As I just wrote a couple hours ago, the Nissan Leaf is on a roll. One of the latest pieces of good news is that it is one. damn. safe. car. Not convinced? Read the following EV Obsession post.

Here’s some more good Nissan Leaf news to wrap up the weekend. The 2013 Nissan Leaf has received a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Image Credit: IIHS

“Driver and passenger safety are top priorities for Nissan and the ‘Top Safety Pick’ designation by IIHS reflects the design and innovation that have gone into this car to make it a practical, no-compromise electric vehicle,” Erik Gottfried, Nissan’s director of electric vehicle sales and marketing, noted. “The new, U.S.-assembled 2013 Nissan LEAF provides customers with a remarkable level of value, comfort and security at prices competitive with gas-powered cars in a fun-to-drive package.”

Four different passenger safety tests were performed in order to rate the car — front, side, rollover, and rear crash tests.

Standard 2013 LEAF safety systems include Nissan Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) with dual-stage supplemental front air bags with seat belt sensors and occupant classification sensor, front seat-mounted side impact supplemental air bags, roof-mounted curtain side impact supplemental air bags for front and rear-seat outboard occupant head protection, 3-point ALR/ELR seat belts (driver’s seat ELR only) with pretensioners and load limiters, child seat upper tether anchor, LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) system and child safety rear door locks. Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) and Traction Control System (TCS) are also standard on all LEAF models.

Thanks to Michael Graham Richard of TreeHugger for the find.

Along with this good news, a UK police force recently ordered 30 Nissan Leafs, the UK’s largest Nissan Leaf order to date; the Nissan leaf got a standout fuel economy and range rating from the US EPA; the Leaf was 2nd in sales (amongst all cars) in Norway in April; Leaf sales also surged in the US; and US and UK Leaf prices dropped considerably following the start of manufacturing in those countries. Nissan, and especially the Nissan Leaf crew, has a lot to be happy about.

2013 Nissan Leaf Achieves Best Safety Rating From IIHS was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

This post first appeared on RenewEconomy

The Australian solar sector is warning that the industry could be facing its toughest challenges in the coming years, as cost-competitive solar PV puts enormous strain on the business models of fossil fuel technologies.

Muriel Watt, the chair of the Australian Photovoltaic Association, said the solar industry should be prepared for a fight-back from the incumbent businesses in the form of regulatory and tariff protection, and even a campaign to demonise solar in the same way that had affected wind farm developments.

She cited the release of a report last week by the Electricity Supply Association of Australia, which represents many of the incumbents, was just a foretaste of things to come. Our report on the impact on coal-fired power stations is another example of the damage being inflicted on the industry. Tariff changes and connections issues are already becoming common.

“Things are getting serious,” Watt told the Solar 2013 conference in Melbourne. “The incumbents have found that renewables actually work. They thought that we would always be in the R&D bucket.”

More than 2.5GW of solar PV had been installed in Australia, and this could rise to at least 8GW by 2020, and to as high as 34GW by 2030 – with modules on households and businesses, as well as utility scale installations.

Watt said this will have a real impact on incumbents, which are already having network load factors reduced, retail kilowatt hour sales dropping, and fossil fuel plans closing down or operating less.

“This threatens the entire electricity structure which is based on kilowatt hours being passed through grid or sold at retailer level,” she said. Other associated technologies such as storage, solar hot water, demand management and energy efficiency would have a similar impact on demand from the grid, which would respond by putting prices up, giving further motivation for consumers to seek alternatives. This was a themetaken up by the head of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation Oliver Yates.

These are the examples cited by Watt of how the incumbent utilities would attempt to push back on solar:

Low buy back rates – low or no payments for electricity exported back to the grid from rooftop solar systems. This has already happened in most states.

Gross metering – a proposal made in Queensland which would force households to sell all the output from their rooftop systems to the grid operators, and buy it back at a higher price

Higher fixed charges -  This is happening across Australia, and was the basis of the ESAA paper, but Watt and others in the industry say it ignores the benefits brought by solar PV to the network.

Restrictions on new connections – like higher fixed charges, this is happening at both household and commercial level. Some grid operators insist on having the right to curtail output when they don’t want it.

Discriminatory offerings: There was evidence that retailers were offering discounts to consumers but refusing them to solar users. Watt questioned whether discrimination between customer types on the issue of connection fees, discount and charges was legal. “They are going to be pushing really hard to get these sort of options on the table. Even if they got half of it, they would feel it was a  success.

