This one came in from Brazil...
I guess you can call it clean - tech (?)
Energy Giant
I really liked this one...
It rings true in many parts of the (renewable) energy industry, where size is one of the key competitive differentiations (providing companies the ability to lock in supply agreements, receive significant financing (debt and equity), win large contracts from utilities, etc.). These are all key to building a successful business in the space, and areas entrepreneurs of new ventures must consider carefully when thinking about which markets they plan to address...
When underdogs break the rules
Here's a really great piece from the New Yorker written by Malcolm Gladwell, that is (as always) worth taking the time to read through:
In the familiar Gladwell approach (Similar to Outliers, which is a great read) - He proves that success does not have to come only to those who are advantaged or naturally talented - but can be achieved by adopting a different approach, and more importantly having the will to take on the more difficult option, and put in much more effort.
As Gladwell mentions "Effort can trump ability... because relentless effort is in fact something rarer than the ability to engage in some finely tuned act of motor coordination"
Tesla Model S
Tesla just announced its (planned to be) world’s first mass-produced, highway-capable fully electric family Sedan.
The design is great.
And the specs even more so:
- 300 Mile range
- Only 45min for full charge (which BTW costs only $4 for a full tank)
- 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds
- 17 Inch, Touch screen TV, with in-car 3G connectivity (so you can use apps such as Pandora, Google Maps, etc)
Does any one need any more convincing?!
You can place an order on their website here.
But just before you do... take note of two caveats:
1. $50,000 base price. I guess that with the minimal options it would come closer to $60,000 or more...
2. Deliveries start in 2011. So unless you work on Sand Hill Road and have invested in the company, prepare to wait. (consider that Tesla has delivered 300 of its Roadsters to date with nearly 1,000 more customers still on the waiting list)
So...
I decided to pass on the car, and just buy the T-Shirt.
But they are out of stock...
A link between UFOs and renewable energy?...
I found this one quite amusing... Are extraterritorial beings drawn to renewable energy as well?
Technorati Tags: Wind energy,UFO
Green Kites
Here's one of the more awe inspiring developments in renewable energy that I've seen - Super Kites for harnessing wind energy:
Its exciting because this is a totally new way of thinking about wind energy production. It even seems a bit science fiction. If successful in scaling and achieving performance, it would present a real paradigm shift.
In many ways this reminds me of the shift from sails into steam engines for propelling ships (a case in which the further addition of sales did not provide sufficient power gains). Ironically, here the shift is moving in the opposite direction: Back from a rotating blade design and into a sail / wing design.
But back to reality... Achieving such solution will take many years, and significant funding to get to commercial scale.
As with many of the early stage, disruptive innovations in the energy space, this is a good example of the many hurdles a project must overcome, as it moves from the drawing board, to a pilot system, and through to a commercial grade system. These include proving the technology works, its performance, the full system reliability (across various conditions and time periods), the lifetime system costs (including ongoing operations and maintenance which seem high in this case), etc... Even once all these are achieved, there is still the challenge of finding appropriate locations, permitting, accessing grid transmission (a huge problem, which I'll try to touch on separately), air space permits (beware low flying planes), and so on.
Not an easy task - but if you're going to change a paradigm - I guess that's what it takes.
And there's one great thing in going after the wind energy space - The potential is so great that there's room for any successful and economic solution.
Gas Station of the future
With some gas stations around here already selling alternative fuels... this photo might not be too far in our future.
(Source: Wired magazine creative concept)
Seeing this I was reminded of a great scene from "Back to the Future"... (one of my childhood favourites) - back in the 80's this really seemed science fiction to me.
Technorati Tags: renewable fuel,back to the future
Animals Save the Planet
Just got this link from a friend. Great for the younger generation
(here's the original link by clip)
Great Commercial
You have to watch this one until the end to get it...
Really great
The price of oil and the future of renewable energy
It was only 6 months ago that Goldman Sachs predicted $200 oil before the end of the year. Today, most analysts predict the price of oil will fall under $50 a barrel before the end of the year...
What will this mean for the future of renewable energy?
In the short term, it seems the answer is, unfortunately, a real slow down.
The combination of easing energy costs and a global credit crunch (making financing of new projects close to impossible) will slow down the progress of most companies in the space (Wind has been taking the majority of the hit over the last week, but this is true for solar, geothermal, and the others). A good article on this in the WSJ here
But in the long term, this may well be just be a small hiccup in the drive to eliminate energy dependence on oil.
Last night the show 60 Minutes had a profile with T Boone Pickens, who is trying to drive a shift into renewable energy with the "Pickens Plan" (this is a man that made his fortunes in the oil industry). He's already taken a big hit from the falling markets, and looks to be in for a rough time with his huge bet on the wind sector. But in the long term I believe he'll come out a huge winner.
Worth viewing:
What the financial markets look like
Red....
Here's a great map showing the performance of various stocks by sectors, with a strong red for the major declines.
What is the big island of green on the right? Try to guess
(Answer: Nothing to do with green technology of course... rather gold)
Making Australia a (Project) Better Place
After Israel, Denmark, and talks with Portugal and San Francisco, it now seems that Shai Agassi's Better Place is looking to take the electric fuelling infrastructure to Australia "an island that is the sixth largest country on Earth"
The company announced today a deal to set up a $660 million network in Australia, through partnership with two key groups - AGL Energy and Macquarie
This is a significant move, that will help prove the company's ability to scale its business well beyond small markets, and create one of the largest companies to ever come out of Israel. Good to see one person that's not slowing down at all in the current markets
Recent Comments