Center for the New Energy Economy

The Center for the New Energy Economy (CNEE) is directed by former Governor Bill Ritter.  CNEE works toward the advancement of clean energy policy at the state level.  Ritter takes the CNEE message nationally through speaking events about clean energy.  The CNEE has partnered with the East China Normal University which seems to be strategic in that China was number one in all renewable index rankings for 2011 and 2010, reported Ernst & Young. “We need a national energy policy,” Ritter.  Ritter states the clean energy agenda is really about emissions for example natural gas emissions.  Questioning what forms of energy are most efficient has several factors such as the natural environment of a location.  The factors are numerous however the Feds have some legislation on clean energy.

In the U.S. Federal government the clean energy agenda is basically looking at two issues; one is Property-Assessed Clean Energy, (PACE) financing and two the extension of the production tax credit which the wind energy industry relies upon.

At the state level best practices in extraction and efficiency are being discussed.  The CNEE has worked with about 10 states in advancing clean energy policies.

“What’s really interesting is one size doesn’t fit all, so it is important to tailor our work in states to the resources available in the state—to the economic landscape to some extent—to the way that they are generating electricity, to think about that and what that transition is going to involve.  Interestingly transmission—it’s very difficult and sort of a sophisticated topic but the transmission infrastructure matters a lot because of interconnection—pulling renewables onto the grid can be a very difficult thing to do,” Ritter.

“I think energy is one of those things that should not be all about politics but somehow this debate over whether climate change is real or not, is sort of sucked into it, the whole conversation around clean energy including things like energy efficiency.  It’s about saving energy and good business practices,” Ritter.

Clean energy policy groups such as the Energy Foundation out of San Francisco, Hewlett Foundation, Packard Foundation and the McKnight Foundation fund CNEE.

To read more about the Center for the New Energy Economy, visit; http://cnee.colostate.edu/.

To view the full interview, visit; http://youtu.be/JrnCbJBsEro.

Sustainable Energy in the U.S. Military

The United States military recognizes the need for sustainable energy.  In August the Army established the Energy Initiatives Office Task Force to develop renewable energy projects and improve energy security.  This is a concern because providing energy to remote military locations is dangerous as well as the possibility of the military communications being offline.  In fact one of eight army causalities is a result of protecting fuel convoys.  New energy technology can save lives, money and the environment.  In Iraq from 2003 to 2007, 3,000 people died protecting fuel convoys.  The fuel is used to run generators which provide electricity for communications.  The end cost is $40.00 per gallon which includes all aspects of getting the fuel to remote locations. One reduction to using fuel is providing solar panels that are easily rolled up into an individual’s backpack.  On base solar panels can be mounted on trailers.  The Department of Defense is interested in micro-grids to provide electricity to the military in an energy crisis.  As new energy products are provided and/or developed both by the military and business, most importantly lives will be saved.

For further reading please, visit: http://rmenergyblog.blogspot.com.

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• Are Renewables Vital to Our Nation's Security? (enerdynamics.com)

The Global Forefront of the New Energy Economy

Colorado is at the global forefront of the new energy economy.  Foreign delegates visit the National Renewable Energy Lab and Engines & Energy Conversion Laboratory to see cutting edge energy development.  Creating collaborative agreements develops relationships between Colorado organizations and foreign delegates.  Brian Wilson with EECL develops energy solutions for engines, smart grids, smart businesses and biofuels.  Through research to producing products EECL makes impacts on the environment for example developing pipeline technology.  This technology’s impact is the equivalent to 120 million automobiles removed from the highway.  The Envirofit program at EECL has produced 350,000 cook stoves which has improved the lives of two million people.  Business and other organizations can partner with EECL and Envirofit by visiting www.envirofit.org.