Restrictions on operation – Some grid operators insist on having the right to curtail output when they don’t want it.

Attempts to divide customers with have and have nots. – another theme from the ESAA report and other utility-sponsored studies which seeks to portray a large disadvantage to those without solar. She used this graph below (and Yates used a similar one) to highlight how the incumbent grid was responsible for most of the cost rises, but green energy got most of the blame.

Mobilizing anti renewable lobby groups – the industry is concerned that the same tactics deployed by the anti-wind lobby could be adapted for solar. As a foretaste, several landowners had opposed the siting of the proposed 20MW Royalla solar farm in the ACT – which is to be the largest in Australia to date. The landowners said they wished to sub-divide their properties and were concerned about the impact of the solar farm on visual amenity. “In a general sense people like solar … but when you start to move to large systems, putting solar in a field or next to farms next to them, that could create a  different dynamic,” Watt said.

Political and regulatory support – Watt said that the current rules of the National Electricity Market favour the incumbents. The regulatory framework has to change – it has facilitated overspending and doesn’t cater for reduced demand and demand management measures. (Another point highlighted by Yates and Greens leader Christine Milne)

Watt cited the example of recent inquiries into protecting networks against natural hazards such as storms and bushfires. Proposals such as laying transmission underground had been considered, but cheaper and most efficient options such as distributed generation and min-grids had not.

But she said it was inevitable that the industry would have to move to a service and energy solutions model rather than a pure volume sales model. This would include “net zero energy buildings”, storage, and links to the electric vehicle rollout. This is something that the utilities have considered, but do not yet appear ready to embrace.

How Fossil Fuel Incumbents Hope To Tame Solar Juggernaut was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

The Nissan Leaf is getting a bit of a masculinity boost with its recent inclusion into a UK police force. And dozens of Zero electric motorcycles, in no need of a masculinity boost, are also on their way to a police force… this one in Hong Kong. More details via EV Obsession:

Police fleets in Hong Kong and the UK recently got electric motorcycles and Nissan Leafs (respectively) for their crime-fighting (or crime-dealing, depending who they are) duties.

The UK order, for the West Midlands police force, is the largest UK order to date for the Nissan Leaf. 30 cars were delivered to the police force. The vehicles will be used for non-emergency trips. 10 policing units will be using the cars. Notably, the UK just recently started manufacturing Nissan Leafs, resulting in a considerable price cut. There’s no indication if that was part of the rationale for the purchase or not.

Of course, this follows the news that New York City is now engaging in a Nissan Leaf taxi pilot program. Nissan must be happy about the growing interest in using Leafs in fleets and such.

Nissan, New York City Launch Leaf Electric Vehicle Taxi Pilot. (PRNewsFoto/Nissan North America)

The 2012 Zero S motorcycles normally have an 89-mile single-charge range and a top speed of 88 miles per hour, but the ones sold to the police in this special order “have been up fitted with a series of components developed exclusively for traffic enforcement.”

Police Get Nissan Leafs & Zero S Electric Motorcycles In Hong Kong & UK was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

This post first appeared on Gas2
by Christopher DeMorro

High-performance hybrid supercars are all the rage among the wealthy right now, despite the failure of companies like Fisker Automotive. One particular car design that caught my eye is the BXR Motors Bailey Blade EVR, a performance plug-in hybrid with some serious potential. Is this the Fisker 2.0?

Yes, and no. While the drivetrain in the Bailey Blade EVR (currently still a one-off custom car) utilizes a similar turbocharged gas engine and an electric motor, there are some key differences between Fisker and Blade. For one, the Blade has an estimated curb weight of just 2,800 pounds, about half what the Fisker Karma weighed.

Then again, the Blade EVR also claims to have a battery pack with 200 kWh of capacity. I am going to assume that is a misprint, and is actually more like 20 kWh. The pure-electric Tesla Model S has a 85 kWh battery pack; a 200 kWh battery pack would be as big as the Blade EVR itself.

The combined output of the turbocharged 2.5 liter gas engine and single electric motor is said to be 500 horsepower and around 850 ft-lbs of torque, enough for a 0-60 mph time of just 4.5 seconds. Top speed is estimated to be in the 175 mph range, way faster than the Fisker could ever hope for.

