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Jul 31, 2008 -- The Sonoma County Water Agency has teamed up with local electric vehicle manufacturer ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) on a plan to make Sonoma County on California's North Coast a leader in reducing carbon emissions through the use of electric transportation. For Sonoma County Water Agency employees, ZAP is offering a rebate as an additional incentive to rebates being offered by the State of California. The cash rebates are designed to encourage Agency employees to start using electric vehicles. ZAP will be offering $1,400 rebate for a ZAP Xebra electric truck as well as $1,270 for a ZAP Xebra electric sedan. Both of these vehicles also qualify for a $1,000 rebate from the State of California, which is available to qualified buyers and subject to certain terms and conditions. ZAP will also be offering County water agency employees a $500 rebate on its Zapino Electric Scooter. "We wanted to encourage our employees to take more steps towards sustainability and one way to do that is to provide an example to them," said Cordel Stillman, Deputy Chief Engineer for the Sonoma County Water Agency. "We intend to use ZAP trucks at one of our larger facilities so the employees can use them to get around to our different water collectors." As part of the program, officials from the Water Agency say they plan to install additional charging stations at its airport location; the agency already has charging stations for their plug-in hybrids. "We would like to congratulate the Sonoma County Water Agency for stepping up and being a leader in this era of record gas and oil prices and helping to put more electric vehicles on the road in Sonoma County," said ZAP CEO Steve Schneider. "This is a great example that local, state and world governments can follow to take action today on issues like the global energy and climate crisis." Xebra and Zapino are affordable electric vehicles designed for city-speed transportation up to 40 MPH and are now available across the US and abroad.
Aug 01, 2008 -- Toyota (NYSE: TM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) has developed a motorized stand-up-and-ride Segway lookalike designed to help people scoot around at malls and airports. But the "Winglet," shown Friday in Tokyo, takes some getting used to. A demonstrator was visibly worried about its safety while accompanying a reporter who cautiously tried it on a short course in a Toyota showroom. Toyota officials insist anyone can learn to ride it with some practice, including the elderly -- its major target buyer. Still, Toyota Motor Corp. has no plans yet to turn the Winglet into a commercial product. The Japanese automaker will start testing the two-wheeler this year at an airport and resort complex and next year at a shopping mall, all in Japan, to get user feedback. Overseas test plans are undecided. The Winglet goes up to 3.7 mph, about the same speed as pedestrians, far slower than 12.5-mph Segway, which costs $5,000. The Winglet can go about 3 miles before needing to be recharged. It is designed to stop easily with little pressure, pivot full-circle and go smoothly over bumps on roads. And it is designed to respond almost intuitively -- moving forward when you lean to the front, and turning when you sway to the right or left, similar to skiing. One of three models shown comes with a protruding handle that can be grabbed and used like a steering wheel. Toyota executive Takeshi Uchiyamada, who zipped around on a Winglet as though he was on a skateboard, said the company is experimenting with new ways of mobility as part of a company strategy to spread robotics. "We hope to create friendly robots that can exist side by side with people," Uchiyamada said. "Winglet will help everyone move around safely and stay active."
Aug 01, 2008 -- BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc. (OTC BB: BFRE), a leader in cellulosic ethanol production technology, today announced that it has signed an agreement with Amalgamated Research, Inc. (ARI) for the exclusive right to use its Simulated Moving Bed Chromatographic Separation (SMB) technology for the separation of concentrated sulfuric acid and simple sugars. After several years of operating experience with ARI's equipment at pilot facilities in California and Japan and recent testing at ARI's facilities, where even better than expected results were obtained, BlueFire has determined that the SMB provides the best fit for its concentrated acid hydrolysis process to convert cellulose to ethanol. By using ARI's SMB, BlueFire recovers approximately 99% of the entrained sugars in the acid/sugar stream. ARI's extensive research of the concentrated acid/sugars separation was supported by the DOE. John Cuzens, BlueFire Chief Technology Officer, stated, "Our partnership with ARI provides BlueFire with yet another competitive advantage in the cellulosic marketplace. Their superior fractal distribution and SMB technology further enhances BlueFire's robust and efficient conversion process by efficiently separating the acid and sugar streams."
Aug 01, 2008 -- Gushan Environmental Energy Limited (NYSE: GU), China's largest producer of biodiesel as measured by annual production capacity, today announced that due to recent heightened enforcement of traffic control measures adopted by the Beijing municipal government in preparation for the hosting of the Beijing 2008 Olympic games, it will temporarily suspend operations at its Beijing plant from August 1, 2008 to September 20, 2008. Such traffic control measures require, among other things, that vehicles operating in and out of Beijing meet a certain emission standards, that vehicles be driven on alternate days, depending on whether their license plates are even-numbered or odd-numbered and regulate or limit the transportation of hazardous chemicals by road, which Gushan believes has restricted the ability of its suppliers to deliver raw materials to the Beijing plant. "Although Gushan has not received any suspension or shut-down notice from the PRC government, we believe that the government's recent strict enforcement of measures controlling the movement of vehicles and goods in and out of the Beijing area have rendered biodiesel production at our Beijing plant impractical for the time being. We expect to resume biodiesel production at our Beijing plant after September 20," said Jianqiu Yu, Chairman of Gushan. As a result of this suspension, based on current circumstances and barring any unforeseen events, Gushan expects that the total 2008 biodiesel production volume produced by its Beijing plant will be reduced by approximately 10,000 tons, or approximately 3 million gallons, which it anticipates will reduce its overall production levels for the year.
Market Wrap for August 01, 2008
The stock market kicked off the month of August with a modest decline after a rise in crude oil prices offset a modestly better-than-expected employment report.
Nine of the ten sectors posted a loss, with only financials posting a gain (-0.6%). Materials (-2.6%) and utilities (-3.3%) were the main laggards.With regard to this session's economic data, the government's jobs report for July came in close to expectations, but a smaller-than-expected drop in payrolls helped limit the selling interest this session. Specifically, nonfarm payrolls fell by 51,000 which was better than the expected decline of 75,000. Payrolls are declining at about a 0.5%, which is generally associated with real GDP growth of 1.5% to 2% -- consistent with second quarter data and projections for the third quarter. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose to 5.7% from 5.5%.The ISM Index, a national manufacturing survey, posted a decent reading in July given the current economic conditions. The index was roughly unchanged at 50.0, which represents flat manufacturing growth.Crude oil prices continue the recent trend of volatile swings. Prices climbed as much as 3.6% on reports that Israel's prime minister said that Iran is close to a major breakthrough in its nuclear weapons program. Prices eased off their highs, however, to settle with a 0.8% gain at $125.09. The stock market's worst level of the session, a loss of 1.0%, corresponded with the session high for oil prices.
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