The Week in CleanTech, Sunday Edition: The oil industry says possible damage from Hurricane Gustav may not be so bad — and is this the new Chevy Volt?

Gulf oil braces for Gustav: Industry analysts say that while a major strike by Gustav on the central Gulf Coast would cause disruptions in regional oil production, petroleum facilities are generally less vulnerable than just a few years ago. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita virtually shut down Gulf platforms and transit facilities in 2005, but since then, measure have been taken to harden both land-based and offshore installations. New rigs have been built higher and are better anchored, old platforms have been reinforced, and pipelines are now buried deeper to improve their survivability. Friday morning computer models of Gustav’s possible track have moved eastward, reducing the immediate danger to Texas and Louisiana facilities. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency moved Thursday to calm investor jitters by promising to release petroleum reserves in the case of major supply interruptions. (CNN Money)

FACTBOX - Energy and tax proposals in Obama speech: In his Thursday evening speech accepting the Democratic nomination for the Presidency, Barack Obama laid out his vision for energy reforms in the United States. Topping the list: a ten year, $150 billion investment in wind, solar, and biofuel development. Obama pledged to end U.S. dependence on Middle eastern oil within a decade, stepping up deployment of so-called “Clean Coal” technologies and nuclear power. The Illinois Senator promised aid to American automakers in the creation of smaller, more efficient vehicles, and said that green investment would yield up to 5 million high-quality jobs by 2018. (Reuters/EcoDiario.es)

Ford Spends $75 Million to Retool Michigan Truck Plant for Small Car Production: Ford Motor Company appears to be keeping its promise to retool truck and SUV assembly plants to produce a new generation of smaller vehicles. Company officials announced this week it will spend $75 million to convert a Michigan plant’s Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator line to produce their new C-Class passenger car. It’s a major project, and production isn’t expected until the 2010 model year. Ford says it will move to consolidate its model line, producing some of their successful European models in North America and Asian markets. (Treehugger)

Compressed-air storage coming to wind power: One of the traditional problems with windpower is producing base electricity — the juice which must be available to customers at all times, regardless of whether the wind happens to be blowing. Storing electrical energy on an industrial scale is not currently practical. But a New Jersey company thinks they have a solution: storing that energy in the form of compressed air. Energy Storage and Power plans to invest $20 million developing a system which would pump compressed air into underground caverns, such as depleted natural gas well or salt domes. The compressed air could then be released on demand to run turbines and generate electric power. (CNET)

BREAKING: Is this the production Chevy Volt in Transformers 2?: General Motors is expected to officially unveil the final production-ready prototypes of the Chevy Volt plug-in car sometime in September, but it appears their hand may already have been tipped. Autoblog Green has a gallery of video screen captures from the filming of the upcoming movie Transformers 2 which appears to show a production Volt in all its purple glory. The overall look is more streamlined than earlier concepts, and agrees with the small teaser photographs recently circulated by GM. (Autoblog Green)

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