But what might really give the Bailey Blade EVR a chance to succeed is the fact that there will be a concentional, gas-powered model as well. Using either a supercharged or turbocharged Ford 5.0 V8, having both a conventional and hybrid model gives BXR Motors more flexibility than Fisker had. As Bob Lutz has shown, some Fisker owners are more than ready to give up their hybrid drivetrain for a simpler and more-powerful V8 engine.

The gas-powered Blade XTR will come first, with a debut tentatively slated for the November SEMA Show in Las Vegas. If the reception is warm enough, there could be a new plug-in hybrid performance car to fill the hole left by the Fisker Karma…and I for one wouldn’t mind. Can BXR build a better Fisker?

Source: BXR Motors

BXR Motors Building Custom Hybrid Supercar was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Solar Power World’s Frank Andorka recently ran through a list of “23 solar pioneers whose names you should know.” Interesting list.

As a taster, I’ll drop the first 3 below, along with Frank’s quick summaries as to why they’re pioneers. For the remaining 23, jump on over to Frank’s post.

1. Archimedes

“As early as 212 BC, the Greek scientist, Archimedes, used the reflective properties of bronze shields to focus sunlight and to set fire to wooden ships from the Roman Empire which were besieging Syracuse. As a result, he became the father of concentrated solar power.”

2. Emperor Justinian of Rome

“Sunrooms on houses and public buildings were so common that the Justinian Code initiated “sun rights” to ensure individual access to the sun. Everyone has a right to the sun? We think we should put those rights into the U.S. Constitution. Way to go, Justinian.”

3. The Anasazi

“Ancestors of Pueblo people called Anasazi in North America live in south-facing cliff dwellings that capture the winter sun. Editorial Director Frank Andorka has actually seen these homes up close in New Mexico, and he says they are impressive.”

Go ahead and jump to #4 here.

23 Solar Pioneers You Should Know was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

In a town hall meeting with staffers last week, new Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz dropped a bombshell and a hint. The bombshell, at least as far as fans of natural gas are concerned, is that Moniz sees natural gas not as a permanent fixture in the US energy landscape, but merely as a temporary “bridge” to a globally competitive, low-carbon future that is well within our grasp.

As for the hint, Moniz mentioned that the Energy Department will ramp up its efforts to develop small hydro, engineered geothermal systems, and other “forgotten renewables.” That could have a profound impact on the ability of different areas of the country to leverage local and regional energy resources for economic development.

Water by dr_relling

Forgotten Renewables

The phrase “forgotten renewables” came up during Moniz’s confirmation hearings, in the opening statement by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR).

While spending considerable time acknowledging the current advantages of low-cost natural gas, Wyden makes clear that natural gas is not the answer for sustainable, long-term competitiveness in the global marketplace, given the potential for low-cost renewable energy technology breakthroughs outside of the US:

“Today, low cost natural gas provides our nation’s economy with a competitive advantage. However, new technological breakthroughs could put our competitive advantage at risk in the foreseeable future…. Renewables must be part of that solution. The committee this month will take up bills that will encourage hydropower and geothermal, which we would call the forgotten renewables.”

Moniz And Natural Gas

Moniz echoed this sentiment at the Energy Department town hall. Though he started off by stating that “this natural gas boom is a boon” in terms of its relatively low-carbon emissions, he uses that to make the case for a more aggressive pursuit of a long-term solution in the form of advanced alternative energy technology, including small hydro and engineered geothermal as well as “other options:”

“…gas [is] kind of a bridge to a very low carbon future… it affords us a little bit more time to develop the technologies, to lower the costs of the alternative technologies, to get the market penetration of these new technologies.”

The significance of that approach becomes clear if you take into account Moniz’s mention of solar power. He describes solar as a form of energy that will be “a lot bigger than most people think sooner than they think,” but he goes on to acknowledge that it is a regional strength, not a national one.

Given that context, Moniz is pitching “forgotten renewables” as policy platform not only for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but just as importantly for an increased focus on local energy sourcing that will enable all regions of the US, including Senator Wyden’s rainy, cloudy Pacific Northwest, to offer competitive renewable energy options.

National Energy Policy And Fossil Fuel Transportation

That brings us to something we’ll call the “forgotten fossil fuel problem,” namely, the environmental risks and costs of long-distance fossil fuel transportation.

Though major disasters like the BP Gulf Coast oil spill have brought attention to the risks involved in oil drilling, the fact is that fuel transportation is a risk factor that faces a current and future double whammy of increased development combined with an aging, under-monitored infrastructure.

