May 13, 2010 10:26 AM PDT
by Candace Lombardi
Goat Hill North at Questa Mine in Taos County, New Mexico.
(Credit: Mining and Minerals Division of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department)
Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico in conjunction with Chevron is breaking ground Thursday on a 1-megawatt solar farm on land owned by Chevron Mining near Questa, N.M.
The concentrator photovoltaic systems (CPVs) are being provided by Concentrix Solar. The solar farm, which was originally announced in February, will provide power to the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative through a power purchase agreement it signed with Chevron. Kit Carson is an electricity cooperative that supplies power to rural New Mexico communities in Taos, Colfax, and Rio Arriba counties. The solar farm is scheduled to be up and running by the end of 2010.
But this is not the typical corporate-sponsored solar project. The solar farm actually represents a classic tale of mining, pollution, and the next generation's attempt to clean up for past sins, only with an added green tech twist. The solar farm project is actually the result of decades of complaints, investigations, community meetings, and lawsuits concerning serious water and soil pollution from the mine, according to The Taos News.
The mine, a significant source of employment for the area since the 1920s, is currently owned by Chevron Mining, a subsidiary of Chevron. Chevron inherited the mine in 2005 after a merger with Unocal, which already owned Molycorp, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The mine consists of an underground mine for the steel alloy molybdenum, which still operates today, as well as an open-pit mine that was in use between 1965 and 1983. After being accused by residents of polluting area soil and water, the mine eventually caught the notice of the EPA, which conducted a years-long investigation. The open-pit mining, which resulted in the "excavation and dumping of approximately 328 million tons of acid generating and potentially acid generating waste rock" into the environment, is thought to have contributed to the bulk of the pollution in the area, though insufficiently treated waste water from the molybdenum mine also contributed, according to the EPA.
The EPA issued a risk assessment report on "the Molycorp site" in August 2007 (PDF), and declared the area a Superfund site with a 122-page EPA plan for cleanup issued in December 2009 (PDF). The plan proposes a new water treatment plant for the existing molybdenum mine, as well as the removal of PCB-contaminated soil and collection of seepage-impacted ground water from the mine site; its tailing sites (land where the mine's slurry pipeline was laid and eventually leaked); and affected areas which include the Red River, a tributary of the Rio Grande.
As part of the cleanup effort proposed by the EPA, Chevron is installing a solar farm consisting of 175 solar panels across 20 acres on the tailing lands where contaminated soil and water is to be removed
Friday, May 28, 2010
Using a dairy farm to power your server farm
May 18, 2010 6:00 PM PDT
by Erica Ogg
What do 10,000 cows and diesel generators have in common?
Both have the ability to power a 1-megawatt data center. Diesel generators are already used for this purpose at some data center sites, though the energy source is not very environmentally friendly. On the other hand, 10,000 cows grazing a dairy farm produce 20,000 metric tons of manure each year that can be turned into methane gas and eventually electrical power.
That's according to researchers from HP Labs, who are presenting a paper on these findings at the ASME International Conference on Energy Sustainability in Phoenix on Wednesday.
The idea is this: As our demand grows for computing power and data storage, the capacity to power data centers is not keeping up properly. HP's goal is to use sustainable processes to build data centers that are self-sufficient. That is, build data centers whose power sources are from sustainable energy sources and whose heat output can be recycled and reused within that same data center.
(Credit: HP Labs)
As odd as it may sound, that's where the cows come in. The average dairy cow produces 55 kilograms of manure per day, or 20 metric tons per year. An individual cow's manure can generate 3 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy per day. (That alone could power television usage in three U.S. households on a daily basis.)
And on a farm with 10,000 cows, that amounts to enough energy to power a 1-megawatt data center, according to HP researchers.
"These farms already exist. Some already use the methane and (distribute) it elsewhere for local use," said Chandrakant Patel, one of the HP Labs researchers on the project. "We are suggesting that if you are starting to (look for a place to locate) a data center, now that high-speed networking is starting to extend into other areas, why not look at this opportunity where you cannot only use manure, but capture the energy right at the source?"
The process would work like this: farms already have a manure collection system. The biomass goes into an anaerobic digester, which breaks down the waste like a sewage treatment plant would. At this point in the process, methane gas is released. But in HP's vision, instead of a farm burning off that gas--one of the most dangerous greenhouse gases--the chemical energy in that methane could be converted into electrical energy to power the data center.
To complete the circle, the heat that the data center gives off is then reused as part of the energy needed to break down the biomass.
In India, for example, they are running out of power to keep the data centers that are being built there up and running. "In India they need diesel generators because the power grid can't keep up with the growth," said Patel, and there lies a golden opportunity for a dairy farmer. Patel points out, there could be some money to be made for the enterprising farmer who wants to recycle and use his cows' daily output for this purpose.
The cost to build a 1-megawatt data center is around $5 million. But it could generate around $2 million in revenue per year. So after two or three years, the builder would already make the investment back
by Erica Ogg
What do 10,000 cows and diesel generators have in common?
Both have the ability to power a 1-megawatt data center. Diesel generators are already used for this purpose at some data center sites, though the energy source is not very environmentally friendly. On the other hand, 10,000 cows grazing a dairy farm produce 20,000 metric tons of manure each year that can be turned into methane gas and eventually electrical power.
That's according to researchers from HP Labs, who are presenting a paper on these findings at the ASME International Conference on Energy Sustainability in Phoenix on Wednesday.
The idea is this: As our demand grows for computing power and data storage, the capacity to power data centers is not keeping up properly. HP's goal is to use sustainable processes to build data centers that are self-sufficient. That is, build data centers whose power sources are from sustainable energy sources and whose heat output can be recycled and reused within that same data center.
(Credit: HP Labs)
As odd as it may sound, that's where the cows come in. The average dairy cow produces 55 kilograms of manure per day, or 20 metric tons per year. An individual cow's manure can generate 3 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy per day. (That alone could power television usage in three U.S. households on a daily basis.)
And on a farm with 10,000 cows, that amounts to enough energy to power a 1-megawatt data center, according to HP researchers.
"These farms already exist. Some already use the methane and (distribute) it elsewhere for local use," said Chandrakant Patel, one of the HP Labs researchers on the project. "We are suggesting that if you are starting to (look for a place to locate) a data center, now that high-speed networking is starting to extend into other areas, why not look at this opportunity where you cannot only use manure, but capture the energy right at the source?"
The process would work like this: farms already have a manure collection system. The biomass goes into an anaerobic digester, which breaks down the waste like a sewage treatment plant would. At this point in the process, methane gas is released. But in HP's vision, instead of a farm burning off that gas--one of the most dangerous greenhouse gases--the chemical energy in that methane could be converted into electrical energy to power the data center.
To complete the circle, the heat that the data center gives off is then reused as part of the energy needed to break down the biomass.
In India, for example, they are running out of power to keep the data centers that are being built there up and running. "In India they need diesel generators because the power grid can't keep up with the growth," said Patel, and there lies a golden opportunity for a dairy farmer. Patel points out, there could be some money to be made for the enterprising farmer who wants to recycle and use his cows' daily output for this purpose.
The cost to build a 1-megawatt data center is around $5 million. But it could generate around $2 million in revenue per year. So after two or three years, the builder would already make the investment back
Wastewater-to-fertilizer plant captures nutrients
May 23, 2010 6:00 AM PDT
by Martin LaMonica
Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies later this week will dedicate a system that converts wastewater from sewage-treatment plants into fertilizer while recycling valuable phosphorus and nitrogen.
On Thursday, the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) in Suffolk, Va., will host the official opening of the facility, the second commercial-scale plant to use Ostara's technology. Long-time clean water advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is an investor in the company through his involvement with VantagePoint Venture Partners, will be a speaker at the event.
Ostara's reactors isolates nutrients from wastewater at sewage treatment plants to make fertilizer. Because of environmental regulations, some wastewater treatment plants separate nutrients using bacteria to prevent them from being discharged into waterways. Ostara's technology can be added to these plants to convert the separated wastewater into a sellable product called Crystal Green, explained Ostara CEO Phillip Abrary.
Instead of treating that wastewater with chemicals and disposing of the solids, the HRSD facility has installed three vessels that take in wastewater and mix it with the salt magnesium chloride. Water moves upward into the cone-shaped tank, called a fluidized bed reactor, which prevents the solid material from settling and causes crystals to form through a chemical reaction.
The white crystals are ammonium magnesium phosphate, which is sold as high-phosphate fertilizer pellets to nurseries, turf, and specialty agricultural companies. The technology, which can capture about 85 percent of the available nutrients, can also be used in plants where nutrient build-up is a problem, said Abrary.
In Virginia, these reactors will replace a process that relies on adding chemicals to the wastewater. The sale of fertilizer, handled by Ostara, will finance the sale of equipment and operations. Ostara's first facility in Oregon also purchased the equipment and projects a payback in five years, Abrary said.
The key to the technology, which was originally developed at the University of British Columbia, is the shape of the reactor, which allows the company to make crystals that can be sold as slow-release fertilizer, he said.
In addition to dealing with nutrient run-off, the technology helps preserve phosphorus, which is mined from Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and China, where the majority of reserves are found.
"Discharging nutrients is not a good thing and there are more and more regulations coming," Abrary said. "Phosphorus is a nonrenewable resource that's absolutely necessary. If you don't have phosphorus, you can't grow things."
The facility in Virginia will be able to produce about 500 tons of fertilizer product a year, which is a sliver of the 35 million tons of phosphates sold every year. Because the company's technology is a relatively efficient way to capture the nutrients in waste, Abrary said the company has a significant pipeline of projects under discussion, including one in Pennsylvania where Ostara would own and operate the facility itself.
"The technology is proven, the market believes that it works because it's a chemical process," he said. "The biggest barrier is that many customers are municipal organizations that just don't react as quickly as the private sector."
by Martin LaMonica
Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies later this week will dedicate a system that converts wastewater from sewage-treatment plants into fertilizer while recycling valuable phosphorus and nitrogen.
On Thursday, the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) in Suffolk, Va., will host the official opening of the facility, the second commercial-scale plant to use Ostara's technology. Long-time clean water advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is an investor in the company through his involvement with VantagePoint Venture Partners, will be a speaker at the event.
Ostara's reactors isolates nutrients from wastewater at sewage treatment plants to make fertilizer. Because of environmental regulations, some wastewater treatment plants separate nutrients using bacteria to prevent them from being discharged into waterways. Ostara's technology can be added to these plants to convert the separated wastewater into a sellable product called Crystal Green, explained Ostara CEO Phillip Abrary.
Instead of treating that wastewater with chemicals and disposing of the solids, the HRSD facility has installed three vessels that take in wastewater and mix it with the salt magnesium chloride. Water moves upward into the cone-shaped tank, called a fluidized bed reactor, which prevents the solid material from settling and causes crystals to form through a chemical reaction.
The white crystals are ammonium magnesium phosphate, which is sold as high-phosphate fertilizer pellets to nurseries, turf, and specialty agricultural companies. The technology, which can capture about 85 percent of the available nutrients, can also be used in plants where nutrient build-up is a problem, said Abrary.
In Virginia, these reactors will replace a process that relies on adding chemicals to the wastewater. The sale of fertilizer, handled by Ostara, will finance the sale of equipment and operations. Ostara's first facility in Oregon also purchased the equipment and projects a payback in five years, Abrary said.
The key to the technology, which was originally developed at the University of British Columbia, is the shape of the reactor, which allows the company to make crystals that can be sold as slow-release fertilizer, he said.
In addition to dealing with nutrient run-off, the technology helps preserve phosphorus, which is mined from Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and China, where the majority of reserves are found.
"Discharging nutrients is not a good thing and there are more and more regulations coming," Abrary said. "Phosphorus is a nonrenewable resource that's absolutely necessary. If you don't have phosphorus, you can't grow things."
The facility in Virginia will be able to produce about 500 tons of fertilizer product a year, which is a sliver of the 35 million tons of phosphates sold every year. Because the company's technology is a relatively efficient way to capture the nutrients in waste, Abrary said the company has a significant pipeline of projects under discussion, including one in Pennsylvania where Ostara would own and operate the facility itself.
