Energy efficiency scores big, and there's growth on horizon

An increasing number of public and private organizations are realizing the importance of energy savings and picking up on the philosophy pioneered in 1970s California by the Godfather of Green, Art Rosenfeld.

While Rosenfeld, a nuclear physicist and California energy commissioner, started the movement that saved the state having to build many new electricity generating facilities, he's no longer the Lone Ranger.

For instance, the Manteca Unified School District reportedly shaved $2.2 million from its energy bill over 19 months through energy efficiency.

DTE Energy, which operates Detroit Edison, reported that its energy efficiency programs saved customers $31 million in 2010 with lifetime savings estimated to be about $520 million.

And 16 members of the American Chemistry Council saved enough BTUs through energy efficiency measures in 2010 to power all the homes in a city the size of Akron, Ohio, for one year.

To quote Donald Trump: "That's huge."

Energy efficiency operates through a simple premise: install devices that use less power to save energy and, more importantly, money. Another benefit is a reduced greenhouse gas footprint. But that benefit is more esoteric and generally lost on Joe Consumer, especially with fuel prices taking an extra share of his resources.

Many of the cities and counties we're working with at the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization are doing the same thing. Although the only recognition they're likely to get is whatever I write in this post and others that follow.

One of them, the City of Delano recently purchased 250 ecostrips for employee work stations. These power strips enable workers to turn off various electronic devices when not in use to reduce what many in the business call "vampire" power. This siphons off electricity for unneeded functions.

According to my calculations, which show the average ecostrip can save about 12 percent of energy used, the savings for Delano can save about 36,180 kWh a year. Not bad for something that costs $24.95. The project is just the start, and the city has much more planned.

And Tulare County, which is gearing up to launch an $826,000 energy efficiency lighting upgrade of about 17 of its buildings, could rack up savings of about 900,000 kWh. And that's just by replacing light fixtures and bulbs.

In fact, SJVCEO's work with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, which includes Tulare County and 35 other jurisdictions, amounts to potential savings of 5.5 million kWh. The savings on electricity bills and in CO2 should be noticeable.

When I started working for this organization about a year and a half ago, energy efficiency hardly seemed tangible. Sure, I knew about using less power. In fact, I had nothing but a swamp cooler in my home despite summer temperatures in the Valley pushing past 100 degrees 40 to 50 days a year. Evaporative coolers use a fraction of the power an AC unit does.

And I knew about turning off lights. My father, the light cop, also wouldn't turn on the furnace until the mud puddles outside started to freeze at night.

But my experience working with utility and state engineers on energy audits and my own research has shown what an important role energy efficiency can play on a national scale. Buildings use an estimated 80 percent of the nation's generated power.

Cut that by a third, and dividends come not only in reduced emissions but in national security. Less reliance on imported energy means less exposure to fluctuations in oil prices.

Extending that argument into renewable energy further bolsters the national security benefit while reducing pollution.

Some of the biggest drivers in this sector are institutions of higher learning.

For instance, universities in the Big 10 purchased 256.6 million kWh of green power in the 2010-2011 academic year, earning a first-place conference ranking in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's College and University Green Power Challenge. The University of Pennsylvania in the Ivy League won for best individual college with 200.2 million kWh purchased.

Gazing into my imaginary crystal ball, I see energy efficiency gaining increased importance on all fronts. Yet, I also see people responding more favorably to renewable energy, especially as prices for alternatives drop. If solar does become economically favorable even without subsidies, the decentralized power generation system envisioned by Al Weinrub will become a game changer.

And I see the EPA's annual greenhouse gas inventory gaining importance. The recently released 16th annual report shows a 6.1 percent decline in overall emissions for 2009, largely due to a stalled economy.

Perhaps in a few years, that decline will be attributed to efficiencies and alternatives.

Photo: Pre energy efficiency at old Lathrop School. Courtesy Manteca Unified School District.

Biofuel Research Taking Center Stage

I sit in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley, a bountiful region that has been referred to as the world's salad bowl - and for good reason.

Farmers here produce $20 billion worth of food and fiber annually that is shipped worldwide. Growers in Central California are efficient, productive, technologically advanced and raise a myriad of crops. Which leads me to wonder: could they become leaders in biofuel development too?

The United States and Brazil dominate biofuel production, led by ethanol. In 2009, the U.S. produced half of the world's supply of ethanol, most of it from corn, according to this report that UC Berkeley helped develop.

More production is likely as research into biofuel continues. Algae - pond scum and easily grown - shows promising potential. UC Merced, 60 miles from my desk in Fresno, is conducting cutting-edge research into algae, and a water-treatment company has inked a deal to distribute algae-extraction systems to its customers.

Algae research already is creating jobs, according to the study that UC Berkeley participated in. Solazyme, a biotech firm near San Francisco, has been hiring algae researchers at the rate of one per week. But other types of fuel are being tested as well. Among them are jatropha, switchgrass , sorghum (which is being tested in Hanford), canola and Miscanthus.

President Obama, trying to wean the nation off oil, is offering $30 million over the next three or four years for biofuel research, and the Berkeley study talks about growth in the industry.

"As start-ups mature and commercialize their technologies, the industry will bring on workers for a full range of production needs. That diverse workforce will range from farmers to....molecular engineers."

Farmers will be needed to grow the fuel sources, whatever they may be. The Southeast and Midwest are promising centers of biofuel, but some of the research is occurring in California, according to this report out of Parlier.

I wonder if the Valley's farmers - who are among the most entrepreneurial in the world - can perhaps help create a new cash crop.

Image by Solar1.org

Earth Day: Don't mind the maggots

OK, OK. So I used a Rolling Stones "Some Girls" reference in the headline.

But my point is -- if I have one -- that on the eve of Earth Day 2011, debate over the environment appears as contentious as ever. For instance, on the late-night lineup of cable channel ABC Family, the Rev. Pat Robertson appeared questioning climate change as junk science. (My son had it tuned to the channel.)

Really? Pat Robertson? (He's still alive?) I shouldn't be surprised. The brutal economic downturn and televised armed conflict invading American living rooms on a daily basis have most of the country on edge. Politics is more heated than ever.

Environmental protections, climate change and clean energy look like luxuries easily jettisoned by people more interested in keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table. There's no fault in taking advantage of unease to push political agenda. Heck, leverage is the American way.

Yet, the issue transcends the conservative-liberal divide. Clean energy is not limited to the granola-crunching Sierra Club member anymore. Wal-Mart is a huge proponent of sustainability and renewable energy. And Raytheon Co. just won an Energy Star Award for Sustained Excellence from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for "reducing energy intensity by 3 percent in 2010 and by 22 percent since 2007" and cutting more than 2 million kWh in 2010.

That's right, Raytheon, the Waltham, Mass.-based defense contractor that produces "missiles, smart munitions, close in weapons systems, projectiles, kinetic kill vehicles and directed energy effectors for the armed forces of the U.S. and other allied nations," according to yahoo.com finance.