That’s a problem begging for a policy that focuses more on local sourcing, with long-distance transport reserved mainly for electricity and not solid or liquid fuels.

Regarding the aging infrastructure of oil pipeline transportation, take a look back at the disastrous Enbridge oil pipeline spill that polluted 40 miles of the Kalamazoo River in Michigan two years ago with full cleanup nowhere near in site, or consider the damage done to a residential area and adjacent Lake Conway by the more recent ExxonMobil pipeline spill in Mayflower, Arkansas.

Now add in the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project. Even the notoriously lame draft Environmental Impact Statement written for the State Department noted that the pipeline will cross well over 1,000 waterways on its way from Canada down to the Gulf Coast, and the Environmental Protection Agency piled on by pointing out that the pipeline will carry a slurry of tar sands oil, which is exponentially more difficult to clean up than conventional oil.

We could go on… for example, there’s the issue of impacts from centralized natural gas storage and distribution hubs, wastewater transportation from natural gas fracking operations, the growing impacts of coal transportation, and the looming problem of petcoke disposal.

Given all of the above, it is little wonder that Ernest Moniz has called this “the crucial decade” for getting advanced renewable energy technologies off the ground and into the mainstream marketplace, natural gas or no natural gas.

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Ernest Moniz, Natural Gas And The “Forgotten Renewables” was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

State ARRA-funded C&I grant helps fund building retrofit: St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood, MN, is constantly seeking ways to improve its infrastructure in the most cost-effective ways. And when the stimulus-funded Commercial and Industrial Grant Program from the Minnesota Department of Commerce came along, it made energy efficiency easy.

St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood, MN, received a $300,000 grant for a $1 million building automation system upgrade and retro-commissioning project that covered all facility air handling units and heating and cooling systems.

St. John’s Hospital received a $300,000 grant for a $1 million building automation system upgrade and retro-commissioning project that covered all facility air handling units and heating and cooling systems. The grant, combined with other energy improvements financed by the St. Paul Port Authority and the Trillion Btu Program, will save St. John’s about $200,000 per year in energy costs. Simple payback for the $1 million project is about five years.

“We’re always looking for ways to improve our infrastructure—to improve clinical quality, increase efficiency, reduce risk, and improve safety,” said Jed Field, system director of engineering for HealthEast Care System. “The state grant allowed us to take the extra step or two from an energy-efficiency perspective to achieve the maximum energy savings for our buildings.”

Field said the grant was perfect timing for several large-scale improvements the hospital needed. The work, completed in 2011, included operational improvements and control of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems to attain maximum energy performance. New NEMA premium efficiency motors were installed to replace all non-NEMA premium motors 10 HP or larger. The new building automation system was implemented so that equipment can be turned down or turned off when the spaces served are unoccupied. Equipment adjustments were made and special pump controls and valves were installed for precise control to meet heating and cooling needs.

The energy upgrade work on St. John’s Hospital not only reduces energy costs, it improved the indoor air quality and comfort for patients and staff. It also generated work for at least two full-time equivalent jobs for one year, Field added.

Field said virtually any commercial or industrial facility that is 20 years or older figures to save 20 percent on their energy bill if they make significant energy upgrades. “There are great opportunities for retrofitting buildings,” Field added.

36 facilities realize energy efficiency, cost savings: St. John’s is just one of dozens of commercial, industrial and nonprofit facilities throughout Minnesota that are realizing handsome energy and cost savings, thanks in part to the $4.1 million energy upgrade grant program administered by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources. The grants, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), supported cost-effective energy efficiency improvements at 36 facilities in Minnesota.

Those 36 facilities will realize more than $3 million in ongoing energy savings every year for the foreseeable future, said Mike Rothman, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce. “This targeted investment of one-time funds will pay for itself over and over again,” said Rothman. “It has helped dozens of facilities dramatically reduce their energy consumption and realize millions of dollars in ongoing cost savings. That’s good for business, good for our environment, and good for our economy.

“Commercial buildings and industrial facilities like St. John’s Hospital consume about half of our state’s energy,” Rothman continued. “That’s why it makes sense to target large buildings like these. Targeted retrofits using one-time investments deliver the biggest bang for our buck.”