"The technology is proven, the market believes that it works because it's a chemical process," he said. "The biggest barrier is that many customers are municipal organizations that just don't react as quickly as the private sector."
Micromidas to test sludge-to-plastic tech
May 27, 2010 7:58 AM PDT
by Martin LaMonica
Later this year, start-up Micromidas plans to test how well an army of microbes can convert sludge from wastewater treatment plants into a biodegradable plastic.
The Sacramento, Calif.-based company, which raised $3.6 million last month in series A venture funding, expects to start pilot testing a waste-to-plastic machine at its labs within a month. Then in about five months it hopes to take that biorefinery, which can fit in a shipping container, to a wastewater treatment plant, said CEO and founder John Bissell.
(Credit: Micromidas) Because it's still early in development, the company doesn't know how much the system will cost compared to making the plastic polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) from glucose or fructose. But if successful, the system will be valuable to wastewater treatment facilities where as much as 40 percent of operating costs stem from handling sewage sludge, Bissell said.
Micromidas is one of a number of companies trying to create something valuable from waste. In another example, Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies on Thursday is opening a facility to convert wastewater into a fertilizer, which reduces the amount of nutrient run-off to waterways.
In the case of Micromidas, the company is using the carbon in sewage sludge as a feedstock to make plastic. "There are a bunch of nutrients available, which we feed to our microbes which consume it and then aggregate it," Bissell explained. "They eat it, they get fat, we kill them, and then we harvest the material."
Rather than genetically engineering one "superbug," the company uses a combination of microbes to essentially eat and digest portions of the sludge, Bissell said. The population can be adjusted for different facilities, which vary significantly, he said.
Micromidas is taking advantage of Autodesk's Clean Tech Partner program, in which the design and engineering software company makes its products available for free to qualifying clean-tech start-ups.
Using simulation software Algor, Micromidas' chemical engineers can "digitally experiment" with how different processes will work with a different population of microbes, Bissell said.
by Martin LaMonica
Later this year, start-up Micromidas plans to test how well an army of microbes can convert sludge from wastewater treatment plants into a biodegradable plastic.
The Sacramento, Calif.-based company, which raised $3.6 million last month in series A venture funding, expects to start pilot testing a waste-to-plastic machine at its labs within a month. Then in about five months it hopes to take that biorefinery, which can fit in a shipping container, to a wastewater treatment plant, said CEO and founder John Bissell.
(Credit: Micromidas) Because it's still early in development, the company doesn't know how much the system will cost compared to making the plastic polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) from glucose or fructose. But if successful, the system will be valuable to wastewater treatment facilities where as much as 40 percent of operating costs stem from handling sewage sludge, Bissell said.
Micromidas is one of a number of companies trying to create something valuable from waste. In another example, Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies on Thursday is opening a facility to convert wastewater into a fertilizer, which reduces the amount of nutrient run-off to waterways.
In the case of Micromidas, the company is using the carbon in sewage sludge as a feedstock to make plastic. "There are a bunch of nutrients available, which we feed to our microbes which consume it and then aggregate it," Bissell explained. "They eat it, they get fat, we kill them, and then we harvest the material."
Rather than genetically engineering one "superbug," the company uses a combination of microbes to essentially eat and digest portions of the sludge, Bissell said. The population can be adjusted for different facilities, which vary significantly, he said.
Micromidas is taking advantage of Autodesk's Clean Tech Partner program, in which the design and engineering software company makes its products available for free to qualifying clean-tech start-ups.
Using simulation software Algor, Micromidas' chemical engineers can "digitally experiment" with how different processes will work with a different population of microbes, Bissell said.
Nissan: Electric cars could shed government aid in four years
May 27, 2010 12:03 AM PDT
by Reuters
Nissan Motor and alliance partner Renault could market electric vehicles without government incentives within four years as global sales reach 500,000 to 1 million vehicles per year, executives said on Wednesday.
Nissan, which is introducing a mass-market Leaf electric car later this year, needs government incentives to spark initial demand but understands those incentives will not be permanent, Nissan-Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET) "You need to jump-start electric cars at a certain level so that we can get scale, and the scale will allow us to reduce costs," Ghosn told reporters after a groundbreaking at a plant in Tennessee that will produce the Leaf and its battery.
"We think that scale for us is between 500,000 and 1 million cars a year," he said. "When you get between 500,000 and 1 million cars per year, we don't need government support."
Nissan-Renault could have as many as eight electric vehicles between them within a few years, allowing the companies to reach the scale that would make the government incentives unnecessary, executives said.
"We believe we will need two to four years of incentives and supports to reach the level of volume that will free up the cost reductions that we need to implement," said Carlos Tavares, Nissan's chief of the Americas.
Tavares expects the cost of batteries used in the Leaf and other electric vehicles to come down sharply within four years for Nissan and Renault.
Nissan broke ground on a $1.7 billion project to expand its assembly plant in Smyrna and build an adjacent lithium-ion battery plant that will be one of the biggest in North America. The facilities are expected to create 1,300 jobs.
Tavares said Nissan has an edge in battery development by being first in the industry to introduce a mass-market electric vehicle in late 2010 in Japan, the United States, and Europe.
The first Leaf vehicles and their lithium-ion batteries are being built in Japan.
When it is fully functioning, the Smyrna plant will be able to produce 150,000 Leaf electric cars per year. The new battery plant will have the capacity to produce 200,000 battery packs.
Nissan has not said yet whether the additional battery capacity would be used for a different electric vehicle within the Nissan or Renault family. Nissan has said it would be open to selling the batteries to other automakers.
The Nissan plant investment was supported with $1.4 billion of U.S. Energy Department loans.
Nissan started taking orders for the Leaf in April. It had about 13,000 fully refundable orders in the United States as of Tuesday and 6,000 in Japan.
"We have enough capacity to start the mass marketing of electric cars, but if we see when December comes that the hand-raising and pre-orderings transform fully to sales, we are going to have to make a decision about adding additional capacity," Ghosn said.
by Reuters
Nissan Motor and alliance partner Renault could market electric vehicles without government incentives within four years as global sales reach 500,000 to 1 million vehicles per year, executives said on Wednesday.
Nissan, which is introducing a mass-market Leaf electric car later this year, needs government incentives to spark initial demand but understands those incentives will not be permanent, Nissan-Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET) "You need to jump-start electric cars at a certain level so that we can get scale, and the scale will allow us to reduce costs," Ghosn told reporters after a groundbreaking at a plant in Tennessee that will produce the Leaf and its battery.
"We think that scale for us is between 500,000 and 1 million cars a year," he said. "When you get between 500,000 and 1 million cars per year, we don't need government support."
Nissan-Renault could have as many as eight electric vehicles between them within a few years, allowing the companies to reach the scale that would make the government incentives unnecessary, executives said.
"We believe we will need two to four years of incentives and supports to reach the level of volume that will free up the cost reductions that we need to implement," said Carlos Tavares, Nissan's chief of the Americas.
Tavares expects the cost of batteries used in the Leaf and other electric vehicles to come down sharply within four years for Nissan and Renault.
Nissan broke ground on a $1.7 billion project to expand its assembly plant in Smyrna and build an adjacent lithium-ion battery plant that will be one of the biggest in North America. The facilities are expected to create 1,300 jobs.
Tavares said Nissan has an edge in battery development by being first in the industry to introduce a mass-market electric vehicle in late 2010 in Japan, the United States, and Europe.
The first Leaf vehicles and their lithium-ion batteries are being built in Japan.
When it is fully functioning, the Smyrna plant will be able to produce 150,000 Leaf electric cars per year. The new battery plant will have the capacity to produce 200,000 battery packs.
Nissan has not said yet whether the additional battery capacity would be used for a different electric vehicle within the Nissan or Renault family. Nissan has said it would be open to selling the batteries to other automakers.
The Nissan plant investment was supported with $1.4 billion of U.S. Energy Department loans.
Nissan started taking orders for the Leaf in April. It had about 13,000 fully refundable orders in the United States as of Tuesday and 6,000 in Japan.
"We have enough capacity to start the mass marketing of electric cars, but if we see when December comes that the hand-raising and pre-orderings transform fully to sales, we are going to have to make a decision about adding additional capacity," Ghosn said.
Some Wisconsin, Ohio students to get hybrid buses
May 27, 2010 11:18 AM PDT
by Candace Lombardi
IC Bus' CE Series hybrid school bus.
(Credit: Navistar) IC Bus, one of the largest school bus manufacturers in the U.S., has been commissioned to build 16 hybrid-electric school buses to be used by some Wisconsin and Ohio school districts.
The Illinois-based company is a subsidiary of international truck manufacturer Navistar, which has also unveiled a series of hybrid and all-electric vehicles for the trucking industry. In August 2009, Navistar received a $39 million federal grant to develop and manufacture all-electric vehicles in Elkhart County, Ind.
The CE Series hybrid yellow bus has an electric drivetrain from Enova Systems and an electric-power propulsion system from Valence Technology. It has regenerative braking, and is offered as a plug-in hybrid or a gas-electric hybrid without the plug-in option. IC Bus estimates its hybrid bus offers 65 percent better fuel economy and a reduction of 39 percent emissions compared to the average diesel school bus.
The bus order was made possible through grant programs from the U.S. government, according to Enova.
In addition to the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean School Bus USA program, federal and state governments are offering a variety of grant options and tax credits for school districts to retrofit school buses or replace them with entirely new models in an effort to offer cleaner transportation to America's young lungs.
Because of the grants, more orders for hybrid buses for school districts across the country are expected to be placed, despite struggling school budgets.
"Several states and school districts have expressed interest in expanding their hybrid school bus fleets. This interest should continue to grow as more tax credits and incentives become available to ease the transition to hybrid school buses," Enova said in a statement.
by Candace Lombardi
IC Bus' CE Series hybrid school bus.
(Credit: Navistar) IC Bus, one of the largest school bus manufacturers in the U.S., has been commissioned to build 16 hybrid-electric school buses to be used by some Wisconsin and Ohio school districts.
The Illinois-based company is a subsidiary of international truck manufacturer Navistar, which has also unveiled a series of hybrid and all-electric vehicles for the trucking industry. In August 2009, Navistar received a $39 million federal grant to develop and manufacture all-electric vehicles in Elkhart County, Ind.
The CE Series hybrid yellow bus has an electric drivetrain from Enova Systems and an electric-power propulsion system from Valence Technology. It has regenerative braking, and is offered as a plug-in hybrid or a gas-electric hybrid without the plug-in option. IC Bus estimates its hybrid bus offers 65 percent better fuel economy and a reduction of 39 percent emissions compared to the average diesel school bus.
The bus order was made possible through grant programs from the U.S. government, according to Enova.
In addition to the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean School Bus USA program, federal and state governments are offering a variety of grant options and tax credits for school districts to retrofit school buses or replace them with entirely new models in an effort to offer cleaner transportation to America's young lungs.
Because of the grants, more orders for hybrid buses for school districts across the country are expected to be placed, despite struggling school budgets.
"Several states and school districts have expressed interest in expanding their hybrid school bus fleets. This interest should continue to grow as more tax credits and incentives become available to ease the transition to hybrid school buses," Enova said in a statement.
Wave-powered desalination pump permitted in Gulf
May 28, 2010 8:52 AM PDT
by Martin LaMonica
The waters of the Gulf of Mexico will see a novel offshore platform later this year, one that will use wave power to desalinate water.
Independent Natural Resources, which makes the Seadog water pump, on Wednesday said that it has received a permit for a wave power generation facility off the coast of Freeport, Texas. The company says it's the first to receive a "section 10 permit" from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to operate a wave generator in the U.S.
A picture of the planned offshore platform which would have underwater 18 pumps moving water through a water wheel to make electricity.
(Credit: Independent Natural Resources) The facility, which the company hopes to put in the water by the end of the year, will be a platform with 18 wave pumps underneath it. Each pump, which is about seven feet in diameter, will send water up through three water wheels connected to a generator. The electricity from the generator will be used to power a standard reverse osmosis desalination machine.
The wave energy generator is larger than Independent Natural Resource's prototype machines which it installed in 2007 but this new facility still won't be commercial scale. Instead, operators will be taking data to measure impact on sea life, the generator's performance, and the cost of operation, said Douglas Sandberg, the vice president of the privately funded company.
