New EV entrant: Coda Automotive

The race is on with plenty of entrants talking about true EVs in 2010. Here's another one.

The Santa Monica, Calif., startup is an offshoot of Miles Electric Vehicles, a maker of low-speed neighborhood runabouts. The CEO is Kevin Czinger, a veteran of Goldman Sachs (GS), Fortress Investment Group and dot-com era online grocer WebVan. Goldman Sachs’ Mac Heller serves as co-chairman and the board includes John Bryson, past chairman and chief executive of Edison International (EIX). Coda has raised $40 million from the Angeleno Group and other investors.

The question remains, who is actually going to deliver. GreenWombat has the story on Coda.

Nanotubes and carbon sequestration

Carbon sequestration is likely a required solution whose urgency is increasing by the day (especially given that folks like Energy Secretary Steven Chu are beginning to acknowledge that we will likely exceed 450 ppm carbon in the atmosphere - the point considered by many to be a breakpoint beyond which runaway warming is likely).

The problem is that most sequestration schemes pushed by the fossil fuel industry simply isn't credible - trying to control CO2 as a gas.

But there appears to be increasing momentum around converting CO2 into a solid - something which improves the prospects dramatically. The most recent entry is from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Here’s the deal: The most reliable way to store and secure CO2 is to get it to attach to a solid and form a carbonate. (Think coral covering rocks in the ocean.) That process is thermodynamically stable and also provides a long-term solution to holding onto CO2. The problem is that it takes a very long time for that to happen using current methods — as in, thousands of years.

But Lawrence Berkeley recently managed to produce nanoscale magnesium oxide crystals, which staff scientist Jeff Urban says could help speed up that CO2-solid bonding process. “Magnesium oxide crystals are known to influence processes and rates of reaction,” he said. “And if we can control the size and surface chemistry of the crystals, we may be able to dramatically increase the rate of CO2 being stuck to the surface.”

More on the story at Earth2Tech. Technical details at the source.

San Francisco green financing program

San Francisco steps up with a new financing program.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced a new program to finance energy-efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation and other environmental improvements to residential and commercial buildings.

The new "green financing" program would allow home and building owners to fund environmental improvements, with the financing attached to the property and paid back through a special line item on the property tax bill over the life of the improvements.

Full release at sfgov.org. Based on the release this appears similar to the Berkeley solar financing plan but with more options for use. In many respects, financing is the most critical element to accelerate the distributed solutions like green building and home solar because of the up-front costs.

It's going to further accelerate California's solar installations which already lead nationally which has 500 MW capacity in solar PV in 50,000 installations. A recent Environment California report notes the distribution.

As of the end of 2008, when the report's figures were compiled, San Diego had more than 19 megawatts in capacity from installations on 2,200 roofs, followed by San Jose with 15.4 megawatts from 1,330 roofs and Fresno with 14.5 megawatts from 1,028 roofs.

That's good but far from where it needs to be as it's a tiny fraction of the total energy usage. It's going to take financing plus thin-film roof tiles to really increase home solar - and then solar-thermal, wind, other renewables and efficiency to bring full scale to clean energy.

UPDATED: POSTPONED High Speed Rail forum with Eshoo, Simitian

Updated: this event has been postponed due to a weekend vote in DC that Eshoo needs to attend to.

A great opportunity to engage our elected officials on this terrific project.

From SAMCEDA's announcement:

Ask Your Question About High-Speed Rail on the Peninsula
Anna Eshoo and Joe Simitian will be hosting a Town Hall meeting on July 25th from 2:00 - 3:30 PM at the Menlo Park City Council Chambers (701 Laurel Street) to focus on High-Speed Rail and the significant economic and social impact it will have on businesses, communities and economies on the Peninsula.

This is an important opportunity to ask your questions about what High-Speed Rail on the Peninsula means for your business and how it will shape the future of San Mateo County.

We encourage you to attend this meeting and let your voice be heard. The business community will be impacted by decisions and actions taken at public forums such as these - make sure your voice is heard on key issues that are important to your business' future.

If you are unable to attend, SAMCEDA will submit your question for you. Click here hsr@samceda.org to send us your question. A webcast presentation of the event will be available at eshoo.house.gov.

Santa Clara College at Solar Decathelon

Santa Clara students take another whack at the title.

Beyond the region: Nitol Solar

Even the Russians want to get in on the action.

GE & Google on home energy monitoring

Fast on the heels of Microsoft's launch of Hohm. GE appears intent to get into the home energy monitoring game by partnering with Google.

