Cleantech

My favorite green product of the week: Eco Touch Waterless Car Care

What is it? Eco Touch Waterless Car Care is a waterless car wash made with water, plant-derived surfactants (coconut and soy), a water-based polymer, and a soy-based solvent. It simply requires you to spray and wipe with a microfiber towel. One 22-oz. bottle should allow you to wash your car 4 to 8 times.

Why is it better?

I first came across Eco Touch at the San Francisco Green Festival in 2007. The founders were there and they had just come out with a waterless car wash. I picked up a bottle and have been using it ever since. It works very well on the every day wear and tear.

According to Eco Touch, the typical driveway carwash uses 100 gallons of water. That means each bottle of Waterless Car Care could save up to 800 gallons of potable water. That's a lot of water that doesn't need to go down the drain. Beyond that, Eco Touch is non-toxic, biodegradable, and phosphate-free. In December 2007, Eco Touch was approved as a certified green business by Co-op America.

The company has just added three new products to its line for dashboard and trim care, carpet and upholstery care, and metal polishing.

Where can you find it?

You can buy Eco Touch products directly from the company website. Each bottle costs $9.99.

Besides her green products column on Cleantech Blog, Cristina is a passionate advocate for green living at the Green Home Huddle at Huddler.com, which focuses on electric cars, energy efficient appliances, and other green products.

The Richmond Saunas in rural Richmond Corners, Maine -- about 40 minutes up Route 295 from Portland -- are heated by wood. In the corner of each sauna, private and communal, stands a wood burning stove and a cauldron of water which is used to douse the cairn of rocks sitting atop the stove.

In Colorado, and elsewhere in the West, lovers of steam and heat use vast geothermal hot springs to calm nerves, soothe aching muscles and sweat. From Idaho Hot Springs, Steamboat, Ouray, Granite, Bozeman to Thermopolis...from New Mexico to Montana, I've soaked in many.

In Richmond, perched on a top plank, in the corner of the communal sauna, naked and arms wrapped around my crossed legs, I meet a very large welder from Saco, a slight visitor from Massachusetts and a pleasant older man from I don't know where. It is strange sitting in this confined space...in New England...watching the cauldron burble, snow piled to the windows and sleet slicking the window, sweating among these strangers...naked, large and small, hirsute and corporally-bald men.

This particular evening in this particular sauna doesn't have nearly the same joie de vivre as the time I met a young musician at the Strawberry Park Hot Springs in Colorado; he was to fly home the next day to take a job with the Vermont Symphony. I watched him sit for a long time at the edge of an outdoor stone pool. When he finally stripped down and slipped into the water, he told me he was waiting for sunset when "clothing optional" would take effect. An east-coaster, beaming, he was gleeful to have permission to skinny dip in public.

Amidst the strangeness, steaming in a wood sauna strikes me, once again, that climate and geography and local resources must dictate sustainable energy practices. Maine has a lot of wood; the West has a lot of geothermal. Maine has a lot (a lot!) of water which it has used for hydro-electricity, and the West has a lot (a lot!) of coal...and wind. Both have a lot of sun, but as yet, I have not run across a solar-powered sauna. There is talk here in Maine of tapping geothermal for geoexchange heat pumps using vertical loops. And there's the wide-eyed talk by homeowners of mounting small-scale wind turbines on their roofs and in their fields. Mainers have used coal to heat their homes, and I hear it is an option considered by some here these days...and, indeed, there are hydro-electrical plants in the West.

But coal for Maine and water for an arid West are kind of like New Englanders sitting around naked, sweating in mixed company. As my brother in New York might observe, with dismay, "that's just wrong."

Heather Rae, a contributor to cleantechblog.com, is a consultant in sustainability. She currently manages a home performance program in Maine and serves on the board of Maine Interfaith Power & Light. In 2006, she built out a biobus using green building materials and wrote on cleantechblog of her drive from Colorado to Maine and her quest for biofuels. In 2007, she began renovation of an 1880 farmhouse using building science and green building principles.

My favorite green product of the week: The Freshaire Choice Paint

What is it?

The Freshaire Choice Paint is a zero volatile organic compound (VOC) paint. It comes in 65 colors and three different sheens. It is an interior paint, a ceiling paint, and an interior primer. It is manufactured by ICI Paints and became Greenguard http://www.greenguard.org/ Certified in September 2007. Greenguard Environmental Institute sets strict limitations on environmental toxins including VOCs, formaldehyde, aldehydes, phthalates, and particles.