The platform will be about 150 feet by 75 feet in area and be 1 mile offshore to take advantage of swells. The pumps themselves, which are built from steel and off-the-shelf parts used for other equipment, will work 25 feet below the surface of the water.
The efficiency of the system in converting wave energy to electrical energy is about 22 percent but can get over 50 percent, Sandberg said. Rather than only convert the energy of an incoming wave, the pump also captures some of the potential energy of air movement in the pump, he explained. The electricity generated on board will be used to power the facility and desalinate 3,000 gallons of water a day for testing, although it's capable of doing 20 times that, according to the company.
Water energy connection
The company chose to work on desalination because the energy costs associated with running desalination plants are very high--as much as 40 percent or 50 percent of operating costs, according to Sandberg. It has set up a subsidiary to bottle water from Seadog pumps from future installations. But the technology can be used for municipal-scale desalination.
"Instead of having to build power plants to do desalination, we can build one facility that produces power, desalinates water, and delivers it, either for agriculture or drinking," he said. "You do have upfront capital cots but you do not have operating power costs."
A prototype of the Seadog pump being installed in the Gulf of Mexico in 2007.
(Credit: Independent Natural Resources) The pump can be used with different types of generators, including a standard water-powered turbine. The company has a permit to operate for four years, during which it hopes to prove that the environmental impact is minimal. In areas with a good wave resource such as Ireland, Sandberg said the Seadog pumps can be competitive with wind power and "in line" with fossil fuel power generation.
Ocean power generators that take advantage of wave motion or currents have potential to produce a significant amount of electricity, but the technology faces a number of challenges. Generally, these machines are put in harsh conditions, making maintenance--and cost--a big concern. Also, there's a long permitting process as data needs to be gathered on the environmental impact.
Still, there are a number of companies and researchers pushing ahead on wave or tidal power. Late last year, Aquamarine Power connected a giant, clamshell-shaped device that pumps water from off the coast of Scotland to a water generator. Last week, the company unveiled its second-generation machine, which it hopes to have installed off the Orkney Islands in mid 2011
by Martin LaMonica
The waters of the Gulf of Mexico will see a novel offshore platform later this year, one that will use wave power to desalinate water.
Independent Natural Resources, which makes the Seadog water pump, on Wednesday said that it has received a permit for a wave power generation facility off the coast of Freeport, Texas. The company says it's the first to receive a "section 10 permit" from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to operate a wave generator in the U.S.
A picture of the planned offshore platform which would have underwater 18 pumps moving water through a water wheel to make electricity.
(Credit: Independent Natural Resources) The facility, which the company hopes to put in the water by the end of the year, will be a platform with 18 wave pumps underneath it. Each pump, which is about seven feet in diameter, will send water up through three water wheels connected to a generator. The electricity from the generator will be used to power a standard reverse osmosis desalination machine.
The wave energy generator is larger than Independent Natural Resource's prototype machines which it installed in 2007 but this new facility still won't be commercial scale. Instead, operators will be taking data to measure impact on sea life, the generator's performance, and the cost of operation, said Douglas Sandberg, the vice president of the privately funded company.
The platform will be about 150 feet by 75 feet in area and be 1 mile offshore to take advantage of swells. The pumps themselves, which are built from steel and off-the-shelf parts used for other equipment, will work 25 feet below the surface of the water.
The efficiency of the system in converting wave energy to electrical energy is about 22 percent but can get over 50 percent, Sandberg said. Rather than only convert the energy of an incoming wave, the pump also captures some of the potential energy of air movement in the pump, he explained. The electricity generated on board will be used to power the facility and desalinate 3,000 gallons of water a day for testing, although it's capable of doing 20 times that, according to the company.
Water energy connection
The company chose to work on desalination because the energy costs associated with running desalination plants are very high--as much as 40 percent or 50 percent of operating costs, according to Sandberg. It has set up a subsidiary to bottle water from Seadog pumps from future installations. But the technology can be used for municipal-scale desalination.
"Instead of having to build power plants to do desalination, we can build one facility that produces power, desalinates water, and delivers it, either for agriculture or drinking," he said. "You do have upfront capital cots but you do not have operating power costs."
A prototype of the Seadog pump being installed in the Gulf of Mexico in 2007.
(Credit: Independent Natural Resources) The pump can be used with different types of generators, including a standard water-powered turbine. The company has a permit to operate for four years, during which it hopes to prove that the environmental impact is minimal. In areas with a good wave resource such as Ireland, Sandberg said the Seadog pumps can be competitive with wind power and "in line" with fossil fuel power generation.
Ocean power generators that take advantage of wave motion or currents have potential to produce a significant amount of electricity, but the technology faces a number of challenges. Generally, these machines are put in harsh conditions, making maintenance--and cost--a big concern. Also, there's a long permitting process as data needs to be gathered on the environmental impact.
Still, there are a number of companies and researchers pushing ahead on wave or tidal power. Late last year, Aquamarine Power connected a giant, clamshell-shaped device that pumps water from off the coast of Scotland to a water generator. Last week, the company unveiled its second-generation machine, which it hopes to have installed off the Orkney Islands in mid 2011
Thursday, May 27, 2010
FPL's `smart meters' put electric usage at your fingertips
FPL's `smart meters' put electric usage at your fingertips
With FPL's new meters, customers can measure their electricity consumption down to the hour.
BY STEPHANIE GENUARDI
sgenuardi@MiamiHerald.com
While shutting off your refrigerator from your cellphone may still be a dream, Florida Power & Light is taking the first step toward futuristic living.
FPL has installed 550,000 ``smart meters'' in Broward and Miami-Dade County homes, of which 140,000 have been activated, FPL executives told The Miami Herald this week.
FPL customers who have the meters will be able to access information online about their household energy consumption down to the month, week, day and hour once the devices are activated, typically three months after installation.
``Devices like this can't save you energy,'' said Bryan Olnick, FPL vice president of customer service. ``It's going to be up to you to turn off that switch. We can give you the information.''
But the hope is that in providing household energy usage information, customers will be motivated to decrease their consumption to reduce costs and subsequently conserve energy.
FPL hopes to complete installation for 750,000 Broward and 980,000 Miami-Dade customers by the first quarter of next year and then extend coverage to Palm Beach County and the company's other 4.5 million customers across Florida.
FPL is rolling out the smart meters based on company efficiencies, and customers cannot call and request a new meter on their own.
The efforts are being accelerated after FPL received a $200 million grant from the Department of Energy.
``The focus initially is all of our residential customers through 2013. The next phase is commercial, and the DOE grant is going to start that process,'' Olnick said.
Overall, the project is expected to cost $800 million. ``It's a big investment,'' Olnick said.
The project is part of a larger Energy Smart Florida initiative aimed at establishing a network of ``intelligent devices,'' which collect data that is sent to a diagnostic center to identify, troubleshoot and perhaps even prevent such issues as power outages and overheated, malfunctioning equipment.
The initiative is geared toward achieving ``less reliance on having to go out physically'' to remedy problems and access meter readings, explained Irene White, FPL's director of distribution.
As it is now, FPL employees travel to a property to get an energy reading then mail a bill to that customer with a single number signifying the customer's energy consumption for that month.
With smart meters, ``you can get an idea the fifth day of the month what your bill is going to look like,'' Olnick said. ``It seems like a very small device that could be really transformative.''
The big difference: The smart meter has a radio inside of it. The radio facilitates constant communication between FPL and the device, and thus FPL and its customers.
The company is even experimenting with communication between household appliances and the meters.
The device can be upgraded remotely, and if the power goes out, FPL can respond without a customer having to call in. The smart meter notifies FPL immediately.
The company currently has more than 100 employees installing the GE-manufactured devices; 110,000 more meters are expected to become activated over the next few weeks.
Once the meter is activated, the customer will receive a letter indicating the website where they can access their energy information. If the customer does not have access to a computer, they can call an FPL representative, who will relay the information over the phone.
``It's exciting,'' White said. ``We're all jazzed up about the smart meter.''
lmmd wrote on 05/27/2010 11:56:17 AM:
Replying to octopusm (05/27/2010 10:01:47 AM):
"No matter what the company does, the folks that posts in this forum have an attitude of "dam if you do, dam if you don't" towards anything FPL does. This is great article, we will have control of our power usage by finding by hour what our kilowatt consumption is and yet all you do is bring your...":
actually I think it is great but you've got to realize that the attitudes here are due to actions on FPL's part. The bare fact that Armando lives like a king and had helicopter use on the backs of the ratepayers will not be forgotten until he's gone.
And no, it isn't that easy to steal radio waves but it can be done. What you're ignoring and seem to apparently be ignorant of is that with the advent of wireless, knowledge and understanding of radio waves will become a lot more prevalent and so will the misuse of them.
Reply to this Comment Recommend (0) Report abuse
laureyssens wrote on 05/27/2010 11:39:12 AM:
Florida Power & Light the Electric Monopoly found something new to spent (steal)money.they charge 11.50 cent for the first 1000 kwh and 13.59 cent above for something costing just 3 cent,maximum 3,5 cent to produce the difference between 1000and above is just another way for them to make money because the alternators dont stop at 1000 or refuse to produce cheaply at 1000
I wonder how much it costed them to put the regulators asleep(bribe them)This monopolies have to be transformed from for profit corporations to COOP'S
rendering the Regulators and huge staff obsolete,contributing to the budget balance
Reply to this Comment Recommend (0) Report abuse
alcallejas wrote on 05/27/2010 10:52:04 AM:
Call me crazy, but I'd like to know when I'm using the most electricity....you may realize that you turning your AC down at night is costing you more than it's worth.
Reply to this Comment Recommend (0) Report abuse
furano2 wrote on 05/27/2010 10:39:27 AM:
Too bad for the grow houses. Now their power consumption can be monitored by DEA from a laptop instead of wasting helicopter gas every night. LOL.
Reply to this Comment Recommend (0) Report abuse
octopusm wrote on 05/27/2010 10:01:47 AM:
No matter what the company does, the folks that posts in this forum have an attitude of "dam if you do, dam if you don't" towards anything FPL does. This is great article, we will have control of our power usage by finding by hour what our kilowatt consumption is and yet all you do is bring your stupid ignorance to the table. I can't believe you folks, you can't steal radio waves that easily, they are encrypted. And I you have friends on other states or municipalities, ask them how much they pay for kilowatt hour, you find put they pay more. Let's give credit where credit is due.
lmmd wrote on 05/27/2010 08:44:21 AM:
I wonder how long before neighbors start stealing electricity from homeowners - no way are these devices safe.
BabyGirlChicago wrote on 05/27/2010 07:55:00 AM:
I wonder if FPL paid for this ad/story? Amazing what has happened to the media in this nation. For a few ads from the public school or FPL they sell their soul and become a soundboard for them.
wpozo wrote on 05/27/2010 01:18:15 AM:
This is just a way for power companies to charge higher rates during peak use. They say its for the environment and that is certainly a motivation but the real drive is the ability to charge higher rates during peak hours!
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/27/1650106/fpls-smart-meters-put-electric.html#ixzz0p99iSPPJ
With FPL's new meters, customers can measure their electricity consumption down to the hour.
BY STEPHANIE GENUARDI
sgenuardi@MiamiHerald.com
While shutting off your refrigerator from your cellphone may still be a dream, Florida Power & Light is taking the first step toward futuristic living.
FPL has installed 550,000 ``smart meters'' in Broward and Miami-Dade County homes, of which 140,000 have been activated, FPL executives told The Miami Herald this week.
FPL customers who have the meters will be able to access information online about their household energy consumption down to the month, week, day and hour once the devices are activated, typically three months after installation.
``Devices like this can't save you energy,'' said Bryan Olnick, FPL vice president of customer service. ``It's going to be up to you to turn off that switch. We can give you the information.''
But the hope is that in providing household energy usage information, customers will be motivated to decrease their consumption to reduce costs and subsequently conserve energy.
FPL hopes to complete installation for 750,000 Broward and 980,000 Miami-Dade customers by the first quarter of next year and then extend coverage to Palm Beach County and the company's other 4.5 million customers across Florida.
