metal

When Serbian-American engineer Nikola Tesla came up with the design of his alternating current induction motor — which truly revolutionized the way we thought about electricity — it is said he was walking in the park when a picture of the motor shot into his head like a flash of lightning.

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Solid-State Lighting Program, which operates under the auspices of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, or EERE, released its second report on the country’s logistical fixed lighting architecture this January, updating the industry from its previous report in 2002.

In December, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released its Critical Materials Strategy, which studied the importance of certain key raw materials in clean energy. 

American Vanadium Corp. (TSX: AVC), formerly Rocky Mountain Resources Corp., a small Vancouver-based mining company primarily engaged in the exploration and acquisition of the metal-alloying element vanadium, is primed to enter the clean energy race.

Developer of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTI) has formed a partnership with China-based TFG Radiant Group that will result in $450 million of investment.

Honda has just announced that 10 of its 14 manufacturing plants in North America are operating with zero-waste-to-landfill as part of its “Green Factory” initiative in North America. 

Calpine Corporatation (NYSE: CPN) said today its subsidiary Calpine Energy Services, L.P., has signed a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to provide 485 megawatts (MW) of power from its Carville Energy Center to Entergy Services, Inc., as agent for Entergy Texas, Inc., beginning in June 2012. The new PPA extends an existing PPA between the two companies. No pricing or other terms were announced.

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The potential for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) to be “the next big thing” that will enable economical storage of wind and solar energy needs several more years to be proven -- or not. However, that has not deterred a flock of mostly Canadian junior mining companies -- backed by enthusiastic investors -- from exploring for vanadium-bearing ores in Canada, the U.S. and around the world which can be processed into electrolyte for VRFBs.

Proponents of the metal vanadium believe it will improve the economics of wind and solar power enough to make them cost-competitive with fossil fuels. Batteries using vanadium have the right combination of scaleability, power and discharge/recharge characteristics to store wind and solar power until it can used during peak demands when prices are highest.