Boosting the demand for clean energy through engaging firms in forums to build partnerships is one focus of NREL.  Partnership activities include multilateral and bilateral partnerships, climate and environmental initiatives and energy assessments. Five barriers to clean energy are policy, new energy technology implementation, standardizing, reducing costs and infrastructure.  NREL works with several entities to solve these issues.  To inquire about partnerships contact the tech transfer office, at: www.nrel.gov/international.

Safeway

Investing In Our Environment

Becoming a leader: Not a follower

A business listed in the yellow pages as a grocery store does more than sell food and other household items. In 1915, M.B. Skaggs purchased a small store in his hometown of American Falls, Idaho. The goal was to give customers a value store and expand with a narrow profit margin. In 1926, his determination and drive enabled him to open 428 Skaggs grocery stores in 10 states. Later that year Skaggs struck a deal with Selig and merged into one company doubling in size and today is known as Safeway.

Today Safeway is in the business of “investing in our environment.” For over 82 years they have been dedicated to earning a reputation for honesty, integrity and fair play, since they were well aware that they were a major consumer of energy on an annual basis. Therefore, they decided that they needed to take necessary steps to be a leader in renewable & socially responsible energy use.

Since the public has become more conscious about the state of the environment consumers over the years have been demanding “environmental-accountability” from the suppliers of the goods and services they buy. Safeway wanted to meet these demands and have since branded themselves as a “good corporate practitioner.” They have managed to balance the field between making a profit, meeting obligations to shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers and sustaining the environment. Programs such as the Code of Business Conduct, recycling, sustainable energy, fuel efficiency, and the careful planning of expansion of their company have put Safeway in the forefront of large businesses that make a difference for the environment and the future.

The Code of Business Conduct: The Environmental Boot Camp

Before any environmental programs proceed, Safeway employees must buy-in. The belief “is that you should practice what you preach.” Since the company recognizes that the air, water, soil and vegetation should be kept as free as possible from negative impacts they have laid a set of guidelines that all new-hire and current employees must apply to their job - wherever and whenever possible. These guidelines state that employees must conduct business and operate facilities in an environmentally responsible manner; comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations; minimize waste and reduce pollution sources in stores and manufacturing and distribution facilities; minimize environmental liabilities in the acquisition and disposition of properties; and assist customers in utilizing sound environmental practices.

These guidelines are just a small part of the training the employees receive. They are provided with environmental modules in new employee orientation, retail leadership, and developmental and safety champions programs. There are also clean water compliance trainings on source reduction, recycling and environmental practices. “Power to Save” is a monthly education program on energy conservation that provides employees the tools to make a difference in their stores. And, employees can access a 24-hour online intranet site with numerous resources and training materials related to their job functions.

Education on safe environments doesn’t stop there. Safeway also aggressively tries to train and educate the public through public service announcements, which support state programs aimed at reducing energy in stores and support facilities.

Refuse and Reuse: The Recycling Program

The recycling program started with just cardboard in the 1960s and has turned into a 450,000 ton material a year business. The recycling program allows for solid waste to be diverted from landfills and reduces the cost of waste hauling and disposal, therefore saving the company millions of dollars each year. In addition, it helps cities and states meet the mandated reduction of solid waste that is put into landfills. In fact, in each of the California stores, they recycle approximately 85% of its solid waste, even though the states mandated solid waste reduction policy is 50%. Because the company well exceeded the state goal, California and the CIWMB (California Integrated Waste Management Board) presented Safeway with the Waste Reduction Award in 2005 and 2007.

Number Facts for 2007: Food for Thought

Corrugated Cardboard Recycling: 309,563 tons All cardboard is collected and sold to cardboard brokers. Plastics Recycling: 8,975 tons Customers can bring back plastic bags and plastic trays that are used to make parking lot bumpers and plastic lumber products. Composting: 92,891 tons Produce trimmings, unusable produce, waxed boxes, and bakery products are sent to a co mposting site where they are turned into soil products. Food Wastes: 65,981 tons Includes bread, dairy products, cooking oil fat & bone from the meat department are recycled into products like animal feed, supplements and biodiesel fuel. Miscellaneous Recycled Materials: 24,986 tons Aluminum, metals, paper, wood, batteries, oil & refrigerant are all recycled.

Overall, 502,396 tons were recycled in 2007. That is 386,000 cubic yards, enough to cover a football field and rise over 190 feet high.

The Future is Today: Sustainable Energy

The definition of sustainable energy is energy that in its production or consumption has minimal negative impacts on human health and the healthy functioning of vital ecological systems, including the global environment, and that can be supplied continuously to future generations on earth. In 2006, the Greenhouse Gas and Sustainability Initiative was created in a partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Climate registry. These partners, along with Safeway, were striving to reduce the amount of carbon released in the air and improve the quality of life. The goal was to reduce the amount of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 6% in California, and to maximize fossil fuel use reductions. This has aided the planning and construction of Safeway’s environmental management, operation, maintenance and infrastructure projects. Recently Safeway became the only company to join the Chicago Climate Exchange; which is the world’s first and North America’s only voluntary, legally binding GHG emissions reduction, registry and trading program.

Over the last few years, technology has supported the company in their effort to move forward by installing energy-efficient refrigeration and freezer systems, computer based and equipment control systems, improved heating, ventilation and air conditioning, wastewater neutralization, building improvements and LED lighting to reduce overall energy consumption.

Furthermore, Safeway has supported wind energy to offset the power used by their fuel stations and corporate offices. In fact, in 2008 Safeway unveiled two new solar-powered stores as part of an Earth Day celebration. Both stores are located in northern California and provide 20% of their average annual power and up to 48% at peak power from solar sources. Eventually Safeway’s plans are to have 23 solar driven stores that will remove 26 million pounds of CO2 from the air each year - the equivalent of taking more than 1,000 cars off the road annually.

Safeway’s plans are to have 23 solar driven stores that will remove 26 million pounds of CO2 from the air each year - the equivalent of taking more than 1,000 cars off the road annually.

Keep on Truckin’: Fuel Efficiency & Cleaner Air

Since 2006, Safeway has been an advocate and member of the EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership.

This move was the first of its kind by any major U.S. retailer. In addition to the fleet conversion, all of Safeway’s 48 underground storage tanks have met EPA standards.

The transition to biodiesel fuel did not happen overnight. Safeway used Smartway’s FLEET (Freight Logistics Environmental and Energy Tracking) to track and analyze their truck fleet during 2006 and created a baseline fuel efficiency study that implemented over a three-year window. The goal was to improve overall fuel efficiency performance. So far, the effort has saved the company almost 6.8 million gallons of diesel fuel and has prevented 75,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually. Moreover, Safeway saved over $19 million in fuel costs during 2007 with its shift to energy efficient fleets.

In 2008, Safeway made an aggressive and bold move that converted almost 1,000 fleet trucks to cleaner burning B-20 biodiesel fuel, which will reduce over 75 million pounds of CO2 annually.

To ensure that fleets run more efficiently, even the drivers of delivery trucks and other transportation vehicles are required to follow a set of stringent guidelines dedicated to fuel efficiency. These guidelines include adopting a five-minute idle policy which keeps drivers from running trucks unnecessarily during loading and unloading; purchasing tractors with an aerodynamic profile; using automatic tire-inflation systems to keep tires inflated at levels that maximize efficiency; using large-capacity trailers to limit the number of trips to stores; running route-optimization software to determine the most efficient delivery routes; and training drivers to more effectively shift gears to maximize engine performance.

Surveying the Field: Responsible Growth

Careful planning is key to the growth strategy at Safeway. They assess the impact of particular areas for development and the impact to the environment. Before the purchase or sale of land, environmental assessments are conducted to ascertain potential impacts to the land and the surrounding community.

Sustainable development is about creating environmentally responsible growth programs. It is a standard belief that setting a good example will open doors for others to follow. When it comes to business ethics, others judge us not by what we know but by what we do. Safeway is leading the charge in developing company-wide efforts to create sustainable, environmentally friendly business models. They are on the forefront of fleet conversion, building conversion, and training conversions. They are a model business citizen investing in our environment.

The Opportunity and Challenge of Thorium Power

Could a relatively unknown element named thorium revolutionize the nuclear industry and provide cheap, clean and safe power? A growing number of scientists, businesses and governments think so, including China, which has made thorium power a strategic energy priority. Thorium was first discovered in Scandinavia and named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Originally pioneered as a superior nuclear fuel source by renowned American nuclear physicist Alvin Weinberg, thorium power technology was all but killed by the U.S. military’s requirements of producing fissile material for nuclear weapons. Despite his major contributions to nuclear science early on during the Manhattan Project, Weinberg was eventually fired from Oak Ridge National Laboratory by the Nixon administration for his persistent advocacy of thorium power. His important contributions for improved power generation were simply left to gather dust. There is now, however, a growing awareness and an increasing demand for using thorium as a fuel source.

The nuclear industry’s status-quo reactors were built during the Cold War and all use solid uranium oxide fuel rods. Critics point out that they operate with less than 1% nuclear fuel efficiency. That is shockingly wasteful when considering that uranium is about as rare within the earth’s crust as the precious metal platinum. Thorium, on the other hand, is four times more abundant.

The status quo process is even more wasteful when one considers how much energy goes into mining, enriching, preparing uranium fuel rods, managing waste and securing the whole chain against the dangers of nuclear proliferation. The issues surrounding operational safety are another key disadvantage of older systems.. There are many complex systems needed to actively maintain safety. As the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant experienced, unexpected events can knock out even the backup safety systems.

Kirk Sorensen, a former NASA scientist, rediscovered Weinberg’s work at Oak Ridge. He has been instrumental in raising awareness and has founded the company Flibe Energy to advance a particularly promising technology known as a Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor, or LFTR for short (pronounced “lifter”). Using thorium as a fuel and a liquid salt as a coolant instead of water makes a significant difference. The chief benefit advocates point to is improved safety. Passive operational safety can be built into the reactor design using well-understood chemical properties. Advocates also argue that the thorium supply chain would eliminate risks of fuel being redirected and used as a weapon. Another important benefit is drastically improved fuel efficiency, reducing both inputs and toxic wastes. Jiang Mianheng, son of former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, has also visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory, along with a group of Chinese scientists to learn as much as they can about thorium fueled molten salt reactors. People are recognizing the opportunity as the concept works marvelously — at least in theory.

Challenges remain in further research and development before thorium power technology could actually be deployed commercially. While the United States and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory remain the home of thorium technology, China is ambitiously off and running with it. Jiang Mianheng is leading a thorium power project for China’s National Academy of Sciences with a start-up budget of $350 million (USD). He already has a team of 140 Ph.D. scientists, aims to have a staff of 750 by 2015, and eventually plans on having 1000 researchers. China is not alone, however. Norway’s Thor Energy has partnered with Japan’s Toshiba-Westinghouse to test thorium within a conventional reactor in Oslo. Japan also appears to be going further by having thorium enthusiast and head of the International Institute for Advanced Studies Takashi Kamei pursue molten salt reactors. Prime minister Shinzo Abe has also voiced that new reactors built in Japan would be “totally different from the ones built 40 years ago.”

In a recent Bloomberg interview, U.S. Department of Energy Executive Director Peter W. Davidson, expressed the DOE’s interest in partnering with companies offering alternative nuclear technologies. With $10.3 billion remaining in loan guarantee authority, the department plans on deciding this year if they are going to solicit new applications from innovative nuclear technology companies. “Everybody is on board to help support the industry, it’s just whether the industry is ready for support yet,” said Davidson.