Sustainable Business Alliance (SBA)

SBA on Oct 22nd 2008

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., Oct 18, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The BMW Group will be the world’s first manufacturer of premium automobiles to deploy a fleet of some 500 all-electric vehicles for private use in daily traffic. The MINI E will be powered by a 150 kW (204 hp) electric motor fed by a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery, transferring its power to the front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox nearly without a sound and entirely free of emissions. Specially engineered for automobile use, the battery technology will have a range of more than 240 kilometers, or 150 miles. The MINI E will initially be made available to select private and corporate customers as part of a pilot project in the US states of California, New York and New Jersey. The possibility of offering the MINI E in Europe as well is currently being considered. The MINI E will give its world premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 19 and 20, 2008.

The MINI E’s electric drive train produces a peak torque of 220 Newton meters, delivering seamless acceleration to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.5 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 152 km/h (95 mph). Featuring a suspension system tuned to match its weight distribution, the MINI E sports the brand’s hallmark agility and outstanding handling.

By introducing the MINI E, the BMW Group is underscoring the resolve with which it works towards reducing energy consumption and emissions in road traffic. The BMW Group is drawing on its unique technological expertise in the field of drive systems to develop a vehicle concept enabling zero emissions without renouncing the joy of driving. Putting some 500 cars on the road under real daily traffic conditions will make it possible to gain widely applicable hands-on experience. Evaluating these findings will generate valuable know-how, which will be factored into the engineering of mass-produced vehicles.

The BMW Group aims to start series production of all-electric vehicles over the medium term as part of its Number ONE strategy. The development of innovative concepts for mobility in big-city conurbations within the scope of “project i” has a similar thrust, as its objective also includes making use of an all-electric power train.

The energy storage unit: cutting-edge lithium-ion technology engineered specifically for use in the MINI.
Based on the current MINI, the car will initially be available as a two-seater. The space taken up by back-seat passengers in the series model has been reserved for the lithium-ion battery. When in use in the zero-emissions MINI, the battery unit combines high output with ample storage capacity and a small footprint with power ratios that are unrivalled in this field of application so far. The lithium-ion storage unit will have a maximum capacity of 35 kilowatt hours (kWh) and transmit energy to the electric motor as direct current at a nominal 380 volts. The rechargeable battery is made up of 5,088 cells grouped into 48 modules. These modules are packaged into three battery elements that are compactly arranged inside the MINI E.

The energy storage unit’s basic components are based on the technological principle that has proven itself in practice in power supplies for mobile phones and portable computers. The MINI E’s lithium-ion battery can be plugged into all standard power outlets. Its charge time is strongly dependent on the voltage and amperage of the electricity flowing through the grid. In the USA, users can recharge a battery that has been completely drained within a very short period of time using a wallbox that will ship with every MINI E. The wallbox will be installed in the customer’s garage, enable higher amperage, and thus provide for extremely short charging times. Wallboxes fully recharge batteries after a mere two-and-a-half hours.

Driven by electricity: reliably, affordably and free of emissions.
A full recharge draws a maximum of 28 kilowatt hours of electricity from the grid. Based on the car’s range, a kilowatt hour translates into 5.4 miles. Besides the benefit of zero-emissions driving, the MINI E thus offers significant economic advantages over a vehicle powered by a conventional internal combustion engine as well.

The heavy-duty battery delivers its power to an electric motor, which transforms it into thrilling agility. Mounted transversely under the MINI E’s bonnet, the drive train unleashes its full thrust from a dead standstill. This provides for the car’s fascinating launch capability. The MINI E’s intense driving experience is augmented by its dynamic deceleration potential, which is also directly coupled to the accelerator pedal. As soon as the driver releases the gas pedal, the electric motor acts as a generator. This results in braking force, and the power recovered from the kinetic energy is fed back to the battery. This interaction ensures extremely comfortable drives - especially at medium speed with constant, but marginal, variation. In city traffic, some 75 percent of all deceleration can be done without the brakes. Making substantial use of this energy recuperation feature extends the car’s range by up to 20 percent.

Signature MINI agility in a new guise.
Weighing in at 1,465 kilograms (3.230 lbs), the MINI E has an even weight distribution. Minor modifications made to the suspension ensure safe handling at all times. The Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) system has been adapted to this model’s specific wheel loads.

The MINI E’s brake system comes with a newly developed electric underpressure pump. Its Electrical Power Assisted Steering (EPS) is the same as the one used in mass-produced MINIs. Both brake and steering assistance react to driving conditions and are thus extremely efficient. Even the air conditioning’s electrical compressor only operates if desired or necessary.