FPL is rolling out the smart meters based on company efficiencies, and customers cannot call and request a new meter on their own.
The efforts are being accelerated after FPL received a $200 million grant from the Department of Energy.
``The focus initially is all of our residential customers through 2013. The next phase is commercial, and the DOE grant is going to start that process,'' Olnick said.
Overall, the project is expected to cost $800 million. ``It's a big investment,'' Olnick said.
The project is part of a larger Energy Smart Florida initiative aimed at establishing a network of ``intelligent devices,'' which collect data that is sent to a diagnostic center to identify, troubleshoot and perhaps even prevent such issues as power outages and overheated, malfunctioning equipment.
The initiative is geared toward achieving ``less reliance on having to go out physically'' to remedy problems and access meter readings, explained Irene White, FPL's director of distribution.
As it is now, FPL employees travel to a property to get an energy reading then mail a bill to that customer with a single number signifying the customer's energy consumption for that month.
With smart meters, ``you can get an idea the fifth day of the month what your bill is going to look like,'' Olnick said. ``It seems like a very small device that could be really transformative.''
The big difference: The smart meter has a radio inside of it. The radio facilitates constant communication between FPL and the device, and thus FPL and its customers.
The company is even experimenting with communication between household appliances and the meters.
The device can be upgraded remotely, and if the power goes out, FPL can respond without a customer having to call in. The smart meter notifies FPL immediately.
The company currently has more than 100 employees installing the GE-manufactured devices; 110,000 more meters are expected to become activated over the next few weeks.
Once the meter is activated, the customer will receive a letter indicating the website where they can access their energy information. If the customer does not have access to a computer, they can call an FPL representative, who will relay the information over the phone.
``It's exciting,'' White said. ``We're all jazzed up about the smart meter.''
lmmd wrote on 05/27/2010 11:56:17 AM:
Replying to octopusm (05/27/2010 10:01:47 AM):
"No matter what the company does, the folks that posts in this forum have an attitude of "dam if you do, dam if you don't" towards anything FPL does. This is great article, we will have control of our power usage by finding by hour what our kilowatt consumption is and yet all you do is bring your...":
actually I think it is great but you've got to realize that the attitudes here are due to actions on FPL's part. The bare fact that Armando lives like a king and had helicopter use on the backs of the ratepayers will not be forgotten until he's gone.
And no, it isn't that easy to steal radio waves but it can be done. What you're ignoring and seem to apparently be ignorant of is that with the advent of wireless, knowledge and understanding of radio waves will become a lot more prevalent and so will the misuse of them.
Reply to this Comment Recommend (0) Report abuse
laureyssens wrote on 05/27/2010 11:39:12 AM:
Florida Power & Light the Electric Monopoly found something new to spent (steal)money.they charge 11.50 cent for the first 1000 kwh and 13.59 cent above for something costing just 3 cent,maximum 3,5 cent to produce the difference between 1000and above is just another way for them to make money because the alternators dont stop at 1000 or refuse to produce cheaply at 1000
I wonder how much it costed them to put the regulators asleep(bribe them)This monopolies have to be transformed from for profit corporations to COOP'S
rendering the Regulators and huge staff obsolete,contributing to the budget balance
Reply to this Comment Recommend (0) Report abuse
alcallejas wrote on 05/27/2010 10:52:04 AM:
Call me crazy, but I'd like to know when I'm using the most electricity....you may realize that you turning your AC down at night is costing you more than it's worth.
Reply to this Comment Recommend (0) Report abuse
furano2 wrote on 05/27/2010 10:39:27 AM:
Too bad for the grow houses. Now their power consumption can be monitored by DEA from a laptop instead of wasting helicopter gas every night. LOL.
Reply to this Comment Recommend (0) Report abuse
octopusm wrote on 05/27/2010 10:01:47 AM:
No matter what the company does, the folks that posts in this forum have an attitude of "dam if you do, dam if you don't" towards anything FPL does. This is great article, we will have control of our power usage by finding by hour what our kilowatt consumption is and yet all you do is bring your stupid ignorance to the table. I can't believe you folks, you can't steal radio waves that easily, they are encrypted. And I you have friends on other states or municipalities, ask them how much they pay for kilowatt hour, you find put they pay more. Let's give credit where credit is due.
lmmd wrote on 05/27/2010 08:44:21 AM:
I wonder how long before neighbors start stealing electricity from homeowners - no way are these devices safe.
BabyGirlChicago wrote on 05/27/2010 07:55:00 AM:
I wonder if FPL paid for this ad/story? Amazing what has happened to the media in this nation. For a few ads from the public school or FPL they sell their soul and become a soundboard for them.
wpozo wrote on 05/27/2010 01:18:15 AM:
This is just a way for power companies to charge higher rates during peak use. They say its for the environment and that is certainly a motivation but the real drive is the ability to charge higher rates during peak hours!
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/27/1650106/fpls-smart-meters-put-electric.html#ixzz0p99iSPPJ
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Study: Almost 5 million charging stations by 2015
May 26, 2010 9:30 AM PDT
by Lance Whitney
(Credit: Pike Research)
Drivers who buy electric cars will need a quick, convenient place to recharge their batteries. And the industry is ramping up to fill that need, says a report released Tuesday by Pike Research.
As automakers move toward electric vehicles, the number of charging stations around the world is forecast to surpass 4.7 million over the next five years, says Pike's "Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment" report. The United States alone is likely to be home to almost 1 million charging points by 2015.
That need will be fueled by the more than 3.1 million electric vehicles (EVs), including both hybrids and all-electric cars, expected to be sold worldwide during the next five years, according to Pike.
"The success of hybrid vehicles in the 2000s gave drivers a taste for propulsion by electric power, and governments around the world are now highly focused on creating the charging infrastructure to support the arrival of EVs in significant numbers," Pike senior analyst John Gartner said in a statement.
Now populated by smaller, niche companies, the industry for manufacturing electrical vehicle charging equipment is being joined by a large crowd of major tech players such as GE, Panasonic, Samsung, and Siemens. This expansion is paving the road for an intensely crowded and competitive market by the end of 2011, says Pike.
Though 4.7 million charging stations over the next five sounds like a lot, that number is actually smaller than Pike's initial 2009 estimate of 5 million stations. The lower forecast is due to a drop in the projected number of sales for electric vehicles and the lack of a solid business model for public charging stations.
"The economics of selling a few kilowatt hours per charge are very challenging, and as such we anticipate that public charging station deployments will be driven mainly by government initiatives over the next several years," Gartner said.
Initially, governments will likely fund the public stations. Commercial stations, particularly in the U.S., will probably have to keep their costs low due to the availability of free and inexpensive charging stations at homes and public locations. As a result, retailers will set up commercial stations as a marketing tool rather than a way to turn a profit, the study said.
Consumers in the U.S. will mostly charge their cars at home due to the convenience, according to Pike. But drivers in the rest of the world will take greater advantage of public charging stations because of the lack of convenience in charging from their homes
by Lance Whitney
(Credit: Pike Research)
Drivers who buy electric cars will need a quick, convenient place to recharge their batteries. And the industry is ramping up to fill that need, says a report released Tuesday by Pike Research.
As automakers move toward electric vehicles, the number of charging stations around the world is forecast to surpass 4.7 million over the next five years, says Pike's "Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment" report. The United States alone is likely to be home to almost 1 million charging points by 2015.
That need will be fueled by the more than 3.1 million electric vehicles (EVs), including both hybrids and all-electric cars, expected to be sold worldwide during the next five years, according to Pike.
"The success of hybrid vehicles in the 2000s gave drivers a taste for propulsion by electric power, and governments around the world are now highly focused on creating the charging infrastructure to support the arrival of EVs in significant numbers," Pike senior analyst John Gartner said in a statement.
Now populated by smaller, niche companies, the industry for manufacturing electrical vehicle charging equipment is being joined by a large crowd of major tech players such as GE, Panasonic, Samsung, and Siemens. This expansion is paving the road for an intensely crowded and competitive market by the end of 2011, says Pike.
Though 4.7 million charging stations over the next five sounds like a lot, that number is actually smaller than Pike's initial 2009 estimate of 5 million stations. The lower forecast is due to a drop in the projected number of sales for electric vehicles and the lack of a solid business model for public charging stations.
"The economics of selling a few kilowatt hours per charge are very challenging, and as such we anticipate that public charging station deployments will be driven mainly by government initiatives over the next several years," Gartner said.
Initially, governments will likely fund the public stations. Commercial stations, particularly in the U.S., will probably have to keep their costs low due to the availability of free and inexpensive charging stations at homes and public locations. As a result, retailers will set up commercial stations as a marketing tool rather than a way to turn a profit, the study said.
Consumers in the U.S. will mostly charge their cars at home due to the convenience, according to Pike. But drivers in the rest of the world will take greater advantage of public charging stations because of the lack of convenience in charging from their homes
Unmanned robot to troll Gulf oil spill for data
May 25, 2010 11:43 AM PDT
Unmanned robot to troll Gulf oil spill for data
by Martin LaMonica
Even as BP struggles to stem the gusher of oil coming from the seabed in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists are looking at ways to measure the environmental impact.
Robot company iRobot, best known for its Roomba vacuum cleaner, said on Tuesday that its Seaglider, an unmanned underwater vehicle, is being deployed to gather information on the presence of oil in the Gulf waters.
The Seaglider can go up to 1,000 meters below the surface and operate for up to 10 months, while sending data via satellite several times a day. It's driven through the water by changes in water buoyancy rather than a propeller.
A Seaglider unmanned underwater vehicle from iRobot, like the one pictured here, has been deployed to track hydrocarbons in the water from the Gulf oil spill.
(Credit: iRobot)
Researchers plan to use the device to find and monitor the clouds of dispersed oil droplets deep underwater.
"It is important to track any hydrocarbons that might remain at depths for extended periods of time," said Dr. Vernon Asper, of the marine science department from the University of Southern Mississippi, in a statement. "Previous data suggests that there may be some of this material at depths below 700 meters and that it appears to be moving."
Using Seagliders at these depths can give scientists insight into the "ultimate fate" of the spilled oil.
iRobot said it has sold 120 Seagliders to the U.S. Navy, government agencies, and researchers. It expects that they can be used to monitor gas and oil lines for offshore drilling
Unmanned robot to troll Gulf oil spill for data
by Martin LaMonica
Even as BP struggles to stem the gusher of oil coming from the seabed in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists are looking at ways to measure the environmental impact.
Robot company iRobot, best known for its Roomba vacuum cleaner, said on Tuesday that its Seaglider, an unmanned underwater vehicle, is being deployed to gather information on the presence of oil in the Gulf waters.
The Seaglider can go up to 1,000 meters below the surface and operate for up to 10 months, while sending data via satellite several times a day. It's driven through the water by changes in water buoyancy rather than a propeller.
A Seaglider unmanned underwater vehicle from iRobot, like the one pictured here, has been deployed to track hydrocarbons in the water from the Gulf oil spill.
(Credit: iRobot)
Researchers plan to use the device to find and monitor the clouds of dispersed oil droplets deep underwater.
"It is important to track any hydrocarbons that might remain at depths for extended periods of time," said Dr. Vernon Asper, of the marine science department from the University of Southern Mississippi, in a statement. "Previous data suggests that there may be some of this material at depths below 700 meters and that it appears to be moving."
Using Seagliders at these depths can give scientists insight into the "ultimate fate" of the spilled oil.
iRobot said it has sold 120 Seagliders to the U.S. Navy, government agencies, and researchers. It expects that they can be used to monitor gas and oil lines for offshore drilling
Mitsubishi i-Miev pioneers electric highway
May 25, 2010 12:01 PM PDT
by Wayne Cunningham
Mitsubishi plans on selling its i-Miev electric car in the U.S. late next year.
(Credit: Wayne Cunningham/CNET)
The plan: Drive one of Mitsubishi's i-Miev electric cars from San Francisco to Sacramento. But there were two things wrong. No. 1, the i-Miev is based on Mitsubishi's i model, a Japanese Kei-class car designed for cities and not the length of high-speed freeway we would drive into California's Central Valley. No 2, it is 85 miles from San Francisco to Sacramento and Mitsubishi puts the i-Miev's best range at 80 miles.
