Bob Goozner's Solar Review

Bicycles in Berlin

    My recent vist to Berlin gave me an inkling the future of transportation in a world where energy is very expensive. First, Berlin has a very extensive and efficient public transportation network. It is possible to reach any point in Berlin by subway, streetcar or bus. You never see anyone running for the bus or train in Berlin because there is always another one coming along in a couple of minutes. Although admittedly since Berlin is the capitol, the city gets more funding for public transportation than other cities in Germany.

    However, the most notable aspect of transportation in Berlin is the pervasive presence of bicycles. Bicycles are in use and are tied up everywhere, for example, as can be seen from this picture taken at the corner of the extremely trendy Bergmannstrasse and Mehringdamm in Kreutzberg.

BICYCLES IN BERLIN

    Berlin is also very flat (except for one or two places like Prenzlauer Berg), and it is easy to bicycle everywhere. The city has layed out bicycle paths in red brick, and I even saw special stop lights for bicycles.

    I also became a bicycle person in Berlin and rented a bike from Fat Tire, who gave me a 3 speed bike (that's all the gears you need in Berlin) for 57 Euros for 1 week. I even went to the trademark convention and business appointments in my nice business suit on the bike, and I was not the only person in a business suit to be seen on a bike.

    As a result, I was getting around the city using a minimum of energy. Another advantage is the biofuel necessary for bicycle transportation, below.

TRAILS END IN BERLIN

    This beer was so pretty it took me awhile before I could bring myself to drink it.

    After the trademark convention was over I had a couple of free days for R&R. On the last day I spent 7 hours on the bicycle and went all over the city, which has a great deal of history, some of it very bad. I also managed to see some old friends.

    Now that I am back in the D.C. area, I am thinking about getting organized to bicycle to work. Although it is 10 miles from my home in Arlington to my office in Alexandria, there are extensive bike paths and a substantial amount of the way (besides the Potomac river) is flat.

    As this new age of expensive energy continues, I expect to see much more use of bicycles for transportation in the U.S.A.

    Robert E. Goozner - May 30, 2008

Publication Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. Today, the USPTO issued 6,640 publications.

    Of the 6,640 publications issued today,

    42 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    49 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   113 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology");

    9 contained the word "geothermal"; and

    9 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

    My favorite publication for today is from Oliver G. mayer et al. of General Electric, who developed a photovoltaic roof tile system.
.See: U.S Publication 20080121270.

Robert E. Goozner - May 29, 2008.

Driving in Europe

    During my trip to Europe I visited an old friend. He drove me in his car (an old Ford station wagen) to a restaurant for dinner. During the drive to the restaurant I noticed that his driving habits had changed since I last saw him, in response to gas now being 1.5 Euros per liter ($8.50 per gallon).

    First, I noticed that he turned to car off when stopped at a stop light. When the light turned green, he restarted the car. Also, he turned the car off when stopped in traffic.

    Then, while going down a grade he also turned the car off. At the bottom of the grade he put the car into third gear and popped the clutch to restart the car. These are all moves that mimic, to an extent, what my Prius hybrid does to save gas.

    Nonetheless, my friend complained that his car has gotten old and that he is plannig to buy a new car. I suggested a Prius but he felt that it was not big enough to hold all 5 in his family. As a result, he is planning to buy a new Audi.

    Even with very expensive gas he wants a big fast car. However, he takes public transportation to work. This means, that in the future (and maybe now), an automobile for this European guy will be a luxury that will only be taken out on weekends.

    Friday I'll talk about bicycles (which are ubiquitous) in Berlin.

    Robert E. Goozner - May 28, 2008

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. Today, the USPTO issued 3,828 patents.

    Of the 3,828 patents issued today,

   13 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    7 contained the phrase "solar cell";

    62 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology");

   6 contained the word "geothermal"; and

    4 contained the term "wind turbine".

    My favorite patent for today is that of Daniel P. Costin et al. of Northern Power Systems, who developed a lightning protection system for a wind turbine.
    See: USP 7,377,750.

    I'm back from my business trip to Germany (including the International Trademarks Association convention in Berlin). Tomorrow, I will write about driving habits when gasoline costs 1.5 Euros per liter, which is $8.50 per gallon.

    Robert E. Goozner - May 27, 2008

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. Today, the USPTO issued 3,817 patents.

    Of the 3,817 patents issued today,

   12 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    19 contained the phrase "solar cell";

    84 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology");

   2 contained the word "geothermal"; and

    3 contained the term "wind turbine".