Why is it better?

First, let's talk about VOCs. VOCs are emitted as gases from some solids and liquids; they include a variety of chemicals, some of which have short or long-term negative health effects. For example, several types of VOCs are known carcinogens and are directly related to childhood asthma. According to the EPA's Total Exposure Assessment Methodology, indoor levels of VOCs are 2 to 5 times higher than they are outside. This isn't such a good thing since each of us spends an average of 90% of our time indoors and specifically 65% inside our homes, according to the National Safety Council.

I think it logically follows that you would want to choose products that help you better your indoor air quality and create a healtheir space for you and your family. That's where your paint comes into play. According to Aerias Air Quality Sciences, conventional oil-based paints contain 420 to 450 parts VOCs per gallon. That's quite a bit in comparison to low-VOC paints that have VOC levels of less than 100 parts per gallon. And in comparison to The Freshaire Choice of zero VOCs? Well, there's no contest.

Many paints that offer claims of zero VOCs forget to tell you that when you add color, you're adding back the VOCs. But The Freshaire Choice leaves out the VOCs in both the paint and the colorant. They call it the ColorFresh system: a pre-mesasured colorant pouch dissolves into the base free of organic chemicals (and free of that new paint smell). Beyond the indoor air quality benefits, The Freshaire Choice offers chips and brochures made from recycled materials which can be further recycled, a can made from 100% recycled materials, and a label made from 75% recycled fiber and printed with soy ink. As their tag line says, "no matter which color you choose it's guaranteed to be green."

Where can you find it? Come April 1st, you can find The Freshaire Choice Paint at your local Home Depot. One gallon will retail $35-38.

Besides her green products column on Cleantech Blog, http://www.cleantechblog.com/ Cristina is a passionate advocate for green living, and manages the content for GreenHome.Huddler.com.

I was thinking today, in cleantech we often talk a lot about energy efficiency. Californians often cite that this state has grown its economy for the last 20 years without a significant increase in energy usage per capita, compared to the rest of the country, where GDP per capita goes up, and energy usage goes up just as much. But of course, California has lost much of its manufacturing sector over that same 20 year period, too. Perhaps no coincidence?

But if we wanted to actually do it, where could we actually save energy without impacting GDP growth, make a serious difference in our power bill, and do it in a big way - targeting say, 50% of our total power usage on a per capita basis?

CFLs & LEDs - We are already moving aggressively towards compact flourescent light bulbs, and the penetration rates are still low. As that trend continues, and LEDs come into the mix for more and more applications, our lighting bills should trend straight downward for the next decade. Now if we can just stop cringing at the thought of a $3 lightbulb!

Heating and Air Conditioning - I know whenever my power bill goes higher than I like, I just watch how often I turn the heater on, and adjust the thermoset a bit. The answer here has always been some combination of improved technology, smart metering and more transparency in billing and usage, and energy prices rising high enough for consumers to feel the pinch. Oh, and did I mention insulation, California?

Hotwater heaters - Can anybody say, "tankless"?

Power generation -If every power plant was upgraded to the latest generation of technology - in the power generation world - newer tends to equal more efficient all else being equal - the impact could be staggering. But bottom line, this means our regulators would have to approve the increase in utility capital expenditures and pass those costs on through to us in the short term. That's about as likely as George W announcing a plan to tax every SUV Detroit makes and give the money to the poor to buy solar systems.

Solar - As for solar - which is typically sold on a "reduce your energy bill" pitch, not a chance. At $0.15 to $1.00/kwh (depending on who's counting and how they count), if we actually reduced a significant amount of our building load with solar power we'd likely send our GDP plummeting. There are lots of reasons to love solar, but decreasing energy usage per unit of GDP is not one of them. At least, not yet.

These aren't new ideas. But definitely worth repeating until we learn the lesson.

Neal Dikeman is a founding partner at Jane Capital Partners LLC, a boutique merchant bank advising strategic investors and startups in cleantech. He is founding contributor of Cleantech Blog, Chairman of Cleantech.org and a blogger for CNET's Cleantech blog.

This is the traditional time when we visualize a better life in the upcoming year. We make resolutions for improved health and happiness for ourselves, our families and our friends. Career and financial goals are priorities for others. A better nation and brighter future top the list many. New Year's Resolutions can effectively start us on a better journey. Along the way, we may be detoured by interesting alternatives, and not achieve all resolutions. Yet, they are worth making.