We can solve one of these problems with a stop at a new Eaton rapid charger in Vacaville, about 55 miles outside of San Francisco. That charger should bring the i-Miev's batteries to an 80 percent charge in 25 minutes, reminding us that "rapid" is a relative term. Mitsubishi scheduled a lunch during the recharge stop, as five i-Mievs would need to take turns at the single charging station.
We were presented with a small number of i-Mievs, various test cars that had been brought over to California from Japan, all with right-hand drive. Our first lesson in right-hand drive is that you turn on the windshield wipers to signal a turn.
Bigger on the inside
At a little more than 11 feet long and less than 5 feet wide, the i-Miev is a tiny car; however, it is surprisingly roomy inside thanks to its high roofline. We imagined zipping around the dense urban streets of San Francisco, parking with ease at any spare bit of curbing and slaloming down narrow streets. But no, our route plan would put us amongst tractor-trailer rigs thundering down a multilane blacktop at speeds of about 65 mph.
Powering the i-Miev's 25-kilowatt electric motor is a lithium ion battery pack. Using a standard 120-volt power outlet, you can charge the battery to full in 8 hours to 12 hours. At a 240 volt outlet, common for large appliances such as dryers, you can fully recharge its battery in 4 hours to 6 hours. Eaton's rapid charger, which relies on a three-phase 208-volt supply, takes 25 minutes to charge the battery up to 80 percent capacity.
Our test cars were lined up, ready to go with a full charge. We got in and joined the short caravan of automotive journalists from a variety of publications. As we expected, the small size of the i-Miev made urban maneuvering easy. The electric motor also provided ready acceleration; other drivers had no reason to complain as we were quick off the line, reaching city speed limits faster than most other cars around us.
The i-Miev wasn't built with California freeways in mind.
(Credit: Mitsubishi)
Aware of the long trip ahead, we remained careful about excessive go pedal use. The i-Miev coasts just fine, and its regenerative braking system gives the battery a boost, so we adjusted our driving style to minimize long stretches of acceleration. Of course, merging onto the freeway, we had no choice but to push the i-Miev to a traffic-friendly speed.
Once our Japanese spec'ed cars showed about 100 kilometers per hour on the digital speedometer, we settled in for the long cruise. All of these cars only had a basic radio, but a Mitsubishi representative promised a "sassier" version of the car when it goes on sale in the U.S. late in 2011. That should mean the availability of the Mitsubishi Multi-Entertainment System, a hard drive-based navigation and stereo unit similar to what we've seen in the Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback.
The i-Miev can maintain an acceptable speed on the freeway in the right lanes, but didn't feel like we could get high speed acceleration for quick passes and left lane work. There is a slight whine from the motor when accelerating, but, in general, its drive system is quiet. Riding in the i-Miev, we didn't hear excessive road noise, and we easily carried on a conversation with our driving partner while covering the miles.
Running on empty
Just before our recharge stop in Vacaville, Calif., we had to negotiate a range of mountains that forced us to heavily use the accelerator. The little i-Miev climbed the long ascents feeling like the little engine that could. Admittedly, our own trepidation about pushing the accelerator too hard for too long is why it didn't jet up the hills. But that fear was justified as we saw the level on the digital battery meter decline rapidly. Our range meter, shown in kilometers, also took a beating during this climb.
The final push was downhill, which is a good thing as our car had just about had it. The range meter showed just 4 kilometers left when we exited the freeway. But that was plenty of power to drive the few blocks to the recharging station. Although the battery was drained in 55 miles, well short of Mitsubishi's stated 80 mile maximum range, we weren't surprised by the difference considering the speeds we had been driving and the terrain.
Eaton, of supercharger fame, installed its new rapid charger at the recharging station, next to a variety of other electric car chargers, including one for Tesla and a few for electric Toyota RAV4s, the latter being an earlier electric car effort that has since been dropped.
The i-Miev's plug is built on the SAE J1772 specification, with electric conduits and communication channels.
(Credit: Wayne Cunningham/CNET)
Vacaville, a town of almost 100,000 people and a former Pony Express stop, hosts a surprising number of electric car charging stations because of a forward-thinking city council. The charging station we were using is covered by an array of solar panels and, although the panels aren't the sole source of electricity, it is 100 percent carbon free, said one of the Vacaville city representatives we spoke with.
The Eaton charger as well as the other newer chargers on hand use the SAE J1772 connector, a new standard for electric car charging plugs that not only sends power to the batteries but also has communication channels so the car can tell the charging station how much it needs. One of our Mitsubishi guides easily plugged in the first car and got the charging process started. As mentioned above, charging would take a little while, so we all went off for lunch.
Although these testing stations provided free charging, the vision for the future is that chargers would fill parking lots at rest stops, workplaces, and shopping malls. You could swipe a credit card or use a cell phone to pay for a charge. But this model still needs a lot of work. One hurdle in particular involves differing local laws limiting who can sell electricity.
After lunch and with our i-Mievs charged, we were ready to make the 30 mile run to Sacramento. With few miles and flat ground to cover, we rolled into the city with plenty of range to spare. The i-Miev had proved usable in conditions that were decidedly not optimal.
Given the time it took us to make this trip, the i-Miev didn't prove to be that practical, even with the recharge station. But that doesn't rule out electric cars entirely, this just serves to point out some of the immediate problems with electric cars. Looking at the work Tesla is doing, longer range electric cars are possible. And a profusion of rapid recharge stations could make even cross-country trips in an electric car possible. Just plan to take a lot of food and bathroom breaks
by Wayne Cunningham
Mitsubishi plans on selling its i-Miev electric car in the U.S. late next year.
(Credit: Wayne Cunningham/CNET)
The plan: Drive one of Mitsubishi's i-Miev electric cars from San Francisco to Sacramento. But there were two things wrong. No. 1, the i-Miev is based on Mitsubishi's i model, a Japanese Kei-class car designed for cities and not the length of high-speed freeway we would drive into California's Central Valley. No 2, it is 85 miles from San Francisco to Sacramento and Mitsubishi puts the i-Miev's best range at 80 miles.
We can solve one of these problems with a stop at a new Eaton rapid charger in Vacaville, about 55 miles outside of San Francisco. That charger should bring the i-Miev's batteries to an 80 percent charge in 25 minutes, reminding us that "rapid" is a relative term. Mitsubishi scheduled a lunch during the recharge stop, as five i-Mievs would need to take turns at the single charging station.
We were presented with a small number of i-Mievs, various test cars that had been brought over to California from Japan, all with right-hand drive. Our first lesson in right-hand drive is that you turn on the windshield wipers to signal a turn.
Bigger on the inside
At a little more than 11 feet long and less than 5 feet wide, the i-Miev is a tiny car; however, it is surprisingly roomy inside thanks to its high roofline. We imagined zipping around the dense urban streets of San Francisco, parking with ease at any spare bit of curbing and slaloming down narrow streets. But no, our route plan would put us amongst tractor-trailer rigs thundering down a multilane blacktop at speeds of about 65 mph.
Powering the i-Miev's 25-kilowatt electric motor is a lithium ion battery pack. Using a standard 120-volt power outlet, you can charge the battery to full in 8 hours to 12 hours. At a 240 volt outlet, common for large appliances such as dryers, you can fully recharge its battery in 4 hours to 6 hours. Eaton's rapid charger, which relies on a three-phase 208-volt supply, takes 25 minutes to charge the battery up to 80 percent capacity.
Our test cars were lined up, ready to go with a full charge. We got in and joined the short caravan of automotive journalists from a variety of publications. As we expected, the small size of the i-Miev made urban maneuvering easy. The electric motor also provided ready acceleration; other drivers had no reason to complain as we were quick off the line, reaching city speed limits faster than most other cars around us.
The i-Miev wasn't built with California freeways in mind.
(Credit: Mitsubishi)
Aware of the long trip ahead, we remained careful about excessive go pedal use. The i-Miev coasts just fine, and its regenerative braking system gives the battery a boost, so we adjusted our driving style to minimize long stretches of acceleration. Of course, merging onto the freeway, we had no choice but to push the i-Miev to a traffic-friendly speed.
Once our Japanese spec'ed cars showed about 100 kilometers per hour on the digital speedometer, we settled in for the long cruise. All of these cars only had a basic radio, but a Mitsubishi representative promised a "sassier" version of the car when it goes on sale in the U.S. late in 2011. That should mean the availability of the Mitsubishi Multi-Entertainment System, a hard drive-based navigation and stereo unit similar to what we've seen in the Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback.
The i-Miev can maintain an acceptable speed on the freeway in the right lanes, but didn't feel like we could get high speed acceleration for quick passes and left lane work. There is a slight whine from the motor when accelerating, but, in general, its drive system is quiet. Riding in the i-Miev, we didn't hear excessive road noise, and we easily carried on a conversation with our driving partner while covering the miles.
Running on empty
Just before our recharge stop in Vacaville, Calif., we had to negotiate a range of mountains that forced us to heavily use the accelerator. The little i-Miev climbed the long ascents feeling like the little engine that could. Admittedly, our own trepidation about pushing the accelerator too hard for too long is why it didn't jet up the hills. But that fear was justified as we saw the level on the digital battery meter decline rapidly. Our range meter, shown in kilometers, also took a beating during this climb.
The final push was downhill, which is a good thing as our car had just about had it. The range meter showed just 4 kilometers left when we exited the freeway. But that was plenty of power to drive the few blocks to the recharging station. Although the battery was drained in 55 miles, well short of Mitsubishi's stated 80 mile maximum range, we weren't surprised by the difference considering the speeds we had been driving and the terrain.
Eaton, of supercharger fame, installed its new rapid charger at the recharging station, next to a variety of other electric car chargers, including one for Tesla and a few for electric Toyota RAV4s, the latter being an earlier electric car effort that has since been dropped.
The i-Miev's plug is built on the SAE J1772 specification, with electric conduits and communication channels.
(Credit: Wayne Cunningham/CNET)
Vacaville, a town of almost 100,000 people and a former Pony Express stop, hosts a surprising number of electric car charging stations because of a forward-thinking city council. The charging station we were using is covered by an array of solar panels and, although the panels aren't the sole source of electricity, it is 100 percent carbon free, said one of the Vacaville city representatives we spoke with.
The Eaton charger as well as the other newer chargers on hand use the SAE J1772 connector, a new standard for electric car charging plugs that not only sends power to the batteries but also has communication channels so the car can tell the charging station how much it needs. One of our Mitsubishi guides easily plugged in the first car and got the charging process started. As mentioned above, charging would take a little while, so we all went off for lunch.
Although these testing stations provided free charging, the vision for the future is that chargers would fill parking lots at rest stops, workplaces, and shopping malls. You could swipe a credit card or use a cell phone to pay for a charge. But this model still needs a lot of work. One hurdle in particular involves differing local laws limiting who can sell electricity.
After lunch and with our i-Mievs charged, we were ready to make the 30 mile run to Sacramento. With few miles and flat ground to cover, we rolled into the city with plenty of range to spare. The i-Miev had proved usable in conditions that were decidedly not optimal.
Given the time it took us to make this trip, the i-Miev didn't prove to be that practical, even with the recharge station. But that doesn't rule out electric cars entirely, this just serves to point out some of the immediate problems with electric cars. Looking at the work Tesla is doing, longer range electric cars are possible. And a profusion of rapid recharge stations could make even cross-country trips in an electric car possible. Just plan to take a lot of food and bathroom breaks
Chinese eye domination of wind turbine market
Leonora Walet and Victoria Bryan - Analysis
HONG KONG/LONDON
Wed May 26, 2010 6:02am EDTFactboxFactbox: Top 10 wind turbine suppliers in 2009
6:02am EDTHONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) -
After sparking a massive price war and wreaking havoc on earnings at European and U.S. makers of crystalline silicon solar cells and panels, China now has established wind turbine manufacturers in its sights.
While Denmark's Vestas and U.S. conglomerate General Electric were still the top two wind turbine suppliers in 2009, according to Danish consultancy BTM, Chinese firms are coming up fast.
Sinovel Wind, Xinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology Co, and Dongfang Electric all took up top 10 ten places and firms are keen to compete in the export market.