Soon, I believe, a lot more of this clean energy stuff will make sense to J.Q. Public. Already, energy efficiency is moving into the corner hardware store in the form of light-emitting diode and compact fluorescent technology and programmable thermostats. Heating and air conditioning companies are even getting into the solar mode, advertising exactly what it would cost the consumer to install 10 modules.

Honest. In the Fresno Bee, which I still read despite being a casualty of its shrinking newsroom, an ad showed a system for $12,000. Tax incentives and rebates drop that by about $4,000, according to the company. That's approachable pricing, especially with summer AC power drains coming up.

On earthday.org, the site is trying to get people, organizations and corporations to embrace its "A Billion Acts of Green" campaign. The idea -- to pledge to live and act sustainably -- has reportedly received 45 million "actions" to date and seeks to register 1 billion in advance of the Earth Summit in Rio in 2012.

And why not? Many of these cost nothing.

For instance, T. Boone Pickens went big for wind power and now is investing in natural gas, joining with investment group Perseus in a $160 million deal to build a natural gas powered vehicle, according to a story by Katie Fehrenbacher at earth2tech.com.

Natural gas is abundant. We've got a lot of it up on Alaska's North Slope (just wait for Sarah Palin to start talking about the gas pipeline) and huge domestic reserves in the Lower 48 that can be accessed by the increasingly controversial method of hydraulic fracturing.

There may be traction on the natural gas front soon. Deirdre Shesgreen reported in ctmirror.org that Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., is working with Pickens to "promote legislation that would provide billions of dollars in tax incentives to spur the development and purchase of natural gas vehicles."

One of the first goals of the bill, dubbed the NAT GAS Act, should it pass would be to drive development of commercial trucks away from diesel and into the fold. But expect more stations around the country offering the fuel and more natural gas powered Honda Civics using them.

"It's abundant, it's accessible, it's American," Shesgreen quoted Larson as saying. "The events in the Middle East and the events that have happened tragically in Japan only further underscore the urgency behind this."

Ah yes. Security. There's the immediacy. Pickens also touts energy independence. Just check out his Pickens Plan website.

Advances also are being made in algae fuel, cellulosic ethanol and isobutanol. None of this should be partisan. It's just really interesting and could pay off with huge dividends.

And by dividends, I mean jobs.

That's what it's all about. Opportunity in this industry for me is personal. We're working to assist teachers to train the next generation for jobs in clean energy through the Valley Legacy Grant. The resources come from the Workforce Investment Act. I'd like to see the kids from rural San Joaquin Valley communities with 20-plus percent jobless rates get a leg up in a growing industry. For more, check out our site, http://www.wiasjvceo/.

But to get there, this nation's gotta chill on the rhetoric. And it comes from both sides. I can rip on the Republicans, but the greenies do the same thing.

In a story on Huffington Post by Brenden DeMelle, executive director of desmogblog.com, about climate-related dangers of methane emissions from shale gas fracking, a commenter who goes by the name gdauth provided perspective. DeMelle called his post "Highway to Hell," and I do appreciate the AC/DC Bon Scott reference.

"Let's see," writes gdauth. "Can't use natural gas, coal, oil, nuclear, hydro; what is left? Wind? Nope can't use that it kills birds. Geothermal­? Don't have any in Florida. How about solar? The Chinese own all the factories, besides a hail storm and a tornado wiped out the solar farm that looks like h*** anyway. Besides the Chinese own all of the battery factories so what o we do at night? I guess I will go home to my cardboard box under the bridge and cook my spam over a candle."

Yep, take a bite of the big apple. Just don't mind the maggots. It's a big issue and maybe we'll figure out how to get it all down.

Photo: Courtesy earthday.org

Cities, universities learn the cost-savings power of lighting upgrades

Replacing outdated light bulbs and fixtures with more energy-efficient types isn't exciting. In fact, when compared with solar arrays that track the sun and geothermal wells that bubble out power from the earth's center, it is downright boring.

However, lighting consumes lots of power. By some estimates, commercial buildings use about 60% of their energy for lighting, according to this report.

Thus, lighting retrofits are a crucial part of most energy-saving campaigns. Such retrofits are big at our non-profit, the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization. We are working with several cash-strapped cities in the region to use stimulus money to retrofit interior and exterior lights in efforts to reduce their power bills.

Energy conservation, when compared with siting and development costs of new solar and other renewable-energy programs, is cost effective. There is a reason why the Federal Department of Energy calls energy-efficiency programs "low hanging fruit" of the clean-energy movement.

It appears to be catching on. Similar programs are under way or recently completed in other places. The city of Napa, for example, reported using federal grant funds to replace 148 energy-sapping street lights with more efficient LED models.

And my wife's Alma mater, California State University, Fullerton, is replacing all 75,000 lamps on campus in 13 phases over 18 months. The $1.5 million project will cut the annual power bill some $300,000 annually - for a payback of approximately five years, after rebates, according to campus officials.

Energy conservation makes sense socially and economically. Businesses, landlords and local governments that slash power costs end up with more money in their pockets. That money can be reinvested into operations or research, or can lead to the hiring - or preserving - of more personnel.

Who says energy efficiency doesn't create jobs?

Photo from hhd.fullerton.edu

Heavy hitters add heft to clean energy future

We may not be seeing it in the trenches, but clean energy is generating quite a bit of buzz.

Eric Wesoff of Greentechmedia.com compiled a great post on venture capital activity for March 2011. He called it amazing, saying "In just one month there were more than 40 deals and more than $900 million was invested in every greentech sector from smart grid to solar to biofuels."

At the corporate level, General Electric Co. went big for thin film solar announcing it will spend $600 million on a new factory to make what it promises will be a more efficient product than is now on the market, reported Scott Malone and Matt Daily of Reuters. They said the company projects thin film will generate up to $3 billion by 2015.

And Neal Dikeman, a founding partner of Jane Capital Partners, says (and I'm paraphrasing) "Yeah sure there's a lot of static" but asks in a blog post whether those investors are making money. He proceeds to analyze the deals of BrightSource Energy, manufacturer of concentrated solar; electric automaker Fiskar Automotive; and Solyndra, manufacturer of cylindrical photovoltaic systems.

His conclusion: There's hope.

I believe there is more than that. We've got issues, and they're all seemingly related to fossil fuels. First and foremost, the environment needs a break. Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune ties it all to sea turtles and energy. "Whether it's the effect of climate disruption from burning fossil fuels or the increasingly harsh environmental consequences of extracting coal and oil," he says on Huffington Post something's gotta be done.

And there's the issue of national security. The military has brought up the issue repeatedly and is seeking solutions in the development of alternative fuels.

President Obama brought up the subject during a speech at Georgetown University. "Even if we doubled U.S. oil production, we’re still really short," he said.

Obama said the only way to secure the nation's energy supply is by reducing oil dependence. "We’ve got to discover and produce cleaner, renewable sources of energy," he said. "And we’ve got to do it quickly."