The most interesting piece of GE’s announcement (to me at least) is the fact that it plans to launch its own home energy management software by 2010, dubbed Home Energy Manager, which the company says will act as the brain connecting all of GE’s smart devices, appliances and meters. The Home Energy Manager will also offer home owners a way to track, monitor and manage energy consumption via devices or the web.

Sound familiar? Yep, it’s the same type of software that Google , Microsoft , eMeter, Green Box and a dozen others have been building. GE and Google had even announced a partnership, which GE said might result in a commercial product using Google’s PowerMeter software.

GE of course has huge capacity to integrate the needed "intelligence" into home appliances to make energy monitoring a reality.

Tesla purchase financing & Nissan's EV bet

Well, the news that Bank of America, formerly headquartered in SF, has begun financing the purchase of Tesla Roadsters is not likely to usher a mass market for the Tesla. And certainly if someone is buying a Roadster, they should be a good credit risk. But maybe it does signal that financial institutions will need to start considering electric cars - not only financing purchase, but insurance.

There's been little discussion of whether insuring electric automobiles will be the same or different than gas vehicles. On the face of it, one would expect the risks to be lower. Yes there's an acid risk with the batteries but it's probably much lower risk than combustion of a gas car in a collision.

Hopefully the insurers are figuring this out because Nissan is talking about going mass-market in their EV plans.

On Aug. 2, Ghosn will unveil the first of three electric models in three vehicle segments that he plans to sell by 2013. The vehicles will be made in the United States, Japan, and Europe.

"We have a different strategy from other car manufacturers," Ghosn says. "We are the only ones investing for mass marketing, which is a risk, yes. But we think it is a bet in the right direction."

That bet takes shape at a new lithium ion battery plant and at an electric-vehicle assembly line that Nissan will build at its Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing complex. A $1.6 billion low-interest loan from the U.S. government will cover some of the costs. Analysts question the payoff.

Nissan is not alone in going electric.

-- In June, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., maker of Subaru cars, began leasing electric cars in Japan. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. follows later this month.

-- Toyota Motor Corp. will sell a plug-in Toyota Prius after 2010, taking on the Chevrolet Volt, which goes on sale in November 2010.

-- BMW AG's Mini brand is testing a plug-in model in the United States.

But what I want to know is what the insurance premium will be on the Aptera...

New CA car standards & incentives

California is establishing new standards on auto windows to reduce fuel use.

Cooler cars mean less air conditioning thereby increasing fuel efficiency and preventing about 700,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere in 2020 - roughly the equivalent of taking 140,000 cars off the road for a year.

What's interesting about the windows is that these seemingly small steps can have a big impact - such as roof colors which reduce heat absorption - and there are millions of such opportunities.

The state is also expanding the state's cash-for-clunkers program.

Some 300,000 California drivers who own cars older than model year 1976 will be solicited by local air districts.

Beginning April 1, drivers could get $1,000 if they turn their car into a licensed dismantler. Low-income Californians would be eligible for $1,500.

The regulation also provides a voucher between $2,000 and $2,500 to drivers in two of the state's most polluted regions — Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley.

The vouchers could be redeemed at new and used dealerships for a fuel efficient car that's four years old or newer. Low-income Californians could buy a fuel efficient car up to eight years old.

New solar standards effort

Fat Spaniel Technologies and other companies have joined together to establish some open standards to interface renewables and IT efforts. More at Earth2Tech.

East Bay green jobs push

New push in the east bay for green business. This new municipal venture is in the early stages but exactly the kind of thing cities should be doing. The trick will be using the stimulus funding to jump start ongoing clean energy businesses - and not let this be a flash in the pan. The East Bay Green Technology Corridor website has more on the specific initiatives which including financing, jobs, training, and more.

"Our region is becoming the Silicon Valley of the green industry," said Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums' spokesman, Paul Rose. "We want the East Bay to be a model for our state and for the nation."

The East Bay Green Corridor, which held its second annual summit on Friday in Oakland, said it has attracted more than $76 million in federal stimulus funds for research, job training, weatherization and other environmentally themed projects.

In addition, seven other public entities have joined the consortium: El Cerrito, San Leandro, Albany, Alameda, Cal State East Bay, Peralta Community Colleges and Contra Costa Community Colleges. They join Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond, Emeryville, UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, which formed the East Bay Green Corridor in December 2007.

"We each offer something different," said Cynthia Battenberg, San Leandro's business development manager. "This way we don't have to compete, we can support each other."

The purpose of the consortium is for the cities and schools to attract green businesses to the region, develop a solid green-collar workforce, share marketing costs and standardize across the region policies such as solar financing plans and green building standards. It also allows them to avoid duplication of services, such as green job training programs.

