Dear Fellow cleantech entrepreneur

A&NZSustain is developing the 2010 calendar and is seeking input from speakers, leaders, emergent companies, technologists and developers.

Visit anzsustain.com or email me gareth@anzsustain.com for more information.

Wishing you a prosperous and happy holiday season

Best regards

Gareth 

FIT-PC2 - The worlds first (and only) 10W Full-Function Desktop PC.

Fit-PC2 is a full-spec Desktop PC (specs below) which will do what 70%+ of PC users require from their PC, without any noticeable difference in performance. MS Office, interenet surfing (multi-tab, etc), multi-media playback - it really does work like a standard PC (ie it is a standard PC!).

And it does all of that using just 10W of power maximum (6W idle, <1W Standby) - the average desktop (probably including the one you're using to view this on) uses well over 100W of power during average use. And it's tiny - just 11 x 10 x 2.7 cm (slightly larger than a matchbox).

I should make it clear that I am introducing this from the point of view of my position - Business Development for Fit-PC UK - but also (and you may not believe it, but mainly) because i'm actually pretty sure it can save almost any business a large amount on their electricity usage and substantially reduce Carbon Footprint with no compromises required. e.g. replacing just 30% of your PCs with Fit-PC2s (most businesses could replace a much larger proportion without any functionality loss) will save about 28% on your IT electricity usage, which is generally a surprisingly large proportion of a company's energy footprint. PC usage is currently extremely inefficient, a point which is proven by the functionality possible in a PC as small and low-power as Fit-PC2.

In short, Fit-PC2 justifies the raison d'etre of Intel's Atom processor range - to provide high-functionality computing in a highly efficient way.

Please post your thoughts and comments on Fit-PC2 as an alternative PC/Server/etc for businesses, and whether you think it can provide practical energy savings for your business - if you want to see more details before you comment please go to www.fit-pc.co.uk.

Specifications:
1.6GHz Atom Processor,
1GB RAM,
6 USB 2.0, Gigabit LAN, 802.11 b/g WiFi,
2.5" SATA HDD (160GB standard).
10W maximum power usage.
11 x 10 x 2.7 cm (TINY)

Kinetic hydro is full of promise with enough US, European resources to replace coal and is baseload too. Water is about 800x's thicker than air so can impart a large force on a small rotor. Almost any moving water faster than 2 mph can make serious power. -------------

 And the US has plenty of it from rivers coursing through our land to tidal currents where ever there are inlets, bays and other waterways. It ranges from 1' deep streams to deep bays like under the S.F. bridge can make clean power with little impact at really low prices. Even the mighty Gulf Stream could supply vast amounts.-------------

 Yet no one has mastered this on any scale, Why? So much power going to waste yet 100's have tried and failed to master it for more than a short while. As a boat designer use to working on the sea, rivers, who in the 80's built a series of tidal units, the answer is clear, the engineers need to understand the marine environment!! It's a mean one that doesn't care what you think, it will slap you down until you learn to work with it, not against it.----------------

 But this is too important to wait for them to build lasting units. This massive amount of clean power it can bring is needed now. I'm just a practical designer who knows how to make these work though my long experience on the sea and making things work on them, my electrical, RE, composite aero/hydrodymanics experience.------------

 If I had someone to handle the legal things and find start up money, it would be fairly easy to make a real good business of this as the market is large and wide open.----------

 Jerry Dycus Dycus Technologies 813-671-3059 jerryd@ij.net

A hundred miles southwest of Houston, amid the refineries and petrochemical plants that dot Texas' Gulf Coast, construction on the first fully licensed nuclear plant to be built in this country in the last 30 years could begin soon.

For the remainder of the article (by Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer, November 02, 2009), visit: http://cnnmoney.mobi/money/archive/archive/detail/179010/full;jsessionid=1CAB061D4054106829F86E631FFA2B85.liveapp18j#p1

 

Commentary:
It may be of interest to share some information acquired during a recent meeting with Austin Energy's (AE) Operations Team and a tour of their Sand Hill Energy Center, Del Valle, Texas. This station is AE's newest gas-fired power plant (currently 300 Megawatts, with expansion to 500 Megawatts).

 

AE provided a cost breakdown for each type of fuel used to generate electricity. As a % of total power output and average cost (kWh), the breakdown was:

 

Nuclear - 20%, $0.08

Coal - 20%, $0.16

Gas (methane) - 40%, $0.25

Renewables [gas (methane), wind and solar] - 15-20%, $1.50 (unsubsidized).