Since I write about clean transportation, I have talked with many who travel with fewer emissions, often lower cost, and frequently with more fun. Learning from them, it is appropriate that I make some personal resolutions to improve how I travel. Hopefully, these will modestly help our nation to be more energy secure, the future to be a little more secure from a climate crisis, and even to save money. For the entire world to see, here are my personal transportation resolutions for the New Year. Some will be easy to keep, some challenging.

Easy Resolutions

1. Put the most miles on the car with the best fuel economy. My wife and I share a fuel efficient Prius.

2. Keep the second car (a Hyundai Accent) in the garage most of the time.

3. Walk more.

4. On freeways, drive 65 miles per hour, not 80. This can save over $1,000 per year and may improve fuel economy by 20% over high speed driving.

5. Live "carbon neutral" by offsetting all our emissions with a donation to carbonfund.org.

Challenging Resolutions

6. Fly less. Greenhouse gases per passenger mile are worse on airlines than driving solo in a gas guzzler. The car is a great alternative if two or four are in it. A train is even better.

7 . Move from suburbia to the city. Everything is closer in a city and transit is far better.

8 . Downsize from two cars to one.

9 . Join a car share program for the occasions where a second car is needed.

10 . Reduce our "carbon footprint" (less total greenhouse gas emissions).

Because I have published these resolutions, I feel more likely to keep them.

Thanks to wonderful non-profit organizations, it is easy to calculate our carbon footprint, and offset our damage with renewable energy, efficiency and reforestation programs. Reducing our carbon footprint takes more work. In 2007, we both reduced our total GHG emissions and lived carbon neutral. We will do our best to accomplish both in 2008.

Every success with your resolutions. May they bring you a year of health, happiness, and fulfillment. Do not underestimate your ability to make a difference and to inspire others.

Happy New Year!

John Addison is the publisher of the Clean Fleet Report.

Fashion faddies may take note of Pantone's color of the year, Blue Iris (No. 18-3943). I'll be using it in my new logo not because it's hip, but because I admire its qualities. Pantone's Leatrice Eiseman stated, "Blue Iris brings together the dependable aspects of blue, underscored by a strong, soul-searching purple cast. Emotionally, it is anchoring and meditative with a touch of magic." Blue Iris is "supposed to answer several needs, hopes, desires, that kind of thing."

Tongue out of cheek, I had a hope and desire that "green" would meet the needs of American consumerism during this holiday season. Sadly, green suffers from a lack of the strong, meditative, soul-searching qualities of Blue Iris. Emotionally, green might as well be red, flagging at my Taurian nature. I see green marketing and snort like a bull. It's just not as dependable and true as blue.

Plunked on a couch in a spacious, well-appointed guest room at the Lenox Hotel in Back Bay Boston, I'm meditating on the meaning of green. (A night at this beautiful, accommodating hotel is a Christmas gift from Dave, my husband of three weeks.) The room commands a roof-line view of the urban malls of Copley Plaza and a peek on to Newbury Street. The Gideon bible rests in a drawer by the luxurious bed but two other books, laminated with a note ("Please do not remove this book from your room so that future guests may also enjoy it. If you are interested in purchasing a signed copy, please contact the Front Desk. Thank you.") hold court on the writing desk. They are "The Bottom Line of Green is Black, Strategies for Creating Profitable and Environmentally Sound Businesses" (copyright 1993) by Tedd Saunders and "The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices, Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists" (copyright 1999) by Brower and Leon.

The ubiquitous, and somewhat outdated (copyright 1996), Project Planet signage about reusing towels and saving dolphins -- if the graphics of smiling dolphins mean anything -- decorates the doorknobs.

The Preface to Brower's book begins, "Twenty years ago one of us couldn't find a way to recycle a car full of newspapers--and this was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, supposedly a hotbed of environmental activism...Recycling has certainly come a long way since then." I flip to page 31 of "The Bottom Line of Green is Black" where Saunders extols the recyclable virtues of the ENVIROPET (tm) plastic ketchup bottle.

Which is why the plastic bottles of water on the side table ("Please enjoy this water with our compliments") intrigue me, it being 2007, about a decade after these books and signs were published. We all -- should -- know by now that the boom of bottled water sales has incurred a boom in landfills of plastic waste. The label on the plastic bottles in the room says the source of the water is Iceland which "largely uninhabited and pollution free, has one of the cleanest environments on the planet." There's no recycling label on the bottle; instead there's cash redemption if you live in CA, HI, CT, NV or NY...but not Massachusetts, nor Iceland.

