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Archive for May, 2008

The Coming Crisis

The issue is not simply a concern that we will have to pay outrageous prices for a gallon of gas. If that were the worst of it, the situation would be difficult but manageable.

The reality, however, goes deeper and is much more troubling. There are multiple problems affecting the world that are having a decidedly negative net effect: a global rise in demand for crude oil, the plateau in the production of crude oil (which may indicate the peak has already been reached) and continued global population growth.

Together, these three factors are serving to shove the world into a crisis that has ominous possibilities.

As Oil Concerns Mount Profits Roll In

Against the backdrop of consumer protests and rising tensions, Royal Dutch Shell and British Petroleum (BP), two of the world’s largest oil producers, announced record profits for their first-quarter earnings this past Tuesday.

With oil currently priced at an unprecedented $120/barrel, the announcements underscored the clear division between consumer concerns and what many activists and environmentalists perceive as corporate exploitation.

While company executives were no doubt basking in the good news, commercial truckers in both the U.S. and Europe staged vehement demonstrations, bringing traffic to a halt in some cities. Given the strife, BP’s 63% profit growth seems obscene, not to mention unlikely to hasten the move to clean and sustainable alternatives, and considerable handouts in the form of government subsidies further abet this inequity.

According to the Center for American Progress, the big five oil companies – BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobile, and Royal Dutch Shell – received $1.3 billion in tax breaks last year despite $123 billion in profits.

Solar Shingles For Your Roof

Dow and Global Solar Energy have teamed up to take on the Department of Energy’s “Solar America Initiative (SAI)” to create building-integrated solar. The purpose of the SAI is basically to create an incentive for the development of cheap, simple building-integrated photovoltaic systems. Dow Building Solutions wants to take Global Solar Energy’s panels and, basically, turn them into roofing shingles.

Expensive, shiny, energy harnessing, roofing shingles.

Global Solar Energy produces thin-film, flexible CIGS solar panels for a variety of markets already. Dow was excited to partner with them because they’re the only producers currently making flexible panels that meat the SAI’s requirement for 10% efficiency.

Photovoltaic roofing shingles aren’t a new idea, but using low-cost CIGS panels could make the technology significantly more cost competitive. As more CIGS manufacturers move onto the scene, we could be seeing a lot more of this sort of transparent, distributed power generation.