A research paper published by the Nature Conservancy is warning of expanded reliance renewable energy leading to a new phenomenon called “green sprawl”. While not critical of renewable energy development the paper’s authors point out that there is another side of the coin to consider as these less efficient means of producing energy resources requires devoting more physical space to accomplish it in.

The stated shift in U.S. energy policies, and the pending Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill,  will require changes in regulatory regimes for land use, and will also likely accompany a shift in power from state and local regulatory agencies to the Federal level. This is inevitable as the reliance on domestically produced renewable energy will demand Federal government oversight at the expense of states rights.

Another policy consequence of renewable energy development is going to be agriculture policy as it is unlikely that corn and soybean lobbies will back off political pressure to develop ethanol and biodiesel mandates as part of our evolving energy policy. With a finite amount of sustainable farm land and the economics of fuel crops over food crops will pull farm land away from food production to fuel production, leading to greater frequency and amplitude of price swings in the commodity markets.

The impact on agriculture policy is particularly interesting to consider when the substantial economic subsidies provided by the Federal government to farmers are taken into account. Will the shift from food crops to fuel crops drive Congress to pump more taxpayer dollars to farmers as an incentive for maintaining food crop production for domestic use and for export? Not only is this plausible, it’s entirely likely as a reduction in food exports would drive up the trade deficit, because the stated goal of domestic renewable energy production is to fuel domestic use.

This study points out what is widely known, ethanol, biodiesel, and burning of biomass for electricity are the most intense land users of all the available options. Essentially the problem is that if energy crop production occurs in land previously devoted to food crops, the resulting distortion of global commodity markets may drive less efficient agricultural expansion in far away places.

Habitat and wildlife disruption is also a consideration here as this report points out that the clearing of land represents only 3-5% of the total disruption imposed by wind turbine farms, with 95-97% of the disruption to wildlife occurring from habitat disruption, pattern avoidance and bird mortality from continuing operation of these turbine farms.

A perfect example of the tension that exists between renewable energy construction and environmental advocates is the recent bill proposed by Senator Feinstein that would create two national monuments in California’s Mojave Desert, which would have the effect of stopping development of 13 large solar and wind turbine projects currently under development. I ask you, if we can’t put a solar farm in the middle of the desert where can we put it?

This habitat disruption is not limited to wildlife either, here in California a landmark bill was signed into law that requires utilities to buy excess electricity generated by solar arrays installed on homes. It is projected that this law will generate a 3x expansion of solar in California.

Consider the implication of a dramatic expansion of solar arrays that reflect sunlight as much as consume it. Homeowners in the many hills of the Bay Area and Southern California could be faced with blinding reflected light as a result. In all major urban areas planning commissions require homeowners and commercial developers to take into account the immediate environmental impacts of their construction, which means that if my downhill neighbor want to a put a bleached white roof and a massive solar array on his roof and the result is a sustained intense glare reflected into my house, there is a process by which I can object and slow down the project with the strong potential for ultimately stopping it.

The report authors were diligent in pointing out that in any of the scenarios they studied, the actual increase in energy requirements by 2030 could be significantly mitigated by conservation measures. Related to that, improvements in efficiency of the full range of renewable energy solutions will also bring improvements.

Under every scenario the Nature Conservancy report considered the land use requirements were eye popping with at least 79.5 thousand square miles of area required by 2030, an area slightly larger than the entire state of Nebraska. Taking into account the transmission grid and supply chain contingencies for committing this large of an area, it is unconceivable that we would develop it as a single or even regional dense energy zone. What is more likely is that energy production would be broadly distributed in areas not accustomed to having these resources located close by.

As the U.S. moves to energy policy that emphasizes renewable energy development, we would be wise to consider the impacts on land use and agriculture policy as well as recognize that the relationship between state and federal governments cannot and should not be trampled in process.

Started in 2004 as a collaborative project between agricultural giant Cargill and Materia, a catalyst maker based on IP from the California Institute of Technology, Elevance Renewable Sciences has spun off to commercialize a promising technology that can transmute natural oils into other chemicals.

Elevance is capable of using a variety of feedstocks like soy and corn oil to form a variety of other chemicals, much as crude oil has been used for decades. The company says its products, which will include waxes, antimicrobials, derivative oils and lubricants, among others, are safer than crude oil-based alternatives.