The news shakes off some of my natural pessimism, at least momentarily. Maybe I'm full of malarkey, but it's starting to sound a little like Christmas for clean energy. Maybe.

News would be good for the San Joaquin Valley where February 2011 jobless rates hovered near 20 percent for Kern, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Tulare counties. Add in the dropout rates, which hover near the same percentage point, and it spells difficulties to come.

Poverty, crime, despair. I prefer the optimism.

Proteus develops work force for Valley's solar industry

If it's solar and in the San Joaquin Valley, Hector Uriarte Jr. probably knows about it.

Likely, he's been aware of the project ever since somebody mentioned it over coffee during the planning stages. Knowing about solar is one of his chief directives.

Graduates of Visalia, Calif.-based Proteus Inc.'s solar training program depend on his connection with the fledgling clean energy industry for potential jobs. In the past year, about 175 students from the economically battered Valley have completed the Solar Photovoltaic Design & Installation program, learning everything from hands-on technique to theory.

One thing Uriarte has found is that finding jobs -- at least at this point in the industry's evolution -- is far from simple. About 65 percent of his graduates have found work in the field. He'd like, of course, to make that 100 percent.

But "we're working with an emerging market that hasn't emerged," he said.

Companies have big plans in the Valley, with anecdotal evidence of at least several dozen projects of multiple sizes. So far though, most of the large-scale commercial solar installations remain on paper.

One of the larger is a 400 megawatt array just east of Interstate 5 near Tranquillity in Fresno County that would be built in phases, and could contain up to 2.5 million solar panels sprawled over 3,500 acres, according to a Sandy Nax post. Another, a proposed western Kern County project, is on land that couldn't be farmed from lack of water.

The latter project won the approval of the Bakersfield Californian editorial staff, who wrote, "It's welcome news that Kern County supervisors have given their blessing to a 6,047-acre solar project between Taft and Interstate 5. The 700-megawatt project positions photovoltaic solar panels on 4,868 acres."

That means jobs. But forecast construction remains more than a year on the part of the Tranquility project, proposed by San Francisco-based Recurrent Energy.

In the meantime, a trained work force is under its own form of construction. Uriarte says the graduates of the Proteus program land a job at the low end of the skill spectrum, usually as installers on small crews of four or five people.

Big projects require multiple crews. Crew members have varying degrees of skill and status within the company. Uriarte says the more work, the more experience and the greater the opportunity for advancement within the industry.

Many future solar projects in the commercial spectrum may be for specific needs. For instance, the city of Atwater, Calif. was considering a solar array to defray the massive costs devoured during the summer season by water pumps. Solar at the site could drastically cut electricity bills.

Other cities and counties may consider going the route. The California Energy Commission is developing a potential new program that would provide local governments with planning and permitting assistance for renewable energy. Dubbed RP3, the idea won the support of the group, Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, which has as one of its directors Larry Alder of Google Inc.

Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture, said the program "has the potential to have a measurable impact."

Solar is coming. When remains a big question as does how. Al Weinrub, who has penned "Community Power: Decentralized Renewable Energy in California," believes that businesses should -- and likely will -- yield their rooftops to solar panels to defray energy costs.

Talking to Proteus Inc.'s solar instructor Rick Gonzales recently, it was hard not to feel optimistic. The former human resources executive exudes positive vibes and believes in what he teaches.

He's passing that onto his students. And if they absorb just 15 percent of that (about the amount of energy a solar module absorbs from the sun), the San Joaquin Valley will definitely be worthy of the University of California, Merced's designation of a "solar valley."

Photo: Proteus Inc. students learn the craft.

Renewable Energy Industry Finding New Financing Sources

Financing renewable energy programs is getting harder as government budgets face deficits, and as austerity becomes the new watchword.

Many lawmakers are casting critical eyes toward such programs and some, as Christian Wolan of Forbes writes, want to do away with loan guarantees that pioneers in the upstart green-energy field say are crucial to securing sure footing.

But all is not lost. Not by a long shot, if this item that appeared in Marketplace is true. Corporate America is taking a lead on green energy, declaring it makes sense economically and socially.

The industry, as it gains heft and advances technologically, is lowering costs at the same time utility rates are climbing. As a result, more financing methods are being developed. Conventional banks are more willing to make loans, and businesses have more options - such as purchasing the power from systems they don't own. In addition, young startups are turning to established better-capitalized companies for help, as this story states.

"Innovation in financing and new financing models can have as much impact as any technological breakthrough. It becomes very attractive to business investors," says energy analyst Sam Jaffe in the Marketplace article.

This is an industry in its infancy. Venture capital has climbed, according to this article, but can be risky, as this blogger notes.

Missteps will occur and progress will be uneven, but renewable energy could be a game changer in places such as the resource-rich San Joaquin Valley, where the sun shines brightly, power bills take big bites out of local budgets and out-of-production farmland beckon an entirely new industry.

image: globalcatalystgroup.com

Hanford Farmer Harvests The Sun

A pistachio grower near Hanford who uses sun-tracking technology to run 70% of his operations says going solar fits an industry that depends upon natural resources for its product.

"As an integrated grower, processor, and marketer of pistachios, I appreciate the value of harnessing natural resources in an efficient, sustainable manner," said Chuck Nichols, owner of Nichols Farms.

Nichols just installed SolFocus technology on six acres adjacent to his processing facility. SolFocus uses a system of reflective optics to concentrate sunlight onto small, highly efficient solar cells. The system uses uses dual-axis tracking for consistent energy delivery and, as a result, will produce an estimated 2,244 kilowatts of energy the first year, according to this press release.

The project was the culmination of efforts by Nichols, SolFocus, Bechtel Power Corp. and developer Sol Orchard. Jeff Brothers, president of Sol Orchard, introduced the concept to Nichols Farms, and Bechtel designed and built the system.

"I’m a big believer in two things - energy independence and the American farmer’s ability to get us there," Brothers said. "This is another great project where the farmer is benefiting his operation, and the grid as well. Chuck is offsetting 70% of his pistachio processing facility’s energy load, and is hedging against future energy price spikes."

He also is helping the transmission grid. "There is less load to travel over congested lines to reach his facility in Hanford," Brothers said. "Very futuristic thinking and very progressive, which is an apt description of Chuck Nichols.” Nichols is the latest grower in the Valley to incorporate renewable power into its operations. It is a trend that appears to be gaining appeal in California. You can read more about that here and here.

As the Valley's largest industry - about $20 billion in 2009 - and a large user of energy, agriculture is ripe for alternative forms of power. Proponents contend that renewable power could be another another "cash" crop in the Valley, which is an intriguing prospect in a region with unemployment rates that surpass Appalachia, low incomes and heart-stopping utility bills.

And why not? The Valley has ample sun; lots of available, inexpensive and unproductive farmland; wind turbines on its northern and southern tips; warehouses in Fresno and Tulare counties that have expanses of rooftop power-generating capability; and a burgeoning population.