The program, which launched in December 2009, received 150 proposals out of which 39 were selected to receive grants. Most of the grants—36—were awarded for direct energy improvement projects, and three were given to nonprofit entities to operate revolving loan programs to help finance energy efficiency projects. For the direct improvement projects, the program required a financial match component. Projects were ranked according to projected energy savings, payback, leveraged additional spending per grant dollar, and job labor hours of work generated by the funding.

Average payback of four years: The grantees included a wide cross section of for-profit and nonprofit entities. Energy efficiency measures achieved included upgrades to lighting, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and controls and improvements to industrial processes. Overall, the projects will save an estimated 440,000 MMBtu per year, or enough energy to heat 8,150 homes per year, and will have an average payback of four years. The projects helped create or sustain more than 25 full-time equivalent jobs.

The Chippewa Valley Ethanol Plant in Benson used its grant to improve the process to recover waste heat from a stream of hot exhaust gases discharged from a regenerative thermal oxidizer. The process captures heat that normally would be exhausted into the atmosphere, runs it through a heat exchanger, and then uses it to avoid burning natural gas to produce heat needed for other parts of the ethanol production process. Chippewa Valley received a $500,000 grant to help fund the $2 million project. With estimated savings of $700,000 in natural gas costs per year, the project will pay for itself in about three years.

Gerdau Ameristeel U.S. Inc. of Duluth replaced two 30-year-old 900 kW power supplies with two new energy efficient 1,125 kW power supplies. The power is used to heat steel bar stock which is cut and forged into steel balls varying in size from 1 inch to 6 inches in diameter. The steel balls produced from the operation are used extensively in the taconite mining industry of Minnesota as well as other ore processing operations globally. The $1.5 million project, which received a $95,000 grant, is projected to reduce Gerdau’s energy consumption by 7 percent and save about $50,000 per year.

Other companies to benefit from the state energy grant program included 3M Company, Aeon, Aitkin Iron Works, Arrowhead Promotion and Fulfillment Company Inc., Caledonia Care and Rehab, Cambria Company LLC, Center for Energy and Environment, City Center Retail/AG 800 Washington LLC, City of Minneapolis CPED, Coastal Seafoods, Community Reinvestment Fund, Davisco Foods International Inc., Douglas Machine Inc., Earl Brown Tower LLP, Fairview Health Services (Maple Grove), FourCrown Inc. (Wendy’s), Habitat for Humanity of South Central Minnesota, Honeywell, J&B Group Inc., Le Sueur Inc., LifeCare Medical Center, Mall of America, National Sports Center Foundation, North Memorial Health Care (Maple Grove), Northern Plains Dairy, Pequot Tool & Mfg. Inc., Prospect Foundry LLC, Resource Inc., Rolco Inc., Seagate Technology LLC, Spruce Tree Center LLP, SuperValu Inc., Walker Art Center, Wausau Paper Mills LLC, YMCA of Greater St. Paul, and YWCA of Minneapolis.

To learn more: For more information from the Division of Energy Resources, visit the efficiency section of our website. Incentives for businesses and residences to perform energy efficiency upgrades are listed in the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency.

This case study was created by the Minnesota Division of Energy Resources, Department of Commerce. Click here to see other success stories

St. John’s Makes Energy Upgrades To 36 Buildings, Installs Building Automation System was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

This article first appeared on The Community Power Report
by Manny Pasqualini
Community Power Reporter – Oceania

Oceania is a region as diverse as any, dotted with tropical Pacific Island nations, the mountainous lands of New Zealand, and the world’s largest island and smallest continent, Australia. Amongst Oceania’s relatively few inhabitants, there is a growing movement of community-minded people and organisations working towards a switch to clean, renewable energy generation, away from dirty and increasingly cost-inefficient fossil fuel use. As diverse as the region’s geography, approaches to this clean energy transition take myriad of forms, and over the coming months I will be exploring the projects, organisations, and people responsible, with a special focus on community-based development capable of empowering ordinary people to respond to the threat of climate change, while enjoying the social and economic benefits that community renewable energy, or community power, can provide. This article provides a snapshot of the emerging community solar scene in my hometown of Melbourne, Australia.

