1.  Polysilicon capacity to expand to keep up with PV demand

2.  Youtube Video of a European Compressed Air Car

3.  Sustainable Silicon Valley, Oct 25 Event

4.  Workshop on Communicating Climate Change for PhD students

5.  Student applicants sought for $1.25 million in  EPA sustainability grants

6.  Job:  Energy venture capital Altira Group, Investment Positions

7.  Job:  Technology Strategy and Management Consultant for Navigant, Boston

8.  Job:  Renewables Program Director, UC Office of the President

9.  Tenure-track Faculty Position in Global Environmental Change, U Wisconsin

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8/23/06 Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) started construction last week on a new $600 million production facility for solar grade polysilicon in Moses Lake, Washington. The plant will nearly double the company's polysilicon production capacity, adding 6,500 metric tons to bring total capacity to close to 13,000 metric tons. Solar grade polysilicon is the raw material used to produce most solar cells, and REC's polysilicon is used in 20 to 25 percent of all solar cells in the world. Once the new facility is brought online, one year's production will yield enough solar cells to power about 75,000 homes.

REC's expansion is part of a worldwide push to increase manufacturing capacities for polysilicon and to lock in polysilicon supplies for solar cell manufacturers. In July, SunPower Corporation and ErSol Solar Energy AG both made long-term deals for polysilicon supplies that will allow the solar cell companies to each achieve an additional production output of at least 300 megawatts (MW).

This expanded production capacity in the solar industry is largely in response to an increasing demand for solar power and materials that is not being met by the supply. Photon Consulting's 2006 Solar Annual report predicts that solar power demand will "significantly exceed supply" through 2010. Demand today is estimated at 5,000 MW, with a supply of only 2,400 MW, but demand in 2008 is estimated to reach as high as 10,000 MW, while supply may only reach 5,000 MW. As the industry ramps up production, the company projections point to a total capacity of 10,000 MW by 2010.

The EERE Network News is also available on the Web at: www.eere.energy.gov/news/enn.cfm

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pretty fun..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbRB1NyAMpA

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Sign up now for a morning of education and celebration on October 25! Get the latest scoop on the public opinion about climate action, hear what local sectors are doing to address climate change, and learn about the achievements of Sustainable Silicon Valley partners who are saving energy, saving money, and helping the environment.

You can get the latest updates and register by visiting our website at www.SustainableSiliconValley.org, or going directly to http://www.sustainablesiliconvalley.org/event_10-25-06.htm.

 

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Fully-funded workshop in Washington, DC  for finishing PhD students and early postdocs.

Application deadline Sept 22..

.

WORKSHOP ON COMMUNICATING CLIMATE CHANGE, International Networking for

Young Scientists (INYS), Washington DC (USA)

The British Council USA, the UK's international organization for

educational and cultural relations, in partnership with American

University and SeaWeb/COMPASS, encourages early career scientists

involved in climate change research to apply for the International

Networking for Young Scientists (INYS) program in Washington, DC.

Designed to develop scientists' skills in communicating climate change

science to the media, "Communicating Climate Change: Science

and Media Networking for the Future" will bring prominent environmental

journalists together with young researchers from the US and the UK to

discuss issues in climate change communication and create a lasting

collaborative network. "Communicating Climate Change: Science and Media

Networking for the Future" will take place at American University

November 15-18, 2006. The four-day workshop includes intensive, hands-on

media training by SeaWeb/COMPASS; participants will also hear from

several prominent journalists from US and UK publications, including

Michelle Nijhuis, contributing editor for High Country News, and NPR

science correspondent Christopher Joyce.

Approximately seven candidates from the US and seven candidates from the

UK will be selected to participate in the program. Travel and expenses

will be fully funded by the British Council USA. The competition is open

to PhD students in their final year of research or early post-doctoral

researchers in fields related to climate change; all applicants must be

American or British scientists currently living and working in the US

and UK.

Completed applications must be submitted to the British Council USA by

no later than September 22, 2006. Successful candidates will be selected

and notified by October 1, 2006. For more information or to download an

application form, please visit www.britishcouncil.org/usa-science.

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Contact: Suzanne Ackerman, (202) 564-4355 / ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov

(Washington, D.C. - August 18, 2006)

 People, Prosperity and the Planet competition.