Over at Barney's, a giant retail display comprising aluminum cans and bottle caps in the shape of a giant head (I think) greets customers. I can't discern it's meaning or its connection to Barney's green Christmas marketing campaign but someone in their marketing department must have the skinny on its DHM. Barney's shopping bags, made of recycled paper urge us to "Have a Green Holiday." With some label snooping in handbags, designer clothing and shoes, the goods at Barney's are manufactured in Europe. Atmospherically out of my price range, at least these goods are not directly contributing to our looming Chinese debt crisis and likely help out Italy's sagging economy. Still, what anything in the store has to do with being green is beyond me. I admit to a weakness for imported perfume (Goutal, Eau de Hadrien), and at that point of purchase, I learn from the clerk that Barney's is a top recycler. Oh.

I'll still use a touch of green (CMYK 66, 100, 20, 4) in the new logo, but it will take a backseat to anchoring, real and meaningful Blue Iris. And I'll keep hoping for the magic as well as the meaning in green marketing.

Heather Rae, a contributor to cleantechblog.com, is a consultant in cleantech market management and serves on the board of Maine Interfaith Power & Light. In 2006, she built a biobus and drove it from Colorado to Maine. In 2007, she began renovation of an 1880 farmhouse using building science and green building principles.

As has become my custom, with the year drawing to a close, I now look in the rear-view mirror and try to distill what I see. In no particular order, here are my top ten reflections on 2007:

1. Popping of the ethanol bubble. Not long ago, it seemed like anyone could get an ethanol plant financed. Now, no-one will touch them. Why? Corn prices have roughly doubled, and producers can't make money selling ethanol into the fuel markets when having to pay so much for feedstock. Along with the increasing realization that public policies so far to build ethanol markets has largely been for the financial benefit of big agri-businesses such as Arthur Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM), ethanol has now become a dirty word to many. Progress on cellulosic ethanol technologies may not happen fast enough to redeem seriously diminished public perceptions about ethanol generally.

2. Continuing photovoltaics bubble. For illustration of this phenomenon, let's take a look at First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR). Nothing whatsoever against the company; indeed, they make a very fine product. It's just that their share price has increased by a factor of 10 -- from $27 to nearly $280 -- in one year. At current levels, the company's market cap is $20 billion, at a P/E ratio of over 200. I know the solar market is hot, but geez, c'mon. A 10x return in one year on a publicly-traded stock is simply not supposed to happen.

3. Increasing costs for wind energy. For many years, wind energy has become more competitive, as the industry matured and production efficiencies were tained. However, with increasing prices for virtually all commodities (e.g., steel, copper, plastics) and a weakening dollar against the Euro (note that most turbines are made in Europe), the economics of wind are unfortunately moving in the wrong direction right now.

4. Gore as rock star. First, an Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth. Then, the Nobel Peace Prize. To top it off, becoming a partner at top-notch venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. What next for the what-could-have-been 43rd President? Whatever it is, at least the cleantech sector now has its iconic poster-child.

5. Cheers to Google. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has gotten into the cleantech game in a big way by creating an initiative with the mission to develop and launch renewable energy technologies that produce electricity more cheaply than coal. Once that aim is achieved, renewable energy will rapidly become ubiquitous, and we really will start getting on a path of serious carbon emission reductions.

6. Death of the incandescent lightbulb. Early in 2007, Australia led the way to ban incandescents, to force a shift to more energy efficient lighting technologies (fluorescents for now, perhaps eventually LEDs). Amazingly quickly, the U.S. followed suit, passing an energy bill by year-end that effectively phases out incandescents by 2014. This should have a major energy efficiency impact, and yield a big cut in greenhouse gas emissions, in a relatively short amount of time.

7. Tightening CAFE -- finally! After decades without change, the U.S. Congress finally acted to impose more stringent corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for auto/truck manufacturers. The main milestone is a 35 mpg combined car/light-truck standard by 2020. For the first time, trucks are now part of the CAFE equation, closing the loophole that helped propel SUVs to prominence. Strengthening CAFE is probably the most important thing that American politicians could do to actually make a meaningful dent in reducing dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

8. Uncertain future for coal. On the one hand, MIT released a major study entitled "The Future of Coal" that compels a radical R&D push to commercialize technologies for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), underscoring the reality that coal-fired electricity generation is going to be a major factor for a long time. On the other hand, I don't see any such coal R&D push actually happening, nor even that much progress on CCS. A recent statement by the U.S. Department of Energy concerning its oft-touted FutureGen program for piloting CCS technology indicates a possible retrenchment. Meanwhile, Pacificorp -- which is owned by Warren Buffett's legendary holding company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA and BRKB) -- recently cancelled a coal CCS project in Wyoming, with a spokesman quoted as saying that "coal projects are no longer viable." Ouch.