The potential is so good, in fact, that University of California, Merced, which does new research into solar energy, thinks the region from Stockton to the Grapevine could become "Solar Valley."

Photo by SolFocus

Rooftop solar & decentralized generation can save California

Rooftops may not be the final frontier, but they do provide ample fields for cultivating solar panels.

So says Al Weinrub, who has penned "Community Power: Decentralized Renewable Energy in California." Weinrub is a member of the Sierra Club California Energy-Climate Committee and serves on the Steering Committee of the Bay Area’s Local Clean Energy Alliance. He said he relied extensively on work from both.

"Decentralized generation means that local residences, businesses, and communities become electric power producers," he writes. "Businesses with large rooftops or parking lots can become small power companies that feed electricity into the grid."

The beauty is that these buildings are already connected to the electrical grid and have an existing footprint, benefits that a remote solar installation doesn't always have. Industrial solar on empty land requires extensive permitting, studies and review of environmental impact, especially if its federal. Those panels definitely can change a picturesque landscape.

Another Shout-Out For Solar Energy In San Joaquin Valley

The deserts of Southern California garner most of the headlines when people talk of the potential of solar energy in the Golden State. But the west side of the San Joaquin Valley is equally suitable, if not more so.

Increasingly, word of its potential is seeping out. The latest endorsement comes from The Bakersfield Californian in the form of an editorial that calls solar projects in western Kern County "the perfect marriage of land and need."

The western side of the Valley has some tantalizing attributes, as sierra2thesea notes in this article, and in this one. Thus, there are some rather impressive solar-energy projects on the drawing boards.

One of the largest is a 400 megawatt array just east of Interstate 5 near Tranquillity in Fresno County that would be built in phases, and could contain up to 2.5 million solar panels sprawled over 3,500 acres. The proposed western Kern County project is on land that cannot be farmed and, as such, is supported by the Sierra Club.

The west side has thousands of acres of fallow farmland that could mesh with solar and other types of clean energy, including biofuel. Meanwhile, proposals in the Mojave Desert and nearby Carrizo Plain have drawn fire from environmentalists.

However, that doesn't mean that solar panels will layer all geographically suitable land in the Valley. Property that is protected from non-farming development by The Williamson Act would face additional hurdles.

Still, there is a reason why University of California, Merced, which is conducting cutting-edge research into solar energy and algae biofuel, refers to the San Joaquin Valley as "Solar Valley."

But Solar Valley, in our opinion, would be more than just large-scale solar projects. There is plenty of opportunity for smaller more localized projects, such as rooftop systems by cities such as Fresno, and in the Valley's $20 billion farming industry. Fresno Bee reporter Robert Rodriguez writes about solar and agriculture in this story.

Economic development experts have long wanted to diversify the Valley's economy. Maybe Solar Valley is one way to do it.

Valley Farmers Turning To The Sun To Power Their Operations

We've written time and again about how the San Joaquin Valley is ideal for solar and other types of renewable-energy programs. That's due in part because the land is flat - and there is lots of it - and because leaders of the region's largest economy are discovering the power of alternative energy.

Farming is a $20 billion enterprise here. Valley growers produce nuts, fruits and vegetables that are sold worldwide. Agriculture requires much energy, and farmers are increasingly turning to renewable sources to provide that power.

Here are some examples, including a blog that details how California growers lead the nation in the production of renewable energy. Today's Los Angeles Times showcases a new 6-acre array of solar panels that will provide 70% of the power to a pistachio orchard. Here's a press release on the announcement.

We expect solar and other types of alternative to expand in the resource-rich and geographically-blessed San Joaquin Valley as pressure mounts to meet a 33% statewide renewable-energy standard that awaits Gov. Brown's signature.

The Valley, with thousands of acres of available land, ample sun, a mid-state location close to major population centers and University of Merced's cutting-edge research, could be positioned to be a leader in renewable energy.

image: news.morningstar.com

Here comes fat algae; research unveils potential commercial fuel production

Every couple of weeks appears to bring an algae fuel technological breakthrough, study or news of a pilot venture to bring the process from the laboratory to your corner fuel station.

Granted, fueling up with algae products is likely many years away. But it's being taken seriously. Right here in the San Joaquin Valley, experts at the University of California, Merced have been awarded a grant to analyze emerging algae biofuels technologies.

And the U.S. Department of Energy has recently announced that it will be accepting applications for $12 million in grants over the next three to four years for about five "laboratory or small pilot-scale projects that support the development of advanced biofuels." Technologies like cellusic ethanol or fuel-tank-ready butanol may be first to the gate, but algae research has a strong shot.

For instance, John Sheehan, who coordinates research on biofuels at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment, just produced a 34-page study about a algae-to-fuel breakthrough discovered by scientists researching cancer treatments. The study was developed on behalf of VG Energy, a subsidiary of San Marino, Calif.-based. Viral Genetics Inc.

Those researchers found that molecules which disrupt the burning of fats, or lipids, in tumor cells "also encourage microscopic plant cells like algae to accumulate and even secrete fats," Sheehan wrote.

And those fats can be used for fuel. The more the better. Separating them out is the challenge. But Sheehan stated prominently that "VG Energy’s technology show the promise to compete with crude oil in today’s market."

Sheehan said getting algae cells to secrete lipids (by a factor of three) makes it easier to separate the oils from the water and the green glop from which it originates. And he said it "opens up the possibility that oil can be separated and recovered from the algae in a non-destructive way."

Recycling that material back into the system at a rate of 75 percent enables producers to possibly extract biodiesel and jet fuel for $94 a barrel, comparable with today's crude prices, Sheehan said. Crude, according to oil-price.net, pushed past $106 per barrel the end of March and up to $123 on the one-year forecast.

John Platt, a reporter for Mother Nature Network, wrote in a story of Sheehan's study that "biofuel researchers have been seeking a technique to accomplish this switch, known as the 'lipid trigger,' since the 1990s." If VG can master the concept, algae may be developed into a competitive product.

Algae already grows quickly and consumes CO2, which makes it possible coal-burning power plants may be interested in developing a side business in pond scum.

And if, like me, this entire algae-fuel concept intrigues you, there is even the opportunity for home brew. Algae-oil.com offers the ebook, "How to Make Biodiesel." Reminds me of my beer-making days when I was in my late 20s and early 30s and still working at the Anchorage Times.

This would be different, but not much (just don't drink multiple bottles). It would be possible to bottle that brew. The site says algae is easy to grow, needing a nice mix of sunlight, water and carbon dioxide.

The authors did kind of lose me when they talked about the ease of setting up a home bioreactor, described as "a controlled environment where you can grow algae in a faster phase." The bioreactor keeps out contamination and other unwanted substances.

I applaud their moxie, however. Perhaps this is the era of the alternative, one in which the shade-tree mechanic or obscure researcher toiling away for a relative pittance figures out a way -- or combination of ways -- that gets this country back to energy self-sufficiency.

