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"Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy Tweet this talk! (we'll add the headline and the URL) Post to: Share on Twitter Email This Favorite Download inShare Share on StumbleUpon Share on Reddit Share on Facebook TED Conversations Got an idea, question, or debate inspired by this talk? Start a TED Conversation, or join one of these: Green Home Energy=Hydrogen Generators-alternative sources Started by Kathleen Gilligan-Smith 1 Comment What is the real missing link in renewable energy? Started by Enrico Petrucco 8 Comments Comment on this Talk 60 total comments Sign in to add comments or Join (It's free and fast!) Sort By: smily raichel 0 Reply Less than 5 minutes ago: Nice smily raichel 0 Reply Less than 5 minutes ago: Good David Mackey 0 Reply 3 hours ago: Superb invention, but I would suggest one more standard mantra that they should move on from and that is the idea of power being supplied by a centralised grid. This technology seems to me to be much more beneficial on a local scale, what if every home had its own battery, then home power generation becomes economically more viable for everyone. If you could show that a system like this could pay for itself in say 5 years then every home would want one. Plus for this to be implemented on a large scale requires massive investment that could be decades away. Share the technology and lets get it in homes by next year. Great ted talk. Jon Senior 0 Reply 1 hour ago: I agree 100%. Localised energy production would also make energy consumers more conscious of their consumption and encourage efforts to reduce it. We can invent and invent all we want, but the fast solution to allowing renewable energies to take centre stage is to reduce the base energy draw. With lower baseline consumption, smaller "always on" generators are required to keep the grid operational. Town and house-l

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell has approved a bill that establishes a $500 million fund to support alternative energy projects. Special Session House Bill 1 authorizes the Commonwealth Financing Authority to borrow $500 million, most of which will be split into six funding sources relating to energy efficiency and renewable energy: $80 million in grants and loans for solar energy projects; $100 million in grants, loans, and rebates for up to 35 percent of the cost of solar energy projects at residences and small businesses; $165 million in grants and loans for alternative energy projects, excluding solar energy, at businesses and local government facilities; $25 million for wind and geothermal energy projects; $40 million to help start-up businesses involved in energy efficiency technologies; and $25 million in grants and loans to improve the energy efficiency of new and existing homes and small business buildings.

Until November it was virtually impossible for a private developer of renewable energy power plants to become an independent power producer (IPP) in Mexico. Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution precluded private investment stating that electricity generation for public use is an activity to be undertaken exclusively by the Government. Mexico's enactment of a new law for the use of Renewable Energy and the Financing of the Energy Transition ( Ley para el Aprovechamiento de Energías Renovables y el Financiamiento de la Transición Energética ) substantially improves the legal framework for private investment in renewable energy projects. The law regulates renewable energy electricity generation for purposes other than providing public electricity services. The law states that the use of renewable energy for electricity generation is possible for private use and any excess energy can be sold, but only based on regulations and approvals by Mexico's energy regulatory body, CRE .

Led by China, the developing nations of the world now consume more energy than the industrialized countries, according to the 2009 BP Statistical Review of World Energy. BP released its annual review of world energy use on June 10, noting that industrialized countries reduced their energy consumption by 1.3% in 2008, led by a 2.8% drop in the United States, marking the country's steepest single-year decline since 1982. That decrease was counterbalanced by increasing energy use in developing countries, which caused global energy consumption to increase by 1.4%.

"What are the most important key performance indicators? There are, for example, indicators defining the temperature changes in reference rooms. This includes what is referred to as hours of overheating in summer. If the room temperature exceeds 26 degrees Celsius during more than 10 percent of the hours of use during a year, the room comfort is no longer achieved. Other indicators measure air quality. For example, there are CO2 sensors or so-called VOC-sensors that detect certain scents emitted by the users themselves. If the data exceed certain values, the performance in terms of air quality is not considered as good. In addition, there are energy performance indicators, such as an indicator for the overall energy efficiency of a building. We simply measure the energy that is supplied to the building. We then compare the data to pre-calculated values. We can then evaluate whether the building achieves the desired energy performance. Another indicator is the so-called net energy consumption. This is the energy that users actually have to pay for. "

