Electric Cargo Vans

This 100% electric van uses Tesla batteries for power. It was created by Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation for eco-friendly deliveries. This is a major step in making the US transportation of goods system 100% electric.

Source: [TreeHugger]

Electric Heavy Duty Truck

This Electric truck is used in the Port of Los Angeles to hall containers short distances, as well as to near by storage facilities. It is a testament to how close the green technology is to creating full size electric 18-wheeler trucks, and how we will soon be able to make the entire US goods transportation system 100% electric [with some solar help].

Source: [Youtube]

The "Green" War

Europe: The Current Kings Solar Energy
According to the 9th Annual Photovoltaics Status Report, Europe is responsible for 73% of the worlds solar installations in 2009. Europe had a total of 5.8 GW of solar energy, with Germany as the continued dominate European solar leader. [TreeHugger]

World Solar Energy Levels:
Germany (3.8 GW)
Italy (0.73 GW)
Japan (0.48 GW)
United States (0.46 GW)


China: The Clean-Tech Lab for the World
China has now become a green technology center for the world, as they are planning to build a 102 MW Wind Farm by Shanghai. As OE Tech has said before, China is the world's leader in solar panel production, and now has become a leader in green technology development.

Peggy Liu, the founder and chairwoman of the Joint US-China Collaboration in Clean Energy, said "What the US doesn't realize [is that China] is going from manufacturing hub to the clean-tech laboratory of the world," clearly placing US clean energy development under the spotlight. [New York Times]


The US?
In order for the US to catch up to German solar investment, Obama would need to multiply current solar output by levels 8, which would cost quite a bit of money, but would also create a lot of new US jobs in the process. To catch up with China, the US will need to start investing in grand scale clean-energy projects, [like Operation Green Goods], in order to compete with China and Europe.

Brian Merchant recently wrote an article entitled, "If Obama had Chosen Energy over Health Care...," where writes about David Brook's article, An Alternate History, discussing if Obama had chosen his Energy Bill before health care, and how this decision would have allowed Democrats, "to spend the entire summer talking about technological advances, private sector growth and breakthrough productivity gains." Though this maybe true, I disagree with both Merchant and Brooks. Choosing healthcare before [not instead of] energy allows Obama to concentrate on green job development during the second half of his term, a perfect jump start into his second term.

Merchant writes, "But Brooks is right about one thing -- doing energy would have given Obama and the Democrats a chance to engage the public on the economy, and to make genuine strides towards genuine, sustainable job creation..."What I don't agree with here is the phrase, "doing energy would have..." helped out economy, but is this to say that passing a huge multi billion dollar energy plan tomorrow would not help stimulate US employment? Timing is everything, waiting to pass an energy bill and create more jobs for our returning troops and the currently unemployment meant waiting for a war to be over. The new National Train System will cost the US $50 billion and should create many new jobs as well.

In the end, it is clear that the US is under scrutiny for not investing in more Green technology programs, both at home and abroad. Not investing in major green tech programs hurts our reasoning for not joining the Kyoto Protocol. But I truly believe that this is on purpose. Creating mass amounts of green sector jobs for unemployed Americans and returning US troops is a sure-fire way to win the 2012 election.

Watch and see..!


Sources: [TreeHugger] [New York Times] [TreeHugger - Obama]

Solar Panel News

Black Silicon Solar Cells
[Cheap + More Efficient]

New Black Silicon Solar Cells, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory [NREL], are cheap and absorb more energy from the sun making them more efficient. The black silicon solar cells have thousands of tiny holes in each silicon wafer, causing them to appear black while simultaneously allowing them to absorb almost all the suns rays.

These cells are also quick, easy, and cheap to manufacture:

"By mixing gold and chemicals into a cocktail and spraying it on silicon, they were able to create a black silicon wafer in under 3 minutes at room temperature. At 100 degrees Fahrenheit they can do it in less than a minute — this bodes well for mass manufacturing..." which makes these cells perfect for Operation Green Goods. [Inhabitat]


SkyFuel's SkyTrough
[Solar Concentrators]

SkyTrough uses solar collectors to increase the efficiency of the system's collectors and its ability to concentrate/follow the sun. SkyFuel, the US based solar company, claims that their solar concentrators have a thermal efficiency that exceeds standard by 73%. This statement was just confirmed by the NREL, which placed SkyTrough as the most efficient solar concentrator in it's class. [Inhabitat]

Operation Green Goods: US Trains and Chinese Solar

Operation Green Goods is based on three main components:

1. Cheap efficient solar panels
2. The development of the US train and trucking system
3. Green job creation

China is currently the worlds leading producer of cheap solar panels [Earlier OE Post] and the United States has been making a lot of green trade deals with China recently. In 2011, the Chevy Volt will be released in China, creating a huge new market for developing the green US auto industry. It seems quite clear that the US government's new solar contracts with SunPower are a part of President Obama's "FDR" spending project that will create more American green jobs, but America currently imports most of its solar-panels from China. Green trade between the US and China is instrumental to building a solar based transportation network, as China will supply the panels as the US government and American solar companies will supply the man-power and jobs for installation.

President Obama's new High-Speed Rail Project is the perfect place to implement Operation Green Goods. As new railways are going to be built, the installation of solar panels on top of the trains as well as on the hundreds of miles of train tracks, would create enough energy to power a train system. The train project plus the incorporation of solar panels installation would create around a hundred thousand more jobs in the US, perfect for Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.