Lighting Up Cost Savings Through LED Retrofits

Red Robin is one of my favorite restaurants. I live only a few blocks from the one in Sierra Vista Mall in Clovis. That's probably why I noticed this item - which not only made me hungry for a burger, but illustrates something we at the non-profit San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization routinely preach

Energy conservation pays. Big time. Minimal investment can reap maximum rewards as businesses, universities and consumers are discovering.

Red Robin is the latest to cut costs by incorporating energy-efficiency measures into its daily operations. The chain switched to LED lights, which are more expensive but use less electricity and last longer. When utility rebates are included, the payback can be "swift", as the GreenerBuildings story by Leslie Guevarra notes.

More cities and businesses are choosing to go with LED lighting. Our organization is working with several neighboring cities that are using stimulus funds to convert hundreds of street lights to more efficient LED and induction types.

Cutting energy cost and greenhouse gas emissions is a smart move in this economic recession. Budgets are in disarray, and local governments and schools are slashing jobs and payrolls. Reducing their power bills means more money for employees and services.

My power bill during the hot triple-digit San Joaquin Valley summers is the second-largest monthly expense behind my mortgage. Reducing that would give me more money to invest or to stimulate the economy.

Perhaps by going more often to Red Robin.

Photo: flickr.com

A Little Space-Age Technology Could Boost Clean Energy Fortunes

It is hard to stay hopeful amidst budget deficits and cost cutting, but one recent announcement brightened my spirits. NASA plans to expand facilities at NASA Ames Research Park in Silicon Valley to accelerate advancements in clean energy and other technology.

The goal is to share ideas and, in this era of austerity, provide an infrastructure for innovation in the emerging renewable-energy industry. Fascinating work is under way - from solar roads and sun-powered backpacks for the military to solar balls that create drinking water - but NASA's increased attention could spark even more.

Gov. Brown has an ambitious green jobs platform, and legislators have signed on with strong endorsement of a 33% renewables standard. The legislation, assuming Brown signs it, puts the standard in concrete and provides a foundation for investment. Much can be accomplished when research capability is combined with incentive.

Perhaps parity with other forms of energy could be achieved more quickly. Some experts predict that solar power in sunnier parts of the nation could be less than 10 cents per kilowatt hour by 2012 (the average retail price of electricity for businesses and consumers in the United States is 10 to 11 cents per kilowatt hour.)

More renewable energy is laudable, but it really makes sense when development is twinned with energy conservation and efficiency. Less consumption leads to lower power bills and more money in the pockets of consumers and coffers of local governments. If they reduce power bills, municipalities such as Fresno could possibly save jobs or avoid pay cuts.

All this could help expand a new emerging economy in the San Joaquin Valley, which is ideally suited for clean energy. We have robust population growth, high power bills, low incomes, lots of sun and vacant flat land, access to the transmission grid, a strategic mid-state location close to three major power-sucking metropolitan centers, and college campuses that are research leaders in solar, biofuel, agriculture and water.

Californians have embraced renewable energy. Big business and the military are on board. Maybe NASA will give a space-age boost to everything.

Photo: blogs.fourwheeler.com

New Green Hall of Fame Inducts First Members

Six businesses and entities were the first inductees of the International Green Industry Hall of Fame at a recent conference at University of California, Merced.

They are: American Council on Renewable Energy; Duke Smart Home Program; Grundfos; Josh Dorfman, The Lazy Environmentalist; Drip Tech; and the city of Fresno's recycling program, according to the Merced Sun-Star, which covered the event.

About 250 people, including students in green programs, attended the conference last Friday. It was appropriate that UC Merced hosted the inaugural session.

The campus, which is the newest in the University of California system, is rapidly becoming a leader in the green movement. Seven of its buildings are either Silver or Gold LEED certified, and the campus conducts cutting-edge research into solar and biofuels. It is in the middle of the resource-rich San Joaquin Valley, which is attracting strong interest from developers of renewable energy, particularly solar.

In fact, UC Merced says its goal is to become "the hub of Solar Valley." The Valley has lots of sun, acres of flat land that can be used for solar facilities, is close to transmission lines, has windmills off its southern and northern tips, is sandwiched between major population centers , is ringed by universities that can use the Valley as a giant Petri dish and a population with high power bills that can benefit from energy efficiency and development programs.

Image: idealist.org

State Department inks clean energy deal; fuel cells find believers

Maybe it's just me. But every time I turn around, it seems as if clean energy has cleared another hurdle.

The latest to catch my eye is an announcement from the stodgy U.S. State Department, which inked a clean energy deal that it says won't cost anything but curtail CO2 emissions by about a third.

Not bad.

The deal involves Baltimore-based Constellation Energy, a utility-turned-energy-marketing company that offers a clean-energy portfolio of about 1,000 megawatts of renewable power generation. This power is either owned or under contract from sources that include utility-scale solar, hydro, wind and biomass power plants.

Last year the company completed its Criterion Wind project, a first for Maryland in commercial-scale wind energy. Constellation plans to begin building a commercial-scale solar energy facility also in western Maryland.

"This innovative agreement serves as a model for federal agency energy management," said Mayo A. Shattuck III, Constellation chairman, president and CEO, in a statement.

Federal facilities covered under the contract include part of the White House campus. Under the deal, a long-term power purchase agreement, Constellation Energy provides about 120,000 megawatt hours of energy annually to the State Department and other federal government facilities. Officials say the agreement encourages the development of new renewable energy facilities.

President Obama announced during his State of the Union speech that he had a goal generating 80 percent of the nation's power from clean energy. This, officials say, takes it a step in the right direction.

And on a lesser scale, there's this news from Hillsboro, Ore.-based ClearEdge Power, manufacturer of a line of residential fuel cells. I find the technology fascinating. I'm on the company's email list and normally give the announcements no more than a cursory look.

This one, however, caught my eye. ClearEdge said Jackie Autry, the former owner of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and widow of singer and actor Gene Autry, bought one of its fuel cells to heat and power to her Coachella Valley home.

Autry is quoted as saying the new system reduces carbon emissions as if she’d planted 6 acres of trees in her backyard. "I’m reducing my impact on the environment," she said. "It’s a home run."

The fuel cells save about 50 percent on utility costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a third, according to the company. Fuel cells work by stripping hydrogen atoms of their electrons through a chemical reaction. The ionized hydrogen atoms carry a positive electrical charge, while negatively charged electrons provide the current through wires to do work. Oxygen entering the fuel cell combines with electrons returning from the electrical circuit and creates water.

Simple right? That's what she said.

ClearEdge also announced a deal to sell 12 of its ClearEdge5 units to the Irvine Unified School District. The fuel cells will power and heat the swimming pools at Woodbridge and University high schools and provide extra power as well. The company estimates each school will save about $18,000 a year.

So, let's keep this stuff coming. Clean energy should be more than an adventure. I'd like to see it become a viable sector of the economy. That provides jobs.

UC Merced Shows Its True Colors (Green) By Hosting Event

It is no secret that we love UC Merced.