In a recent article by Tom Arup, a number of community-based projects in metropolitan Melbourne were illuminated as potential candidates to become Australia’s first working community solar model. Yarra Community Solar, Climate Action Moreland Community Solar, and LIVE Community Power are all currently in an advanced stage of project development and continue to host community engagement events such as this one, while they build their business models. Another community solar project striving towards its first solar PV installation is the Ranges Energy Co-operative, in the outer-east of Melbourne. One of the early developers of a community solar model that functions independently of inconsistent government support, it establishes direct commercial partnerships between the energy co-operative and local businesses that become ‘hosts’ for community-owned solar farms and provide a steady stream of income through the sale of its ‘community-owned energy’, rather than relying on government subsidies (such as the now greatly reduced Victorian solar feed-in tariff). While receiving less media coverage than its inner-city cousins, and inconsistent support from local council, Ranges Energy has successfully implemented robust organisational structures, and vitally, a strong contractual framework to support the kind of power purchase agreement required in any long-term partnership with an eventual solar array host. Currently negotiating contracts with several local businesses, the community organisation run by volunteers helps lead an ever-growing alliance of energy co-operatives that are changing the face of climate action and ethical investment in Australia and across the region.

Of great significance not just in its native Victoria, but across Australia, is the invaluable community energy facilitation organisation Embark. Established by the people responsible for Australia’s first, and hugely successful community energy project Hepburn Wind (the other to date is the recently operational Denmark Community Windfarm), Embark is hands-on, specialist troubleshooter and project development consultancy that utilises its vast operational experience to assist groups to effectively guide their projects through the planning stages towards eventual implementation of their community renewable energy model. Spreading that knowledge for the good of community and climate is key to the importance of Embark’s work – by contributing to the strength of the sector the non-profit organisation is achieving its goals, and communities receive the assistance they need at little or no cost. Increasingly active across the country, high profile proposals such as the 400kW community solar project in Sydney’s Darling Harbour serve to illuminate the organisation’s essential and hugely influential role in the burgeoning sector, while the countless projects assisted behind the scenes serve as the backbone to their contribution.

With a handful of community solar projects on the cusp of becoming fully-fledged working models, the community power sector is primed to expand significantly in 2013. Eventually adding to this growth, with the help of some progressive political leadership, community wind projects similar to Hepburn Wind stand ready and waiting for a relaxation of the highly restrictive ‘no-go zone’ and ’2km setback’ laws currently set in place by the conservative Liberal/National Coalition government in Victoria. Along with solar and wind, clean energy generation methods involving biomass, geothermal, small-scale hydro, wave and tidal energy projects (to name a few) represent some of the ways community-based energy projects across Victoria, and the rest of this diverse region, are set to transform traditional, centralised energy markets into clean, clever, distributed and highly empowering systems for environmental and social renewal; community-beneficial economies that can enable people to help solve local, and global problems. As ethical investors, climate activists, clean energy supporters, or strengtheners of our communities, now it’s up to us to get on board with our local projects and see how we can help leave behind an era of barriers and challenges for one of innovative implementation and healthy, resilient communities.

Sources: RenewEconomy, The Age, YCAN, Ranges Energy, Hepburn Wind/Mistervint

Community Energy Oceania – A Snapshot Of Melbourne, Victoria was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

This 2013 Nissan Leaf is selling like hotcakes (and not just in Norway). And there’s a reason for it. It’s cheap (well, relatively speaking), has good range, and has excellent fuel economy. The EPA has just confirmed the latter two points, as this EV Obsession repost will tell you.

Image Credit: Nissan

The city-driving fuel economy is rated at 129 MPGe, while driving on the highway is rated at 102 MPGe.

The 115 MPGe rating is 16 MPGe higher than the 2012 Nissan Leaf (99 MPGe).

We have markets because different people have different preferences — we demand a variety of options. (Oh yeah, and we fought some wars and stuff….) But unless you have quite a bit more money to dish out on your car (everyone knows you’d buy a Tesla if you did), it’s pretty clear that the Nissan Leaf currently offers the best package for a 100% electric car in the US. Naturally, there are some exceptions — you may prefer or need some of the features other EVs offer — but all in all, the Leaf has a very low price, good range, and great fuel economy.

Official: 2013 Nissan Leaf Rated At 115 MPGe, 75 Miles On 90% Charge was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

The US Congressional Budget Office has completed its study of impact of carbon tax on the US economy. The CBO was given the tax to assess the impact of carbon tax on fossil fuels on the US economy and the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. In its second report on the subject, the CBO has given elaborate description of what a possible carbon tax regime could look like. 