9. Oil at $100/barrel. Starting the year at about $60/barrel and then promptly falling to near $50, oil prices increased steadily from February to November, reaching the high-90's. I suspect we'll see $100/barrel sometime in 2008; I don't suspect we'll see oil below $40/barrel very much anymore. Even at prices not long ago considered absolutely stratospheric, it appears that there's been very little customer/political backlash so far: the world doesn't seem to be ending for most Americans.

10. Serious dollars betting on energy technology. There's been a lot written about the big surge in venture capital invested in new energy deals. I find even more intriguing the increasing amount of corporate and public sector investment in new energy R&D. As perhaps the most prominent example, in the U.K., the government has pledged up to $1 billion over the next 10 years in matching support to private investments in the Energy Technologies Institute, which includes the participation of such leading corporate lights as BP (NYSE: BP), Shell (NYSE: RDS.A and RDS.B), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Electricite de France (Euronext: EDF), E.ON (Frankfurt: E.ON), and Rolls-Royce (London: RR.L). That's a lot of money and corporate weight in the mix. I can't imagine that such an initiative will produce nothing of use.

Best wishes to you and yours for 2008. Let's hope it's a good year, even better than the one wrapping up.

Richard T. Stuebi is the BP Fellow for Energy and Environmental Advancement at The Cleveland Foundation, and is also the Founder and President of NextWave Energy, Inc.

The binder of information at our honeymoon cottage, Pink Sand, in North Palmetto Point, Eleuthera Island, Bahamas, reads (verbatim):

"Some do's and Don'ts 1. Please Conserve Water as all our water is from rain that is collected from the gutters and placed in our Cistern that is under the Cottage. 2. Please use A/C only when you are in the Cottage and do not have windows open when using the A/C.

Electric in Eleuthera is 3 times that of electric in the USA. If using the Washer/Dryer, please use only once if you are staying for a week and 2 times if you are staying 2 weeks."

The caretaker, while awaiting our arrival, had turned on the little Toshiba TV perched above the Ponsat Satellite receiver, and its noise overpowered the hum of the wall A/C. The honeymoon was off to a good start when Dave and I, once alone, chimed in unison, let's turn off that A/C and the TV; we came to Paradise to get away from all of that. The cottage is equipped not only with TV, A/C and washer/dryer, but with an on demand electric domestic water heater, a hair dryer and a cell phone. The binder told us where to purchase calling cards for the cell phone. Forgetfulness having its virtues, the laptop -- and access to iTunes -- was at home, and it meant we were limited to the few songs downloaded the night before onto the tiny iPod that my tech-loving husband had just bought me. Electri-tech'd to the gills, I wondered how much '3 times that of USA' meant. If any of the electrical appliances came with their own equivalent 'calling cards' and some kind of watt meter, I would have swapped time on the TV and A/C for additional loads of wash -- clean clothes trumping 400 channels of audio-visual garbage any day.

And I couldn't help but wonder: if electricity costs so much, then where were the solar panels, the small-scale wind turbines and the wave and tidal generators? I searched for them in the land of sea and sun, and saw not a one.

Tweaked that the USA and Paradise are so advanced in some technologies like iPods, cell phones and satellite TV, and so tediously stunted in others, like electricity, I dropped by the office the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) just north of Rock Sound to ask just how much '3 times' is...and churn up a little more information about how BEC services a tropical archipelago. Javan Rolle, a utility manager, was Family Island-gracious to entertain a random visit from a woman in a sundress and tennies, brandishing a business card and asking about residential tariffs. We had a good laugh that nobody at the office knew, readily, the per-kWh cost of electricity on the island: it's $.15 plus a surcharge for the fuel which is 100% diesel generated, bringing the cost to about $.30 per kWh. Coming from Maine, that's about '2 times;' coming from Colorado with its heavy reliance on coal, that's more than '3 times.'

The only customer with solar installed on the entire island, grid-tied, was an outfit called The Island School at Cape Eleuthera on the southern tip of the Island and its affiliate, The Island Institute which was under the auspices of a research and pilot project for grid-tied PV.

