"It's about seeing the world as what it can be and not what it is." - K.R. Sridhar, founder and CEO of Bloom Energy.

 

I come back from Brazil, functioning on two nights of little sleep, but I cannot restrain myself from gushing and hoping that the much hyped "Bloom Box," which launched today, will revamp our nation's infrastructure over the next several years.

 

Not having read much news the past two weeks, I was jolted by friend and former classmate now studying in Denmark, who sent me a quick one-line email asking me what I thought about the Bloom Box, the creation of Bloom Energy, a Silicon Valley start-up that has received hundreds of millions of venture capital money. (more...)

I am about to return from Brazil.  It's been a trip long in the making, and I am glad I had this opportunity to visit this country once again.

 

And as this journey ends, another one begins.

 

My interest in sustainability dates back far into my childhood, and I have been deeply vested in such issues since the early 1990s.  It has only been in the last year, however, when I have decided to pursue this passion full time.  It has been a fantastic ride:  (more...)

The debate over biofuels is often a heated one.  In Indonesia, the thirst for palm oil has led to deforestation and a rise in food crops.  Naturally we all have opinions over corn ethanol's effects here in the United States.  I've always had the view that biofuels, if sourced sustainably and does not require more energy than the finished energy product, will not only provide a good local source for regional transportation fleets, but have the potential to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels.  One source that has promising potential with minimal environmental impact is barley.  Remember barley?  Your grandmother probably put it in a soup, but this grain is often ignored--in fact, go to a posh restaurant and you'll see faro before you see barley.

 

Last month I had a conversation with an executive at a biofuel start-up that uses barley as its feedstock.  During our conversation, he took the time to explain barley's benefits to me:

The frenzy over biofuels has often ended with unhappy results.  Corn-based ethanol in the US served to only increase food prices and cause even more pollution in the Gulf of Mexico.  The quest for palm-oil based fuels has deforested way too much of Indonesia's forest.  The future does not look pretty if more folks around the world plan on buying automobiles.  As with many environmental solutions, you create a new problem by solving another.  (more...)

I have mentioned several times the potential for dimethyl ether (DME) as a viable fuel source.  The race for harvesting DME is between East Asia, Sweden, and now Canada.  Another company, Calgary-based GV Energy, has plans on opening a DME plant in Terrace, British Columbia.

 

Like many forestry towns in the Pacific Northwest, Terrace has been hit hard by changing global economic forces.  Once Terrace was known as the cedar pole capital of the world.  Over 50,000 telephone and energy poles left Terrace, ending up all over North America, the tallest of which still stands in New York City. (more...)

While most European Union member states are flummoxed in trying to reach that 20% renewables goal by 2020, Spain is quietly a leader in the race.  The country aims to have 30% of its electricity needs met by renewables by the end of 2010.  Spain is only second behind Germany in sourcing wind energy, and is the leader in solar thermal technology.  Your first impression may be that such a policy is the result of a strong central government policy.  But since 1978, Madrid has granted many regions in the country wide autonomy, and while relations within Spain's borders are often tenuous, there is one encouraging result:  some of these autonomous regions have the highest usage of renewable energy sources in all of Europe.  One region is Navarre (in Spanish, Navarra; Basque, Nafarroa), located in the Basque region bordering France. (more...)

The debate over climate change and energy independence is often divisive and polarizing.  First we must confront the apathetic and the nay-sayers, which has not been easy in the USA with the purported "Climate-gate" bruhaha and our concern over 10% unemployment.  The Obama Administration has not been very helpful with its "green jobs" rhetoric--I think every week we have heard of the push for "home weatherization" schemes, which leaves me with the image of former Avon salespeople tapping our walls to make sure they are properly insulated (is this really the best Obama & Co. can do?).  Then you've got the debate over who should lead . . . corporations, or government?  Well, what about non-profits?  One organization with a stellar "green" record is the American Jewish Committee (AJC), a 103-year-old advocacy group with 32 chapters in the United States. (more...)

Last week's posting on raising funds through LinkedIn really hit a nerve.  I got an overwhelming response, most of them in the context of "Wow, I had no idea," and these were from professionals of impressive backgrounds.  As I have stated, I think the flock of "I need $3 mil" postings on LinkedIn is because funds are limited while ideas are aplenty.

 

The WSJ has a great article on the Department of Energy's (DOE) role as a business incubator and investor.  (more...)

I had almost forgotten about CNN, but today at the gym, I spent my time on the elliptical machine watching Campbell Brown interview's of Thomas Friedman.  I still have not read Friedman's book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, but I'm motivated to snag a copy after watching him this afternoon.  His point of tying in the current financial crisis with the debate over climate change really resonated with me.  After all, the financial crisis resulted from large financial firms taking huge risks, the cost of which taxpayers are now shouldering.  Buying oil from the Middle East, and sending our currency abroad, for an energy source that has huge geopolitical, financial, and environmental risk, is also a threat to our future.  With the supposed hacked emails causing an uproar in Congress and amongst the right, more of our peers are doubting the size behind global warming.  According to Friedman, that's neither here nor there.  (more...)

What do you do when you're new to the EU and face that 20% renewables target by 2020?  Ask Kaunas, Lithuania's second largest city and the country's largest logistics and economic hub.  Home to 350,000 people--10% of whom are students--Kaunas faces difficult choices in the next several years as Lithuania struggles to meet EU regulations. (more...)

It looks like today's DME Wednesday.  I just profiled BC's Blue Fuel Energy, and came across an announcement from Korea's natural gas monopoly, Korea Gas Corp (Kogas), stating that the company is investing US$338 million into a plant that will produce cooking fuel from DME.  Long range plans call for Kogas to develop DME for auto fuel, but Kogas' investment takes DME back to its roots:  a clean, cost-effective form as cooking fuel. (more...)

I think we'll continue the Eastern Europe tour this week (with a side trip to British Columbia tomorrow), timely considering 20 years have passed since the Berlin Wall fell.  So let's discuss another inspiring success story in the once-Iron Curtain, Estonia.  Overall, this easternmost of the Baltic States has gob-smacked the world with its economic transformation.  Depending on what survey you read, Estonia is the freest economy in the world, or ranks twelfth--impressive no matter how the survey data is tweaked.  Benefiting from its proximity to Finland (Estonia's largest trading partner); avoiding the vitriol towards Russia that has stunted economic and diplomatic progress for its neighbor, Latvia; and overall embrace of privatization, this tiny nation of 1.3 million has become a haven for telecommunications, IT, and engineering firms.  The recent financial crisis has put a dent in Estonia's economic growth, but all indicators suggest Estonia will dust off those troubles and continue to thrive.  When it comes to its energy infrastructure, Estonia is remarkably independent, but relies on a worrisome source:  oil shale. (more...)