"(Chinese manufacturers) have already established international sales teams and are actively bidding for contracts overseas. The process is underway," said Robert Todd, Hong Kong-based director of Renewable Energy, Resources and Energy Group at HSBC.
"It's just a question of how soon they could actually build momentum," said Todd, who forecasts Chinese wind companies winning more projects outside China over the next 12 months.
Goldwind on Monday said it established a wholly-owned U.S. unit in Chicago, marking its fresh assault on a market largely served by General Electric. The move follows Goldwind's establishment of a production base in Germany and a subsidiary in Australia late last year.
China's biggest wind turbine maker and the world's No.3, Sinovel, exported 10 wind turbines of 1.5 megawatts each to India last year. The unlisted Chinese company also purchased in March from American Superconductor Corp electrical systems for its high-capacity 5-megawatt wind turbine, a homegrown technology planned for export in the long-term.
As with the solar market, China is able to offer products at much lower prices than European or U.S. counterparts, fanning fears that wind turbine prices could be driven down and creating the oversupply that rocked the solar market last year.
"It's clear that the market prices are lower and you can see that from government contracts," said gearbox maker Hansen Transmissions' CEO Alex De Ryck, referring to wind projects won by local companies in China.
A typical wind turbine consists of a 65 meter-tall tower, a rotor blade the length of a Boeing 737, and a nacelle holding generator components the size of a small motor home.
Turbines account for 70 percent of a wind power project cost and sell at about 5 million yuan ($732,215) a megawatt in China.
Wind turbines sold in Europe and the United States could fetch a price of over $1 million per megawatt.
WIND FOR EXPORT
China is a frequent target for complaints that it blocks access to its markets or unfairly helps its exporters with huge subsidies and cheap state loans.
German solar firms Conergy and Solarworld have voiced strong concern about the pricing practices of Chinese panel makers who undercut their German peers' products historically by around 20 percent.
But for now at least, Chinese wind turbine makers are heavily focused domestically, their 2009 exports of under 30 megawatts representing just a sliver of the 24,540 MW in capacity installed outside China.
Their common goal of boosting exports to contribute significantly to sales is still a distant threat for many international turbine players, not least because of the logistics involved in transporting the oversized parts.
"Chinese producers have started to get involved abroad, for example in India or in the Asia-Pacific region. However, Chinese players are mainly operating in their domestic market," said a spokesman for Europe's largest engineering conglomerate Siemens.
China is the biggest wind power market in the world, doubling its installed wind capacity in 2009 by adding over 13,000 MW.
Local turbine companies now hold 80 percent of the China market which less than a decade ago was dominated by global wind companies such as Vestas, GE and Spain's Gamesa.
Vestas expects its strategy of bettering turbine technology, rather than competing on price should help fend off mounting competition from Chinese players.
"It is not in our interest to engage in a competition focusing on price alone," Vestas China president Jens Tommerup told Reuters.
"Our turbines are reliable, productive and efficient - over the long term - which means a low cost of energy. We are also focused on building long-term partnerships with our customers that include all aspects of wind energy."
Comment
Driving down the cost of solar products is a bad thing? Bad for producers outside of China, perhaps. Good for customers. The biggest obstacle to most people of getting solar power or even water heating is the cost. If it was cheap more people would want it and could afford it. It makes perfect sense for China to take care of their own country first, but be looking at other oppurtunities that will arise.
HONG KONG/LONDON
Wed May 26, 2010 6:02am EDTFactboxFactbox: Top 10 wind turbine suppliers in 2009
6:02am EDTHONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) -
After sparking a massive price war and wreaking havoc on earnings at European and U.S. makers of crystalline silicon solar cells and panels, China now has established wind turbine manufacturers in its sights.
While Denmark's Vestas and U.S. conglomerate General Electric were still the top two wind turbine suppliers in 2009, according to Danish consultancy BTM, Chinese firms are coming up fast.
Sinovel Wind, Xinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology Co, and Dongfang Electric all took up top 10 ten places and firms are keen to compete in the export market.
"(Chinese manufacturers) have already established international sales teams and are actively bidding for contracts overseas. The process is underway," said Robert Todd, Hong Kong-based director of Renewable Energy, Resources and Energy Group at HSBC.
"It's just a question of how soon they could actually build momentum," said Todd, who forecasts Chinese wind companies winning more projects outside China over the next 12 months.
Goldwind on Monday said it established a wholly-owned U.S. unit in Chicago, marking its fresh assault on a market largely served by General Electric. The move follows Goldwind's establishment of a production base in Germany and a subsidiary in Australia late last year.
China's biggest wind turbine maker and the world's No.3, Sinovel, exported 10 wind turbines of 1.5 megawatts each to India last year. The unlisted Chinese company also purchased in March from American Superconductor Corp electrical systems for its high-capacity 5-megawatt wind turbine, a homegrown technology planned for export in the long-term.
As with the solar market, China is able to offer products at much lower prices than European or U.S. counterparts, fanning fears that wind turbine prices could be driven down and creating the oversupply that rocked the solar market last year.
"It's clear that the market prices are lower and you can see that from government contracts," said gearbox maker Hansen Transmissions' CEO Alex De Ryck, referring to wind projects won by local companies in China.
A typical wind turbine consists of a 65 meter-tall tower, a rotor blade the length of a Boeing 737, and a nacelle holding generator components the size of a small motor home.
Turbines account for 70 percent of a wind power project cost and sell at about 5 million yuan ($732,215) a megawatt in China.
Wind turbines sold in Europe and the United States could fetch a price of over $1 million per megawatt.
WIND FOR EXPORT
China is a frequent target for complaints that it blocks access to its markets or unfairly helps its exporters with huge subsidies and cheap state loans.
German solar firms Conergy and Solarworld have voiced strong concern about the pricing practices of Chinese panel makers who undercut their German peers' products historically by around 20 percent.
But for now at least, Chinese wind turbine makers are heavily focused domestically, their 2009 exports of under 30 megawatts representing just a sliver of the 24,540 MW in capacity installed outside China.
Their common goal of boosting exports to contribute significantly to sales is still a distant threat for many international turbine players, not least because of the logistics involved in transporting the oversized parts.
"Chinese producers have started to get involved abroad, for example in India or in the Asia-Pacific region. However, Chinese players are mainly operating in their domestic market," said a spokesman for Europe's largest engineering conglomerate Siemens.
China is the biggest wind power market in the world, doubling its installed wind capacity in 2009 by adding over 13,000 MW.
Local turbine companies now hold 80 percent of the China market which less than a decade ago was dominated by global wind companies such as Vestas, GE and Spain's Gamesa.
Vestas expects its strategy of bettering turbine technology, rather than competing on price should help fend off mounting competition from Chinese players.
"It is not in our interest to engage in a competition focusing on price alone," Vestas China president Jens Tommerup told Reuters.
"Our turbines are reliable, productive and efficient - over the long term - which means a low cost of energy. We are also focused on building long-term partnerships with our customers that include all aspects of wind energy."
Comment
Driving down the cost of solar products is a bad thing? Bad for producers outside of China, perhaps. Good for customers. The biggest obstacle to most people of getting solar power or even water heating is the cost. If it was cheap more people would want it and could afford it. It makes perfect sense for China to take care of their own country first, but be looking at other oppurtunities that will arise.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Tesla, Toyota to open electric car plant in Calif.
Partnership will put production in Bay Area instead of the Southland
By Daisy Nguyen
LOS ANGELES - The heads of Tesla Motors Inc. and Toyota Motors Corp. say both automakers are partnering to build electric cars at a recently shuttered auto plant in the San Francisco Bay area.
Toyota president Akio Toyoda said Thursday that his company is investing $50 million in the joint venture, which will include the development of an electric vehicle together.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the electric carmaker will build its new Model S electric sedan at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., known as Nummi, in Fremont.
The plant, established in 1984 as a joint venture between General Motors Co. and Toyota, shut down last month.
Tesla had been scouting for a site to build its forthcoming Model S electric sedan, which is scheduled to go on sale in 2012. The Model S is slated to sell for $49,900, including federal tax credits, and is designed to travel as far as 300 miles on a three- to five-hour charge.
Tesla makes only the $109,000 Roadster, a two-seater electric sports car that is partially built in California and England. The Roadster can travel 236 miles on a three-and-a-half hour charge.
The Nummi plant, established in 1984 as a joint venture between GM and Toyota, employed 4,700 workers. GM made the Pontiac Vibe there but withdrew from the alliance last year after filing for bankruptcy protection.
Toyota made the Corolla sedan and Tacoma pickup at the plant but said in August that without GM, it could not sustain the factory. The last of nearly 8 million vehicles that moved through the sprawling facility rolled off the lot last month.
The fate of the plant had been unclear. At its closure, plant executives said some employees would stay on while they try to sell off equipment and clean up. Executives also said the plant would try to find a buyer and work with city and state officials to identify the best new use for the site.
By Daisy Nguyen
LOS ANGELES - The heads of Tesla Motors Inc. and Toyota Motors Corp. say both automakers are partnering to build electric cars at a recently shuttered auto plant in the San Francisco Bay area.
Toyota president Akio Toyoda said Thursday that his company is investing $50 million in the joint venture, which will include the development of an electric vehicle together.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the electric carmaker will build its new Model S electric sedan at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., known as Nummi, in Fremont.
The plant, established in 1984 as a joint venture between General Motors Co. and Toyota, shut down last month.
Tesla had been scouting for a site to build its forthcoming Model S electric sedan, which is scheduled to go on sale in 2012. The Model S is slated to sell for $49,900, including federal tax credits, and is designed to travel as far as 300 miles on a three- to five-hour charge.
Tesla makes only the $109,000 Roadster, a two-seater electric sports car that is partially built in California and England. The Roadster can travel 236 miles on a three-and-a-half hour charge.
The Nummi plant, established in 1984 as a joint venture between GM and Toyota, employed 4,700 workers. GM made the Pontiac Vibe there but withdrew from the alliance last year after filing for bankruptcy protection.
Toyota made the Corolla sedan and Tacoma pickup at the plant but said in August that without GM, it could not sustain the factory. The last of nearly 8 million vehicles that moved through the sprawling facility rolled off the lot last month.
The fate of the plant had been unclear. At its closure, plant executives said some employees would stay on while they try to sell off equipment and clean up. Executives also said the plant would try to find a buyer and work with city and state officials to identify the best new use for the site.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
MIT researchers print solar cell on paper
May 5, 2010 6:19 AM PDT
by Martin LaMonica
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have successfully coated paper with a solar cell, part of a suite of research projects aimed at energy breakthroughs.
Susan Hockfield, MIT's president, and Paolo Scaroni, CEO of Italian oil company Eni, on Tuesday officially dedicated the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Research Center. Eni invested $5 million into the center, which is also receiving a $2 million National Science Foundation grant, said Vladimir Bulovic, the center's director.
The printed solar cells, which Bulovic showed at a press conference Tuesday, are still in the research phase and are years from being commercialized.
However, the technique, in which paper is coated with organic semiconductor material using a process similar to an inkjet printer, is a promising way to lower the weight of solar panels. "If you could use a staple gun to install a solar panel, there could be a lot of value," Bulovic said.
Vladimir Bulovic, director of the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Research Center, holds a solar cell printed onto a piece of paper to spell MIT. This is the first paper solar cell, according to MIT and Eni.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)
The materials MIT researchers used are carbon-based dyes and the cells are about 1.5 percent to 2 percent efficient at converting sunlight to electricity. But any material could be used if it can be deposited at room temperature, Bulovic said. "Absolutely, the trick was coming up with ways to use paper," he said.
MIT professor Karen Gleason headed the research and has submitted a paper for scientific review but it has not yet been published. MIT and Eni said this is the first time a solar cell has been printed on paper.
During the press conference, Scaroni said that Eni is funding the center because the company understands that hydrocarbons will eventually run out and believes that solar can be a replacement. At the same time, he said, current technologies are not sufficient.
"We are not very active (in alternative energy) today because we don't believe today's technologies are the answer of our problems," he said.
