Will Murkowski Become Second Republican Senator to Go Along With Climate Change Bill?

U.S. Senator (R.-Alaska) Lisa Murkowski signaled on C-Span Sunday that she might go along with the climate change bill, as long as it includes provisions for expanding domestic oil drilling and nuclear energy.

"When you see changes to the land coming about ... what is causing the loss of the sea ice that adds to the erosion issues, yes, in Alaska we are seeing change," Murkowski told C-SPAN. "That's why I have been one of those Republicans who has stepped out front a little bit more on the issue of climate change."

She'd be the second. South Carolina's Lindsay Graham has already said he wants a climate change bill.

But is her price too high? It depends. Republicans have long wanted to open more parts of Alaska's north to drilling. Democrats are opposed. With current oil prices, it actually might be too expensive to drill up there anyway. But a concession given cannot be taken back so expect a heated debate. Some compromise on nuclear in some ways seems inevitable. Public opinion has warmed to nuclear and Energy Secretary Steve Chu and Steve Koonin, the DOE's chief scientist, have talked about the ability to nuclear to reduce coal dependence.

How to Reduce TV Power? Film!

Last week the California Energy Commission held a hearing on a plan to implement energy efficiency standards in TV that would cut power consumption in TVs by 33 percent by 2011 and 49 percent by 2013.

It's been a hot-and-heated debate, and the two sides are no closer to agreement.

3M, though, says it can help. The company has come up with another optical film in its Vikuiti line of films that can reduce the power consumption of LCD TVs measuring 40-inches across or less by up to 32 percent without compromising brightness. (Brightness is a big issue. Some TV makers have come up with green settings for TVs that just turn down the lights and hence compromise viewing.) The company, along with others, has produced a number of films like this over the years but every bit helps.

The TV battle is an interesting one. The CEC says TV makers are complaining too loudly. Over 1,000 TVs already meet the standard. True, say TV makers. TVs in fact have been dropping drastically in power consumption – the story contains a number of interesting stats. Check out this video of a 32-inch Hitachi TV that consumes only 32 watts of power. There's no need to regulate us, they claim. If that's the case, the CEC responds, then this shouldn't be a burden.

EPRI says that nearly 30 billion kilowatt hours could be abated by 2030 by more energy efficient TVs and monitors.

The company will show off the film at a show later this month in Yokohama along with a film for 3D handhelds. 3D TV is coming, people, whether you like it or not. I just got back from Japan and saw high-quality 3D sets from Toshiba, Panasonic, Sharp, Sony and others. The first ones will be released early next year and the experience is far better than the old 3D. Some require content to be 3D-ized for them but others can render 2D video into 3D on their own.

Imagine it. Brideshead Revisited – in 3D!

First Geothermal, Now Solar

Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA), an established geothermal energy developer, has formed a joint venture with installer Sunday Energy.

The deal represents Ormat's entry into the solar market, the company said. Reno-based Ormat is known for developing geothermal power plants in various parts of the world, including the United States, New Zealand, Guatemala and Kenya. The company also sells equipment for capturing waste heat and turning it into electricity at cement and other industrial sites.

Through its deal with Sunday, Ormat would get a piece of the installation business in Israel. The joint venture plans to build 36 megawatts of solar energy systems, which would cost about $195 million, Ormat said.

The joint venture would own and operate these systems and sell power to the Israel Electric Corp., added Ormat, which would own 70 percent of each project.

Large energy companies are looking for opportunities to get a slice of the solar market as solar energy becomes a more popular source of electricity. General Electric, for example, has invested in solar energy equipment companies such as PrimeStar Solar and SolarEdge. Of course, BP and Chevron have been in the solar business for years.

A Nuclear Showdown in Baltimore

The nuclear debate is heating up in Maryland.

UniStar Energy, a joint venture between France's EDF and a local utility, is seeking approval for a 1.6-gigawatt power plant in the state, according to VentureBeat, as well as a portion of the $18.5 billion in funds for advanced nuclear research. Alhough UniStar has obtained key approval from some federal and state agencies, opponents say it will give a company owned by a foreign government too much say in rates (even though EDF is already involved in a few other joint ventures in the U.S. like Enxco and has a strong safety record).

More importantly, the opponents charge that the construction costs will run be more than double the $7 billion estimate. Cost overruns are epidemic in nuclear. At a recent conference, Amory Lovins from the Rocky Mountain Institute charged that nuclear, when the overruns are added, actually cost more than wind.

Some companies and national labs are trying to circumvent some of these problems with small, modular reactors, but final versions of those won't be ready for another few years.

An Electric Car for $6,000

If you live in a Tulsa retirement community and have always wanted to own a low-speed electric town car, now is the time to buy.

Zenn Motor Company is winding down its car business and targeting Oklahoma drivers. Why? Oklahoma offers a 50 percent tax credit on electric cars. Zenn's low-speed vehicles – which top out at 25 miles per hour and are sold to retirement communities, army bases and college campuses – qualify for the credit. That brings the price down to $6,000. (Rebellious retirees take note: Drivers can tinker with the governor to get past the 25 mph limit.)

Zenn was one of the first new wave electric car manufacturers, but it never really achieved escape velocity. The low speed vehicle market potentially could be somewhat large, according to backers, but it's also not the glamorous, high-margin wing of the car business. In the most recent quarter, Zenn reported less than $400,000 in revenue.

Zenn will make the cars through 2010 and then has no plans after that. The Zenn City, a freeway-legal car based around an ultracapacitor from EEStor that has been promised and delayed for years, has shifted to become a "technology platform." In other words, Zenn won't make it. (It has been delayed several times.) The company though will show it off to other manufacturers and try to license it.

Germans Win Solar Decathlon

With a stellar performance in net metering, Team Germany won the overall prize at the Solar Decathlon, an annual contest sponsored by the Department of Energy to come up with energy efficient homes.

The German home sported a massive number of solar panels. Unlike other competitors, who just put solar panels on the roof, Team Germany covered the walls with solar panels. This enabled them to feed more power into the grid than other competitors. The University of Illinois and Team California came in, respectively, second and third.

The annual contest pits different colleges, or clusters of collages, to build energy efficient homes. Various prizes are given for different achievements. Team California, headed up by Santa Clara University, won the communication contest while the University of Minnesota took home the lighting prize. Team Germany also won the comfort award and placed in the top three in other categories.