The newest campus in the University of California system is rapidly gaining cred for its heavy green tint. It already is a leader in cutting-edge solar and biofuel research, has six LEED Gold and one LEED Silver buildings and is not shy about its desire to become the greenest campus in the United States.

So, I guess it is natural for the university to host tomorrow's inaugural International Green Industry Hall of Fame (IGIHOF) Induction Ceremony and Conference. The highlight of the daylong event is the announcement of the first six inductees into the new Hall of Fame, which is designed to recognize individuals and organizations for outstanding achievements in the green industry and to provide an educational forum.

The Hall of Fame is the brainchild of Sam Geil, president of Geil Enterprises Inc., a diversified employee-owned Fresno-based business that has several green initiatives.

Geil's involvement in the green industry began during his tenure at Grundfos Pumps and continued at Geil Enterprises Inc. with the acquisition of A-MAZ Cleaning Products. In 2007, he was invited by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, to participate in the Pacific Economic Summit in Vancouver, British Columbia representing sustainable industries in California.

The Hall of Fame event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and includes speakers and tours of the campus. Speakers include Rod Diridon, Sr., executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute, a policy research center at San Jose State University. He will talk about high-speed rail.

Campus architect Thomas E. Lollini will talk about the design of UC Merced, and attorney Donald Simon, co-founder of Build It Green and the U.S. Green Building Council's Northern California chapter, will speak at a dinner reception about America's competitive edge in the new energy economy.

The San Joaquin Valley - with its rich agriculture base, a history of can-do entrepreneurial spirit, vast land and sun resources, access to the transmission grid, mid-state location and high energy bills - can be a leader in the emerging green economy.

And UC Merced, along with the new Hall of Fame, could play key roles in that transformation.

Business, Military and Professional Sports Become Leaders in Green Movement

There is no denying the influence of professional sports on consumers.

Professional football, basketball, hockey, soccer and other sports generate $19 billion in revenue annually. Star athletes earn multimillion-dollar paychecks, make millions more in endorsements and have throngs of admirers.

Stick their face on a cereal box, and it flies off the shelves. Footwear makers see sales soar if an athlete promotes their sneakers. So, it is nice to see that professional sports is starting to increase awareness of green living and sustainability.

Six teams - Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks, Portland Trail Blazers, Vancouver Canucks, Seattle Storm and Seattle Sounders FC - are founding members of the non-profit Green Sports Alliance. The mission, to quote from its Web site, is to, "reduce the environmental impact of professional sports and to inspire fans to join us in these efforts."

Here's a link to a story on the new sustainability league, which in turn links to the Green Sports Alliance.

One goal is to share best practices on water, energy and waste management. and to share them with other teams.

With big business, the military and now professional sports spurring the green movement, it is only a matter of time until it gains a foothold and takes off.

Algae fuel and solar could use a little entrepreneurial True Grit

Recent developments in solar and biofuels lead me to believe that the sunny San Joaquin Valley could indeed become a leader in the emerging clean energy industry.

My co-worker Sandy Nax has called the Valley a Petri dish for alternative energy development because it has so many of the necessary attributes: available land, scorching sun and/or clear days a majority of the year, wind in the mountains and scads of agricultural resources for biofuel or biogas.

This morning, Sandy leaned over from his computer and said, "Clean energy could be a game changer." He was referring to the economy.

Sandy and I discuss the attributes of the sorry state of economic affairs that have devastated the region's real estate, toppled government tax revenues and put many of our neighbors out of work.

We used to work in the newspaper business, which hasn't fared well these past several years. As part of our jobs writing and editing business stories, we spent years analyzing trends and making sense of them.

This clean energy trend has been fascinating to watch. I still have no idea where it's going and what particular component will be the first to fuel jobs, but indicators have been extremely positive.

Just in the small amount of time I've been affiliated with the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization, great strides have been made in industrial solar, offshore wind and biofuel. And that's just on top of the energy efficiency measures being taken by government, business and consumers.

While power from pond scum, or algae, intrigues me beyond all measure, commercializing the extraction of usable fuel at a decent price could be years away. Fellow reporter Jeff St. John reminded me after one post of algae's shortcomings.

Concentrated solar is another realm of massive possibility. The trick with solar is to increase efficiency and lower cost to make it reach or surpass "parity" with fossil fuels. The advancements in concentrated solar now in use were hinted at when I covered a San Jose start-up back in the mid 1980s.

I remember thinking, "That would be cool."

My optimism is bolstered by statements like this from John Denniston, a partner at greentech investor Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers, as reported by Andrew Nusca at smartplanet.com: "Some geographies are at (solar) grid parity: in Italy, in some parts of California."

Denniston made the comment at the 2011 Cleantech Forum in San Francisco. He said the industry is poised for a very big take-off, and he was talking about solar as a whole, not just the concentrated variety, which remains relatively rare.

A column by Christian Wolan on forbes.com caught my eye when oilgae.com's aggregator service sent it my way. Here's good old stalwart Forbes, albeit the electronic version, writing about pond scum. That's got to be a development in credibility, right?

To close out his review of the state of the technology, Wolan uses a quote from Riggs Eckelberry, president and CEO of OriginOil, a Los Angeles-based company that says it's "developing a breakthrough technology that will transform algae, the most promising source of renewable oil, into a true competitor to petroleum."

Wolan wrote that "referring to the algae biofuel programs of ExxonMobile, BP, Chevron and Valero, Eckelberry said, 'This final factor alone is driving the funding of algae projects.'"

I may as well quote myself here. Being raised in Interior Alaska, I'm very familiar with the power of oil companies. I watched when the first overland truck and cat train forged north up ice roads to Prudhoe Bay to develop the oil fields. Then grew to high-school age amongst the massive piles of pipe that either went overland or underground 800 miles to Valdez.

Many of us believed those companies could do anything. Perhaps it's that wildcatter streak that infuses much of the industry, the "Git Er Done" mentality, that turns a dream into job-creating reality.

I missed the pipeline boom of the mid 1970s, but I did get a job in Valdez in 1978 building foundations and basement and driveway slabs in a nicely designed subdivision -- Mineral Creek if I remember correctly. Huge mobile cranes dropped the manufactured homes onto the foundations when we finished. The boxy three-bedroom two-bath homes had been used to house the thousands of workers who built the terminal across the bay from the tiny city.

It would be nice to see a fraction of that kind of ingenuity, grit or tenacity -- from whatever source -- funneled into clean energy. Jobs would follow.

Timing, of course, is everything. I hope sooner than later. Right Sandy?

Photo courtesy alyeska-pipe.com

Greenhouse gas inventory seminar planned

The San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization will hold class on conducting a greenhouse gas emissions inventory.

The event is planned from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, in the SJVCEO Board Room, 4747 N. First St., suite 140, in Fresno. The program is geared to local government officials and regional planning agencies. There is no charge. Here is the link to register.

ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA is conducting the training through the Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative.

ICLEI was founded in 1990 as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. The council was established when more than 200 local governments from 43 countries convened at an inaugural conference of the World Congress of Local Governments for a Sustainable Future at the United Nations in New York.