The EPA plans to award up to $1.25 million in grants

that enable teams of college students to research, develop and design

scientific and technical solutions to sustainability challenges that

protect the environment while achieving continued economic prosperity.

EPA will award as many as 50 grants up to $10,000 each to student teams.

The money will be used to research and develop sustainable solutions

during the 2007-08 academic year. In spring 2008, the teams will be

invited to bring their designs to Washington, D.C. to compete for EPA's

P3 Award, which includes an additional award worth up to $75,000 to

further develop and implement the project in the field. The competition

will be judged by the National Academy of Engineering for design

innovation and technical merit along with relevant social, economic and

environmental considerations that are the keys to sustainable designs.

The P3 competition is open to teams of students attending colleges,

universities and other post-secondary educational institutions.

Interdisciplinary teams are strongly encouraged, including

representatives from multiple engineering departments and/or departments

of chemistry, architecture, industrial design, economics, policy, social

sciences, business, communication, etc.

The grants will be awarded for research related to the P3 (People,

Prosperity, and the Planet) sustainability competition, a national

student design competition launched in 2004.

Proposals must reach EPA by December 21, 2006.  Application procedures

and materials for this year's grants:

http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2007/2007_p3_4thannual.html.

Details about the P3 competition: http://www.epa.gov/P3

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Altira Group is the leading energy venture capital firm making equity investments in energy technology, with an investment focus on natural resources, clean energy and electric power.   Altira was founded in 1996 and has recently closed its fifth venture fund.  Altira is seeking exceptional individuals with the background, motivation and entrepreneurial drive to participate in growing the leading energy technology venture capital firm to its next level.  Candidates considering applying for any position should be well qualified, hard working and dedicated to growing themselves professionally in a team oriented, collaborative environment.  Candidates should have the following:

 

Qualifications:

·        Applicable work experience

·        Preferred technical undergraduate degree

·        Preference for operational experience with exposure to private equity

·        Superior financial/analytical skills and strategic aptitude

·        Strong interpersonal skills

·        MBA from a top graduate program or equivalent operational and investment experience

·        Desire to work and grow in a small, collaborative work environment

 

For more information, visit www.altiragroup.com

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7.  Job:  Technology Strategy and Management Consultant for Navigant, Boston

Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: NCI) is a specialized leading independent consulting firm providing litigation, financial, restructuring, energy, healthcare and operational consulting services to government agencies, legal counsel and large companies facing the challenges of uncertainty, risk, distress and significant change.

Position Description:

This consultant position will be part of a team that assists leading energy-related organizations (including utilities, energy companies, government organizations and equipment suppliers) create innovation and exploit technology across the full spectrum of their activities, from setting strategy to developing and deploying cutting-edge products and applications.

The Technology Strategy and Management Consultant is a position within NCI's Energy Practice and will assist the team by:

- Assessing technologies and analyzing technology trends

- Modeling the cost and performance of advanced technologies

- Assessing U.S. and international market opportunities

- Analyzing business models and processes and suggesting ways to enhance them

- Developing technology strategies for utilities, government, energy companies, and equipment suppliers

- Building business plans (including new technology deployment and commercialization strategies)

- Communicating solutions and new strategies to clients through reports and presentations

Responsibilities:

- Provide detailed fact finding, research, and analysis on energy-related activities

- Perform technology assessments; statistical and economic analyses; data collection; spreadsheet creation and management

- Prepare reports, presentations and other documents for clients

- Present results of assigned tasks and analyses to clients

- Interview business managers, technology experts and public policy officials

- Work effectively with colleagues and client staff as part of a project team, and work independently as needed

Candidate Qualifications and Attributes:

- Strong interest in the following areas: renewable energy, energy efficiency, distributed generation, electricity transmission and distribution, and advanced technologies

- Masters preferred, with Bachelors in an Engineering, Science, or other quantitative discipline

- 0 to 2 years of Energy or Consulting experience, 0 to 5 years of work experience

- Outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills

- Excellent verbal and written communication skills

- Superior interpersonal skills

- High degree of self-confidence and determination

- Highly developed organization and management skills

- Ability to manage multiple time-sensitive priorities without diminished effectiveness

- Demonstrated proficiency with spreadsheets, databases, word processing, and slide presentation software

- Ability to travel and to work overtime hours as needed

The location for this position is at Navigant Consulting's Burlington, MA office in suburban Boston.  If you are interested, please email a cover letter and resume to Steven Tobias, stobias@navigantconsulting.com.

