Apple has launched its own plug-in charger for AA batteries , extending its wireless device and energy efficiency strategies. In addition to making its wireless keyboards and mice more user friendly, the company’s new product will slash the amount of power that’s demanded by competing chargers. The Apple Battery Charger includes six AA batteries in the device’s $29 price tag. This hovers around the price of many of the other chargers on the market, but Apple says it has built in a little extra: the ability to save money, however little, on electricity. A lot of other chargers continue to suck power even after the batteries they carry are fully juiced. Apple’s spin the product consumes 10 times less electricity than these rivals — about 30 milliwatts once its charge cycle is finished (as opposed to an average 315 milliwatts), the company says
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Apple unveils new, consumer-friendly battery charger
Now we know: The first two plug-in cars from major manufacturers will go head-to-head on warranties and lease prices: $350 a month for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, $349 for the 2011 Nissan Leaf . Now the choice shifts to other measures, including electric and overall range, as well as the plug-in perks that states like California offer to early adopters to encourage them to opt for electric cars. This is where it gets interesting. While California loves the Nissan Leaf , current regulations deny Chevy Volt buyers two significant perks: a $5,000 rebate, and permission to drive solo in HOV Lanes. Federal credits yes, CA rebate no Both the 2011 Leaf and the 2011 Volt are eligible for the maximum $7,500 federal tax credit that goes to buyers of plug-in cars with battery packs of 16 kilowatt-hours or more. Some states add their own incentives as well. Georgia and Oregon, for example, offer state tax credits ($5,000 and $1,500 respectively)
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Chevy Volt: No $5K rebate, carpool-lane access for CA buyers
The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that it has finally closed its $117 million low-interest loan guarantee to Kahuku Wind Power , developer of a 30-megawatt wind power project slated to keep the lights on in 7,700 homes in Kahuku, Hawaii, and create 200 jobs on the island of Oahu. Renewable sources of energy are of particular interest in Hawaii, where gasoline prices are inflated by the need to export oil supplies. Funding wind and solar projects could wean the islands off this dependency, dramatically slashing their carbon footprints
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Energy Dept. closes $117M loan to Kahuku Wind Power
The Energy Department followed up its pledge today to invest $122 million in converting sunlight into fuels with another announcement: $106 million in new stimulus funding for six projects working to convert carbon dioxide emissions into plastics, fuel, cement, fertilizer and other products .
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Energy Dept. spends $106M to put captured CO2 to use
The wide-ranging climate legislation that would have put a price on carbon and establish an emissions cap-and-trade system came to an inglorious end today as Senate Democrats conceded that they simply don’t have enough votes to pass such a bill. This is a big loss for President Barack Obama, who campaigned on the issue. The bill’s supporters were aiming for a 17 percent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. But these figures never gained momentum in the U.S. and failed to impress at last year’s United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen , Denmark, where they were viewed as weak and unambitious. As a result, the Democrats are putting together a watered-down version of the bill that has a greater chance of winning support. Instead of tackling greenhouse gas emissions, the new legislation would increase potential damages for oil companies following spills and would provide more incentives for the development and purchase of natural gas vehicles and energy efficiency products and services.
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Senate Democrats kill climate bill with division, indecision
Google announced today that it will be buying wind-generated power from a company called NextEra Energy Resource s to sell back to the local grid operator in exchange for Renewable Energy Certificates (basically, credits to offset its carbon emissions). The company made the purchase via its relatively new Google Energy unit — an entity that won the rights to buy and sell energy just like a utility from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in February . This isn’t the first time Google has worked with NextEra . The search giant has already invested $38.8 million in two wind farms — pumping out 169.5 megawatts total — developed by NextEra in North Dakota
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Google enters the energy market with deal to buy, sell wind power
Almost a year ago, General Motors launched a little marketing campaign connecting its 2011 Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car to the figure “230 mpg.” As we pointed out at the time, they were basing that projection on a proposed formula for fuel usage patterns that made a lot of assumptions about the driving cycles that would be used. Frankly, we think the whole exercise sowed confusion. But it sure got the Volt a lot of attention for awhile. Which was, clearly, the goal
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Remember the 2011 Chevrolet Volt’s 230-MPG claim? Forget it.
California State Attorney General Jerry Brown has filed a lawsuit against controversial mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, for opting out of a program that encourages residential solar installations. The initiative, called Property Assessed Clean Energy , or PACE, lets local governments loan money to homeowners through property-tax assessments so that they can afford to install solar panels and energy-efficient heating systems. Local governments raise the money by selling municipal bonds, and are repaid by homeowners over the next 15 to 20 years. Because property-tax assessments are required to be paid back before mortgage investors in the event of foreclosure, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and their peers are up in arms. Their regulator, the FHFA says that PACE does not ensure that homeowners have enough money to repay all their debts, leaving them dangerously vulnerable. As a result, both mortgage giants have said they will not accept loans aided by PACE, even though the program has already won broad federal support and generous stimulus funding.
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California sues Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for blocking green energy initiative
Throughout the history of the internal combustion engine there have been a multitude of scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs shouting claims about revolutionary new engine designs promising greater efficiency, more power, fewer emissions and lower production and running costs. However, to this day we are yet to see anything come up to replace the existing four-stroke engine design currently found in most cars (not including the newer generation of hybrids and all-electrics). Most of these ‘alternative’ designs usually vanish as quickly as they appear but one company, America’s own EcoMotors International, has gained the spotlight following the announcement it has received $23.5 million in funding from Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Vinod Khosla. The funding is to be used to further develop a new engine design called the Opposed Piston Opposed Cylinder, or OPOC for short. According to EcoMotors, based in suburban Detroit, the new OPOC engines feature 50 percent fewer parts than regular engines, while also being 50 percent more fuel efficient . Everyone knows that a lot of energy in internal combustion engines is wasted due to frictional losses, and having 50 percent fewer parts should go a long way to remedying this issue
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Bill Gates backs EcoMotors’ new OPOC engine with $23.5M
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You may remember that in California, 85,000 lucky owners of three hybrid vehicles were granted special stickers giving them access to High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes, even with only a single occupant in the car . Well, their luck runs out on December 31, the last day those stickers are valid. While Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill yesterday that extends certain HOV-Lane Access stickers for four more years, the ones for hybrids aren’t included.
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No more carpool lane perks for hybrids in California