The $40 million funding was led by TPG Growth and TPG Biotechnology Partners. Elevance is based in Lisle, Illinois.

Water cleaning, purification and desalination is becoming ever more important in the cleantech world. AqWise, like others, is touting a cheaper solution for treating water.

The Israel-based company has a biological film that it uses to filter waste water. Its Attached Growth Airlift Reactor systems can be deployed in existing treatment plants, which should help the company grow more rapidly.

The $3.6 million funding was provided by AHMSA Steel Israel Ltd, Elron Electronic Industries and Israel Cleantech Ventures.

Viryd is a spin-off of Fallbrook Technologies, which makes continuously variable transmission (CVT) technologies for bicycles. Installing a CVT on a bike allows for smooth and infinitely variable gearing, rather than a standard number like 10 or 21 gears.

Gearing changes are a point where energy is lost in standard transmissions, which makes the CVT a natural fit for a power generator with unsteady input like a wind turbine.

Trying to improve on the wind turbine market is far less common than other clean tech innovation, though. Commercial wind power is typically considered a somewhat more “mature” market, with a well-understood and developed technology without a lot of room for new innovation.

The $2.1 million funding came from private investors, and was reported by VentureWire (subscription required). Viryd is in the process of moving to San Antonio, Texas.

For the gearheads, here’s more, from a Popular Science article, on exactly how the original Fallbrook technology works:

“Twist a dial on the handlebar, and ball bearings in the bike’s NuVinci transmission tilt between two rotating metal discs. (Your pedaling turns one disc; the other transfers power to the rear wheel.) As the balls tilt, they touch the discs at varying angles. This changes how fast the wheel spins relative to your pedaling—slowly for low gear ratios, where pedaling is easy but the wheel doesn’t turn much, and quickly for high ratios. The balls can roll to almost any angle, giving you precise control over the bike’s torque…”

Ocean Renewable Power Co., a Fall River, Mass. company that uses ocean waves to generate electricity, is about to launch its first pilot turbine, and is reportedly in the process of raising $12 million in financing.

The news, reported this morning by VentureWire (subscription required), comes at a time when other efforts to do something similar have failed.

The three-year-old company expects to begin testing its underwater turbine prototype off the coast of Eastport, Maine, by the end of the year.

The company’s pilot is expected to generate about 14 to 25 kilowatts of electricity, but the company wants to reach a significant 20 megawatts within four years — which would consist of a number of turbines stacked together, VentureWire said.

The company said it will eventually require $40 million.

Although Firelake Capital was started to invest mainly in public cleantech companies, the firm has decided to open a new $100 million fund for private sector investments.

Managing director Martin Lagod told us that the firm’s focus on new technologies won’t change. Firelake is considering investments in energy distribution and generation, transportation, water and carbon mitigation technologies.

The firm’s original evergreen fund will no longer invest in the private sector, although it will maintain its position in over a dozen private companies (full list here).

The new fund, Strategic Technology Fund II, is expected to close in January. Firelake is based in Palo Alto, Calif.

Pesco (Pragmatic Environmental Solutions), a Roanoke, Virginia company that makes equipment to recycle oil and other polluting materials, merged with an Indian company to receive its first venture funding from a firm in that country.

The company has been around since 1991, and its owner projects $200 million in revenue in 2008. The Indian company it merged with is called Beam Solutions Ltd.

UTI Ventures, which is based in Bangalore, India, provided the entire $8 million in funding, which Pesco intends to use for rapid expansion. Its founder, Luke Staengle, told VentureWire (subscription required) that he’ll seek another $25-30 million round next year.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries opened a fund for clean technology research and investment during its most recent meeting.

Oil producers investing in cleantech in order to boost or streamline their own production isn’t entirely new. We recently reported on a Chevron fund that has multiple investments, including one in solar energy.

However, the OPEC fund is focused almost solely on carbon sequestration. The method preferred by oil producers involves pumping carbon back into oil wells, which can also help force out more oil.

Some oil miners hope to eventually earn carbon credits from carbon sequestration, while OPEC probably also has hopes of preemptively “greenwashing” its production as popular opinion turns against use of fossil fuels.

For a different take on carbon capture, read our post about Calera.