Included in the training session will be:

• Overview of the SEEC project and ICLEI
• Overview of conducting a government operations inventory
• Overview of conducting an inventory at the community scale
• Defining the scope of study, boundaries and protocols
• Overview of the Local Government Operations Protocol and Community Scale Protocol Framework
• Timelines, staff and resources needed to effectively complete inventory
• Gathering, organizing and working with data
• Sector detail (overview of recommended and alternate methods and discussion of data sources)
• Overview of tools that can be used to gather data and execute a comprehensive inventory
• Reporting inventories

The Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative is a new alliance to help cities and counties reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save energy. It is a collaboration between three statewide nonprofit organizations and California’s four investor-owned utilities.

Members are ICLEI–Local Governments for Sustainability USA, The Institute for Local Government, The Local Government Commission, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., San Diego Gas and Electric Co., Southern California Edison Co. and Southern California Gas Co.

The program is funded by California utility ratepayers.

Project seeks to inspire a new generation to seek green fortunes

This video highlights San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization's work in the Valley Legacy Grant.

The funds come from the Workforce Investment Act, and SJVCEO's role, although small, is to help teach people about clean energy. We're working with teachers, institutions and the private sector to help provide an educated work force ready for an emerging industry.

For a definition of the grant, I'll defer to this recently published report by our partners at the Office of Community and Economic Development at California State University, Fresno.

Mike Dozier, secretariat for the Office of Community and Economic Development, explained the reason why this effort is important in his introduction to the report: "As the San Joaquin Valley is facing difficult economic times, it has become more critical than ever before that we as a region continue our collaboration efforts. Through the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, the public and private sectors are driving toward improving the quality of life for our residents."

The San Joaquin Valley as a whole has an unemployment rate nearing 20 percent, and that figure just represents those still on the books looking for work. The reality is likely much worse.

Here at the SJVCEO, we believe the clean energy sector is a potential game changer and we're trying to do what we can to inspire folks to jump on the entrepreneurial band-wagon and figure out how to make the Valley a kingpin in an emerging industry.

"The purpose of Valley Legacy is to bring the San Joaquin Valley’s K-12 system, higher education and work force investment board systems into alignment to better prepare people for occupations in high-growth industry sectors in the San Joaquin Valley," the report says.

Those sectors include:

• Agribusiness, including food processing and biotechnology
• Water technology
• Renewable energy
• Manufacturing
• Supply chain management

The report continues: "In the current K-12 system, young people receive an education that is designed to maximize success in passing standardized tests. That’s a worthy goal; but most students come out of high school with no preparation for careers in the Valley.

"Most of those who don’t go on to college end up at some low-paying, dead-end job. Some students then go to the County Workforce Investment Boards, which act as a 'second-chance' system to train people for jobs with career advancement; but the WIBs receive funding to assist only a small percentage of those who apply.

"What needs to be improved is the 'first-chance' system. High-school students need to graduate with options: the option to go to a four-year college; to go to a community college; enter directly into the Valley workforce; or even to start their own business."

We think it could work. Advances in biofuel technology, increasing demand for solar power, fossil fuel price boosts and overall escalating consumption of electrical power make clean energy a worthy pursuit. With advances, much of it may be on par price-wise with traditional energy sources or even less.

On The Way To The San Joaquin Valley's New Industry

Green jobs could be a game changer in the San Joaquin Valley, where joblessness exceeds Appalachia levels, and where high temperatures, low incomes, geography and bountiful resources combine to create a strong foundation for an emerging clean-energy industry.

Many people consider clean energy to be solar farms, wind turbines, biofuel facilities and methane digesters. That's all true. And we're seeing more of them in the Valley, particularly solar.

UC Merced is conducting ground-breaking research. More farmers are using the sun to power their operations. Fallow farmland on the west side of the Valley is attractive to developers of proposed large-scale solar projects, as this item in Sierra2thesea notes, because we have something many regions don't: few environmental issues and ample access to the transmission grid.

But, clean energy also is weatherization, upgraded air conditioners, more efficient lighting and smarter use of electricity. Such efficiency measures are key to the state's overall clean-energy plan. In fact, federal Department of Energy officials call efficiency the "low-hanging fruit" of clean energy.

Relatively inexpensive fixes can reap maximum savings for businesses and homeowners who struggle to pay their energy bills. At my house, the summer power bill is exceeded only by my mortgage. Cutting my utility costs means more money in my pocket - and ultimately into the economy.

Developing a workforce capable of capitalizing on the growth of clean energy and conservation is key. More educational and training programs are being created, but not necessarily in a coordinated way, UC Berkeley points out in a new study that focuses heavily on the energy-efficiently part of the new economy.

Here is a news release on that report, plus the study itself.

In a nutshell, the comprehensive analysis concludes that energy efficiency goals provide career opportunities for Californians, but that training and education programs are fragmented.

The study forecasts about $11.2 billion worth of public and private investments in energy efficiency in California by 2020, up from $6.6 billion in 2010. The future jobs that are directly related to energy efficiency work — and thus in need of “green” training — are primarily in traditional construction trades, such electricians, carpenters and sheet metal workers, and the researchers said that very few are in new specialized “green” occupations such as energy auditors or solar installers.

However, researchers are worried about work quality. Poor quality installation and maintenance of energy-efficient equipment and materials is common in some sectors, prior research has shown, and the UC Berkeley team found a correlation between low wages wages and high worker turnover.

They found more than 1,000 training programs throughout the state already offering basic- to advanced training for the most in-demand occupations. These are in four-year universities, community colleges, state-certified apprenticeship programs, utility-training centers, private training organizations, community-based organizations and high school career technical programs.

Concerns about shortages of jobs for graduates from education and training programs are real, and likely to persist through 2020, particularly for those with less than four years of college, so emphasis should be placed on revamping and leveraging existing training programs, the researchers noted in their report.

Here are some recommendations:

•Set clear skill certification requirements for workers doing energy efficiency work and encourage businesses to adopt them, particularly as new technologies are introduced

•Support employers who invest in a stable, higher skill and higher wage workforce by enforcing building codes and other regulations, by setting standards on contractors who receive public and ratepayer funded incentives or contracts, and by requiring skill certifications for workers;

•Focus workforce education and training on “greening” the traditional trade occupations, rather than creating new narrow and short-term energy efficiency-specific training programs;

•Support state-certified apprenticeships and improve coordination between community colleges programs and apprenticeships.

If we do this right, clean energy can be to the San Joaquin Valley what high tech is to Silicon Valley and movie making is to Hollywood.

Image: pocketinfo.net

Fuel Cells: Space-Age Technology Lands In California

Fuel cells, which have been used to power space craft, are now helping supply the energy needs of manufacturers and retailers here on Earth, including an Odwalla facility in Dinuba.

Bloom Energy, developer of the Bloom Box, recently finished installing five natural gas fuel cells at the Tulare County plant. The biogas-fed cells will supply about 30% of the annual power needs, according to this story in The Business Journal.

