BrightSource Energy has trimmed its proposal for a solar-concentration plant in the Mojave Desert by 12 percent, in hopes the concession will mollify the project’s critics. The Brightsource installation has pit advocates of clean energy against those who fret about the future of the Mojave’s residents, like the desert tortoise and the Mojave milkweed. The new plan would drop the amount of electricity headed to Southern California from 440 megawatts to 392 MW.
Silicon Valley gained two solar companies and lost one in a busy week of consolidation for a young industry. SunPower, the San Jose firm that is one of the U.S.’s biggest solar panel makers, bought SunRay Renewable Energy of Italy for $277 million, acquiring projects now in the pipeline in six countries in Europe and the Middle East.
Calisolar of Sunnyvale absorbed Ontario’s 6N Silicon Inc., combining two solar-cell makers for expected heavy growth in North America. Also, Areva, a French nuclear-power concern, diversified into renewables as it purchased Ausra, a Mountain View-based maker of concentrated solar thermal equipment.
The hypermiling community moved into high (though very quiet) gear as Nissan announced that it will accept pre-orders for the Leaf, the first all-electric car by a major carmaker. Customers can register in April, and deliveries are expected in December.
At the Chicago Auto Show, Ford offered test drives of its Transit Connect Electric fleet vehicle and got a favorable review for its hybrid Focus. Meanwhile, at a press conference in Munich, Volkswagen made the latest of a series of contradictory announcements, this time saying its first entry in the hybrid category will be Touareg SUV.
Last week, as the media seemed ready to slice off Toyota’s head for selling cars with faulty brakes, Prius owners tapped their brake pedals and reacted with a shrug.
But the most exciting and weird news in cars came from where you’d least expect it: the half-jet, half-car Delta Wing, the crowdsourced Rally Fighter, and at last a price tag for the skateboard-car, the Trexa.
In biofuels, British Airways leapfrogged other airlines by announcing plans for a plant that would convert 500,000 tons of waste per year into 16 million gallons of jet fuel. Texas took yet another step toward a renewable future as Joule Biotechnologies signed a lease for a property to test its efficient, solar-powered technique for processing biofuel.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce continued its stalwart denial of global warming as it petitioned a federal court to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant.
In other news, IBM synthesized a super-efficient solar cell from common materials, the U.K. expects an eco-paint without that new-paint smell, and British Columbia banned mining near Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.
I recently begun setting up my own solar panels – I used some video guides I found and it’s working out good!