Globally, over 70GW of solar power is installed and over 250GW of wind energy. In the past five years, the U.S. has added more renewable energy than coal and nuclear power. Grid energy storage is forecasted to grow from $3 billion to $160 billion annually in the next five years.
BP’s Energy Outlook 2030 projects that demand for energy will grow by around 40% over the next two decades. That’s like adding one more China and one more US to the world’s energy demand by 2030. Nearly all of that growth – 96% in fact – is expected to come from the emerging economies with more than half coming from China and India alone. By 2030, 30% of cars will be hybrids. Renewable energy will grow over 1,000%.
On November 17 the 2012 Green Car of the Year® will be announced by Green Car Journal at the LA Auto Show. This year’s five finalists include the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, 2012 Mitsubishi i, 2012 Toyota Prius v, 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas, and 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI. I have been impressed with my test drives of these cars. All will be available for dealer sales by January 2, 2012.
By Tom Bartley. The Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) EXPO, May 4-6, 2011, at the Long Beach Convention Center had 42 on display and 25 ride-n-drive … Read more
AT&T added the 2,000th compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle in its corporate vehicle fleet – a Ford E250 van deployed in San Leandro, California. This milestone is part of a $565 million planned investment to replace approximately 15,000 fleet vehicles with alternative-fuel models through 2018.
Across the nation, ranchers, farmers, landfill operators, and all that generate agricultural waste, forest residue, and municipal waste can increasingly become energy independent. Through anaerobic digestion much of their biological waste can be converted into biogas which can run electrical generators, turbines, or fuel cells to generate electricity. Biogas can also be converted to cleaner biomethane for cleaner electricity and renewable fuel. These operations can generate their own electricity and fuel their own vehicles.
UPS operates nearly 100,000 ground vehicles, 600 airplanes, 3,000 facilities, and employs over 400,000 people. Although UPS has experienced over a 40% improvement in fuel economy with 50
hybrid-electric delivery vehicles, a new type of hydraulic hybrid may be even better.
Faced with record gas prices, American fuel use is at a five-year low. Americans drove 30 billion fewer miles since November than during the same period a year earlier.
Many fleets have specific goals to reduce petroleum dependency, meet cleaner emission mandates, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and begin pilot fleets that model their future goals. Fleets are expanding their use of hydrogen, natural gas and biofuels. Sometimes, they even save money in the process.
Natural gas is likely to become the number one source of energy globally, surpassing current number one – oil. Natural gas is the fuel of choice for modern electric power plants, being cleaner than coal.