Quantum dots
The paper solar cells are one of many avenues being pursued around nanoscale materials at the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center. Layers of these materials could essentially be sprayed using different manufacturing techniques to make a thin-film solar cell on a plastic, paper, or metal foils.
Silicon, the predominant material for solar cells, is durable and is made from abundant materials. Many companies sell or are developing thin-film solar cells, which are less efficient but are cheaper to manufacture.
Exploring nanomaterials for a solar breakthrough (photos)
During a tour, Bulovic showed one of the center's labs, where researchers use a laser to blast light at nanomaterials for picoseconds. A picosecond is one trillionth of a second. The laser provides data on how the light excites electrons in the material, which will provide clues as to whether it will make a good solar cell material, he explained.
MIT is focusing much of its effort on quantum dots, or tiny crystals that are only a few nanometers in size. A human hair is about 50,000 to 100,000 nanometers thick.
By using different materials and sizes, researchers can fine-tune the colors of light that quantum dots can absorb, a way of isolating good candidates for quantum dot solar cells.
Researchers at the center are also looking at different molecules or biological elements which can act as solar cell material. These cheap thin-film materials can be used on their own or added to silicon-based solar panels to enhance the efficiency, Bulovic said.
If 0.3 percent of the U.S. were covered with photovoltaics with 10 percent efficiency, solar power could produce three times the country's needs, including a transition to electric vehicles, Bulovic said. For example, the easement strip on highways could be coated with material that could capture energy from the sun.
But don't expect a revolution in solar power tomorrow.
"I'm giving you a whole bunch of hype," Bulovic said while explaining solar's potential during the tour. "It usually takes 10 years from the time between when you invent something and you commercialize it." He estimated that many of the technologies in the labs were in the first three years of a five-to-seven-year development cycle
by Martin LaMonica
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have successfully coated paper with a solar cell, part of a suite of research projects aimed at energy breakthroughs.
Susan Hockfield, MIT's president, and Paolo Scaroni, CEO of Italian oil company Eni, on Tuesday officially dedicated the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Research Center. Eni invested $5 million into the center, which is also receiving a $2 million National Science Foundation grant, said Vladimir Bulovic, the center's director.
The printed solar cells, which Bulovic showed at a press conference Tuesday, are still in the research phase and are years from being commercialized.
However, the technique, in which paper is coated with organic semiconductor material using a process similar to an inkjet printer, is a promising way to lower the weight of solar panels. "If you could use a staple gun to install a solar panel, there could be a lot of value," Bulovic said.
Vladimir Bulovic, director of the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Research Center, holds a solar cell printed onto a piece of paper to spell MIT. This is the first paper solar cell, according to MIT and Eni.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)
The materials MIT researchers used are carbon-based dyes and the cells are about 1.5 percent to 2 percent efficient at converting sunlight to electricity. But any material could be used if it can be deposited at room temperature, Bulovic said. "Absolutely, the trick was coming up with ways to use paper," he said.
MIT professor Karen Gleason headed the research and has submitted a paper for scientific review but it has not yet been published. MIT and Eni said this is the first time a solar cell has been printed on paper.
During the press conference, Scaroni said that Eni is funding the center because the company understands that hydrocarbons will eventually run out and believes that solar can be a replacement. At the same time, he said, current technologies are not sufficient.
"We are not very active (in alternative energy) today because we don't believe today's technologies are the answer of our problems," he said.
Quantum dots
The paper solar cells are one of many avenues being pursued around nanoscale materials at the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center. Layers of these materials could essentially be sprayed using different manufacturing techniques to make a thin-film solar cell on a plastic, paper, or metal foils.
Silicon, the predominant material for solar cells, is durable and is made from abundant materials. Many companies sell or are developing thin-film solar cells, which are less efficient but are cheaper to manufacture.
Exploring nanomaterials for a solar breakthrough (photos)
During a tour, Bulovic showed one of the center's labs, where researchers use a laser to blast light at nanomaterials for picoseconds. A picosecond is one trillionth of a second. The laser provides data on how the light excites electrons in the material, which will provide clues as to whether it will make a good solar cell material, he explained.
MIT is focusing much of its effort on quantum dots, or tiny crystals that are only a few nanometers in size. A human hair is about 50,000 to 100,000 nanometers thick.
By using different materials and sizes, researchers can fine-tune the colors of light that quantum dots can absorb, a way of isolating good candidates for quantum dot solar cells.
Researchers at the center are also looking at different molecules or biological elements which can act as solar cell material. These cheap thin-film materials can be used on their own or added to silicon-based solar panels to enhance the efficiency, Bulovic said.
If 0.3 percent of the U.S. were covered with photovoltaics with 10 percent efficiency, solar power could produce three times the country's needs, including a transition to electric vehicles, Bulovic said. For example, the easement strip on highways could be coated with material that could capture energy from the sun.
But don't expect a revolution in solar power tomorrow.
"I'm giving you a whole bunch of hype," Bulovic said while explaining solar's potential during the tour. "It usually takes 10 years from the time between when you invent something and you commercialize it." He estimated that many of the technologies in the labs were in the first three years of a five-to-seven-year development cycle
Solar glut leading to more solar growth?
May 19, 2010 11:19 AM PDT
by Candace Lombardi
Rooftop solar installation from SunPower, one of the solar manufacturers that has survived the market shift
(Credit: SunPower)
Solar has found its cost-per-watt sweet spot, according to Pike Research.
The research analyst found that in 2008 a lack of readily available credit and the expensive cost-per-watt of solar compared to other energy sources created a glut of solar panels on the market. This glut, along with lowered polysilicon costs which enabled crystalline silicon solar cells to be made for less money, resulted in overall lower prices for solar cells.
The consequence of all this is exactly what one might expect. There are right now approximately 190 solar cell and module manufacturers in existence, according to the Pike Research report "The New Solar Market" released Wednesday. The research analyst predicts lower prices and increased competition will force manufacturers to consolidate with other companies or even go out of business altogether. Pike was not so bold, however, to make a prediction as to exactly how many companies might be left in 2011.
On the consumer end, credit availability coming back and the price decrease for solar installations spurred by the glut led to a market shift that increased demand toward the end of 2008 and in 2009. This trend will continue and lead to an increased interest and worldwide demand of about 43 percent growth for 2010 compared to 2009. It's about the equivalent of 10.1 gigawatts (GW) worth of solar equipment, according to Pike Research.
Pike also said the appeal of "one-stop shopping" will contribute to the growth.
As Green Tech has been reporting, there's a trend of solar manufacturers, developers, and installation companies joining forces to offer turnkey solar solutions for utilities, municipalities, and even private companies looking to self-supply. The idea of turn-key solar seems to have originated in thermal solar, but manufacturers of solar and concentrated solar systems have also formed partnerships to take care of the complicated headaches of planning, permitting, and developing medium- to large-scale solar farms.
But this growth will no longer be driven by the usual leader. Spain has been at the forefront of solar installation, for the obvious sunny reason one would expect, for quite some time. It's about to be built-out, according to Pike Research.
The Spanish market is almost completely saturated in terms of new growth, and others will be picking up the solar charge. China, Germany, Italy, and the United States are going to be the next leaders in solar and will drive the worldwide market to a demand of about 19 gigawatts worth of solar installations for 2013, Pike Research predicts.
by Candace Lombardi
Rooftop solar installation from SunPower, one of the solar manufacturers that has survived the market shift
(Credit: SunPower)
Solar has found its cost-per-watt sweet spot, according to Pike Research.
The research analyst found that in 2008 a lack of readily available credit and the expensive cost-per-watt of solar compared to other energy sources created a glut of solar panels on the market. This glut, along with lowered polysilicon costs which enabled crystalline silicon solar cells to be made for less money, resulted in overall lower prices for solar cells.
The consequence of all this is exactly what one might expect. There are right now approximately 190 solar cell and module manufacturers in existence, according to the Pike Research report "The New Solar Market" released Wednesday. The research analyst predicts lower prices and increased competition will force manufacturers to consolidate with other companies or even go out of business altogether. Pike was not so bold, however, to make a prediction as to exactly how many companies might be left in 2011.
On the consumer end, credit availability coming back and the price decrease for solar installations spurred by the glut led to a market shift that increased demand toward the end of 2008 and in 2009. This trend will continue and lead to an increased interest and worldwide demand of about 43 percent growth for 2010 compared to 2009. It's about the equivalent of 10.1 gigawatts (GW) worth of solar equipment, according to Pike Research.
Pike also said the appeal of "one-stop shopping" will contribute to the growth.
As Green Tech has been reporting, there's a trend of solar manufacturers, developers, and installation companies joining forces to offer turnkey solar solutions for utilities, municipalities, and even private companies looking to self-supply. The idea of turn-key solar seems to have originated in thermal solar, but manufacturers of solar and concentrated solar systems have also formed partnerships to take care of the complicated headaches of planning, permitting, and developing medium- to large-scale solar farms.
But this growth will no longer be driven by the usual leader. Spain has been at the forefront of solar installation, for the obvious sunny reason one would expect, for quite some time. It's about to be built-out, according to Pike Research.
The Spanish market is almost completely saturated in terms of new growth, and others will be picking up the solar charge. China, Germany, Italy, and the United States are going to be the next leaders in solar and will drive the worldwide market to a demand of about 19 gigawatts worth of solar installations for 2013, Pike Research predicts.
comments to previous article
Greengle: A green capitalist from America.
Like this Reply to this comment by typeA911 May 3, 2010 1:56 PM PDT
I'm from Calif. where we have thousands of these things and lot of people here hate them because they have replaced beautiful pristine landscapes on Hills and deserts. At first U look at them and go,"hey, how neat" but after awhile U start to realize what U have lost inplace of these mechanical machines. Wind generators are the most expensive way of producing electricity, the cheapest beings nuclear power. The first generation nuclear plants built on 1950-60's technology. We've come a long way since then. We need to start building new generation nuclear power plants.
Like this Reply to this comment 7 people like this comment
by myles taylor May 3, 2010 2:55 PM PDT
(holds back personal attack) All your claims are based in ignorance.
For one thing, nuclear power plants cost a fortune to build. Most of the cost of the power comes from initial construction cost. Sure it will pay off eventually but in the meantime, you have to come up with the money up-front. There are supply of nuclear material and you have to get rid of the nuclear waste. For all it's benefits, I would much rather go with wind energy than nuclear. It's clean, already available and just needs to be tapped. I don't think putting up giant wind farms is the way to go necessarily though. The answer is a lot of smaller turbines.
As far as the landscape goes, I can't help but think of what a selfish attitude that is. "Oh those wind farms are so ugly. Let's instead get our energy from mines and other non-renewable sources. Out of sight and out of mind." Wind energy is almost limitless. We just have find a good way of collecting it.
Like this 7 people like this comment
by DavidEyerly May 3, 2010 5:51 PM PDT
The least expensive form of electrical production is Hydroelectric ($.012 per kw/h), followed by Nuclear ($.025), coal ($.04), wind ($.045), natural gas ($.05), diesel ($.18) and solar ($.60). Several other experimental technologies are more expensive. (Wind is NOT the most expensive--by far!) Wind turbines built in the 1980's were NOT economically viable, and are slowly being replaced by the more efficent--and significantly larger--modern turbines. Turbines are built large because they become economical only as the square of the area swept by the blades becomes large enough. Small turbines (with short blades) are therefore inefficient. Wind turbines build on lattice towers kill raptors (because the raptors roost on the lattice work.) Modern wind turbines provide no roost for raptors, and therefore rarely kill them. What is driving the modern push to these huge turbines throughout the midwestern US (like Google is buying) is the fact that they ARE economically viable. They make electricity, they make it cleanly, and they make it pretty competively. Blade flicker becomes a non-issue when built 1000 feet from an existing structure. Noise is eliminated only when they operate properly. If they make money, they'll be operated efficiently. If they are not money making (like the older designs in California) they aren't efficient, and often aren't properly maintained--they are only maintained for the California tax deductions. They produce no CO2, and some people think that is important. Finally, a wind turbine is 93% efficient (some other posted that they were relatively inefficient, which is silly--they wouldn't be built if that were the case!) Wind energy must be augmented by base-line energy, because any single wind tubine can turn off (or on) in an instant. However, when used in large wind farms, that risk is reduced. The goal of the US Department of Energy is that we produce 30% of our power from wind energy by the year 2030. That's about the maximum that wind should supply to any one electric grid. (More than that, and it is possible to "blow a fuse," as it were, on a grid--the consequences of which would not be good. However 30% wind is very manageable.) Finally, these huge turbines ARE industrial machines, and should not be considered anything else. They make power efficiently, cleanly, and inexpensively; but, they are industrial equipment, and should be seen as such.