 

Power from AE's nuclear station is always online and is considered base output. Demand, cost and emissions compels AE to bring the gas and coal stations online when needed.

 

While AE's nuclear plant provides the lowest cost of electricity, AE's operations manager indicated further expansion of nuclear plants was considered but for undisclosed reason(s) was abandon. Plausible reasons may relate to nuclear's high capital cost , the lengthy regulatory pathway and concern over waste disposal. Note: The French recycle nuclear wastes. Plutonium and uranium can be separated out of the waste and reused. Though recycling leaves a small amount of high-level waste to dispose of.

 

Sidebar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_waste):

A 2004 article from the BBC states: "The World Health Organization says 3 million people are killed worldwide by outdoor air pollution annually from vehicles and industrial emissions, and 1.6 million indoors through using solid fuel."  In the U.S. alone, fossil fuel waste has been linked to the death of 20,000 people each year. A coal power plant releases 100 times as much radiation as a nuclear power plant of the same wattage. It is estimated that during 1982, US coal burning released 155 times as much radioactivity into the atmosphere as the Three Mile Island accident.

End

 

Supply reliability is the reason gas appears in two line items, i.e., direct and renewable.  Direct gas is reliably supplied 24/7 from one of three natural gas companies. Renewable gas is supplied from renewable sources such as landfill and water/sewage treatment; is  limited, erratic and cannot be counted on when needed.

 

Government mandates and incentives appear to be the primary reasons why AE has plans for solar and wind assisted power plants.

 

I’m usually one of the last people to jump on the “let’s name a day” bandwagon, but Blog Action Day for Climate Change was one I could embrace.  Beyond the “sexy factor” of climate change, green, sustainability and the like, is a real need for people to understand what climate change is and why it’s relevant now.

The Environmental Protection Agency defines climate change as ”a change in long-term weather patterns. [Weather patterns] can become warmer or colder. Annual amounts of rainfall or snowfall can increase or decrease.”

Climate change seems to be a normal occurrence, natural even.  But, problems arise with the degree and rate to which our climate changes, resulting in global warming, the greenhouse effect and sea level rising, among other things.

How are we doing?

Climate Change in ºF
(Environmental Protection Agency)

• Average global temperature has increased by almost 1ºF during the past hundred years
• Scientists expect the average global temperature to increase an additional 2ºF to 6ºF over the next one hundred years.
• At the peak of the last ice age (18,000 years ago), the temperature was only 7ºF colder than it is today, and glaciers covered much of North America.

It’s easy to take for granted that the world as we experience it today will remain the same for all of OUR tomorrows, but what about when our children and grandchildren are planning for the future of their families?

What’s happening in California
(California Department of Water Resources)

• Snowpack: By 2050, scientists project a loss of at least 25 percent of the Sierra snowpack, an important source of urban, agricultural and environmental water.

• Floods: An increase in extreme weather will lead to higher winter river flows, runoff and flooding.
  • Runoff water contaminates the water supply by carrying soil contaminants, motor oil and other ground coverings into bays, watersheds and out into the ocean.
• Water Quality: Less fresh water flowing out of the Delta in spring and early summer will allow more salt water to intrude.
  • Salt water is great for soaking, not so great for drinking.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not the doomsday type. I am not ready to go off the grid. I realize that I am very privileged to have a life where water magically flows at the twist of a lever and I can communicate via gadgets galore.

I also realize I have a responsibility to not only do less harm, but to do more good; look at the little things I can do to contribute to making a big difference.

More than 10,000 people from more than 150 countries took one day to blog about climate change in an effort to get your attention.

Want to know what you can do to make a difference?

Following are some resources to get you started.

EPA
Climate Change: What you can do

TUAW
Five Apps to help save the world

Ecology Center
Ecology Center resource page

On Twitter: Follow #BAD09 – @AndaPR – @blogactionday

We are conducting some interestng work in the Green IT and sustainable energy front. Please see our white paper and website for addtional details.

The Case for Thermoelectrics in the Data Center. How integrating Thermoelectrics into IT systems assists in reducing data center energy consumption.

White Paper

http://amilabs.com/tgs/The%20Case%20for%20Thermoelectrics%20in%20the%20DC.pdf

 

Website

http://amilabs.com/tgs/

Regards...

