Blogger Michael DeGusta sparked a minor uproar in the electric vehicle community this week when he posted about the “devastating design flaw” that he said left many Tesla cars “bricked:” their batteries depleted, unable to move, with the only repair being a new $40,000 battery.

Tesla responded today with a long blog post that tried to answer Mr. DeGusta’s accusations point by point. “If ever the battery in your Tesla runs low, the car is designed to let you know with repeated visual and audible warnings…. Starting with Roadster 2.0, owners can also elect for their car to contact Tesla headquarters once the state of charge falls below a specified level, and we can then contact the owner.”

Mr. DeGusta has his own spin on what Tesla describes as their exemplary service. “In at least ...

The Carbon Action initiative of the Carbon Disclosure Project, launched last year on behalf of 34 institutional investors, now has 92 signatories with more than $10 trillion in assets under management.

Window gazers of the future may soon find themselves looking right through an energy-producing transparent glass solar panel, if the folks at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are on the right track. Working with the company New Energy Technologies, Inc., the lab has produced a transparent photovoltaic module that is 14 times bigger than its last attempt. Windows that double as solar panels At 170 square centimeters (about 26 square inches), the new module is about the size of a small window. If the technology can be ramped up to a more useful scale, practically any glass window could double as a clean energy generator, with the embedded photovoltaic cell all but invisible. The largest device of its kind produced at NREL, the new module represents a breakthrough in ...

Flow-battery startup EnerVault announced a $15 million round of funding Thursday, which will help the company move forward with its first energy storage system installation. Flow batteries aren’t well know, but they can be powerful energy storage devices. Instead of the typical lithium-ion battery, which powers most of the devices we use daily such as cell phones and laptops, flow batteries are cheaper and can storage large amounts of energy generated by solar panels and wind energy. The technology behind them can be a bit complicated to understand if you don’t have a science degree, but essentially flow batteries generate electricity from electrolyte liquid flowing through a fuel cell. The liquid is stored in two external tanks next to the cell, and can be replaced when needed. EnerVault has been developing large-scale redox flow batteries to power big buildings ...

The $15 million effort involving four other countries and the United Nations Environment Program is aimed at reducing powerful but relatively short-lived pollutants to bring about near-term results in the battle against climate change.

Announced on February 14, the Obama administration’s Department of Energy (DOE) budget recommendation is a big valentine to those working on developing batteries for electric vehicles. As we said last year, the current administration has focused the majority of its vehicle technologies research and development dollars on EVs. This is a significant reversal from the attention given to fuel cell vehicles and biofuels such as ethanol during the second Bush administration. As with last year, the request completely omits funding development for these two technologies, which is a significant blow to the companies developing those alternatives. For fiscal year 2013, the DOE is requesting a total allocation for the Vehicle Technologies program of $420 million, down from the $588 million requested last year, but still a 27-percent jump over the $329 million that Congress actually approved last ...

Albertans are passionate about balancing the development of this province’s rich resources with environmental stewardship. The Emerald Awards recognize and reward the excellent environmental initiatives undertaken each year by large and small corporations, individuals, not-for-profit associations, community groups and governments.

You can submit your nominations BEFORE Feb. 24th, 2012 by visiting http://emeraldfoundation.ca/emerald-awards/nominations/

Each year the Foundation receives nominations in ten established categories. Nominations open in November and close at the end of February.
A panel of knowledgeable judges, with cross-sectoral experience, carry out an independent evaluation based on criteria outlined in the nominations package and select the finalists and recipients.

In June each year, about 500 guests gather in Edmonton or Calgary to celebrate environmental excellence in Alberta and provide recognition to those individuals and organizations whose commitment to our environment truly demonstrates leadership. Because of their ingenuity, dedication and hard work, …

Every homeowner that makes the switch to solar becomes part of the solution to sustainably meeting the world’s energy needs. To ensure that your residential solar system is not only kind to the planet, but to your finances as well, avoid these seven mistakes when installing solar panels. 1. Hiring the Wrong Contractor Choosing the wrong solar contractor can lead to multiple mistakes. An awesome contractor will not only advise you about the right system to choose, where to install it and how many solar panels you’ll need, but can help with financing, incentives and other cost-cutting options. The right contractor will assess your home’s energy usage and show you how to make the system as efficient as possible. 2. Picking a Bad Location Ideally, a home solar system should be installed on a south-facing roof that ...

Although an energy audit is an extremely useful tool in the sustainability toolbox, it is also usually a labor- and cost-intensive process. But these four firms are helping to make them affordable for any company.

A new study calculates that about one-fifth of all water goes toward the production of crops and commodities for export, part of a global phenomenon known as “virtual water” that researchers say could place pressure on finite water supplies in some nations. Using worldwide trade indicators, demographic data, and statistics on water use, researchers from the University of Twente in the Netherlands mapped the world’s water footprint, including patterns of trade they say are creating disparities in water use. According to the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, many desert and island nations are becoming increasingly dependent on water from other countries, as they import not just food products but the water needed to produce it. The nations most reliant on this virtual water include the island nation of Malta, ...