Systems Platform Projects
To transform energy systems on a large scale we need national and international systems platforms that make it easy for users of electric and biofuel vehicles to use them anywhere they want to go. We are definitely not there yet. I’m currently working on putting together project teams that aim at establishing such platforms in [...]
Network of Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles Cannot Serve All
By the end of 2011 the Chicago area will have 73 charging stations of electric vehicles, more than any other region in the world. Sadly these are built to serve mainly Japanese vehicles and many other makes cannot be charged using this rapid-charging technology. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0216-charging-stations-20110216,0,4310432.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%20chicagotribune/views%20(chicagotribune.com%20-%20Most%20Viewed%20Stories) There is a need for standardization of some interface technologies, [...]
Past the Global Peak in Oil Production
According to the International Energy Agency we are now past the global peak in oil production: http://www.iea.org/speech/2010/tanaka/AustraliaTanakaWEO2010.pdf This will change everything. And we are not prepared. Bookmark It
Ingrained Perception of Energy
Unfortunately, in the minds of most people, energy has become closely related to environmental issues. Reducing the use of energy has become something that environmentalists see as something that is favorable, and that we should work towards. In the future that is emerging this is only partly true. We need to make people aware of [...]
A Change Management Deja Vu
The development of energy technology, its increasing adoption, and the sudden realization that it is a very complex task to realize the value potential reminds me of a similar situation in the IT industry some ten years ago. Around the year 2000 many companies had invested in new integrated business systems, but after the implementation [...]
Congratulations GE Ecomagination Challenge Winners.
As most of you know, General Electric has been running a contest called the “GE ecomagination Challenge,” “…a $200 million innovation experiment where businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and students share their best ideas on how to build the next-generation power grid – and just might get funded.” The process has be very interesting. What an effort [...]
What Happens as Cotton Prices Surge?
In the energy debate many people seem to assume that when oil prices increase oil will immediately be substituted by renewable energy sources. Now cotton prices increase dramatically, and there seems to be little evidence from the clothing industry that customers switch their preferences to wool, linen, nylon, perlon, or other alternatives to cotton in [...]
The Dynamic of Change
We tend to find it difficult to understand the dynamic of change. Maybe we think that it is easy for an individual to change behavior, beliefs, or life style once he or she gets a new insight. Like if someone receives information about the need to run large scale transformation programs in order to change [...]
Sorting Things Out
More people than ever study the future. Most of them seem to have arrived at the conclusion that in the future we will have more of most of the things we see today: IT, communications, international travel, access to a large number of products and services. These people seem to have forgotten an important pre-requisite: [...]
Why No Call for Managed Transformation Programs?
ASPO provides the latest news about Peak Oil on its site. http://www.peakoil.net/ The lack of arguments in favor of managed transformation programs is conspicuous. Several sources high-light the alarming consequences of Peak Oil and it’s getting increasingly clear that the market mechanisms will not suffice to drive large scale energy transformation forward at a high [...]
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