>>There is little doubt in my mind that Doyle is one of our greatest >>assets, as an investigative writer on these matters. >> >>Not mentioned is Shell's (and I think BP Amoco's) recent (very >>predictable? > >Yes. > >>) scaling-back of Solar-PV production, supposedly in >>response to market conditions.
I wanted to add something. A third Oil Company which has something to do with Solar Energy is Chevron-Texaco. This also ties in with my recent comments about their partnership with Energy Conversion devices in the Ovonic Nickel Metal Hydride Battery Efforts. This is because, while they own something like 50% of the Ovonic Joint Venture, they own 20% of the overall company (Energy Conversion Devices, ECD for short, but the stock symbol is ENER) stock, and ECD owns United Solar, one of the top 10 or 15 solar manufacturers (I haven't researched the hierarchy in awhile). Texaco did cash in on this, green PR-wise, a year or two ago with an announcement that they were installing quite a good amount of United Solar panels at one of their Oil installations (a field, a refinery? I don't recall) I think in California. The amount was I think in the hundreds of killowatts, and was certainly good news, regardless of whatever cynicism we may direct at Oil Company involvement in solar energy. I am not clear, these days, as to what someone really in-the-know would say to us about C-T and their affect (if any) on United Solar's business. United Solar makes some of the PV panels which serve as more-attractive de facto roof panels, but they may also make a more conventional type of PV as well. They have also been fighting for some sort of manufacturing innovation. One of the reasons I haven't read up on them in quite awhile is that their shareholders/fans tend to be so fanatical that it is difficult to get a word in edge-wise and is a giant turnoff for casual followers. So anyway, we have recent evidence that Shell and BP-Amoco seem to be cutting back solar PV production, and I have no evidence that Chevron-Texaco is doing the same, just mentioning that they have some involvement in the industry. I am not presently a shareholder. It was once mentioned to me by a C-T person that a primary reason for their decision to get into ECD was, going back a few years, ECD's hydrogen storage technology (for whatever reason, some of the materials that ECD works with, such as in their NiMH batteries, seem to lend themselves to a Hydride solid-stateish storage of Hydrogen atoms.... downsides seemed to be weight and that heating is required to trigger getting the H2 out, but it's been awhile). Honda, also, let us remember, announced getting into the solar business last year, but it is not clear to me if that is progressing. Thank goodness, in any case, for the Japanese and to some extent the Germans, with respect to progressive-mileage-technology vehicles and separately with respect to the Photovoltaic Industry. Without them, the Oil Industry would have less competition. Interesting that market conditions in Germany were cited by I think Shell as to a reason for their Solar cutbacks. I do have stock in an obscure German solar manufacturer. MM Biofuels at Journey to Forever http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel at WebConX http://webconx.green-trust.org/2000/biofuel/biofuel.htm List messages are archived at the Info-Archive at NNYTech: http://archive.nnytech.net/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