Dave and I wended our way out to the Island Institute and met with Andy Danylchuck, PhD, the Director of Research, and Graham Siener, a cleantech solutions consultant for Cape Systems, Ltd., another affiliate of the Institute. We lunched with the staff and students and spoke briefly with Chris Maxey the Founder and Director of the School, the Institute, Cape Systems and the Cape Eleuthera Foundation. The Institute evolved out of a need for additional facilities at the School which already had a bio-wastewater treatment plant, a battery-based Bergey 7.5kW wind turbine, about 17kW of solar panels, and biodiesel collected as waste vegetable oil from cruise ships. The Institute's offices and staff housing are located nearby, across an inlet and over a footbridge in curved- and vaulted-roofed concrete structures. These structures are built to withstand storms and hurricanes, to facilitate rainwater collection and to maximize air cooling. Interior furniture is made of a local, but invasive, hardwood; the floor is covered in recycled carpet tile. A breeze keeps the space, which is light and airy, cool; there is no need for the A/C which is quickly becoming an island status symbol (no different than in other locales like Colorado and coastal Maine that don't need it but for -- so the developers and builders claim -- consumer demand.)

Cape Systems, Ltd. has initiated a campaign called, Freedom 2030: Sustainable Eleuthera, A Model for the Caribbean and Beyond. (The name Eleuthera derives from the Greek word for freedom.) The campaign seeks to raise funds for making Eleuthera a self-sustaining island by 2030, asserting, "this is both an economic and national security issue that will set Eleuthera and The Bahamas as a leader in the inevitable shift away from fossil fuels." They are also underway with a joint venture with publicly-traded Bahamas Waste to establish biodiesel production from locally collected waste cooking oil from hotels, restaurants and cruise lines. The Institute and BEC are working cooperatively through net metering arrangements for solar PV, but there are kinks to iron out; for example, the metering for the Institute's 30kW of solar generation flowing into the grid shows up as a charge to the Institute on their BEC bill.

Support for clean energy from the Prime Minister of The Bahamas appeared in the Bahamian paper this past Friday, and local columnists like Larry Smith, posted on Bahama Pundit, are paying attention to climate change, oil pricing, tourism and alternative energy solutions for the Islands. (See "The Bahamas and the Political Economy of Climate Change" and "Bahamas Could Set Renewable Energy Pace").

In speaking to an international conference of the Caribbean Basin last week, PM Hubert Ingraham is reported in The Nassau Guardian to have pointed out, in reference to climate change and tourism, that the reduction of the import content of goods to service tourism, which is growing, needs to be a major economic policy, and that energy is a major factor requiring adoption of a serious energy policy: in 2001 domestic oil consumption in The Bahamas amounted to some $275 million or 15 percent of total merchandise imports of $1.856 billion; last year, 2006, it accounted for $706 million or 27 percent of total imports of $2.621 billion. Said Ingraham, "A reversal of this trend seems unlikely, and by the end of this year, the cost of domestic consumption of oil may well be at or close to one-third of total merchandise imports. This seems to be a level where alternative sources of energy make sense, and where it is sound economic judgment to revisit the energy efficiency of our lifestyles generally."

Javan of BEC and Graham of the Island Institute say that the Bahamas has lifted the 50% import duty tax on solar panels, and that the 7% stamp tax still applies. The Institute participates in the Chicago Climate Exchange, selling certificates for offsets from energy efficiencies and cleantech which provide another revenue stream. Without rebates or other incentives, however, solar is still out of reach for most.

As in Colorado and Maine, in Eleuthera I couldn't help but wonder, when are the builders and developers getting on board with sustainable building practices? Just a half-hour drive from the Island Institute, Dave and I walked a long stretch of pink sandy beach and broke inland at The Dunes of Eleuthera, a condomimium development midway under construction. Adorable rental cottages in blues and yellows and greens faced the water, wrapped in tropical landscaping. We were curious about these cottages and the new facilities; the developer smoothed through his pitch. Then I asked the question, the one that tends to set off developers and modular home builders: what is the energy rating of these buildings? Why, little lady, it's an Energy Star-rated home, with R-19 walls and R-11 floors! With central air! He said something about poured concrete forms, but the R-19 and the wood foundation posts didn't quite add up to ICFs or SIPs or even concrete block, the traditional island construction material.

Maybe it was the sun and the sand flea bites. Maybe it was knowing that $400K for a huff-and-puff condo was a travesty. Maybe it was knowing this developer from Louisiana intended to make enough money to retire at 55...that set me off: I work on an Energy Star program and those numbers mean nothing. I'd want at least an R-50. I'd want something that can handle a hurricane, and on a tropical island, I don't need air conditioning. The bride wrapped in a red and orange sarong, on the Island of Freedom, had become a Greek Harpie, stealing civility from the conversation.

