Clean Fleet Reporthybrid & electric cars smart charged with renewable energy
Ford Focus Electric Cars from New Green Michigan Plant
Ford’s new Focus Electric Car and Plug-in Hybrid will be built in one of the auto industry’s greenest manufacturing plants. Ford is working with Detroit Edison to install a 500-kilowatt solar photovoltaic panel system at Michigan Assembly. Clean Fleet Report predicts that in 2012 an all-new Ford Focus family will be offered with choices that include a gasoline-sipping EcoBoost engine, a Focus Hybrid, a Focus Plug-in Hybrid, and Focus Electric.
Solar Energy’s 33 Percent Annual Growth will Accelerate
Solar energy growth continues its strong growth. For the 30 years from 1979 to 2009, solar energy has grown 33 % CAGR (compound average growth rate). For this decade, over 40 percent is forecast. Although 2009 was hurt by a sever recession and difficulty in financing large projects, most additional power brought online in the United States, Europe, and much of Asia was renewables. 32 GW of solar power is installed globally; 7.2 GW was installed last year. I joined 2,500 conference attendees at Intersolar North America, that develop this progress report, especially about solar in the 100kWh to 20 MW hour category.
Thin-Film Solar Energy Growing 100 Percent Annually
Thin-film solar grew 102 percent annually from 2006 to 2010, as costs fell. By 2009, thin-film reached 23 percent of total solar market share. By 2013, it should reach 30 percent. Over 160 companies currently compete in the thin-film space, with First Solar being the billion-dollar giant who is the cost leader with large-scale electric utility projects. GTM Research dives into the complex issues of cost curves, investor risk, and market demand, to forecast the future for the industry.
Off-Shore Wind is New Source of U.S. Renewable Energy
The United States now has a new source of clean electricity for homes, buildings, and industrial stationary power and also for the growing use of electricity in rail and electric cars. Wind power is especially available at night when we hope to eventually charge millions of vehicles. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on April 28 approved the Cape Wind renewable energy project on federal submerged lands in Nantucket Sound. The Cape Wind facility will generate a maximum electric output of 468 megawatts with an average anticipated output of 182 megawatts. At average expected production, Cape Wind could produce enough energy to power more than 200,000 homes in Massachusetts.
Global Wind Energy to Double in Four Years
Global wind energy markets are expected to continue their rapid growth, with the world’s wind power capacity increasing by 160% over the coming five years, according to the annual industry forecast presented by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). The two markets leading global wind power expansion will continue to be the U.S. and China, whose markets have exceeded all expectations in recent years. GWEC said that it expects that the global installed wind capacity will reach 409 GW by 2014, up from 158.5 GW at the end of 2009.
36 States now have Utility-Scale Wind Power
The U.S. wind energy grew in 2009. There are 36 states that have utility-scale wind projects and 14 states are in the “Gigawatt Club” with more than 1,000 MW of installed wind capacity. Texas consolidated its lead in wind capacity and in largest wind farms installed, according to the annual wind industry market report by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
China Invested $88 billion in High Speed Rail in 2009
China’s Ministry of Railways spent $88 billion on HSR projects in 2009 – part of an existing $300 billion plan to expand and connect all of the country’s major cities with a projected 10,000 miles of HSR lines by 2020. Clean Edge included high-speed rail for the first time in its annual Clean Energy Trends report which tracks key developments in clean-energy markets.
Meeting the Energy and Climate Challenge by Dr. Steven Chu
“The U.S. innovation machine is the greatest in the world,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu as he spoke at Stanford on March 7. He outlined the potential for breakthroughs in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and in batteries. He outlined a new Industrial Revolution as he presented solutions for the latest climate risks.
U.S. Wind Energy Breaks Record with 10 GW added in 2009
The U.S. wind industry broke all previous records by installing 9,922 MW installed last year expand the nation’s wind plant fleet by 39% and bring total wind power generating capacity in the U.S to over 35,000 MW. The five-year average annual growth rate for the industry is now 39%. Wind power and natural gas are the leading sources of new electricity generation for the United States, generating 80% of new capacity, as most utilities avoid the risks of adding coal and nuclear power plants.
TVA adds 815 megawatts of Wind Power
The Tennessee Valley Authority is moving closer to its goal of having more than 50 percent of its power generation from renewable energy with 4 new contracts for the purchase of up to 815 megawatts of renewable wind energy. This 300MW power purchase agreement (PPA) is the largest PPA to date for Iberdrola, the world leader in wind farm assets with over 10GW of wind power and 54GW of additional RE power in its pipeline.