Dear Sir,
There is an urgent need to combat climate change effectively,
as we are all waiting for a "time bomb" to explode with regard to capping
carbon emissions from fossil fuel.
The rate of daily Global fossil fuel consumptions stand at around 85millions
to 90millions barrel, and the rate of emissions are not decreasing any
time soon. There are daily catastrophic climate change related disasters
all over the World now. From India to Pacific and fire to USA and
Australia and etc etc catastrophic floodings in Filippines.
The Maldives cabinet will be having an underwater parliament soon,
to dramatise the danger and urgency of using lesser fossil fuel.
The IEA www.iea.org is advocating that fuel and energy efficiency
are the major parts of ecosolutions to reduce ghg emissions.
The lesser fossil fuel we burn with lesser with carbon intensity the
lesser the ghg emissions. But, there are more rhetoric forum than
real actions to reduce carbon fuel consumptions.
Policy makers are still sleeping in their bed on the issue of climate
change, although more are aware now. But, the World needs urgent
actions to cap CO2 emissions to 450ppm, and below the threshold
of 2 degree hike in global temperatures.
To all policy makers , please wake up from your sleep and jump
into http://www.infernofuel.com
to reduce carbon fuel consumptions now. The danger maybe,
we are late at the tipping point of no return.That will be
catastrophic and too late. Act now on www.infernofuel.com

At the request of a top municipality, Cleantech Approach (CTA) has published its first research report on energy efficient lighting. The report was requested to assess the economics of retrofitting facilities and infrastructure in order to reduce their energy consumption, and to guide policies and economic incentives to hasten the adoption of more energy efficient products by landlords, developers and citizens.

The report was conducted on a non-exclusive basis and has been well received by municipalities; real estate developers and owners; institutions (i.e., universities); lighting designers, manufacturers, reps and distributors; and investors who are utilizing it in their sustainability efforts. We will also be sharing the report with utilities who are interested in energy efficient products for their customers and incentive programs. The report can be downloaded on our site at http://bit.ly/qvIG2.

In the next few months, we will be working on two additional reports on "smart grid/electricity monitoring and control solutions" and another on "distributed generation in urban environments." We are currently looking to connect with municipalities, global development organizations, investors and companies who have an active interest in these sectors. Please feel free to share the link to our report and let us know if there is anyone that we should be connecting with in these sectors.

Romahlo Wilson
Founder
Cleantech Approach
romahlo@cleantechapproach.com

What is the latest on the life- cycle emissions related to nuclear power plants.

I have recently become a member of this group and I would like to introduce myself, my products, and business and explain what the Ethos products that I represent can do for Commercial, Industrial, Government, and Private Vehicle Fleets.

I have worked for BP and The Lubrizol Corporation for a combined 15 years and I know what goes into a gallon of gas and a quart of oil. Knowing what makes these commodities perform, and knowing what the Ethos Technology provides, I chose to become a Master Distributor for Ethos FR Oil & Fuel Treatment Products in Ohio. I am currently selling to Government, Industrial, Commercial, Private, and Retail clients. I have a passion for the environment and I would like to help provide a sustainable green technology to customers around the country as part of this plan. 

From my website, you will notice that Ethos FR is a non-toxic, non-hazardous, biodegradeable and environmentally safe product which offers between 10 and 20% fuel efficiency improvement with all fuels (except Jet Fuel) while reducing harmful emissions by an average of 30%. This has been validated by independent testing laboratories and millions of miles of road testing over the past 12 years. 

My business approaches fuel efficiency improvement and emissions reduction through a cost-effective chemical treatment of the fuel. Only one ounce of Ethos FR per 10 gallons of fuel is required to achieve the results mentioned above. This technology is readily available today as compared to costly engine capital improvements or retrofit technologies which may never be able to achieve the same performance. In fact, Ethos FR+ has just received impressive performance results from an independent testing laboratory exclaiming the benefits and efficacy of its use in accordance with CARB, USEPA, and SAE testing protocols. Please view the following links: Joe Jones, California Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Research Director Documentary on Ethos FR+ Performance Testing, Continuing Fuel Economy Improvement Documented in Latest 25,000 Mile Over-The-Road Testing. 

I hope that you will see the potential benefit of this technology and that you will have an interest in allowing me to work with you or those you know to demonstrate and validate the effectiveness of these products. If you know of anyone who is seeking technical solutions to fuel economy improvement and emissions reduction, then please help. After all, all that one may stand to lose is up to 20% of their fuel budget! 

Please take a moment to review my website to learn more and contact me to offer referrals, if you would like to schedule an appointment to learn more, or to arrange a trial. I look forward to speaking with you and to working with you to improve the financial performance of your companies in these challenging times. 

Best regards, 
Barry Saltzman 
President 
Energy Management Solutions of Northeast Ohio, LLC 
www.neoemsllc.com 
440-382-2759 (cell) 
440-498-8232 (fax) 
Skype Username - barrysaltzman