Written by BACC Editor Thursday, 04 October 2012 19:29
Simbol Materials Looks to Lower EV Costs through Geothermal Brine Evaporation
The price of lithium, a lightweight metal that serves as a foundation for battery packs powering electric and hybrid vehicles, has risen 35 percent in the last 18 months. With projected annual sales of 3.9 million hybrids, 1.4, million plug-in hybrids, and 2.8 million full electric plug-in vehicles globally by 2020, the demand for lithium will only increase, and the incentive for companies to find ways to reduce the costs of extracting lithium is high.
Generally mined from ore, Pleasanton, CA-based Simbol Materials believes that extracting lithium from geothermal brine using a reverse osmosis filtration system could be a much more cost-effective means for acquiring the popular metal. Conventional evaporation methods can take 18 months to complete, but the process Simbol employs takes only about two hours, effectively cutting down extraction time and cost. Simbol CEO Luka Erceg expects the company’s proposed Imperial Valley plant will help it increase output from 8,000 tons a year to nearly 64,000 tons by the end of the year—equal to 21 percent of projected global demand.
Written by BACC Editor Tuesday, 02 October 2012 16:50
Environmental Defense Fund Renews Support to Bay Area Climate Collaborative Clean Energy Programs
Collaboration to Further AB32 Implementation and Accelerate Strategies Supporting the Clean Energy Economy
SAN JOSE, C.A., Oct. 2, 2012 – The Bay Area Climate Collaborative (BACC) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today announced a renewed partnership to advance clean energy, building and transportation innovations in the Bay Area.
Over the past three years, EDF has supported the BACC in advancing clean energy implementation, including the establishment of the Bay Area EV Strategic Council, the cross-sector executive forum to drive regional action on plug-in EVs; the Bay Area Next Generation Streetlight Initiative, which is driving the upgrade of 200,000 municipal streetlights for $50 million in savings to local governments and 100,000 tons of CO2 avoided over 5 years; and the $5 million Local Government EV Fleet National Demonstration Project deploying electric vehicles with 11 Bay Area municipal agencies and catalyzing the adoption of EVs in fleets.
Founded in 1967, EDF is a growing environmental advocacy group that grounds itself in sound science and economics, while forging partnerships with organizations from across all sectors to harness the power of market-based initiatives for the creation of lasting solutions. The BACC is a public-private initiative of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, launched by regional civic and business leaders to accelerate the Bay Area clean energy economy through high-impact, market-oriented projects that can be replicated and scaled.
“EDF is proud to partner with the BACC,” said Derek Walker, Director of Strategic Climate Initiatives at EDF. “By implementing its Bridge to the Clean Economy action plan, the BACC is playing an instrumental role in making the clean economy real – cutting pollution, demonstrating clean economy benefits and helping build the social consensus to drive further progress.”
“The Environmental Defense Fund understands the importance of bringing market solutions to bear to accelerate the clean economy and address the challenge of climate change,” said Rafael Reyes, Executive Director of the Bay Area Climate Collaborative. “EDF’s deep expertise and support are essential to the work of the BACC and to the progress of the Bay Area in implementing clean energy solutions.”
About the Bay Area Climate Collaborative
The Bay Area Climate Collaborative (BACC) is a public-private initiative accelerating the clean energy economy. Major partners include Bank of America, Pacific Gas & Electric, and local governments representing over 70 percent of the Bay Area population. The BACC is driving electric vehicle, energy efficiency, residential upgrades and distributed renewables innovation. For more information on the BACC, please visit: www.baclimate.org.
About the Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. For more information on EDF, please visit: http://www.edf.org/.
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Written by Rafael Reyes Tuesday, 02 October 2012 16:41
Hanergy to Buy Solar Manufacturer MiaSole
Hanergy Holding Group Ltd., a closely held Chinese renewable-energy company, agreed to buy MiaSole Inc. for $30 million, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The deal is expected to close October 31, and Hanergy will retain all employees of the Santa Clara-based thin-film solar manufacturer for 12 months.
Written by BACC Editor Monday, 01 October 2012 18:36
Governor Brown Signs 19 New Renewable Energy Bills
Governor Brown has continued California's commitment to the development and implementation of renewable energy production with the signing of 19 new bills. The bills include legislation aimed at coordinating energy security policies with the Department of Defense, a bill to limit the fees that can be imposed on residential solar installations, and a bill to promote the bio-fuels industry within the state.
-as seen on the Daily Bright Spot www.cabrightspot.org
Written by BACC Editor Monday, 01 October 2012 18:17
Governor Brown Signs 19 New Renewable Energy Bills
Governor Brown continued the state's efforts to develop and implement renewable energy production with the signing of 19 new bills. The bills include legislation aimed at coordinating energy security policies with the Department of Defense, a bill to limit the fees that can be imposed on residential solar installations, and a bill to promote the bio-fuels industry within the state.
-as seen on the Daily Bright Spot www.cabrightspot.org