The consortium also applies for grants and state and federal funding, attracting more money than any of the cities or schools could individually, said Julie Sinai, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates' chief of staff.

Sharing resources is one of the best ways cities can survive in these difficult times, she said.

"The economy has no boundaries," she said. "Jobs don't stop at the city border. We have to promote each other if we're going to succeed."

About $18 million of the stimulus funding will go to Berkeley, Oakland and Richmond to promote weatherization, energy efficiency and green job training, and the rest will go to UC Berkeley and Lawrence laboratory for energy research. Some of the research projects will use East Bay cities as a "living lab" to study building energy efficiency, Sinai said.

Also at Friday's summit, the East Bay Green Corridor announced its first full-time director, Carla Din, who previously served as a director at the Apollo Alliance, a green energy nonprofit in San Francisco. Din's salary will be paid by the consortium members, who each chip in $10,000 a year for staff salaries and marketing.

The consortium is also expanding into high schools. Berkeley High, Richmond High, El Cerrito High and Oakland Technical High School are all planning green technology academies, to train students in environmental issues and green careers such as solar installation and energy auditing.

Home energy tracking: MS vs. Google

As with Google, Microsoft has now launched a software tool "Hohm" to track home energy use. At a tactical level, both of these tools are probably less interesting than they might appear at this stage. However, it does suggest that both companies see prospects for a new market – integrating smart meters and internet aware devices - and want to get in it early. Eventually this will probably also include 2-way interaction with electric cars, something Google is already testing in its RechargeIT program. Electric cars can play an important role in balancing power production so as to make intermittent forms of renewable power easier to integrate into the grid.

Interestingly, as part of their PowerMeter effort, Google is now already partnered with several utilities (though none local). They note:

Our initial partners include a variety of utilities (large and small, rural and urban, privately held and municipally run) and one of the largest meter manufacturers. They all have one thing in common - a desire to serve their customers by providing access to detailed information that helps customers save energy and money. For now, Google PowerMeter is only available to a limited group of customers, but we plan to expand our roll out later this year. Our partner utilities are helping to lead the charge to make the electricity grid smarter and we look forward to working with them and others.

Clean-tech VC investment bounces back

After 2 declining quarters venture capital investment is bouncing back.

From April to June, venture investments in clean tech totaled $1.2 billion across 94 companies, according to preliminary results released Wednesday by The Cleantech Group, a San Francisco research and strategy firm, and Deloitte & Touche.

Total investments were up 12 percent from the previous quarter, though down 44 percent from the same period a year ago. The average funding round was $12.9 million, up from $12.3 million in the first quarter.
...
Venture funding for clean tech

The $1.2 billion in venture capital invested in clean technology during the second quarter included:

$236 million for transportation

$206 million for biofuels

$165 million for advanced batteries

$114 million for solar

Source: The Cleantech Group and Deloitte & Touche

Million Solar Roofs: on track

Solar making progress in California.

Despite the worst economic downturn in decades, California's multibillion-dollar program to expand solar power production — the country's largest — remains on track to install as much new energy this year as last, according to a report issued Tuesday by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Driven by federal and state tax credits, businesses and homes are expected to install 156 megawatts of solar energy — enough to power about 78,000 homes — this year.

Dubbed the "California Solar Initiative," the program, which was launched in January 2007, seeks to install 3,000 megawatts of new solar power in 10 years and transform the market for solar energy by reducing its cost.

"CSI is a bright spot that shows how government support for renewable energy is working," said Molly Sterkel, supervisor for the CSI and the report's project manager. Even given the weakened economy, she said, "customers are deciding to go solar in record numbers, and that's amazing."

The 95-page report is the commission's first official annual self-assessment of the solar initiative.

Among the highlights of Tuesday's report:

# California has more than 515 megawatts of solar power connected to the electric grid, equivalent to the capacity of one large power plant. Under the solar initiative, 226 megawatts of this was installed in the past 21/2 years.

# The annual rate for new installed solar capacity in
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California nearly doubled between 2007 and 2008 (from 81 megawatts to 156 megawatts), a marked increase from the 30 percent to 40 percent annual growth rate of prior years.

# The initiative has more than 22,000 solar applications, including both pending and installed systems.

# The program continues to see strong demand, with 1,444 new solar applications in May 2009 — the highest month on record.

# After 21/2 years, the CSI has installed 13 percent of the total 10-year program goal, and it has an additional 8 percent in applications pending installation this year.

# Santa Clara County leads the state in the number of current and pending solar installations in the program.