Design: unmistakably MINI, undoubtedly new.
At first glance, the MINI E is obviously an iteration of the brand. But its design, which is the blueprint for the zero-emissions two-seater, has been complemented by a number of visual cues that point to its revolutionary drive concept. All of the units produced for the pilot project will have the same paintwork and bear a serial number on their front fenders.

The MINI E’s coachwork sports an exclusive combination of metallic Dark Silver on all panels but the roof, which is clad in Pure Silver. What distinguishes the zero-emissions MINI is a specially designed logo in Interchange Yellow, depicting a stylized power plug in the shape of an “E” set against the silver backdrop. It has been applied to the roof, in smaller dimensions to the front and back, to the charger port lid, the dashboard trim, and - combined with the MINI logo - to the door jamb, in slightly modified form. The color of the roof edges, mirror housings, interior style cues and seat seams will match the logo’s yellow tone as well.

Moreover, the central gauge and the battery level indicator behind the wheel of the MINI E, which replaces the MINI’s rev counter, feature yellow lettering against a dark grey background. The battery level is displayed in percentage figures. The central gauge includes an LED display indicating power consumption in red and power recuperation in green.

MINI E customers will be part of a pioneering mission.
A 500-unit, limited-production MINI E series will be manufactured through the end of 2008. The project will thus attain an order of magnitude that clearly exceeds the size of currently comparable test series. Putting the MINI E on the road on a daily basis will be a pioneering feat to which both the drivers and engineers of the first zero-emissions MINI will contribute as a team.

MINI E customers will join forces with BMW Group experts to assist in the project’s scientific evaluation. MINI E engineers accord high importance to staying in touch with the drivers on a regular basis, as this will help them analyze driver behavior besides vehicle characteristics in order to gain the most accurate and realistic picture of the demands placed on a vehicle with a purely electrical drive in the select usage areas.

Special charging station and full service for every MINI E.
The cars will change hands based on a one-year lease with an extension option. Monthly lease installments will cover any required technical service including all necessary maintenance and the replacement of wearing parts. At the end of the lease, all of the automobiles belonging to the project will be returned to the BMW Group’s engineering fleet where they will be subjected to comparative tests.

The MINI E’s lithium-ion battery can be charged using a wallbox provided to MINI customers. Only lockable garages or similar buildings will qualify as homebases and power stations for the MINI E.
Maintenance by qualified specialists.

The electric drive’s high-voltage technology requires that maintenance work be done by qualified personnel using special tools that are not included in MINI service partners’ standard toolboxes. In light of this, a service base will be set up on both coasts, staffed by service engineers that are specially trained to perform maintenance and repair work on the MINI E’s electrical components. In the event of drive malfunction, these experts will provide professional support at the customer’s local MINI dealer or the service base’s specially equipped workshop. Technical inspections will take place after 3,000 miles (just under 5,000 kilometers) and at least after six months.

Production in Oxford and Munich.
The MINI E has already gone through the major phases of product development for mass-produced vehicles and passed numerous crash tests on the way. Aspects investigated besides passenger protection were the impact of collision forces on the lithium-ion battery and finding a non-hazardous location for it in the car. The MINI E’s energy storage unit emerged completely unscathed from all of the crash tests mandated by US standards, which are especially high.

Production of the approximately 500 cars will take place at the company’s Oxford and Munich sites and is scheduled for completion before the end of 2008. MINI’s UK plant will be responsible for manufacturing the entire vehicle with the exception of the drive components and the lithium-ion battery, with the brand’s series models rolling off its assembly lines concurrently. The units will then be transferred to a specially equipped manufacturing complex situated on BMW plant premises where the electric motor, battery units, performance electronics and transmission will be integrated.
To download photos and technical specifications for the MINI E, please visit the BMW Group PressClub at www.press.bmwgroup.com.
MINI in the US

SBA on Oct 13th 2008

Department of Health and Human Services
Food and Drug Administration
Office of Regulatory Affairs, San Francisco District

Salary Range: $26,264 - 62,593 pa
Series and Grade: GS-0696-05/9

Consumer Safety Office

Join HHS and help make our world healthier and better for all Americans. These positions represent an operating investigator in an FDA District Office or Resident Post. The consumer safety officer exercises sound judgement and professional competence to plan and carry out inspections and investigations, analyzing significant facts, developing logical conclusions and documenting evidence for regulatory action.

Assignments encompass the full range of commodities and manufacturing processes in their districts related to human and animal foods and drugs, biological products, medical devices and other products to ensure their safety and efficacy (as appropriate) for use by the public and for marketing in the US and abroad.