    My favorite patent for today is that of Hans Lutze et al. of General Electric, who developed a wind farm and method for operating same.
    See: USP 7,327,173.

* * * * *

On The Road

    I will be out of the U.S. on a business trip to Europe (and a trademark convention) for the next two weeks. As a result, updates to this web page will be sporadic, at best, until I return.

      Robert E. Goozner - May 13, 2008

Gasoline Hits Record High in Europe

    The price of gasoline has reached record highs in Europe with super having exceeded the psychological barrier of 1.5 Euros per liter. That translates to about $8.50 per gallon. If you can read German, you can read the report in Spiegel Online. The article discusses calls for doing away with a green tax on gasoline, with the right wing/libertarian FDP calling for eliminating green and automobile taxes.

    On the other hand, the letters in response to the article (and there were alot of them, over 350) often see a silver lining to this cloud, pointing out that these high prices make photovoltaic energy less expensive than gasoline, and bringing the age of the plug-in hybrid closer to reality.

    Back in the USA, the dinosaurs writing the Wall Street Journal's editorial page today fulminated against against government support for alternative energy, claiming that fossil fuels are more cost effective than, say, wind power. The sum in question was $16 billion, which is peanuts compared to the cost of terrorism and the petro-war in Iraq, which has to-date cost in excess of $500 billion.

    Robert E. Goozner - May 12, 2008

Solar Energy Patents Increasing

I worked up the data for the last four quarters and have found that there is an increase in the number of U.S. patents containing the terms "photovoltaic" and "solar cell". The chart is below.

    The trend is especially noticeable for U.S. patents containing the term "photovoltaic", where there were 146 patents issued in the second quarter of 2007 and 180 patents issued during the first quarter of 2008, which represents a substantial increase of 23%.

    Robert E. Goozner - May 9, 2008

Publication Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. Today, the USPTO issued 5,191 publications.

    Of the 5,191 publications issued today,

    35 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    37 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   125 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology");

    10 contained the word "geothermal"; and

    8 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

    My favorite publication for today is from Stephen G. Pislak et al., who developed methods and systems for roofing shingles having photovoltaic modules integrated into the shingle.
.See: U.S Publication 20080105291.

Robert E. Goozner - May 8, 2008.

Springtime is for Proposals

Springtime is here and the government is getting ready to give away free money via the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR program). I found a good synopsis of the closing dates for a selection of government agencies, which I will print below.

Open Solicitations:

Program Opportunity	Closing Dates
EPA Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Program Solicitation	May 21, 2008
U.S. Department of Transportation Small Business Innovation Research Program PROGRAM SOLICITATION	June 3, 2008
NSF Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I Solicitation FY-2009 (SBIR)	June 10, 2008
DoD 2008.2 SBIR SOLICITATION Pre-release April 21, 2008 Accepting Proposals May 19, 2008	June 18, 2008
PHS 2008-02 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC, and FDA for Small Business Innovation Research Grant Applications (Parent SBIR)	April 5, 2008 Aug 5, 2008 Dec 5, 2008 AIDS Related: May 7, 2008 September 7, 2008 January 7, 2009
PHS 2008-02 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH for Small Business Technology Transfer Grant Applications (Parent STTR)	April 5, 2008 Aug 5, 2008 Dec 5, 2008 AIDS Related: May 7, 2008 September 7, 2008 January 7, 2009

In the field of energy (including alternative energy), the United States Department of Energy (DOE) has recently posted their grant winners for 2008, which can be found here.

Robert E. Goozner - May 7, 2008

Patent Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. Today, the USPTO issued 3,875 patents.

    Of the 3,875 patents issued today,

   19 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    14 contained the phrase "solar cell";

    58 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology");

   2 contained the word "geothermal"; and

    2 contained the term "wind turbine".

    My favorite patent for today is that of Dieter Gruen et al. of the United States Department of Energy, who developed high efficiency diamond solar cells.
    See: USP 7,368,658.

      Robert E. Goozner - May 6, 2008

Solar Investment Tax Credit in Jeopardy

I received an email from Brad Collins, Executive Director of the American Solar Energy Society, which I am reprinting below.

Dear Solar Supporter,

We have learned that leaders in Congress are planning to drop the renewable energy tax credit provisions, including the solar investment tax credit (ITC) extension, from the Iraq War Supplemental legislation. The Speaker's office had previously indicated that the Iraq War Supplemental - which is must-pass legislation - would contain a long-term ITC extension.

This is a serious setback and requires an immediate response from the solar energy community. Spending $110 billion for energy security in Iraq, but not supporting energy security in the United States is upside down energy policy.

