Green Wombat

California's Cow-Powered Solar Power Stations

photo originally uploaded by mona, eh

How's this for green energy: The California Public Utilities Commission yesterday approved contracts for two 49.4-megawatt solar power plants that will use biogas made from cow manure as a backup fuel source. The plants will be located on 640 acres of alfalfa farmland in Southern California's Imperial Valley and will provide electricity to San Diego Gas & Electric (SRE). The developer is Bethel Energy, which was founded by Len Daniel, a former engineering executive with the storied solar power pioneer Luz. The Israeli company built eight solar power plants in California's Mojave desert in the 1980s that are still operating and generating some 300 megawatts of power. The Bethel Solar One and Bethel Solar Two plants will use the latest version of the solar thermal technology devised by Luz. That likely means solar troughs (like the ones at Arizona utility APS's (PNW) Sagauro solar plant pictured at right) that uses the sun to heat an oil or other liquid to create steam to drive a electricity-generating turbine. According to California Public Utility Commission documents, bovine biofuel will be used to pre-heat the plant's equipment. Cow poop, of course, releases the potent greenhouse gas methane, so using bovine biofuel in a solar power station is a one-two punch against global warming. At least two companies have contracts to sell cow power to California utility PG&E (PCG), but this is apparently the first time it will be used to supplement solar energy.

Philips: Time to Banish the Bulb

photo originally uploaded by welshkaren

Philips (PHG), one of the world's leading light bulb makers, wants to flip the switch on incandescent lighting - one of its major product lines. Yesterday the company joined a campaign to push for legislation to phase out by 2016 the use of energy-hogging traditional lighting in favor of more planet-friendly compact fluorescent light bulbs and LEDs. Another unlikely bedfellow in the effort to replace century-old lighting technology is utility giant Duke Energy (DUK). The Lighting Efficiency Coalition - an amalgam of several environmental groups and their corporate allies - supports legislation to promote the switch to less energy-intensive lighting through energy consumption standards for lighting, green buying programs for government agencies and financial incentives for consumers. According to the coalition, energy efficient lighting it could save the U.S. $18 billion annually in electricity costs - the equivalent of shutting down 18 coal-fired power plants or eliminating 158 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.  Philips, of course, stands to profit if it can dominate the CFL and LED markets. General Electric (GE) also sells CFLs but recently announced it was developing a more energy efficient incandescent bulb.

Tech CEOs: Double Federal Funding for Green Energy

TechNet, the technology industry's lobbying arm, released a report today calling for an overhaul of U.S. policy to promote renewable energy and support green tech innovation. Silicon Valley heavyweights like Cisco Systems (CSCO) CEO John Chambers and venture capitalist John Doerr, along with green tech startup execs, are in Washington this afternoon to unveil the policy initiative. "We are at a unique inflection point at which it is within our reach as a nation to make the shift from an economy fueled predominantly by oil to one that relies on a balanced mix of alternative energies and new technologies," the TechNet Green Technologies Task Force states. "Clean energy innovations are positioned to be the next great disruptive technologies with the potential to revolutionize the energy industry, spurring economic growth and creating new industries
and jobs."

Among the policy recommendations:

• Double federal funding for energy research to $4 billion a year.
• Restructure tax incentives given to Big Oil and the fossil fuel industry to favor renewable energy and green tech innovation.
• Create a national renewable energy portfolio standard requiring utilities to source a percentage of their electricity from solar, wind and other green energy generation.
• Establish a national carbon trading market to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight global warming.
• Allow utilities like PG&E (PCG) to recoup their investments in renewable energy generation and transmission.
• As the largest energy buyer in the country, the federal government should spur green tech innovation through purchases of renewable energy and establish a quota for green energy consumption.
• Promote national energy efficiency standards.

To show its member companies practice what they preach, the TechNet report cited recent corporate efforts to support renewable energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Computer chip equipment maker Applied Materials (AMAT), for instance, has pledged to power 12 percent of its headquarters from solar and wind energy while Google (GOOG) is installing a 1.6 megawatt solar array on its headquarters buildings to supply 30 percent of its electricity. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) has promised to increase its purchases of renewable energy by 350 percent in 2007 and Yahoo (YHOO) converted its employee shuttles to run on biodiesel.

Wal-Mart to Consumer Electronics Suppliers: Go Green

How green is that Game Boy? Wal-Mart (WMT) wants to know. Beginning next year the retail giant will require its consumer electronics suppliers to fill out a "sustainability scorecard" listing various environmental attributes of their products, including energy efficiency, use of toxic materials and packaging size. The company will use the scorecard to help it choose which products appear on its shelves and will also make the information available to Wal-Mart shoppers. "The scorecard encourages improvements that are good for business as well as for the environment, reflecting Wal-Mart's view that being a profitable and efficient business goes hand-in-hand with being a good steward to the environment," said Wal-Mart executive Ross Farnsworth in a statement. "Many electronics contain hazardous materials and are disposed of improperly. The scorecard issues a better score to those suppliers who build products with fewer hazardous materials and offer electronics recycling opportunities to customers."

That means consumer electronics companies from Sony (SNE) to Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Kodak (EK) will have to disclose how some of their eco-marketing campaigns translate into reality. Assuming consumer electronics companies cooperate - and few can afford not to play ball with Wal-Mart - you'll be able to see if a Microsoft (MSFT) Zune is better for the environment than a Creative Zen MP3 player. Alas, just how green the iPod is will remain a mystery as Apple (AAPL) does not sell to shoppers seeking everyday low prices.  Dangling a carrot to consumer electronic companies, Wal-Mart on Monday also announced a design contest to create a green gadget that will rate high on the sustainability scorecard. The winner will be sold in Wal-Mart's U.S. stores.

HP's Green Computers

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) today began selling a series of desktop business computers designed to meet strict new federal energy-efficiency standards for PCs that go into effect in July. Called Energy Star 4.0, the standards are the first update to computer energy efficiency requirements since 2000. Hewlett-Packard says its HP Compaq dc5700, dc5750 and dc7700 can be configured to use 52 percent less electricity than standard desktops, saving between $6 and $58 in power costs annually per computer. That means the computers  run cooler and need less air conditioning. Electric utility companies like PG&E (PCG), Xcel Energy (XEL) and Southern California Edison (EIX) have been pushing Dell (DELL), HP and other computer makers to improve the energy efficiency of  PC power supplies to lower the demand on the grid.