Departing from the Governor's Harbour airport, I heard that these Energy Star houses were pre-fab and impounded at the docks by the State for failing to meet standards for tropical construction. I can't substantiate the comment, but impounding unsuitable imported building materials is a reasonable response to developers who build with such little regard for homeowner, investor and the planet.

It was a joy to meet with the Island Institute and its affiliate organizations who truly understand what sustainability is all about.

Turning to take in one last gulp of Bahamian heaven at the airport, I saw a billboard: Keep Central Eleuthera Clean, Green & Pristine...It Starts with YOU!

Heather Rae, a contributor to cleantechblog.com, is a consultant in cleantech market management and serves on the board of Maine Interfaith Power & Light. In 2006, she built a biobus and drove it from Colorado to Maine. In 2007, she began renovation of an 1880 farmhouse using building science and green building principles.

Earlier this year, I did a Cleantech Blog article called "Micro fuel cell killer" talking about the challenges that undermined the promise of micro fuel cells.

Well, now we are looking at the other side of the story. One of my friends, Peng Lim, who is the CEO of Mechanical Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:MKTY), parent company to leading micro fuel cell developer MTI Micro, graciously consented to an interview on what they have done and the general state of play. In other words, what is the current micro fuel cell promise.

Q: Peng, can you give our audience a little of your background prior to MTI? What made you choose MTI? And can you share some of your expectations from that time, and how they have panned out?
Lim: Prior to joining MTI, I spent the last 20 years in the consumer handheld electronics market starting with notebook computers in the early 1990's and then moving into wireless computing in the mid 1990's. At the time I joined, both markets were very young. You didn't see many people with portable computers, or the hot spots that wirelessly connect them to the internet. I was fortunate to be part of the growth experienced by both portable computing as well as wireless computing. Each one of those industries grew because of the intrinsic need for people to be mobile. Allowing people to work any time, any place is something that they want; hence, both industries took off.

From there, in the late 1990s, I moved into the PDA market where I lead the worldwide product development for Palm, and was responsible for the Palm devices, OS and Application Software. At that time, the challenge was to take mobility to the next level. We devised a product that had the capabilities of a computer, but that could fit in your pocket; there would be no need to worry about the device. When needed, it is there and when it is not, it is stored in your pocket. Again the concept took off. At Palm, we captured 65 percent of the worldwide PDA market share and 75 percent handheld OS market share.

I left Palm in 2001 to start my own company focusing on handheld multimedia and gaming. The company was sold in 2005.

The reason why I joined MTI is twofold: 1) the technology has the potential to exponentially increase the energy density over that of lithium-Ion batteries, and 2) because of mobility. Mobile devices are not truly mobile yet. There is one last wire that attaches them to a wall--a charging wire.

Micro fuel cells promise to cut the last wire and provide customers with real mobility where they can use their devices at anytime and anywhere without having to be tethered to the wall for charging.

Besides MTI, I am currently on the board of advisers for Inventec Appliances, a multibillion dollar manufacturing company based in Taiwan.

Can you talk a little about the Mobion chip and your recent advances in it? What does that mean in the context of getting a product to market?
Lim: In June, MTI Micro demonstrated its integrated fuel cell chip used as the heart of its fuel cell systems for consumer product applications. The Mobion chip is based on 100 percent methanol feed, passive, direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology. Passive water management applied to DMFC technology is the catalyst for reducing size and simplifying fuel logistics. MTI Micro has reduced the size of the Mobion chip by over 40 percent to 9cc (small enough to fit in the palm of a hand), and has reduced the parts-count of the chip to one molded piece. The Mobion chip is capable of operating at 0 to 40 degrees Celsius and at any level of humidity. This is an industry standard requirement for many OEMs who want to use fuel cells with their products.

MTI Micro's Mobion chip architecture significantly reduces the complexity of a fuel cell system's internal construction, thereby reducing manufacturing costs, increasing performance and enabling further system miniaturization--factors that are critical for the successful launch of fuel cell products in the consumer market. We believe the Mobion chip is the first micro fuel cell technology designed with the performance and manufacturability necessary to make a significant impact on the consumer portable electronics markets.