The report seems extremely balanced as it elaborates the findings one step at a time without jumping to conclusions. One of the significant findings of the report is that while the share of US’ greenhouse gas emissions in the world would reduce to 15% from the current levels of 18%, it is important that efforts are made to reduce them. It says that it is important to do so to prevent “potentially catastrophic damage.”

As mentioned in an earlier report, the CBO estimates that a $20 per tonne tax on carbon dioxide emissions would yield revenue of $1.3 trillion over a period of 10 years. The emissions would also reduce by 8% during this period.

The report states that levying a carbon tax would certainly have an impact on the consumer prices which may have a cascading effect on the overall national economic growth. However, this damage can be countered by using the carbon tax revenue to a) reduce the fiscal deficit and b) reduce income tax and other taxes to support businesses and consumers. Thus, a revenue-neutral carbon tax may prove beneficial to the environment as well as the economy.

Next, the CBO has stated the possible points of implementation of carbon tax on fossil fuels – coal, oil and natural gas. It has been suggested the miners and well operators or the electricity generators can be placed under the carbon tax regime. This procedure would be convenient as reporting and monitoring process is well established at these points.

The report itself is a major step as it marks another milestone in the debate over regulations greenhouse gas emissions in the US Sadly though, it remains only a debate with no concrete action expected in the foreseeable future. Earlier this year, the Senate voted down a proposal which would have opened up a possibility of implementing a revenue-neutral carbon tax. Also, the White House has categorically stated that it has no intention of implementing a carbon tax.

The chief climate change negotiator for the US is believed to have proposed that countries around the world take up emissions reduction targets and adopt the means to achieve those targets according to their will and capacity instead of being directed by an international agreement. This may be looked as an attempt to derail the global effort to finalise a climate change treaty by 2015 but the US is bound to feel the peer pressure soon.

Both India and China have announced that they are studying options to cap their absolute emissions. While China has proposed that it would start regulating its emissions from 2016, India may do so from 2020 when the new climate change treaty is supposed to be implemented. But the EU and Australia remains the foci of uncertainty.

With a less-than-inspiring global situation and a Republican majority in the legislature which doubts the whole process of climate change, it seems that this and some more future administrations would continue to drag feet on the issue of substantially reducing America’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Carbon Tax Good For Climate And Economy, Says US Congressional Budget Office was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Here’s another excellent cleantech snack for some Friday Fun. Thanks again to an active CleanTechnica reader and commenter for passing it along:

For more on solar power’s massive price drop and related stories, check out:

1. Solar — A Disruptive Technology (Graph)
2. Solar PV Module Prices Have Fallen 80% Since 2008, Wind Turbines 29%
3. Solar #2 Source Of New Electricity In 2013 (+ More Graphs & Charts)
4. Renewable Energy Big Pic: Part 1 (Including 34 Charts & Graphs)
5. German Solar PV In January — €1.52/Watt
6. German Solar Installations Priced at $2.24 per Watt (US Solar at $4.44 per Watt)

Solar Power’s Massive Price Drop (Graph) was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Thanks to one of our wonderful readers and commenters for passing along this fun video disproving Elon Musk and Tesla Motors’ claim regarding how many kindergardeners can fit in a Tesla Model S:

Here’s another fun Tesla Model S video if you want more: Video: Tesla Model S Gets Its Drift On

16 Kindergardeners Fit In A Tesla Model S (Video) was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Editor’s Note: GM/Chevrolet may have hit the jackpot with the new Chevy Spark EV. The price is about $5,000 lower than was originally anticipated, just undercutting the Nissan Leaf. (I’m sure that wasn’t on purpose.) With a potential $10,000 cut in the cost of the Chevy Volt in the coming years, GM looks like it wants to take a big piece of the plug-in electric vehicle market. The competition is certainly heating up. For now, enjoy this repost from EV Obsession with more Chevy Spark EV details.

The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV has undercut the prices of the rest of the electric vehicles on the market. At $27,495 without the federal tax credit (which is up to $7,500), it’s a real steal.

Chevy Spark Electric Vehicle.
Image Credit: Chevrolet.com

When the tax credit is factored in, you can purchase the car for $19,995, a very reasonable price. The California state tax rebate (and those in some other places) can provide an additional savings of up to $2,500, reducing the vehicle’s price to as little as $17,495!

I think the fact that it is the cheapest electric vehicle that seats at least four people on the market, and that it charges the fastest (in 20 minutes, to 80% of its capacity), makes it a real consumer contender. It also accelerates from 0-60 MPH in 7.6 seconds, which is considered “peppy,” faster than most cars.