Major Duties:

Plan and conduct regulatory inspections and in-depth investigations of various industry establishments; such as warehouses, manufacturers and distributors;

Perform analysis and evaluation on data samples and documented information gathered during inspections and investigations in order to ensure that documentation and practices are in compliance with Federal laws, rules and regulations;

Prepare final reports, position papers and other written documentation that support investigative findings and recommendations

Interact with and advise various levels of officials representing the establishments subject to regulatory review; and

Testify as an expert witness in administrative hearings and judicial proceedings.

Qualification Requirements

A. Applicants must have a degree which includes at least 30 semester hours in one or a combination of the following: biological sciences, chemistry, pharmacy, physical sciences, food technology, nutrition, medical science, engineering, epidemiology, veterinary medical science, or related scientific fields that provide knowledge directly related to consumer safety officer work. The 30 semester hours can include up to 8 semester hours in statistics or coourse work that includes the principles, theory, or practical application of computers or computer programming.

OR

B. A combination of education and experience - course of at least 30 semester hours in the fields of study described above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a 4-year course of study with a major study in the appropriate area.

Key Requirements

Must be a US citizen

This position has a minimum education requirement (as stated above)

You may be required to complete a background investigation

Must operate a motor vehicle safely and possess a valid drivers license

Will be required to travel up to 50% of the time

Applications

Submit an application or resume which addresses the minimum required qualifications for the position, a cover letter, and a copy of your transcripts to:

Att: Steve Gillenwater
US Food and Drug Administration
San Francisco District Office
1431 Harbor Bay PArkway
Alameda, CA 94502-7070

Fax: 510-337-6707
or electronically to Steven.Gillater@fda.hhs.gov

SBA on Oct 10th 2008

By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website, Barcelona

Losses are great, and continuous, says the report
The global economy is losing more money from the disappearance of forests than through the current banking crisis, according to an EU-commissioned study.
It puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion.
The figure comes from adding the value of the various services that forests perform, such as providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide.
The study, headed by a Deutsche Bank economist, parallels the Stern Review into the economics of climate change.
It has been discussed during many sessions here at the World Conservation Congress.
Some conservationists see it as a new way of persuading policymakers to fund nature protection rather than allowing the decline in ecosystems and species, highlighted in the release on Monday of the Red List of Threatened Species, to continue.
Capital losses
Speaking to BBC News on the fringes of the congress, study leader Pavan Sukhdev emphasised that the cost of natural decline dwarfs losses on the financial markets.
“It’s not only greater but it’s also continuous, it’s been happening every year, year after year,” he told BBC News.

Read the rest of the article…

SBA on Oct 10th 2008

by Adam Browning, Vote Solar and Kevin Fox, Keyes & Fox, LLP

Over the past 6 months, utilities across the U.S. have made unprecedented moves into the solar distributed generation market. What are the implications for the solar industry and what does this mean for solar policy?

For much of the last century, the typical electric utility model has involved siting large fossil-fuel or nuclear generating stations in remote locations. More recently, this “central station” model has included solar generation and other renewable fuel sources, such as the 354 megawatts (MW) of parabolic troughs dating from the late-80s in the Mojave (the SEGS plants), and Acciona’s 64-MW Solar One plant commissioned last summer in Boulder City, Nevada. In fact, California utilities have about 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of contracts in place with central station solar projects, with much more to follow. There have also been major announcements of central station solar plants from Arizona to Florida.

What we have seen recently is entirely different. In March, Southern California Edison (SCE) submitted an application to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to install 250 to 500 MW of solar photovoltaics (PV), in projects of 1 to 3 MW on leased rooftops distributed throughout its service territory. If approved, the SCE application would allow SCE to own and rate-base the generating assets and sell the electricity to its customers. Not to be outdone, Duke Energy in North Carolina has announced that it wants to do US $100 million worth of distributed generation solar (about 16 to 20 MW), and more recently, San Diego Gas and Electric filed an application with the CPUC seeking approval of US $250 million of distributed solar (70 to 80 MW). That’s a lot of solar, and it will be installed in a way that we are not used to seeing-not as large, central station plants, but as utility-owned generation sited at or near loads, providing wholesale power for utilities to sell to their customers. We hear rumblings from literally every corner of the country about other utilities considering similar moves.

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SBA on Oct 10th 2008

Industry Leaders Forecast Dramatic Growth in the U.S. Solar Market by 2016 with Extension of Credit

WASHINGTON – Today, by a vote of 263-171 , the U.S. House of Representatives passed historic legislation that extends the 30-percent federal investment tax credit for both residential and commercial solar installations for 8 years. This landmark legislation is part of H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, designed to address the U.S. financial crisis. It is the most significant federal policy ever enacted for the solar industry. President Bush has vowed to sign the bill into law. The Senate passed the bill on Wednesday night.