Please let your members of Congress - both House and Senate - know that you want support for domestic, renewable energy sources to be a priority.

Studies show that if the Investment Tax Credit is not extended immediately, according to Navigant Consulting, 116,000 jobs and $20 billion in capital investment could be lost in 2009 alone.

The extension of the ITC recently passed the Senate in the Cantwell-Ensign Amendment by a vote of 88-8.

We have been asked by the Solar Energy Industry Association to tell House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid that the Iraq war supplemental must include a long-term extension of the ITC - for the future energy security of our country.

Here's How You Can Help:
Given that more than a quarter million jobs have been lost this year alone, please tell your U.S. Representative and your Senators that the Iraq War Supplemental must include a long-term extension of the ITC to generate jobs and promote energy security for Americans. Click here to find the phone numbers of their District offices.

Congress needs to find a way to extend the renewable energy tax credit. It can support this through the mechanism of the Iraq War Supplemental or by some other means. But Congress must find a way to move us toward energy security and local green-collar jobs.

Please contact your leaders in Congress and let your voice be heard. Then forward this email to your colleagues, friends, and others who support solar to urge them to do the same.

Brad Collins
Executive Director,
American Solar Energy Society

Also, the SOLAR 2008 conference is going on in San Diego on May 3-8, 2008. I am not attending because I will be in Europe for a couple of weeks this month on a business trip, and I have to stay in the office and wrap up lots of odds and ends before I leave.

Robert E. Goozner - May 5, 2008

Odds and Ends

        On the left coast, Norwegian automaker Think Global announced Monday it planned to sell low-priced electric cars to the masses and will introduce its first models in the U.S. by the end of next year. The battery-powered Think City will be able to travel up to 110 miles on a single charge, with a top speed of about 65 mph, the company said. It will be priced below $25,000. The company's US operation will probably by based in Carlfornia. Reported by Ken Bensinger in the Los Angeles Times.

    Also in Califorina, Safeway celebrated Earth Day by opeing two new solar powered stores, as reported in Business Wire.

    On the right coast, Morristown N.J. approved an ordinance to borrow up to $4.9 million to pay for the installation of a solar energy project at the Morristown Wastewater Treatment Plant in Cedar Knolls. The use of the panels should save the town $103,000 to $133,200 a year, and the town would see a payback of its investment in between five to 10 years, factoring in a rebate. As reported in Tony Soprano's favorite newspaper the Star Ledger.

    Accross the water in Europe, Spiegel's English site is proposing to cover the Sahara desert (at least in part) with solar cells to solve Europe's energy crisis. As reported by Jens Lubbadeh, the complaint is "So why is hardly anyone investing in it?" The answer to that Jens is that the Sahara desert is ruled by despots (think Libya and the Sudan) where there is no rule of law. If someone invests, the question is "How do I get my money out?" Once the instability is factored in, it is a better bet to have your solar cells in stable democratic Europe, even if the energy yield is lower. And who wants their energy supply controlled by Islamic despots? Freeing ourselves from dependence on these unsavory people is one of the driving forces of alternative energy. "Mining" these places for solar energy defeats the whole purpose.

    Robert E. Goozner - May 2, 2008

Publication Day

    The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. Today, the USPTO issued 6,231 publications.

    Of the 6,231 publications issued today,

    33 contained the word "photovoltaic";

    26 contained the phrase "solar cell";

   127 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology");

    8 contained the word "geothermal"; and

    5 contained the phrase "wind turbine".

    My favorite publication for today is from Thomas A. Ward of Moraga, Callifornia, who developed a hybird vehicle with an adjustable modular solar panel to increase charge.
See: U.S Publication 20080100258.

Robert E. Goozner - May 1, 2008.

Patent Attorney Office River-Vu

Patent Lawyer View

My law firm, Young & Thompson, moved into nice new offices at the northern edge of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Somehow I was given a prestigious (but not corner) office with a view of the Potomac river.

Although you can barely see it, the Alexandria boathouse is at the end of Madison street, and one can see the rowing team practice in the late afternoon.

AACHEN GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

The Goozner Solar Review arises from my long standing interest in all forms of alternative energy. This not only includes solar energy, but all kinds of energy that are non-carbon based. Above, you see me in front of the geothermal project at the University of Aachen (Germany). The geothermal energy is obtained by sinking a shaft about 1km straight into the ground, and exploiting the temperature gradient between the abyss and the surface. This shaft will supply most of the energy used by the University.

LINKS

Solar Decathlon	Department of Energy	Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy	National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
United States Patent And Trademark Office	Gooznews	Young & Thompsom