Odwalla, owned by Coca Cola, is marching toward a more sustainable future. “Reducing our environmental footprint and our dependence on non-renewable resources is just as important to Odwalla as making great tasting, nourishing beverages,” Alison Lewis, Odwalla's president said in The Business Journal story. “In addition to celebrating the completion of our fuel cell installation, we’re looking forward to rolling out our innovative PlantBottle packaging and kicking off our annual Plant a Tree program later this year.”


Fuel cells can convert a variety of fuel sources into electricity. Increasingly, they are being used throughout the San Joaquin Valley and elsewhere. Bloom Energy counts Walmart, Staples, Kaiser Permanente and California Institute of Technology as customers.


Walmart has deployed two 400 kw systems at two stores in Southern California, and plans more. The world's largest retailer eventually wants to use renewable sources to fulfill all its power needs, A Walmart spokesman says in this this Bloom Energy press release.

Photo of Odwalla fuel cells by Pitchengine.com

Clean Energy: The Pathway To A New Economy

Tim Sheehan's story in yesterday's Fresno Bee touches on a familiar theme here in the San Joaquin Valley: Diversifying the employment base.

The Valley is the nation's salad bowl. Its farmers produce $20 billion worth of food and fiber annually, most of which ends up on dinner tables worldwide or, in the case of cotton, is woven into shirts and other products sold in department stores.

But farm labor, which projections show could increase in demand, is not necessarily high paying. And the other projected growth industries in the Valley - retail and food service - also don't require much education and training - and pay low wages.

Thus, the need for creating new industries. The most obvious: renewable energy.

The resource-rich Valley is well positioned to be a leader in alternative energy. UC Merced recognizes that, and is conducting cutting-edge solar-energy research. Officials there see the Valley's sun resources as an attribute.

Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison recently announced or turned the switch on major solar projects. Farmers are increasingly embracing sun, methane and biofuels. The wind turbine-rich Tehachapi and Altamont passes are off our southern and northern tips respectively.

And there is something else: an increasing recognition that Valley officials are onto something. In October, the Valley was designated an Innovation Hub (iHub), which is designed to foster partnerships, economic development and job creation around specific research clusters.

UC Merced, California State University, Fresno, (which has innovative water and agriculture programs) and the Central Valley Business Incubator are key stakeholders in the iHub, which will focus on the interrelated issues of agriculture technology, water and energy.

"The iHub brings us together and gets us talking, " said Mike Dozier, interim director of the
Office of Community & Economic Development at Fresno State.

In addition, high schools and colleges are starting to expand green programs, studies are starting to reinforce the potential of green jobs here and elsewhere, and legislation is starting to include the Valley in proposed green programs.

Our non-profit, the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization, has a Web site that provides lesson plans and other resources to high school teachers, and job links to students and job seekers, and a component in a proposed bill would provide millions to facilitate green energy projects in the Valley.

With low incomes, a robust population growth rate, high power bills and asthma rates and a jobless rate that exceeds Appalachia, the Valley needs clean energy more than most places. Some people contend the Valley could generate enough power to be self-sustaining - or even a power producer.

Look at a map: The San Joaquin Valley is dead center in the state, is ringed by research universities such as UC Merced, Fresno State, Cal Poly and UC Davis, and is sandwiched between major population centers of Southern California, The Bay area and Sacramento that consume gobs of electricity.

Of course, budget issues are a factor. Deficits abound, but Dozier says those shouldn't curtail efforts. "We need to do what we can within the limitations of what we have," he said. "We need to grow intelligently."

Renewable energy could be to the San Joaquin Valley what high tech is to Silicon Valley and Hollywood is to Los Angeles.

Cool new fuel: Scientist leads innovation that could spur biofuel revolution

James Liao may be one of the most important people in the nation's energy sector.

And while his name may be unfamiliar to just about everybody not intimately involved with biofuel innovation, that could quickly change.

He leads a team that has developed a microbe capable of turning cellulosic material, or grassy and woody matter, into isobutanol, a fuel with huge potential. Just how huge, we'll likely find out in coming months. But suffice to say it's important, especially with gas prices pushing $4 per gallon.

This fuel is a far bigger deal than ethanol, which is made in this country from corn. Liao's team's feat is the first time isobutanol has been coaxed directly from cellulose.

"Unlike ethanol, isobutanol can be blended at any ratio with gasoline," Liao said in a statement from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. "Plus, it may be possible to use isobutanol directly in current engines without modification."

The last sentence is a big one. It certainly captured my attention.

Liao's statement implies that should this process reach commercialization at a cost consumers will accept, the United States has a shot at providing an alternative fuel at a reasonable price to compete with foreign oil. Don't expect panacea, or cure-all, but an alternative fuel that could substitute for refined petroleum would no doubt exert economic pressure on retail fuel prices.

The conflict in Libya between Gadhafi and separatist forces shut off the oil production spigot in that country and illustrates what eliminating a small percentage of the world's crude can mean to prices. At this writing, the price remained above $100 per barrel, according to oil-price.net, but showed a decline. And the one year forecast dropped by about $10.

Injecting an alternative source, cellulosic isobutanol for instance, likewise could push prices lower -- perhaps far lower.

But, as energy seer Paul Johnson just told me, it's hard to tell initially future junk bonds from the next Microsoft. And that may be the case here. But I hope not.

Paul is executive director of the nonprofit I work for, the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization and just returned to Seattle after attending REXPO, the recycling exposition in Stockton, Calif. put on by Frank Ferral with the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce.

Paul said clean energy opportunities abounded at the event and noted "very positive energies given the fact of the economic gloom and doom."

Liao wasn't at REXPO, but he is one of clean energy's bright spots. He serves as chancellor's professor and vice chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California Los Angeles Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.

The isobutanol work was conducted at the Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center, led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The team's findings were published online in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu called the advance "yet another sign of the rapid progress we are making in developing the next generation of biofuels that can help reduce our oil dependence."

Chu said the technology promises the potential of a new industry that can convert wheat and rice straw, corn stover, lumber wastes and specialty plants into fuel.

DOE has given extra attention to the biomass sector of late, offering a series of webinars on the subject that even included algae, another of my cool fuel picks. The agency is coordinating peer review meetings of advancements on various processes that will continue through June 2011. DOE plans to use the information as it considers future funding decisions.

Expect Liao to continue making news in the cellulose sector. Last year, he was awarded the 2010 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The award, according to a story for the UCLA Engineering Department by Wileen Wong Kromhout, promotes research on and development of less-hazardous alternative technologies that reduce or eliminate waste.

In the story, Liao sounds committed to providing an alternative to fossil fuels. "It is essential to develop a renewable source to replace petroleum as the major chemical and energy source," he says.

I know a bunch of guys on my street in Clovis, Calif. who would maybe turn their noses up at the concept of plant fuel. But if it enables them to keep their mondo lift Chevy trucks on the road, they'd be big supporters.