“This bill is a major step in our long journey toward energy independence and ensures that solar energy will be a significant part of America’s energy future,” said SEIA president Rhone Resch. “This long-term extension of the solar tax credits will create a domestic solar industry with hundreds of thousands of jobs while providing clean, affordable, carbon-free energy to millions of American families, businesses, and communities.”

“On behalf of the 60,000 Americans employed by the solar energy industry, we would like to thank Leaders Reid and McConnell and Senators Baucus, Grassley, Cantwell and Ensign for their dogged support of the solar tax credit extension. In the House we are thankful to Leaders Pelosi, Hoyer, Boehner, and Blunt, and Chairman Rangel, Ranking Republican McCrery and Rep. Camp among many others who have long worked to bring solar energy to the mainstream. These leaders have broken through partisan politics and have provided a bright future for solar energy in the United States,” said Resch

“By passing this bill, Congress has finally given the solar energy industry ‘policy certainty’ that will attract investment, expand manufacturing and lower the cost of solar energy to consumers,” said Roger Efird, SEIA chairman and president of Suntech America, a leading Chinese solar power manufacturing company. “This will allow companies like mine to move forward with expansion plans to serve the growing U.S. market.”

“This bill puts the sun to work for every American,” added Resch. “And by 2016, we expect solar energy to be the least expensive source of electricity for consumers.”

The solar investment tax credit (ITC) provisions will:

Extend for 8 years the 30-percent tax credit for both residential and commercial solar installations;

Eliminate the $2,000 monetary cap for residential solar electric installations, creating a true 30-percent tax credit (effective for property placed in service after December 31, 2008);

Eliminate the prohibition on utilities from benefiting from the credit;

Allow Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) filers, both businesses and individuals, to take the credit;

Authorize $800 million for clean energy bonds for renewable energy generating facilities, including solar.

The solar tax credits were originally enacted in the 2005 and have created unprecedented growth in the U.S. The amount of solar electric capacity installed in 2007 was double that installed in 2006.

“Over the last 2 years, these tax credits have turned the solar industry from a small, cottage industry into an economic engine for America. Electricians, plumbers, roofers and construction workers can now get back to work. These jobs are the backbone of the American economy and the solar industry is creating them at a time when they are needed the most,” said Resch.

According to a new economic study by Navigant Consulting, Inc., the 8-year extension of the ITC will create 440,000 permanent jobs and unleash $325 billion in private investment in the solar industry. This study did not factor in elimination of $2,000 monetary cap on the residential credit, so the actual job creation and investment could be even greater.

“This is a big boost for the residential market in particular, allowing homeowners to contribute to our nation’s energy independence,” said Efird. “It also opens the floodgates for building large, utility-scale solar power projects that need longer timeframes to complete.”

To date, there are 27 such utility-scale solar power projects totaling 5,400 megawatts of power in various stages of development; most were on hold due to uncertainty surrounding the expiring tax credits.

Because solar energy components are manufactured near their markets, this extension will create manufacturing and installation jobs in all 50 states. The states that will enjoy the largest economic boost are California, Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

Similarly, the economies of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and the rest of the Great Lakes region will grow significantly as a result of the extension. This area of the country has suffered greatly from a huge decline in jobs in the automotive and traditional manufacturing industries.

According to the same study, more than 28 gigawatts of electricity will be produced from solar energy by 2016 – enough to power more than 7 million homes.

“Success has not come easy. It required a strategic campaign that included dedicated SEIA staff, a committed board, and active membership all focused on one goal. It took seven votes in the House and 10 votes in the Senate, but in the end, Congress came through. This effort has established SEIA as a major energy player on Capitol Hill,” said Resch. “We have a lot of opportunity in front of us and will be back next year to work on critical issues such as transmission infrastructure, renewable electricity standards, and combating global warming.”

###

Contact:
Monique Hanis, 202-682-0556, ext. 4, mhanis@seia.org
Jared Blanton, 202-682-0556, ext. 96, jblanton@seia.org
Mark Sokolove (Tiger Communications), 703-302-8382, mark@tigercomm.us

Background Resources:

9.15.08 Navigant Consulting, Inc. “Economic Impacts of Extending Federal Solar Tax Credits”

H.R. 1424 Bill Summary

H.R. 1424 Full Bill Text

Background on the ITC

2007 Solar Energy Industry Year in Review

House Solar Voting Scorecard

Senate Solar Voting Scorecard

About SEIA:
Solar Energy Industries Association is the national trade association of 750 solar energy manufacturers, project developers, distributors, contractors, installers, architects, consultants and financiers. Established in 1974, SEIA works to expand the use of solar technologies in the global marketplace, strengthen research and development, remove market barriers, and improve education and outreach for solar. Learn more at www.seia.org