OPERATION Green Goods Equation:

CHEAP CHINESE SOLAR PANELS

 + DEVELOPED US TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

US JOBS CREATION

Sources: [OE Technology Solar] [TechCrunch]

Flexible Stick-On Solar Panels

New flexible, stick-on, solar panels have been created by Global Solar. This new flexible solar module allows builders to stick it directly on the roof rather than needing to use heavy glass-covered cells. Each module is 19 feet long and is made out of copper, indium, selenium, and gallium.

OPERATION GREEN GOODS IS UNDER WAY:

These new flexible stick-on solar panels are perfect for cargo train and 18-wheeler applications. They just need the proper development for US goods transportation. OE Technology would like to be the first to develop this application, but that would require mass funding. Luckily, the US government has already started to heavily invest in solar industry development and green job creation.

As I said a year ago, the United States will be the leader in developing solar technologies. During the current economic recession, solar and wind technology is the perfect way to develop new American jobs. In President Obama's Oval Office Press Conference ending the War in Iraq, a major part of his plan was providing jobs for returning military men and women at home.

The American solar company, SunPower, that started in 1988 "... won several US Government contracts to install solar products for numerous agencies " ... Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), the General Services Administration (GSA), the Navy and the Air Force. ... " These will create " ... more than 1000 local jobs during the construction ... represent a minimum of 20 megawatts (MW) of new solar projects ..." [Green Technology]

Sources: [White House] [Inhabitat] [Green Technology]

The Great Opportunity

The Toyota Recall has created perhaps the perfect chance for American automobile companies to capture the green car market, justifying Obama's automobile bailout plan.

Ford v. Toyota Stock

[Toyota Price to Book Evaluation]

Sources: [Business Insider] [Green Sheet]

Operation Green Goods: Roll-able Solar Panels

Imagine having a roll-able solar panel tarp that easily tied on to the back of tractor trailers and cargo trains, allowing for a truck driver to buy the solar tarp and use it on any trailer he had to carry. When pitching this idea recently I was asked about the actual feasibility of such a product and if this even exists...

POWERFILM R-15-1200 18W 12 VOLT ROLLUP SOLAR PANEL

Using this specific rollup solar panel covering an entire truck would cost a little over $1500 [using 4 of the panels which are $388.96 each]. The point here is that the technology is currently available to transform the US transportation system. More research needs to be done to consider how much spending over $1500 would save a truck driver in electricity and fuel use, especially when driving an electric hybrid truck.

This is just one example of the many different kinds of rollup solar panels being currently produced. Increasing production and usage of these products will not create a lower price per square foot of solar panel and improve efficiencies through greater market competition.

Source: Solar Sphere

Operation Green Goods: Electric 18 Wheeler

Kenworth Truck Company today introduced its new Kenworth T270 Class 6 hybrid-electric truck at the Mid-America Trucking Show.

The Kenworth T270 Class 6 hybrid medium duty conventional is powered by the new PACCAR PX-6 engine and features an integral transmission-mounted motor/generator, a frame-mounted 340-volt battery pack, and a dedicated power management system.

“During steady driving conditions above 30 mph, the T270 hybrid operates like a standard diesel vehicle with all power coming from the engine,” said Mike Dozier, Kenworth chief engineer. “Below 30 mph, it uses a combination of diesel and electricity. The system automatically switches between the two modes of operation and is seamless to the driver.”

The goal for the T270 hybrid is to improve fuel economy by 30% in start-and-stop applications, such as utility trucks and pick-up and delivery. “The more stop-and-go in the application, the better the truck’s performance,” said Dozier.

OPERATION GREEN GOODS: The use of electric trucks allows for the possible use of solar and wind energy to not only power the electrical applications of the truck [lights and refrigeration of cargo] but also save fuel and energy when driving the truck.


Source: Gizmodo + Kenworth Truck Company + Peterbilt Hybrid Electric Systems
Download Electric Truck PDF

What is Operation Green Goods?

OPERATION GREEN GOODS started as a paper I wrote during my junior year at Wesleyan on how to affectively create more green jobs for the US economy and promote environmental development world wide. Operation Green Goods is the systematic development of a green US goods transportation system.

By making all vehicles and mediums that transfer goods green throughout the US, green jobs would be created, the US would have a viable export and service to help shorten the current account deficit gap, and countries such as China and India that ship millions of goods into the US a year would have no choice but to adopt green standards in order to deliver goods within the US. The developed economy of the United States has been based off of reliable road systems [highways] that allow goods to travel across the country creating more market access, and high levels of education that spawn creativity and ingenuity. The systematic change of this system from one based on gas prices to how green transportation can be will completely change the foundation and definition of a green based economy.

Implementation:
By placing solar panels on the top of electric cargo trains in order to produce energy for cabin lights, refrigeration, and eventually locomotive power will reduce the goods transportation carbon foot print. Also by placing large roll-able solar panels on the top of 18-wheeler tractor trailers in order to create energy for refrigeration, cabin electricity, and power for electric trucks, the transportation industry in America could be green over night.


Through the advancement of solar technology uses in everyday lives, more jobs would be created in the solar panel production and installation industries. The teachings and selling of green technologies abroad will also create more jobs through the flow of technology transfers.

This section of OE Technology is dedicated to tracking the feasibility of the US GREEN TRANSPORTATION PROJECT.