NOVA: Making Stuff Cleaner

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List Of Greenest Vehicles Led By Natural Gas Civic, Leaf.

The Los Angeles Times (2/16, Hsu) reports that American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy released its list of the "greenest 2011 model-year vehicles," and it has "a lot of traditional gasoline engines among the top 12 cars," including "the Smart Fortwo, the Ford Fiesta and the Hyundai Elantra." Number one was "the natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX...followed by the new all-electric Nissan Leaf." Also on the list were "the hybrid Toyota Prius and the hybrid electric Chevrolet Volt." EVs suffered from "'upstream' emissions" based on "US power generation" and on "the battery manufacturing and disposal processes."

Machine Converts Plastic To Fuel, Designed For Home Use.

The msnbc (2/15, Roach) "Cosmic Log" blog reports on a machine designed by Japanese inventor Akinori Ito "that can turn plastic waste into fuel." The machine "heats up the plastic, traps the vapors in a system of pipes and water chambers that cool the vapors and condense them back into crude oil," and "can convert a kilogram of plastic waste into a liter of oil using a kilowatt-hour of energy," although Ito hopes that "the price will fall as demand and production rise." The article notes, "Ito's machine isn't the first to convert waste plastic into fuel, but is gaining kudos for its size: It's built for home use."

Stimulus Funds Used To Turn Federal Buildings Green.

The Chicago Tribune (2/1, Kamin) reports that $4.5 billion of President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package is being used to make federal buildings more energy efficient. Some of this money is going to fund a modern retrofit of Cleveland's 32-story Celebrezze Federal Building. "Bringing a building up to 21st-century energy standards...can amount to something more than architectural drudgery. It might even transform a humdrum federal building into a civic icon," according to the Tribune. The article concludes, "All these efforts promise to confer enduring benefits: better energy efficiency, work environments and architecture."

Large Solar Plant Begins Operating At Colorado State University.

The AP (2/1) reports, "Colorado State University says a 5.3-megawatt solar plant on its Foothills Campus in Fort Collins has started producing electricity." The plant is owned and operated by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, "and CSU is buying power produced by it at a fixed rate for 20 years. Xcel Energy is buying renewable energy credits from the plant, which CSU says helped offset construction costs." The university says "the project is one of the largest at a US university."\

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US-Chinese Energy Deals Announced.

Reuters (1/19, Stephenson) reports that Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is in the US for a four-day visit, has also brought business deals and purchasing commitments, according to announcements from a Chinese business delegation and the US government. The Department of Energy said that Alcoa Inc. and China Power Investment Corp. will collaborate on aluminum and clean-energy projects that could lead to as much as $7.5 billion in investments, while Duke Energy Corp., AES China, a subsidiary of Virginia-based AES Corp, and Florida's UPC Management also entered into clean- or renewable-energy projects with Chinese companies. The DOE also said that American Electric Power Co. signed an agreement with State Grid Corp. of China to collaborate on energy-storage, smart-meter and other technologies. And battery maker Ener1 created a joint venture with Wanxiang Group to make batteries for electric vehicles for sale in China, according to the DOE.

        The AP (1/19) also covers the deals announced Tuesday, including a deal "to research and build new cleaner-energy infrastructure in China as part of a government summit in Washington." Babcock & Wilcox Co. "said it entered a research consortium with Duke, General Electric and West Virginia University to develop new 'clean coal,' equipment," as part of the US-China Clean Energy Research Center. The consortium will also include Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and National Energy Technology Laboratory.

        The Wall Street Journal (1/19, A9, Davis, Tracy) also reports the announcement of these deals, which also included a joint venture between GE Energy and China's Shenhua Group Corp. to sell clean-coal technology.

        Bloomberg News (1/19, Layne) adds that GE Energy was also expected "to sign a five-year agreement...with China's Huadian Corp. that should result in the sale of 50 aero-derivative turbine generator sets." The article explains that "the generator sets, which produce electricity from a variety of fuels, re-use waste gas, heat and steam that would ordinarily escape, thus conserving raw materials. GE is targeting waste-heat as an alternative for cleaner burning fuel in China, the world's biggest user of coal."

Green Jobs Flourish In California.

The Los Angeles Times (1/19, Hsu, 681K) reports that a new study released Tuesday found that jobs "at clean-tech or alternative-energy companies have flourished in California." Nonprofit research group Next 10 found that the green sector added 5,000 new jobs in 2008. Additionally, green jobs rose 3% from 2008 to 2009 - "three times the growth of overall employment around the state," according to the study. F. Noel Perry, founder of Next 10, remarked, "There's very few business sectors that can employ people across every region, especially in a state as big as California," and "Green is providing a very solid foundation for future growth." The Times also notes that a growth in clean transportation employment has contributed to the overall rise in green jobs "as newcomers such as hybrid-electric-vehicle maker Fisker Automotive moved in and employers drew from the region's strong existing auto heritage."

(from FirstBell newsletter)