A new era for commodities Cheap resources underpinned economic growth for much of the 20th century. The 21st will be different. NOVEMBER 2011 * Richard Dobbs, Jeremy Oppenheim, and Fraser Thompson Source: McKinsey Global Institute, Sustainability & Resource Productivity Practice In This Article Exhibit: In little more than a decade, soaring commodity prices have erased a century of steady declines. About the authors Comments (2) Has the global economy entered an era of persistently high, volatile commodity prices? Our research shows that during the past eight years alone, they have undone the decline of the previous century, rising to levels not seen since the early 1900s (exhibit). In addition, volatility is now greater than at any time since the oil-shocked 1970s because commodity prices increasingly move in lockstep. Our analysis suggests that they will remain high and volatile for at least the next 20 years if current trends hold-barring a major macroeconomic shock-as global resource markets oscillate in response to surging global demand and inelastic supplies. Back to top Demand for energy, food, metals, and water should rise inexorably as three billion new middle-class consumers emerge in the next two decades.1 The global car fleet, for example, is expected almost to double, to 1.7 billion, by 2030. In India, we expect calorie intake per person to rise by 20 percent during that period, while per capita meat consumption in China could increase by 60 percent, to 80 kilograms (176 pounds) a year. Demand for urban infrastructure also will soar. China, for example, could annually add floor space totaling 2.5 times the entire residential and commercial square footage of the city of Chicago, while India could add floor space equal to another Chicago every year. Such dramatic growth in demand for commodities actually isn't unusual. Similar factors were at play throughout the 20th century as the planet's population tripled and demand for various resource

Dwarfed by any of the north African nations, it represents an area slightly smaller than Wales but scientists claimed yesterday it could one day generate enough solar energy to supply all of Europe with clean electricity. Speaking at the Euroscience Open Forum in Barcelona, Arnulf Jaeger-Walden of the European commission's Institute for Energy, said it would require the capture of just 0.3% The scientists are calling for the creation of a series of huge solar farms - producing electricity either through photovoltaic cells, or by concentrating the sun's heat to boil water and drive turbines - as part of a plan to share Europe's renewable energy resources across the continent. A new supergrid, transmitting electricity along high voltage direct current cables would allow countries such as the UK and Denmark ultimately to export wind energy at times of surplus supply, as well as import from other green sources such as geothermal power in Iceland. Energy losses on DC lines are far lower than on the traditional AC ones, which make transmission of energy over long distances uneconomic. The grid proposal, which has won political support from both Nicholas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown, answers the perennial criticism that renewable power will never be economic because the weather is not sufficiently predictable. Its supporters argue that even if the wind is not blowing hard enough in the North Sea, it will be blowing somewhere else in Europe, or the sun will be shining on a solar farm somewhere.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy John Mizroch announced recently that the DOE will invest up to US $24 million -- subject to the availability of funds -- to develop solar energy products that will hopefully accelerate the penetration of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the United States. \n\nWhen the projects are combined with the overall industry cost share of up to US $16 million, more than US $40 million in total could be invested in these SEGIS projects, with future federal funding subject to appropriations from Congress.\n\nThe Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems (SEGIS) projects will provide critical research and development (R&D) funding to develop less expensive, higher performing products to enhance the value of solar PV systems to homeowners and business owners. These projects are integral to the Solar America Initiative, which aims to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity by 2015. \n

A vote could come as early as this week in the U.S. Senate on a bill introduced by Senate Tax Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) containing a one-year renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) extension and a small wind turbine investment tax credit. The Senate bill, S. 3335, contains a one-year PTC extension at its current value. After December 31, 2009, any further extension would include the "presumption" of a cost cap, which would, through a complex formula, put a ceiling on the value of the credits of no greater than 35% of project value. The small wind ITC has a cap of US $4,000 per system.The 10-year cost for the PTC, including all technologies to which it applies, is projected to be approximately US $7 billion, while the ITC, which includes solar, would cost approximately US $907 million over 10 years. The bill also includes provisions to extend through 2014 the tax credits for solar energy, fuel cell and microturbine property, as well as the residential energy efficient property tax credit. Marine renewable energies could also benefit from the bill as credits to build wave, tidal, current and ocean thermal energy conversion systems of at least 150 kilowatts (kW) are extended through the end of 2011.

Leadership in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are calling on the Department of Energy (DOE) to allocate US $250 million of the $2.5 billion in stimulus funding for renewable energy research and development to the emerging marine renewable energy industry. The funding would help develop wave, current and tidal energy technologies

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched the EnergySmart Hospitals initiative, with the aim of increasing the use of energy efficient technologies in hospitals across the United States. \n\nThe EnergySmart Hospital initiative will provide hospitals with design strategies, advanced energy design guides, technology assessments, case studies, training sessions, and an interactive Website to help hospitals increase their energy efficiency. The initiative intends to improve energy efficiency in existing hospitals by 20 percent and to help develop new hospitals that are 30 percent more efficient than current building standards. It will also support hospitals in meeting the challenge of lowering costs while delivering quality patient care and maintaining healthy healing and work environments. \n

DOE announced on September 8 that it will award $6.6 million in competitive grants for 15 state-level projects, nine of which focus on developing policy and regulations to support gigawatt-scale clean energy capacity, and six of which focus on developing advanced building codes. Of these awards, $4 million will go to the gigawatt-scale clean energy capacity projects, which will develop policy and regulatory frameworks that will enable gigawatt-scale clean energy, either through renewable energy or demand-side reductions. Although no cost share was mandated, state partners will contribute up to $1.8 million for these projects. The six advanced building codes projects will receive $2.6 million, which will assist states in developing and implementing residential, commercial, or overarching building codes. Along with its financial assistance, DOE will support these projects with ongoing technical assistance.