Has Chevy pulled off another Volt? The Volt set the bar higher for plug-in electric vehicles with its generous interior room and its range extender, which enables it to drive anywhere on gas or electricity.

“The Chevrolet Spark EV is the most efficient – and now one of the most affordable — EVs you can buy,” said Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet Marketing, in a press release yesterday. “Combined with outstanding infotainment and great design, the fun-to-drive Spark EV is engineered to impress.”

GM backs the Chevy Spark’s battery with an 8-year, 100,000-mile warranty.

On its website, Chevy pointed out some of the important advantages of electric vehicles, such as the lack of a transmission — at most, an electric vehicle will contain a single reduction gear to boost overall torque. Gasoline-engines actually use conventional transmissions to mimic the torque curve which is innate to electric motors.

I think GM and Chevrolet have a win here. What do you think? Will it take over the Leaf’s top spot?

Chevy Spark EV Undercuts Competitions’ Charge Times & Prices was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Editor’s Note: I noticed the 100,000 milestone was passed a couple days ago — very exciting news. Took us a bit to get this story up, but an interesting thing to note is that the number is now up to 101,041, a couple days later. That’s exciting. Electric cars are here, and they’re growing fast. Check out news and commentary about the 100,000 milestone in this EV Obsession repost below.

Over 100,000 plug-in vehicles have been sold in the US! (according to Plug In America)

This is an estimate, so it isn’t necessarily 100,000, and the person that purchased the 100,000th vehicle isn’t known either, but it is still an important milestone!

It is short of a much larger 1-million-EV goal President Obama set, but the advancement of electric vehicle technology has picked up its pace, not just in the past five years, but even more so in the past three years, and things really are heating up.

Conventional hybrids are only a little more expensive than their gasoline counterparts, with gasoline savings that often make them cheaper overall, and now the more efficient plug-in hybrids are being introduced into the market (gradually).

This is only 1/10th of Obama’s 1-million-vehicle goal. However, it is still very important. It shows that the electric car industry is finally growing at a good clip, and government and corporate research is paying off.

Another important point is that a lot more than 100,000 people have gotten to experience electric vehicles — their families and friends have also become accustomed to EVs, carrying the number of people that experienced these clean cars into the hundreds of thousands.

Most of these people can now get past false stereotypes and prejudices, helping to clear up public uncertainty about electric vehicles, which is one important step forward.

According to TreeHugger, it’s also worth noting that Plug In America was the non-profit organization that organized a protest against the destruction of the General Motors EV1. The organization has been around and fighting for EVs for quite some time.

US Attains 100,000 Plug-In Vehicle Milestone! was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Telling it like it is, in this Climate Progress repost, outgoing Energy Secretary and Nobel laureate Steven Chu discusses the #1 problem society faces today: climate change.

By Joe Romm

Dr. Ernest Moniz was sworn in as the new Energy Secretary this week. Last week, the previous Secretary, Dr. Steven Chu, gave an interview to Stanford where he is returning as a physics professor.

The Nobel laureate was asked “What’s the No. 1 problem on your list?” His answer:

Climate change. We’re heading into an era where if we don’t change what we’re doing, we’re going to be fundamentally in really deep trouble. We’re already in trouble. So we have to transition to better solutions.

We’re not too far away from producing a lot of renewable energy, and doing it cheaply. Solar power is going to become cheaper and cheaper – costs have plummeted three-fold in six years, partly because of the dropping price of modules and electronics. Wind energy is within 15 percent of the cost of new natural gas energy, and the DOE predicts that that cost will cross over within one or two decades, so we need to start to plan the transition system that can conduct more wind energy.

But right now, we’re not prepared. As technology continues to race forward – battery technology has advanced faster in the past five years than what I’ve seen in the [previous] 15 years – we need policy to guide and anticipate development. It takes decades to change things like infrastructure, and so people have to think about that today. Otherwise, progress slows down, and we emit more carbon and get into more trouble environmentally.

Back in 2009, Chu said “Wake up,” America, “we’re looking at a scenario where there’s no more agriculture in California.”

Chu did keep talking about climate change in the past 4 years, but neither the media nor the White House were paying much attention. And so we are “already in trouble” with much, much worse to come if we don’t act now.

Nobel Laureate Steven Chu: #1 Problem Is Climate Change was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).