If you had to pick your three top early adopter products for micro fuel cells, what would they be? And for each one, what are the power to weight, power to size, and lifetime targets you feel each will require.
Lim: We see a lot of opportunity for the early adoption of micro fuel cells, particularly in handheld consumer electronics. Applications including cellular phones PDAs, MP3 Players, digital cameras, game players are very attractive to us. As far as power, size and energy goes, it certainly would depend on every application and also on what requirements OEMs may have; at the same time, there may be some trade-offs between size and energy, etc.

If you had to tell a consumer customer what to expect from a microfuel cell product, what would you tell them?
Lim: Most importantly, longer device run-time--a feature that customers deeply care for. MTI Micro's Mobion technology will also allow users to be free from tethering their devices to an electrical outlet, eliminating the need for carrying multiple bulky chargers and converters.

Also, since refueling would be as simple as just replacing a cartridge, there is no downtime required for a recharge. "Hot-swappable" cartridges would instantaneously allow the user to continue to use their device.

Micro fuel cells are also considered a green technology. On the other hand, some rechargeable battery technologies such as NiCad are toxic to the environment.

What's different about micro fuel cells now as opposed to 4 or 5 years ago that gives you confidence?
Lim: 1) Technical improvements including size, energy density and power density have improved. 2) The worldwide energy source for the consumer portable electronic market continues to grow (approximately $12 billion this year and is expected to grow to over $20 billion in 2012). 3) The infrastructure and supply chain are starting to come together ? especially around methanol solutions like our Mobion Technology. 4) Methanol has been approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to be carried inside commercial planes.

The DOT announcement on carrying methanol and fuel cells on planes is obviously huge. Exactly why has it been so long in coming, and what put it over the line?
Lim: Direct methanol fuel cells and fuel refills can be transported safely, provided appropriate precautions are taken in design and packaging. However, meticulous considerations are given to any new products for approval in commercial transport. Having been approved by ICAO and now waiting for implementation by the U.S. Department of Transportation is an important and necessary step towards the commercialization of Mobion.

What exactly are the terms of the Samsung collaboration, and how does it affect MTI Micro's plans for commercializing a micro fuel cell product?
Lim: MTI Micro first entered into a relationship with Samsung Electronics, our Korean partner and a leading producer of mobile phones, in May of 2006. Under the terms of MTI Micro's initial Alliance Agreement, our Mobion technology was chosen to power a series of prototypes designed for mobile cell phone and cell phone accessories. In a short period of time, we delivered two rounds of these prototypes to Samsung for evaluation, and each prototype demonstrated significant size reductions and performance improvements from the previous. The latest and most advanced prototype contains the Mobion chip. This agreement expired on its own terms on July 31 of this year. However, on October 25, MTI Micro announced its continued collaboration with its Korean partner, extending until the end of 2009, or six months after MTI Micro's first commercial product launch should our commercialization timeline become accelerated--whichever comes earlier.

With this alliance in place, we feel very confident about MTI Micro's strong momentum and ability to bring Mobion MFC technology to a high-revenue category within the worldwide consumer device market. Under this non-exclusive collaboration, MTI Micro will continue to refine the Mobion baseline product design for mobile phone applications. Until the design freeze date projected for December of 2008, our Korean partner may request product specification changes, and may also purchase commercial DMFC samples from MTI Micro as soon as they are readily available. Throughout this time we will also continue to share development updates with our Korean partner, as well as loan them prototypes for evaluation. With a production decision anticipated at the start of the third quarter of 2009, MTI Micro will thus prepare for the manufacturing of the Mobion baseline product starting in the third quarter of 2008, through the second quarter of 2009. To assist with evaluating potential manufacturing partners, and more importantly--to work as part of MTI Micro's business development team to establish business relationships with new OEMs and maintain anticipated day-to-day, on-going customer relationships in Asia--we have added Korea-based Daehong Technew Corporation as a new representative, which we announced in late October.

On the financial side, can you share when you expect to reach break even, and your cash vs. financial burn forecasts, and your feeling on when or if the company will need to raise more cash?
Lim: As of November 8, 2007, the company has $12.6 million in cash and cash equivalents. Our burn rate is approximately $0.9 million per month. We have a number of resources for funding including the positive cash flow from our MTI Instruments subsidiary, sale of Plug Power stock, government funding and the capital markets.

Thank you Peng, always a pleasure. I will keep my fingers crossed for you guys.

Neal Dikeman is a founding partner at Jane Capital Partners LLC, a boutique merchant bank advising strategic investors and startups in cleantech. He is founding contributor of Cleantech Blog, a Contributing Editor to Alt Energy Stocks, and a blogger for the CNET Cleantech Blog.