(Washington, DC) Some of the most influential and competitive organizations in the renewable energy industry have now joined together to create the first trade association for organizations that market renewable energy. The Renewable Energy Marketers Association (REMA) has formed to vigorously promote the economic and national security benefits of domestic renewable energy.

"The transition to a more decentralised and intelligent energy system will continue in 2017, driven by the continued regulatory support for renewable energy in a number of key markets. The 3 Ds of energy are driving future investment - increased decentralisation, the need to decarbonise electricity generation, and digitisation to boost the sector's operational efficiency and open up new market opportunities. The highest growth rates will be for solar PV, with investment forecast to increase by 11.5% to €141.6 billion in 2017. China continues to be the largest market in terms of revenue investment, but the fastest growth will come from India, which will see double-digit growth in investment to 2020. New business models that incentivise smarter consumption patterns, and the growth of energy storage technologies, will increasingly reduce the need for peak capacity investment in mature energy markets."

BLYTH, NORTHUMBERLAND, UK, August 4, 2008. The New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) in the UK and CENER, National Renewable Energy Centre of Spain are working together to find new ways of generating and distributing power from small-scale renewables within communities. The one year project will investigate ways to allow communities to generate and use their own power from renewable energy resources, in a reliable and cost-effective way. With increasing use of renewable energy sources, a significant amount of interest has developed across Europe in so-called 'smart-grid' systems better capable of transmitting and distributing power from different renewable resources in a reliable, flexible electrical network. The team is currently identifying existing communities within Spain and the UK with populations of between 10 and 25 000 which can be used as test subjects for 'smart-grid' renewable systems. The project aims to demonstrate the most appropriate technical solutions for integrating low carbon power generation technologies into a localised, community-based electrical system.

Sierra Pacific Power and Nevada Power Company have announced that they are expanding their SolarGenerations renewable energy programs to include cash incentives for wind and hydroelectric power systems as well as solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Both Nevada utilities are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Sierra Pacific Resources. "These projects deliver benefits on many levels: they reduce energy bills, provide learning opportunities, help the environment, and increase our energy independence by taking advantage of abundant natural energy sources right in our own backyard." -- John Hargrove, Program Manage, Sierra Pacific & Nevada Power The last session of the Nevada State Legislature made the SolarGenerations demonstration program permanent, doubling the total amount of installed photovoltaic energy eligible for rebates from 1,900 kilowatts (kW) to 3,760 kW, and adding the new WindGenerations and HydroGenerations programs. Together, these programs are called RenewableGenerations.

The commodity super-cycle is not over, it is just pausing. For the world economy to resume growth of 5 per cent, energy supply must expand by a similar rate. But with lower oil prices and a credit crunch, energy investment is plummeting, suggesting global energy demand will eventually pick up more rapidly than productive energy capacity. Assuming the ongoing global recession does not turn into a multi-year event that pushes energy demand down structurally, steep decline rates could again put upward pressure on oil prices as soon as 2010 or 2011. In particular, if the low oil price/high cost of money environment persists for most of this year and next, our base case scenario for non-OPEC production could prove optimistic, exacerbating the second leg of the commodity super-cycle. If and when the global economy starts to recover, too many dollars chasing too few barrels will only lead to much higher oil prices.

"The Chilean government has set its sights on significantly increasing its geothermal energy capacity. The Ministry of Energy recently announced a new contract for the development of 20 areas by 2012. 70 bids from 13 domestic and foreign firms were submitted for the rights to exploit the newly released regions of Rarapacos and Los Ricos. Earlier in the year, Energy Minister Ricardo Raineri announced more than 170 concessions for geothermal energy by 2012. He further specified that these concessions would be supported by US$200 million in funding from the government. The country is striving to increase its geothermal capacity to 1,000 megawatts in order to meet an ever-growing energy demand in a sustainable manner"

"That's according to energy policy group REN21's just-released Renewables 2015 Global Status Report, which attributes this stabilization to "increased penetration of renewable energy and to improvements in energy efficiency.""