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The California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE), at the

University of California Office of the President (UCOP), plans and

manages public interest energy research and development.  CIEE's major

focus is to support the California Energy Commission (CEC) in carrying

out its Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program.

This position will serve as the Director of the PIER Renewables Research

Program at the CEC, and will be responsible for implementing State and

Commission energy policy in both the planning and management of the

Program, working within the University of California framework and in

close partnership with the CEC.  The Director will be responsible for

initiating, organizing, and providing effective leadership for the

Program, including developing and fostering a robust public interest

research portfolio, providing financial and programmatic oversight, and

managing critical relationships with CEC/PIER, regulatory agencies,

California utilities, researchers, renewable energy advocacy and

industry groups, and other key program stakeholders.

The UC Office of the President, in Oakland, is the corporate

headquarters to the ten University of California campuses, five medical

centers, and three Department of Energy National Labs.  This position is

located in Sacramento.

 For a complete job description or to apply

for this position, please visit the University of California, Office of

the President website http://www.ucop.edu

and click "jobs" in the menu bar at the top of

the page.

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The University of Wisconsin, Madison, is searching for a new

faculty member in the areas of the “Global Environmental Change,

Natural Resources and Human Well-being” as part of a campus-wide

initiative in global sustainability and international environmental

affairs.

We seek an outstanding scholar who examines the linkages between

global environmental issues (including such issues as land use /

land cover change, climate change, atmospheric pollution, loss of

biodiversity), the state of crucial natural resources (such as

freshwater systems, agricultural lands, forests and timber

resources, fisheries, biological reserves) and issues of human well-

being and health (air and water quality, risk of natural hazards,

emerging diseases, food and water security).  For example, topics

of interest include:

- Changing global environmental conditions and the emergence of

disease

- Connections between atmospheric chemistry, air pollution and

human health

- Urban environment systems

- Environmental change and natural disasters

- Effects of global environmental change on freshwater resources or

agriculture

- Vulnerability / resilience of human-environment systems to

environmental change

- Application of system dynamics, modeling or environmental

informatics to problem solving

We will consider applicants from a broad range of backgrounds,

including (but not limited to) epidemiology and environmental /

public health, environmental science, global change, ecology,

geography, earth and atmospheric sciences, and environmental

informatics.  Scientists who explore connections to the social

sciences and policy aspects of their work are especially

encouraged.  We are also especially eager to enhance campus

diversity and to forge new international research collaborations.

The position will be based in a new interdisciplinary research and

graduate training center – the Center for Sustainability and the

Global Environment (SAGE), which is part of the campus’ Nelson

Institute for Environmental Studies.  Teaching, research and

service responsibilities will be shared between the Nelson

Institute and other appropriate departments on campus (which will

be negotiated to best suit the candidate’s interests).  We expect

that the faculty members will be hired at the Assistant Professor

(tenure-track) level. In exceptional cases, we may consider

candidates for the Associate or Full Professor levels.

Consideration of applicants will begin on November 1, 2006.  For

full consideration, applicants should submit the following

materials by that date: (1) a current curriculum vitae, including a

complete list of publications; (2) a personal statement discussing

the candidate’s research, teaching and outreach philosophy, and how

these would fit into a framework of collaborative,

interdisciplinary scholarship; and (3) three letters of reference.

All application materials must be sent electronically.  Cover

letters, curriculum vitae and personal statements should be sent as

a single PDF file (no more than 3 mbytes).  Copies of the

candidate’s publications are not needed.  Letters of reference must

be sent electronically, as plain text, a Microsoft Word file or a

PDF document; paper copies cannot be accepted.  All materials must

be sent to jfoley@wisc.edu.

Inquiries about the position may be directed to Prof. Jonathan

Foley, Director – Center for Sustainability and the Global

Environment, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University

of Wisconsin (email: jfoley@wisc.edu).

For a more complete description of the position and the campus-wide

initiative in global sustainability and international environmental

affairs please visit http://www.sage.wisc.edu/cluster.

--

Prof. Jon Foley, Director

Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE)

Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

University of Wisconsin, Madison

1710 University Avenue

Madison, WI 53726

jfoley@wisc.edu (email) -- www.sage.wisc.edu (web)

608.265.9119 (phone)