys to be used in this project will rise about 30 feet out of the water, far smaller than wind turbines, which are typically 130 feet tall and have drawn public resistance.

Fuhr said Lockheed had worked with Ocean Power Technologies on several smaller projects for the U.S. Department of Energy since 2004, and kicked off initial work on this project about 18 months ago. Lockheed recently signed an agreement with Victorian Wave Partners, an Australian special purpose company owned by Ocean Power, to develop the wave project.

The goal is to complete the first phase by 2014 or 2015, producing about 2.5 megawatts of peak power, Lockheed said.

Fuhr said Lockheed hoped to leverage its design and engineering skills to help commercialize the new energy source in coming years. Under the agreement with Victorian Wave, Lockheed will handle overall management of the project, assist with design for manufacturing of the power buoys, produce selected components, and integrate the wave energy converters.

Lockheed was part of a consortium that built the first net-power producing facility in the 1970s based on ocean thermal energy conversion. Since then, it has invested tens of millions of dollars in ocean energy initiatives, Fuhr said.

He said Lockheed was beginning to see revenues from those investments, but declined to provide estimates for the amount. The company does not break down revenues by individual sectors.

Fuhr said he expected it to take until the 2020s before different forms of ocean energy accounted for a significant percentage of world energy production. Countries such asAustralia and Britain were among the most forward leaning at the moment, although there are some U.S. projects as well, he added.

($1 = 1.1183 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

For today's radio show/Keya Chattergee, World Wild Life Ferderation

Keya will be live with us today from 1-2p, EST, on WARL 1320 and their worldwide stream (and thanks so much to everyone who has pushed our monthly views/listens of our radio, TV, special reports, news segments and weekly updates, to over 250,000 per month...with a wonderful global mix).   

Here's some base info, getting ready for the show, on WWF and Keya:

"In 1961, a limited number of organizations around the world—such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and The Conservation Foundation—were trying to meet conservation needs, but were desperately short of funds.

The first call for broad support was the Morges Manifesto, signed in 1961 by 16 of the world’s leading conservationists, including biologist and African wildlife enthusiast Sir Julian Huxley, IUCN vice president Sir Peter Scott and director-general of the British Nature Conservancy E. M. Nicholson. The Morges Manifesto stated that while the expertise to protect the world environment existed, the financial support to achieve this protection did not. The decision was made to establish World Wildlife Fund as an international fundraising organization to work in collaboration with existing conservation groups and bring substantial financial support to the conservation movement on a worldwide scale."

"Keya Chatterjee has a unique spin on the ‘big picture.’ In her case, she’s talking about satellite images of planet Earth. Before joining WWF, she worked for NASA and used the images to communicate research results on climate change. The detailed images of deforestation, sea ice loss and development gave her a unique perspective on the state of the planet. This visual representation of our human impact motivated Keya to shift her focus from plot-level projects to the planet as a whole.

Today, Keya is part of WWF’s climate team, working on every level – local to global – to bring awareness about climate change to the masses and facilitate progress at the highest levels of government toward a new global climate treaty. She can talk in amazing detail about the climate change impacts we are already experiencing; the need to drastically reduce emissions worldwide; the links between climate change and poverty; and the barriers we need to overcome to reach a real global climate agreement..."

Great story on Sir Richard Branson and is sustainable island

From our front page of this week's Renewable Now newsletter.  Here's the link so you can explore all of our updates and stories.  Check back each week as we bring you the business side of green:  http://renewablenow.biz/the-sustainable-community.html#ISLAND-S

STORY:  Sir Richard Branson's Sustainable Island, It's No Fantasy Island 

"When we look at ambitious projects, such as the one Sir Richard Branson is perusing in the Caribbean's with Necker Island, ReNewable Now wonders if this is a model that could possibly replicated on island towns in New England. Such as Block Island, Martha's Vineyard, or Nantucket? Can a municipality work like a visionary entepeneaur?

Necker Island is a 74-acre island in the British Virgin Islands, just north of Virgin Gorda. Sir Branson scooped up the island for a song in the 1970's - just USD$180,000. Uninhabited at the time, a resort was built on Necker Island soon after the purchase that is now managed by Virgin Limited Edition.

The USA's NRG Energy will develop a renewables based micro-grid for the entire island; with at least 75% of the power sourced from solar, wind and energy storage technologies.

"With oil setting the marginal price of electricity, retail electricity prices in the Caribbean are among the highest in the world, hindering economic development, job creation and quality of life,” said David Crane, CEO of NRG.

"By tapping into each island’s specific, readily available and ample renewable energy resources, we can achieve an immediate and significant reduction of operating expenses, imported fuel cost, carbon footprint and other air emissions and noise pollution."

Mr Crane says the "Demo Island" project will  provide a scalable solution relevant to other island nations of the Caribbean that can reduce and ultimately eliminate their dependence on fossil fuels for electricity.

The agreement was signed and announced at the Creating Climate Wealth Summit. The project going ahead is subject to regulatory approval in the British Virgin Islands.

"While small compared to island nations, Necker is an ideal ‘guinea pig’ for the Carbon War Room’s Ten Island Challenge and will be able to show the potential of ‘state-of-the-art’ technologies in renewable energy," said Sir Branson, Founder of Virgin Group.

The Ten Island Challenge works with pioneering island economies to reduce dependency on fossil fuels through promoting commercial opportunities, attracting expert engineering firms and investment."

Thanks to Barbara Seely for a great post

Barbara has been a regular contributor (thank you, again, Barbara) and we very much welcome this material she sent us.  Please do the same if you have anything material to the business side of green: