CALSTART Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference

Editor's Notes

1. Gasoline’s Cheap Again, But Peak Oil Still Looms Large Energy Tribune November 26, 2008 http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm?aid=1032 Given the news from the past few months, it borders on the foolhardy to preach about the looming dangers of peak oil. Doing so seems a bit like warning about the possibility of drought while standing without an umbrella in the midst of a torrential downpour. Indeed, the price of oil has plummeted from its July peak of $145 per barrel (for West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Oklahoma) to under $80 by early October. The price collapse coincides with a big drop in oil demand. The Energy Information Administration now expects that U.S. consumption will fall by 4 percent this year. And credit-card issuer MasterCard estimates that gasoline demand during the first week in October fell by 9.5 percent compared to the year-earlier period. Indeed, it appears that the demand destruction associated with the rapid run-up in oil prices has for the moment obliterated all talk of oil going to $200 in the next year or two, or three. Over the longer term, the key question appears obvious: will demand destruction take the “peak” out of peak oil? (I’ll come back to that in a moment.) The prospect of $50 oil looms. OPEC is in disarray. The Saudis have made it clear that they will defend the price that suits them, not the prices that Hugo Chávez wants. After all, they are spending tens of billions of dollars to bring on new spare capacity while the Venezuelans have essentially decided to sit on their hands and plunder PDVSA for as much cash as they can. Further, according to the latest projections from the International Energy Agency, Saudi Arabia will add 1.78 million barrels per day of new capacity by 2013. The Saudis are eager to get a return on their multi-billion dollar investments in the fields at Shaybah, Nuayyim, and Khurais. All of these factors have led to a stock price collapse for essentially all oil and natural gas companies. Between mid-September and early October, shares in Chesapeake Energy, one of the biggest U.S. independents, fell to less than $17, from $40. During that same time, Exxon Mobil fell to just over $62, from $75. And yet – and yet – some of the best minds in the energy business insist that this latest bear market is only baiting the trap for a huge price run-up that will likely come around 2015. And – despite all of the current turmoil – they may end up being right. Before going further, I readily admit that I have, for several years, had a rather flippant attitude toward peak oil. When asked my opinion, I would generally respond: so what? My rationale being, we will only know that we’ve hit peak oil when the event has actually passed. And second, regardless of prices or supplies, we will only move away from oil when something else comes along that is cheaper/cleaner/more convenient, or all of the above. Thus, I’ve long felt that all the fretting about peak oil has been largely misplaced and that even if the peak were imminent, there would be little that the U.S. or any other country could do to avoid the difficult energy transitions that are looming. That said, I’ve spent a good bit of time over the past couple of months talking to two of the sharpest analysts in the oil business: Peter Wells and Charley Maxwell. And both are convinced that peak oil is real, it’s coming, and the pain that will accompany its arrival will be severe. Who are these guys? Wells has a Ph.D. in geology and three decades of experience in the global oil industry. He has worked extensively in the Middle East, Russia, West Africa, and Europe, and is an expert on the oil politics and geology of Iran and Iraq. He spent 12 years with Shell International, 4 with BP, and 6 with LASMO, the British oil and gas independent, where he led the company’s business development efforts in the Mideast, including Iran. In 2001, he helped start Neftex, a British oil consulting firm. Since 2005, he has been a consultant to Toyota, developing world oil supply and price forecasting models. I have known Wells since 2005 and heard him speak several times. His presentation on September 23 during a “sustainable mobility” seminar sponsored by Toyota in Portland, Oregon motivated me to write this piece. Maxwell has been in the oil business for more than 50 years, beginning with a stint at Mobil Oil in 1957. In 1968 he began working as an energy securities analyst. Since 1999, he has been a senior energy analyst at Weeden & Co., a brokerage in Greenwich, Connecticut. Now 76 and showing no signs of slowing down, Maxwell has become one of the most quoted analysts in the business. In the September 8 issue of Barron’s, Maxwell predicted that due to ongoing demand growth, and lackluster supply additions that include the new Saudi fields at Khurais, Shaybah, and Nuayyim, the price of oil will reach about $300 per barrel by 2015. I have heard Maxwell speak several times since 2002, and talked to him at length on September 25, when he summarized his view of the future by saying, “We have gone on an unsustainable energy course.” Of course, there is a multitude of other analysts who’ve been studying peak oil and making dire predictions, including Colin Campbell and Kenneth Deffeyes. What sets Wells apart from the pack of alarmists is that he has done the deep and dirty analysis of individual field production data. In fact, Wells utilized field output info supplied by Denver-based consulting firm I.H.S., which owns one of the world’s most extensive oilfield databases. This same field-by-field data was utilized in 2006 by an I.H.S. subsidiary, Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), to come up with their study on future global oil production, which claimed that global output could reach an “undulating plateau” of 130 million barrels per day by 2030. The study concluded that the peak oil argument “is based on faulty analysis which could, if accepted, distort critical policy and investment decisions and cloud the debate over the energy future.” The study also claimed that the remaining global oil resource base is about 3.74 trillion barrels. Wells took the same data and came up with a far different conclusion. He estimates that global liquids output will peak in about 2015 at no more than 100 million barrels per day. And that’s when things will get very interesting for automakers like Toyota and, of course, for the rest of us. Wells’s work on peak oil began in 2003, which led him to publish a piece in the Oil and Gas Journal in 2004. Looking back at that initial work, Wells says that his prediction at the time was that the peak in global liquids output would likely come at a level of about 95 to 110 million barrels per day, somewhere between 2020 and 2035, “depending on OPEC reserves and OPEC’s willingness/ability to invest in new capacity.” When he began his consulting work for Toyota in 2005, Wells decided on a “bottom up” approach using the I.H.S. database and Neftex’s own data for the U.S. He then disaggregated all of the potential sources of oil – conventional crude, NGLs, tar sands, shale oil, biofuels, coal-to-liquids, etc. – so that he could look at their growth potential on a segment-by-segment basis. The I.H.S. data included field-by-field information as well as production information for the former Soviet Union, the U.S., all of the OPEC members, and all non-OPEC producers. Among his most important conclusions is that non-OPEC production is peaking this year. That is in line with analyses done by the E.I.A. and by John S. Herold Inc., on the non-OPEC producers and the major international oil companies. During his presentation in Portland, Wells said that the world is near the halfway point with regard to oil reserves. That is, we have produced about 1 trillion barrels of oil and there’s about 1 trillion barrels left to produce. But the problem is that new discoveries are not keeping pace with demand. “World peak exploration success was hit in 1960,” said Wells. Today, as countries like China, India and others grow their economies, demand is outstripping the oil industry’s ability to find new reserves to feed that demand. And that can be seen by looking at spare capacity. In the mid-1980s, the world had a peak in spare capacity, with some 10 million barrels per day of excess production capability. Predictably, that spare capacity led to a price collapse that persisted until the first years of this century, a period during which, according to Wells, the floor price of oil was largely set by the spending needs of the Saudi government. Today, and for the foreseeable future, supply and demand will be in much tighter alignment, with Wells seeing excess capacity growing slightly this year and next to about 2 MMbbl/d. The tight spare capacity exacerbates several other factors. The peak in non-OPEC production means that future production must come from OPEC members. That’s a problem. Saudi Arabia stands alone as the player with the resources, technical skill, and desire to increase production in a meaningful way in the near term. The other major OPEC members with big resources – Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Kuwait, and Nigeria – all face political constraints that will limit their ability to add large increments of new production. Of course, if those political constraints were removed, the issue of peak oil would probably be forgotten for another 20 years or so. Wells believes that Iraq could eventually produce 7 MMbbl/d, but that level won’t be reached until at least 2020, due to the obvious obstacles: political wrangling, violence, and the lack of technically savvy personnel who can manage large new exploration and production projects. Iran, Venezuela, and Nigeria could likewise ramp up production, but all are beset by political regimes that have little interest (or ability) to dramatically increase output for the export market. Wells predicts that Iran may be able to increase its output to about 5.5 MMbbl/d, but not much beyond that. There are other impediments that go beyond the OPEC/non-OPEC divide. And readers of ET will find them familiar: lack of manpower, increasing prices of steel, and increasing costs for fabrication, purchase, and maintenance of all types of oilfield machinery and installations. Of course, none of these factors will matter if oil demand continues to fall. That doesn’t appear to be likely. Destruction Demand History shows that sharp increases in oil prices are often followed by recessions. Those recessions typically lead to sharp decreases in oil demand and therefore, prices. The most obvious example of that slackening demand occurred after the sharp price increases of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Those prices reached about $98 per barrel (in 2008 inflation-adjusted dollars) in January 1981. In 1978, U.S. oil consumption averaged 18.8 MMbbl/d. It stayed below that level until 1998, when it hit 18.9 MMbbl/d. That period of slack demand was accompanied by a sustained period of low prices. From the mid-’80s through the early ’00s, prices largely stayed under $20 and even fell as low as $9.39 per barrel ($12.57 in 2008 dollars) in December 1998. Today, we have similar slackening of demand due to higher prices. For instance, in July 2008, consumption was 19.4 MMbbl/d, substantially below the all-time high of 21.6 MMbbl/d in August 2005. Furthermore, U.S. oil demand has been falling nearly every month since December 2007. So will demand destruction take the peak out of peak oil? While it’s tempting to answer in the affirmative, several factors appear to show that it will not. Before going to those factors, let’s look at the forces that could lead to slower demand growth. They include, most obviously, a sustained recession. If world economic growth stalls for a sustained time, oil demand will continue to be slack. Second, automakers are working hard on hybrid vehicles and electric cars that could slow gasoline demand. Third, new tougher efficiency standards for U.S. automakers, combined with ongoing additions of billions of gallons of corn ethanol into the gasoline pool, will likely further dampen U.S. gasoline demand. (Note, however, that decreasing gasoline demand will not necessarily mean lower overall oil consumption, as refiners will still have to refine crude in order to produce diesel, jet fuel, and other products.) Even so, there are major differences between the current situation and the conditions that existed in the ’80s and ’90s. First and foremost is the paucity of spare production capacity to be had. Further, there are far fewer oil producers with big reserves remaining to be tapped. As shown in Table 2, 10 different oil-producing nations peaked between 1996 and 2004. Those producers will not be able to add significant amounts of new crude production to the global market. Perhaps most crucially, in decades past China and India were largely still on the sidelines. That’s no longer the case. According to an October 7 report from the E.I.A., China’s August crude oil imports jumped by 12 percent, while its oil products imports increased by 32 percent, over the year-earlier period. Of course, it’s not just China. Other developing countries, like India, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia, are also rapidly increasing their energy consumption. And much of that is focused on transportation. In July, the I.E.A. estimated that the total number of motor vehicles could increase to as many as 1.2 billion by 2013, from the current 800 million. While a very small percentage will run on electricity, natural gas, or other alternatives, the overwhelming majority will be fueled by refined petroleum products. Additionally, any future increases in OPEC output, particularly among the Persian Gulf members of the cartel, could be directed toward internal use. Energy demand in the Persian Gulf is soaring. According to the latest BP Statistical Review, in 2007, oil consumption in the Middle East grew at the same rate – 4.3 percent – as did demand in China. That increasing oil demand is a reflection, in part, of the region’s growing electricity demand. In 2007, power generation jumped by 4.7 percent in the Middle East. For comparison, power use in North America grew by 2.4 percent. And as the Middle East continues to industrialize, it’s reasonable to assume that its energy demand will continue rising apace. In 2006, Dermot Gately, an economist at New York University, analyzed the energy consumption patterns within OPEC. Last year in The Energy Journal, Gately concluded that growing demand within OPEC members could mean that 40 percent to 50 percent of the cartel’s total output could be consumed internally by 2030, thereby “constraining OPEC’s ability to increase oil exports.” Gately wrote the rest of the world “should not rely upon OPEC’s export-share of non-OPEC demand remaining constant. We might not even be able to count upon OPEC being able to maintain its level of oil exports.” Data from Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil producer, backs up Gately’s thinking. According to the E.I.A., Saudi oil production increased by 8.9 percent between 1997 and 2007, growing to 10.2 MMbbl/d from 9.4 MMbbl/d. But during that same time, internal consumption jumped by 67.3 percent, to 2.31 MMbbl/d from 1.38 MMbbl/d. The result: net Saudi oil exports during that decade fell, albeit slightly, about 80,000 bbl/d. So what does all this mean? Perhaps the best single point was made by Maxwell, who said that peak oil will not be as damaging to the U.S. and other developed countries as it will to the less-developed world. Why? Because higher oil prices will mean “rationing by price.” That is, the wealthier countries and consumers will be more able to afford motor fuel that costs $5, $10, or even $15 per gallon. Consumers in poor countries will be unable to compete for fuel at those prices. And that could create serious social problems. Wells largely agrees with this outlook, saying, “Rising prices will drive demand destruction and the development of new technologies to make much better use of supply.” He goes on, explaining in a recent e-mail, “This will be painful and potentially fatal in the really poor countries of the world where access to fuel for generators, fertilizers, transport, etc., will mean risk of famine/starvation/reduction of the capacity of nations to provide basic services.” Of course, consumers have long had rationing by price for other commodities, such as Rolex watches and Mercedes cars. But the rationing of a commodity that is so crucial to modern society could have dramatic negative effects on billions of people around the world. After all, some 2.5 billion still use biomass – dung, wood, straw, etc. – for their home cooking needs. If they are completely priced out of the market for hydrocarbons, they will be destined to continue living in dire poverty. But Wells and Maxwell, and the many other analysts who have been predicting peak oil, could still be proven wrong. Given the cyclical nature of the commodities sector and the recent slump in oil prices, it is foolish to make huge bets on oil prices. Furthermore, as the ongoing financial crisis seems to prove, no one knows anything. Forecasts and models are handy, but markets – and of course, prices – are inherently chaotic. A prolonged recession or a depression could choke world oil demand to the point where a peak in production matters little. And of course, other technologies could come along that could allow significant substitution for oil. But inventors and investors have been searching for an alternative to oil for decades, and they have yet to find anything that approaches the flexibility and versatility of crude. The sudden oil price drop may result in a corresponding investment decline in alternative energy technologies. The punch line seems obvious: consumers around the globe will be relying on oil for decades to come. The unanswerable question is equally obvious: how much will that oil cost in 2015, 2020, or 2030? If Wells and Maxwell are right, and I’m increasingly inclined to believe that they are, the U.S. and the rest of the world would be well served if they began taking steps to ameliorate the potential disruptions that will come from the oil price shocks that are looming large on the horizon.
2. Read some of the quotes from the whitehouse website here http://epa.gov/otaq/climate/regulations/420f09028.htm#3
3.   2008-12-02 : EU To Cut Car Emissions by 18% Before 2015? DESCRIPTION -  Provisional deal reached disappoints environmentalists... CONTENT -  Brussels, Belgium, December 2, 2008 - European Union representatives today provisionally agreed to a compromise plan to require carmakers to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent by 2015, reports Reuters. The new requirements equate to a standard rate of no more than 130 grams of carbon dioxide per km. Environmentalists expressed concern that the automakers had too much influence on the process, thereby weakening the regulations and pushing back the timeline. "The car industry has been driving negotiations all along and EU politicians have been happy to sit in the passenger seat," Greenpeace campaigner Franziska Achterberg said. The original plan called for compliance by 2012. Even with a few more years to meet the requirements, the fees are steep for non-compliance, according to Reuters, 'Monday's deal sees tough fines of 95 euros ($119.80) per gram per car sold for automakers that miss their target by a long way, but those that overshoot by less than three grams face modest sanctions of between 5 and 25 euros.' The new rules must pass the European Parliament and all 27 nations to become law. EU adopts 10 percent mandate http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=3140 Feb 09, Biodiesel Magazine By Susanne Retka Schill The European Union turned voluntary goals into mandatory requirements when it adopted the Renewable Energy Directive issued by the European Parliament on Dec. 17. A 10 percent mandate for renewable content in transportation fuels is part of the new 20-20-20 plan that calls for a 20 percent cut in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for all energy compared with 1990 levels, a 20 percent increase in the use of renewable energy and a 20 percent cut in energy consumption through improved energy efficiency, all by 2020. Transportation fuels, including biofuels, electricity and hydrogen, are included in the 20 percent increase in renewable energy usage. The 10 percent mandate for renewable content in transportation fuels was set after much discussion over lowering the target. It replaces the voluntary targets of 5.75 percent by 2010 and 10 percent by 2020, which were adopted in a 2003 policy. In a separate Fuel Quality Directive adopted on the same day, the European Union increased its B5 standard to B7. While the Renewable Energy Directive will phase in climate change reduction goals over the next decade, the new blending standard can be implemented within the next two years by member states. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) will publish the revised standard by June. The European Biodiesel Board said the 10 percent requirement for 2020 sends a stronger signal to Europes biodiesel industry. In times of economic recession when different sectors are hit by declining investment, the [requirement] is essential in order to pave the way for even more ambitious developments of renewable energy in the transport sector, the EBB stated. The board is projecting the requirement to create a demand for 34 million metric tons of both biodiesel and ethanol. Current European biodiesel production capacity is 16 million metric tons (4.8 billion gallons). The specific GHG reduction target for biofuels is 35 percent, compared with fossil fuels, and will be enforced in 2011. For biofuels producers that began operation in January 2008, the requirement will take effect April 1, 2013. In 2017, the requirement increases to a 50 percent reduction, and for new producers after 2017, the target will be 60 percent. Targets for GHG emission reductions include not only fossil fuels, but also biofuels, electricity and hydrogen. The new directive requires fuel suppliers to reduce GHG emissions caused by extraction or cultivation, including land-use changes, transport and distribution, processing, and the combustion of transport fuels. A separate European initiative focusing on sustainability criteria is expected to be complete by the end of 2009, giving the European Commission time to review the language for inclusion in the climate change directive. The Renewable Energy Directive offers incentives for more sustainable biofuels by allowing second-generation biofuels to be double-credited in the 10 percent target. The directive calls for the European Commission to develop a methodology to measure GHG emissions from indirect land use by 2010. http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=3140
4. Expand this using EPA webinar slides. Look into current process. 3-5 more slides
5. On Climate Change, Henry Waxman Wants Congress to Act Now The House Energy Committee chair says his panel should pass a bill to curb emissions by Memorial Day By Katherine Skiba , Amanda Ruggeri Posted March 11, 2009 US News & World Rpt http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/energy/2009/03/11/on-climate-change-henry-waxman-wants-congress-to-act-now.html He battled Big Tobacco and fought for the "nutrition facts" label now carried on food products. And he became a household name after leading hard-hitting congressional probes into tough subjects: from waste and fraud in Iraq reconstruction and steroids in baseball to the coverup of the friendly-fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman and the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Henry Arnold Waxman, 69, is a Democrat from California who has called Congress home for half his life. He has long inspired strong views on Capitol Hill, where some regard him as one of his generation's great lawmakers and a relentless champion for the common good, even as others dismiss him as a partisan pit bull with an insatiable appetite for headlines. Either way, one thing is certain: One of his top concerns has long been global warming , and after dethroning a fellow Democrat to win the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, he's vowing quick action on comprehensive energy legislation containing provisions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If America doesn't act, Waxman warns, the country will pay a hefty price in terms of health, the environment, national security, and global instability. "We're more and more suffering the consequences of global warming and climate change, which scientists tell us could be irreversible if we don't take very serious action now," he says. Waxman wants his new committee to have a bill to curb carbon emissions prepared by April so that it can be approved by the panel before Memorial Day. President Barack Obama, he says, "has called upon us to move forward in this area. It's something that we can no longer neglect." Opponents, starting with the top Republican on the committee, argue that the science isn't proved and the timing, with countries around the world mired in recession, isn't right. House Republican Joe Barton of Texas, a former chair of the panel and now its ranking member, says a sure way to turn a severe economic downturn into a depression is to pass a "cockamamie climate change bill" that includes mandatory cap-and-trade provisions. A cap-and-trade system would involve the federal government setting yearly limits on total greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide. Washington would then allocate emission credits that could be traded, banked, or sold to meet the cap. Each credit would allow a factory or coal-fueled power plant to emit 1 ton of greenhouse gases. Advocates believe the provisions would spur private-sector innovations, keeping the United States at the cutting edge of new energy technology and energy efficiency. Opponents envision industrial jobs going overseas. Waxman, addressing critics who warn about the risk of outsourcing, says doing nothing about global warning would result in an economy worse off than it is now, with damage to public health, the environment, "even our cities, our agriculture, our forests, and our national security." As draft legislation is hammered out and congressional hearings are underway, Waxman is showing few of his cards, careful to avoid being pinned down on exactly what he'd like in a bill or how much he'd concede. Whether the full House and Senate would approve climate legislation is also unclear, particularly in an area where Democrats, some from manufacturing bases or coal-producing regions, tend to be divided by regional interests. One environmentalist tracking the debate says Waxman "is making a gamble that he can get this done quickly while Obama's popularity is high." Copenhagen. Looming next December are international climate talks in Copenhagen under the auspices of the United Nations. That's another impetus behind the Democrats' bid for swift congressional action. Environmentalists point out that a hard-fought debate in Congress that forces agreement between pro-environment and pro-business legislators could be a useful preview for the Obama administration of what kinds of proposals it might be able to offer in Denmark. Long before he was one of Congress's more ambitious environmentalists, Waxman grew up above his father's grocery store in the Watts section of Los Angeles. He went to UCLA both for college and law school and, in short order, entered the California Assembly. He won election to Congress at age 35 in 1974, when a wave of Democratic reformers won seats in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal. It was in 1992 that he first introduced global warming legislation. He is, according to loyalists, a smart and strategic thinker, dogged in his pursuit of his goals. They say his private persona is a world apart from the public man on display when questioning witnesses, as he famously did in 1994 when he (an ex-smoker, aides say) confronted tobacco executives who, under oath, denied that smoking is addictive. A longtime close friend, congressional expert Norm Ornstein, says the public may best know Waxman from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearings he led. There, Ornstein says, Waxman was "this stern guy wielding the gavel, trying to see justice done," with "people quaking in their boots sitting opposite him." Fewer know the private Waxman—a "real mensch," Ornstein says, and "a gentle, warm, nice guy." Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, salutes Waxman as not only the best lawmaker on oversight in memory but as "one of the great legislators of the 20th century." Republicans, of course, strongly disagree. "Henry is very pugnacious in his beliefs," says House Republican Steve Buyer of Indiana, who sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee. "And he has been known to rub people the wrong way because of it." Barton says Waxman has promised bipartisanship within the committee, where Democrats have 36 seats to the Republicans' 23, but has not yet delivered. Barton says GOP input would ensure a bipartisan bill that would stand the test of time, not a "political victory for the radical environmental left." Short, bald, mustachioed, Waxman looks like someone who could have been a character actor if he'd chosen that path. His L.A. district, so reliably Democratic that he coasts to re-election , takes in Beverly Hills, Malibu, Santa Monica, and other star-studded hamlets. But he shuns local galas such as the Academy Awards ceremony. "He likes to watch from home," says aide Karen Lightfoot. "He's very down to earth." It was late last year, after the elections, that Waxman successfully challenged House Democrat John Dingell of Michigan, an advocate for the automotive industry, for the chairmanship of the energy committee. The panel has sweeping jurisdiction, taking in health-care reform (another top Waxman aim), interstate and foreign commerce, nuclear regulation, consumer safety, and even the Internet. Though seniority tends to rule for chairmanships, Waxman prevailed on a 137-to-122 vote of House Democrats. Though bold, Waxman's ascension doesn't mean advancing mandatory carbon reductions through Congress will be a slam-dunk. A measure failed in the Senate last year, and recent House proposals haven't gotten traction. Waxman, though, has friends in high places: Obama in the White House and fellow Californian Nancy Pelosi in the speaker's chair in the House. Pelosi, who calls global warming the "greatest challenge of our time," hopes to hold a House vote on cap-and-trade this year. Not inconsequentially, Waxman's former chief of staff, Phil Schiliro, a savvy Hill player, was tapped by Obama to be his top congressional liaison. Whether Waxman and his allies succeed in passing climate change legislation is not a sure thing. But if past is prologue, he'll give it all he's got. And he won't give up easily. Energy Bill Should Do It All March 3, 2009 Huffington Post Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday called for efforts to create energy independence and to combat climate change to be wrapped into one large energy package. It's a position she had not previously adopted, but one which has been advocated by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, also a California Democrat. "I would like to see one bill, which is the energy bill, with the cap and trade and the grid piece," Pelosi told a gathering of reporters and liberal writers in the Capitol building. A House bill from last session, backed by Pelosi, called for 15 percent of U.S. energy production to come from renewable sources by 2020. A Pelosi spokesman said that she is calling for the establishment of a renewable energy standard in the new legislation. The cap-and-trade bill would also set a limit on carbon emissions and create a regime in which companies can trade credits that would allow emission of a certain amount of carbon. Pelosi also referenced investment in a "smart grid" that would be able to transport renewable energy back and forth from generation to use. "I think having it as one bill shows the -- I don't want to say the integrity -- the oneness of it all, how it all relates to each other," said Pelosi. Waxman spokesperson Karen Lightfoot did not return a call requesting comment.
6. 2009-03-03 : VW Unveils CNG Concept at Geneva Auto Show DESCRIPTION -  Says Touran TSI EcoFuel with dual charging via turbocharger and supercharger... CONTENT -  Geneva, Switzerland, March 3, 2009 - Volkswagen this week unveiled five of its newest concepts, touting fuel efficiency across the company brand, reports Automotive News. Fuel efficient diesels include the Polo BlueMotion Concept (3.3 liters/100Km), the Golf BlueMotion (3.8 liters/100Km) and the Passat CC BlueTDI, which the company calls the world's cleanest diesel sedan with an SCR catalytic converter. Also making its world debut, the Touran TSI EcoFuel, a compressed natural gas-powered van which features consumption of just '4.8 kilograms of natural gas per 100 kilometers when paired with a standard 6-speed transmission (129 g/km CO2; 7-speed-DSG: 4.7 kilograms and 126 g/km CO2).'
7. Source: Westport Innovations Press Release, December 4, 2007
8. T&T to Deploy More Than 15,000 Alternative-Fuel Vehicles Makes Largest Commitment to Compressed Natural Gas to Date by a U.S. Company; Part of 10-Year Commitment to Spend up to $565 Million on Alternative-Fuel Vehicles Dallas, Texas, March 11, 2009 newsrelease ShareThis Through an initiative that highlights the growing demand for cleaner domestic vehicles, AT&T* today announced plans to invest up to $565 million as part of a long-term strategy to deploy more than 15,000 alternative-fuel vehicles over the next 10 years. AT&T expects to spend an estimated $350 million to purchase about 8,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles and approximately $215 million to begin replacing its passenger cars with alternative-fuel models. AT&T's investment represents the largest U.S. corporate commitment to CNG vehicles to date. The new deployments will bring AT&T's alternative-fuel fleet to more than 15,000 vehicles by 2019. "AT&T and other U.S. corporations have a unique opportunity to partner with the new administration as it works to lead the country out of this economic downturn," said Randall Stephenson, chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T Inc. "While there are no easy solutions to the challenges facing our nation, this investment is a first step on our part to help boost other industries while at the same time encouraging wider use and production of efficient vehicles and domestic fuel alternatives." The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) in Ann Arbor, Mich., estimates that the new vehicles will save 49 million gallons of gasoline and reduce carbon emissions by 211,000 metric tons over the 10-year deployment period. That is equivalent to removing the emissions from more than 38,600 traditional passenger vehicles for a year. Over the next five years, AT&T will replace about 8,000 gasoline-powered service vehicles with vehicles powered by domestically available CNG. CNG vehicles are expected to emit approximately 25 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than those traditionally powered by gasoline. The vehicle chassis will be built domestically by a U.S. automotive manufacturer. AT&T will then work with domestic suppliers to convert the chassis to run on CNG. AT&T will also work with natural gas service providers to build up to 40 new CNG fueling stations across its operating region to provide the fueling infrastructure needed for the new vehicles. This investment will have a positive impact on job creation and preservation. CAR estimates that nearly 1,000 jobs will be created or saved each year for five years. As it begins to retire gasoline-powered passenger vehicles in its fleet, AT&T has committed to replacing them with alternative-fuel models. AT&T expects to replace 7,100 passenger cars over the next 10 years. The alternative-fuel vehicles, which will be used by employees in a variety of diverse work functions across AT&T's operations, are expected to offer up to a 39 percent improvement in fuel economy and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 29 percent. During the initial phase of the deployment, gasoline-powered passenger vehicles will be replaced with hybrid models. As technologies evolve, additional alternative-fuel vehicle types will be considered for inclusion. "Economic times are tough, but tough times make it even more important to look for efficient solutions," said Stephenson. "This is part of a long-term strategy that will help us continue to cut operating costs, reduce emissions in the communities we serve and make our business even more sustainable." In 2009, AT&T will deploy nearly 800 of the CNG and hybrid electric vehicles. A Green Technology insignia will make the vehicles easy to identify on the road. The new CNG/passenger vehicle commitment follows AT&T's deployment of 105 alternative-fuel vehicles in more than 30 U.S. cities in June 2008. In addition, AT&T piloted four Ford Escape hybrids, which were deployed in late 2007 in California. Through these successful pilot programs, AT&T has learned that a mix of solutions is right for its fleet and that multiple technologies can help reduce its operating costs over time, while effectively reducing its fuel consumption and impact on the environment. In addition to taking steps to make its fleet more efficient, AT&T is committed to helping its customers make their commercial fleets more efficient via a portfolio of fleet management products and services. Using AT&T's nationwide mobile broadband network and GPS partner solutions, AT&T provides fleet managers with the ability to actively manage their vehicles, increase efficiency and reduce fuel and insurance costs. Nearly all of AT&T's own technician vehicles are equipped with similar GPS capabilities, which have provided increased visibility into business operations and allowed AT&T to uncover opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce costs. To view this announcement live, please visit www.att.com /public-policy . For more information about AT&T's sustainability efforts, please visit www.att.com /sustainability . *AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc. About AT&T AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world's most advanced IP-based business communications services, the nation's fastest 3G network and the best wireless coverage worldwide, and the nation's leading high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets, AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part of their three-screen integration strategy, AT&T operating companies are expanding their TV entertainment offerings. In 2009, AT&T again ranked No. 1 in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE® magazine's list of the World's Most Admired Companies. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http:// www.att.com . © 2009 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid =4800&cdvn= news&newsarticleid =26598
9. 2009-03-02 : UPS Deploys 300 New CNG Trucks to Fleet DESCRIPTION -  Brings total to 1,100 CNG vehicles... CONTENT -  Atlanta, GA, February 19, 2009 - UPS announced in a press release that it had deployed 300 new delivery trucks powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to seven cities in Colorado, Georgia, Oklahoma and California. The new CNG trucks have been deployed over the past month to Denver (43); Atlanta (46); Oklahoma City (100), and four cities in California: Sacramento (21), San Ramon (63), Los Angeles (9) and Ontario (18). All now are in service. "Deploying alternative fuel vehicles dates back to the early days of UPS and this CNG deployment is one more step towards the greening of the our fleet," said Robert Hall, UPS's director of vehicle engineering. "Continuing to add CNG delivery trucks to our fleet is a sustainable choice because natural gas is a cost effective, clean-burning and readily available fuel." UPS already operates the largest private fleet of alternative fuel vehicles in its industry - 1,819 in total with these additions. The 300 trucks deployed over the past month were built from scratch as CNG vehicles. They join more than 800 CNG vehicles already in use by UPS worldwide. The trucks are expected to yield a 20 percent emissions reduction over the cleanest diesel engines available in the market today.
10. Source: East Bay Business Times, January 23, 2008 / Solazyme Press Release January 22, 2008 http://www.solazyme.com/news080122_2.shtml
11. Volkswagen Teams with Toshiba to Sell Electric Car by 2012 (graphic saved) 02/18/09 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/02/18/volkswagen-teams-with-toshiba-to-sell-electric-car-by-2012/ German automakers have been late in coming to the electric car game. However, Volkswagen AG recently signed an agreement with Toshiba Corp. to develop an electric car. The Up! subcompact concept car will be the first Volkswagen car to benefit from the agreement, which will pair Volkswagen’s electric drive train knowledge with Toshiba’s power electronics and battery system expertise, according to this Reuters story . One major goal of the partnership is to develop a high-density battery system. The deal comes amid a swirl of deals in the Japanese battery development and electronics sector. In May of 2008, Volkswagen struck a deal with Sanyo Corp. to develop lithium-ion batteries for hybrids and electric cars. Since then, Sanyo bought the nickel-metal hydride interests of Toshiba (Volkswagen also had been working with Toshiba on nickel-metal hydride batteries, a project that will continue, according to this article .) And even more recently, Panasonic bought Sanyo. Even before the flurry of deals, the three Japanese companies had signalled a willingness to work together. In January of 2008, Panasonic Corporation of North America, Sharp Electronics Corporation and Toshiba America Consumer Products established an electronic product recycling management company, Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company LLC.
12. Source: Smith Electric Vehicles Press Release December 4, 2007 / GreenCarCongress.com December 2007
13. Fleet of electric trucks is bound for Port of Los Angeles 02/25/09 Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-electric-truck25-2009feb25,0,6411132.story Graphic caption: Steven Barhanovic, left, and Christopher Barhanovic put finishing touches on an electric truck at Balqon Corp. in Harbor City. The standing joke about the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach used to be that they were like the diesel version of elephant graveyards: the place where old trucks went to die. But lately, they have become a proving ground for technology that produces little or no pollution. On Tuesday, the first of 25 heavy-duty all-electric trucks rolled off a new Los Angeles assembly line. All are slated to work at the Port of Los Angeles or to make short hauls to and from the harbor. The small fleet results from a partnership involving the Port of Los Angeles, the South Coast Air Quality Management District and a small business called Balqon Corp. For a vehicle that is going to be doing a lot of grunt work with rusty cargo containers, its coming out party was pretty splashy. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was there for the unveiling of the Nautilus E30 and even took it for a short spin. He was joined by Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners President S. David Freeman and Santa Ana Mayor Miguel A. Pulido, who is a member of the air board. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have launched the nation's most ambitious port cleanup effort, which bans the oldest and dirtiest trucks and charges cargo fees to help fund the purchase of thousands of new clean diesel and natural gas trucks. The ports also have been offering seed money for promising new technologies. The Nautilus E30 has a range of 40 miles (under a full load) to 60 miles (when not hauling). It powers up by plugging into a 230-volt or 480-volt charger for about three hours. Balqon Chief Executive Balwinder Samra received $527,000 from the L.A. port and the air board to fund development of the electric truck. As part of the deal, Samra moved his company from Orange County to Harbor City, near the port, and he will pay a royalty of $1,000 to the port and the air board for every truck he sells that isn't used at the port. "We had made equipment for trucks and buses before, but we could never afford to build a whole truck before this," Samra said. "Now, we've proven we can do it." [email_address]
14. Toyota plans Yaris-based hybrid http://www.autonews.com/article/20090325/ANA02/903259986 Hans Greimel Automotive News March 25, 2009 - 10:51 am ET TOKYO -- The green car race between Toyota and Honda is heating up.Toyota Motor Corp. plans a new small hybrid car to take on the Insight, the inexpensive Honda hybrid that just reached the United States. The small gasoline-electric car being planned will be a low-priced spinoff of the Toyota Yaris , said Akihiko Otsuka, chief engineer of the redesigned, third-generation Toyota Prius . "We are developing a low-priced hybrid vehicle like Honda's Insight," Otsuka said. "We are going to compete by expanding our hybrid-vehicle lineup to smaller hybrids, in the class of the Vitz [sold in Japan] and Yaris." He did not say when the small hybrid would debut, but it could arrive as early as 2011, according to Japan's Nikkei business newspaper.Toyota's plan is the clearest sign yet that it is worried about the inroads that its domestic arch rival is making into small, low-priced hybrid vehicles. The Honda Insight , which starts at around $20,000, is selling briskly in Japan and will be followed by a hybrid version of the Fit compact. Cheaper than a Prius By contrast, Toyota's third-generation Prius has a bigger engine and many options common to premium cars. The current, second-generation Prius, at around $22,000, already is more expensive than the Insight. The updated model is expected to be even pricier when it arrives in May in U.S. showrooms.Otsuka said the small hybrid being developed will be cheaper than the Prius.Toyota's hybrid strategy calls for bringing more core technologies in-house, he added. The electric motor and inverter for the Prius currently are manufactured by Toyota. The company also is developing its own lithium ion batteries so it won't be overly reliant on its joint venture with Panasonic for power packs, Otsuka said. The Prius uses nickel-metal hydride batteries supplied by Panasonic EV Energy Co. But future green cars are seen switching to lithium ion because they are lighter and more powerful.Honda is teaming with Japanese battery maker GS Yuasa Corp. to develop its lithium ion power packs. The Insight uses nickel-metal hydride batteries from Sanyo. Better aerodynamics Otsuka said the top priority in developing the new Prius was to boost fuel efficiency, not reduce the price. Through countless overhauls, he achieved a preliminary EPA fuel economy rating to 51 mpg city/48 highway, up from 48/45 mpg for the 2009 Prius.Foremost among the improvements is better aerodynamics. The new Prius has a drag coefficient of 0.25, the slickest in Toyota's lineup. That compares with 0.26 for the current Prius. That difference alone delivers a 1 percent increase in overall mileage, Otsuka said.The latest Prius also gets a 1.8-liter gasoline engine, up from the current generation's 1.5 liters, so it can get better fuel efficiency at higher speeds.While the new Prius shares the same name as its predecessor, it has a new platform it shares with the Auris, which replaced the Toyota Corolla hatchback in Europe. The new Prius also shares more parts with the Auris than with the second-generation Prius."The Auris platform was designed so it could also carry a hybrid system," Otsuka said. "By making it flexible, it can accommodate future overseas production and reduce costs."
15. 2009-03-05 : Freightliner Custom Chassis, Parker Hannifin Roll Out Hydraulic Hybrid Walk-in Van DESCRIPTION -  Features Cummins ISB 2007, a Parker hydraulic-propulsion system, no transmission needed... CONTENT -  Chicago, IL, March 4, 2009 - Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp (FCCC) this week showcased its new hydraulic hybrid electric MT55-walk-in van chassis at the National Truck Equipment Association Work Truck Show here, according to Fleet Owner. The chassis, which was developed in partnership with Parker Hannifin Corp and features and Parker hydraulic hybrid propulsion system, a Cummins ISB 2007 200-hp engine, does not require a transmission. "The hydraulic hybrid chassis not only offers a reduction in operating costs, it also decreases exhaust emissions, providing a substantial environmental benefit," said Jonathan Randall, director of sales and marketing for FCCC. "As the first chassis manufacturer to launch hybrids into the walk-in van market, we are very proud to continue that tradition by introducing our hydraulic hybrid as another option for customers." Power recovery is a key selling point, according to FCCC. "The hydraulic hybrid is able to recover and reuse about 70% of the energy that otherwise would have been wasted during the braking process," said Rich Kimpel, engineering manager for the Parker Hydraulic Group Technology and Commercialization Support Team. "On the other hand, typical electric hybrids can only recapture about 25% of the brake energy."
16. Source: New York Times, August 25, 2007 / Trademark info from AutoBlogGreen Nov 13, 2007
17. Williamsburg, VA, June 16, 2008 - In the face of rapidly rising fuel costs, thirteen hybrids trucks, ranging in size from GM's new two-mode hybrid Silverado pick-up to Dueco-Odyne's plug-in hybrid electric "digger-derrick" truck highlighted the product demonstrations at the 2008 Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference in Williamsburg, VA. Several truck makers, including Navistar , Freightliner, Peterbilt and Kenworth showcased hybrid electric trucks, as did several other players including body/device manufacturers Terex, Dueco , Time and Altec, in partnerships with system suppliers including Eaton , Azure Dynamics and Odyne . Beyond the "conventional" hybrids, several hybrid variants, including plug-in trucks and systems that store extra energy for use during work site operations were unveiled (see June 16, 2008 NewsNotes). Navistar unveiled a four-wheel drive version of its hybrid truck which has been requested by fleets. Navistar/Eaton also demonstrated a plug-in variant of its base hybrid truck, while Kenworth, Peterbilt and Freightliner showed their production-line hybrid truck offerings. The expanding diversity of chassis sizes and options signals a next level of growth for hybrid products. -
18. 2009-02-26 : Nissan Starts Test of Its Next Gen Fuel Cell DESCRIPTION -  Says 25% smaller than the previous model, 1.4 times the power output... CONTENT -  Hokkaido, Japan, February 25, 2009 - Nissan Motor Co. Ltd this week announced it has commenced cold-weather vehicle testing on its next generation fuel cell technology, according to The FinChannel.com. The technology, on display at the Fifth International Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Expo in Japan this week, is 25 percent smaller than its previous incarnation and provides 1.4 times the power, from 90kw before to 130kw now. According to FinChannel, the smaller size version should be cheaper to manufacture, given a 50 percent reduction in platinum.