Like this 4 people like this comment
by chris_d May 4, 2010 9:12 AM PDT
Nuclear wouldn't even exist without massive subsidies. The TOTAL cost is probably higher than everything else once you account for insurance and eventual waste storage/disposal.
Utilities' liability is limited by the Price-Anderson Act. The government covers the rest in the case of an accident.
Like this 1 person likes this comment
by soldar1 May 5, 2010 1:14 PM PDT
This is to DavidEyerly, I was wondering where you got your price for kw/h stats. Back in the 80's wind generated electricity was profitable when seling via a Standard Offer 4 to SCE and PGE. Generation cost were .03 kw/h. Nuclear generation was .18 kw/h without government supplements. BTW the note that raptors roost on lattice work and that other guys statement that bats lungs burst is hillarious.
Like this 1 person likes this comment
by May 3, 2010 2:42 PM PDT
I'm in California too but I like the look. It's a constant reminder to us all that power doesn't magically appear out of nothing.
Like this Reply to this comment 5 people like this comment
by Maddog4u May 3, 2010 3:07 PM PDT
YOU have missed the point. They do not produce CO2 free power. They are only 15 to 20% efficient. They are environmental disasters. In fact in your state, the windmills have killed an estimated 3,700 raptors since 1970 , that MAY is not a good thing. If they tell you they have solved the bird problem, its a lie, you are just running out of birds. So be reminded now how many raptors they have killed for no good reason. Bats are killed every night by these things, because of the low pressure wave on the trailing edge of the blade the bats pass through and their lungs burst. They die. Not good MAY. I also suggest you do a little more research and find out how many wind turbines in your valleys are broken and abandoned. They may be spinning but estimates are approximately 10% are not in working order, they are broken but still spinning, and you MAY would not know the difference. I also suggest you find out about how many people are being affected by the shadow flicker, and constant low frequency noises. I agree with TypeA911 , nuclear power is the solution for the world. No CO2. Unlimited power. Constant Power. Cheaper power.
Like this 2 people like this comment
by Shinespark May 3, 2010 7:28 PM PDT
There is less than a century's worth of proven uranium reserves at current usage.
Like this 2 people like this comment
by myles taylor May 3, 2010 2:46 PM PDT
That's great. The Wind resources of North and South Dakota could alone power the US if harnessed.
Like this Reply to this comment 1 person likes this comment
by Maddog4u May 3, 2010 3:30 PM PDT
(dosnt hold back personal attack) Sorry Myles you are dead wrong.
Wind energy is a variant energy source that is unreliable and can never support the worlds needs. To power all of the USA you will need to cover an area 200 times larger than North and South Dakota with a density of one per 1/4 acre and even then you would not be assured the wind will blow every day. Do the math , 17% efficiency of a 2.5 MWt wind turbine = .0425 MWt now divide that by the current usage of the USA ( which is 925000 MWt last summer) and you will have how many 500 foot tall turbines you have to plant in the ground. The answer 2,176,470 -- I will spell it out for you ,,,, it is 2 million 176 thousand and 4 hundred and seventy. Again typeA911 is correct. [CNET editors' note: Personal attack deleted.]
Like this 5 people like this comment
by Maddog4u May 3, 2010 2:54 PM PDT
The problem is that "GREEN" energy is not always correctly labelled and understood. The CO2 frenzy is triggering very reactive, panic driven, poor policy decisions in the governance. Since wind energy is reliant on the variance of wind being present, a backup system is required. That back up system is usually natural gas powered steam turbine power plants to maintain consistent power. So lets think about it,,, to reduce CO2 producing electrical utilities, you are building Wind Turbines which in turn are supported by CO2 producing natural gas driven steam turbine electrical power plants for when the wind does not BLOW. These Natural Gas plants boil water 24 hours a day 7 days a week to keep the water boiling to make steam, to make electricity, just in case. In a nut shell, large industrial wind turbine power is expensive, intrusive, unreliable, with NO net benefit to reduce CO2. In Europe, governments there are starting to see the error in their way. Britain just completed a study of their wind turbine assets, showing the output is only 17% efficient. Britain is now wondering why have they destroyed their beautiful countryside with little to no CO2 offset. The Spanish have concluded that for every wind job they created through subsidies, they lost 2.2 jobs. Germany is building 25 more coal fired stations because wind is proving to be unreliable. The only thing green about wind power is the green you pay for increased electricity and increased taxes for subsidies your government is paying the Wind companies . Visit www.wind-watch.org and get educated.
Like this Reply to this comment 2 people like this comment
by FixWix May 3, 2010 3:04 PM PDT
hmmmm ...... http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=84733.0
Like this Reply to this comment by May 3, 2010 3:34 PM PDT
Here's the real issue:
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/01/13/234187/google-defends-search-energy-use-after-newspaper-claims.htm
Like this Reply to this comment by baruchz May 3, 2010 4:53 PM PDT
The point is not that wind is the solution. The point is that wind is A solution, among several, which can produce greener electricity. None of them are perfect. If you really want electricity with no environmental impact you'd have to harness lightening and live very simply. The fact is that modern technological human societies are "taker" societies as opposed to "leaver" societies (read Daniel Quinn's Ishmael for the reference) and so we all take more than our fair share.
Like this Reply to this comment 4 people like this comment
by noesbueno May 4, 2010 7:07 AM PDT
manbearpig it is.
Like this Reply to this comment by biffhenerson May 4, 2010 3:17 PM PDT
Must be nice to have enough money to flush some down the toilet.
Like this Reply to this comment by kennedy200 May 5, 2010 3:47 PM PDT
Whether the windmills are good, bad, ugly, not efficient or super efficient ? I am very encouraged to see a non-energy company that cares enough about the environment to dish out some of their profits in any effort to improve it. Most companies of Google?s stature would have just built another energy hogging building with the money. Congratulations to Google and thank you Mr. LaMonica for recognizing them.
Like this Reply to this comment by Maddog4u May 9, 2010 7:47 PM PDT
It would be more appropriate for them to invest in improving conservation and efficiency of use around the world. Such as eliminating standby power in all our TVs, upgrading the transmission grid to avoid stray voltage loss. I have an idea that if we turned off every street light in very urban setting from 2:00am to 5:00am (when your supposed to be asleep) you will accomplish all the CO2 savings, and fossil fuel savings that Wind pretends to deliver. By investing in misleading technologies such as wind, only directs money towards a dead end cause and away areas that could actually make a difference.
Like this Reply to this comment by typeA911 May 3, 2010 1:56 PM PDT
I'm from Calif. where we have thousands of these things and lot of people here hate them because they have replaced beautiful pristine landscapes on Hills and deserts. At first U look at them and go,"hey, how neat" but after awhile U start to realize what U have lost inplace of these mechanical machines. Wind generators are the most expensive way of producing electricity, the cheapest beings nuclear power. The first generation nuclear plants built on 1950-60's technology. We've come a long way since then. We need to start building new generation nuclear power plants.
Like this Reply to this comment 7 people like this comment
by myles taylor May 3, 2010 2:55 PM PDT
(holds back personal attack) All your claims are based in ignorance.
For one thing, nuclear power plants cost a fortune to build. Most of the cost of the power comes from initial construction cost. Sure it will pay off eventually but in the meantime, you have to come up with the money up-front. There are supply of nuclear material and you have to get rid of the nuclear waste. For all it's benefits, I would much rather go with wind energy than nuclear. It's clean, already available and just needs to be tapped. I don't think putting up giant wind farms is the way to go necessarily though. The answer is a lot of smaller turbines.
As far as the landscape goes, I can't help but think of what a selfish attitude that is. "Oh those wind farms are so ugly. Let's instead get our energy from mines and other non-renewable sources. Out of sight and out of mind." Wind energy is almost limitless. We just have find a good way of collecting it.
Like this 7 people like this comment
by DavidEyerly May 3, 2010 5:51 PM PDT
The least expensive form of electrical production is Hydroelectric ($.012 per kw/h), followed by Nuclear ($.025), coal ($.04), wind ($.045), natural gas ($.05), diesel ($.18) and solar ($.60). Several other experimental technologies are more expensive. (Wind is NOT the most expensive--by far!) Wind turbines built in the 1980's were NOT economically viable, and are slowly being replaced by the more efficent--and significantly larger--modern turbines. Turbines are built large because they become economical only as the square of the area swept by the blades becomes large enough. Small turbines (with short blades) are therefore inefficient. Wind turbines build on lattice towers kill raptors (because the raptors roost on the lattice work.) Modern wind turbines provide no roost for raptors, and therefore rarely kill them. What is driving the modern push to these huge turbines throughout the midwestern US (like Google is buying) is the fact that they ARE economically viable. They make electricity, they make it cleanly, and they make it pretty competively. Blade flicker becomes a non-issue when built 1000 feet from an existing structure. Noise is eliminated only when they operate properly. If they make money, they'll be operated efficiently. If they are not money making (like the older designs in California) they aren't efficient, and often aren't properly maintained--they are only maintained for the California tax deductions. They produce no CO2, and some people think that is important. Finally, a wind turbine is 93% efficient (some other posted that they were relatively inefficient, which is silly--they wouldn't be built if that were the case!) Wind energy must be augmented by base-line energy, because any single wind tubine can turn off (or on) in an instant. However, when used in large wind farms, that risk is reduced. The goal of the US Department of Energy is that we produce 30% of our power from wind energy by the year 2030. That's about the maximum that wind should supply to any one electric grid. (More than that, and it is possible to "blow a fuse," as it were, on a grid--the consequences of which would not be good. However 30% wind is very manageable.) Finally, these huge turbines ARE industrial machines, and should not be considered anything else. They make power efficiently, cleanly, and inexpensively; but, they are industrial equipment, and should be seen as such.
Like this 4 people like this comment
by chris_d May 4, 2010 9:12 AM PDT
Nuclear wouldn't even exist without massive subsidies. The TOTAL cost is probably higher than everything else once you account for insurance and eventual waste storage/disposal.
Utilities' liability is limited by the Price-Anderson Act. The government covers the rest in the case of an accident.
Like this 1 person likes this comment
by soldar1 May 5, 2010 1:14 PM PDT
This is to DavidEyerly, I was wondering where you got your price for kw/h stats. Back in the 80's wind generated electricity was profitable when seling via a Standard Offer 4 to SCE and PGE. Generation cost were .03 kw/h. Nuclear generation was .18 kw/h without government supplements. BTW the note that raptors roost on lattice work and that other guys statement that bats lungs burst is hillarious.
Like this 1 person likes this comment
by May 3, 2010 2:42 PM PDT
I'm in California too but I like the look. It's a constant reminder to us all that power doesn't magically appear out of nothing.
Like this Reply to this comment 5 people like this comment
by Maddog4u May 3, 2010 3:07 PM PDT
YOU have missed the point. They do not produce CO2 free power. They are only 15 to 20% efficient. They are environmental disasters. In fact in your state, the windmills have killed an estimated 3,700 raptors since 1970 , that MAY is not a good thing. If they tell you they have solved the bird problem, its a lie, you are just running out of birds. So be reminded now how many raptors they have killed for no good reason. Bats are killed every night by these things, because of the low pressure wave on the trailing edge of the blade the bats pass through and their lungs burst. They die. Not good MAY. I also suggest you do a little more research and find out how many wind turbines in your valleys are broken and abandoned. They may be spinning but estimates are approximately 10% are not in working order, they are broken but still spinning, and you MAY would not know the difference. I also suggest you find out about how many people are being affected by the shadow flicker, and constant low frequency noises. I agree with TypeA911 , nuclear power is the solution for the world. No CO2. Unlimited power. Constant Power. Cheaper power.
Like this 2 people like this comment
by Shinespark May 3, 2010 7:28 PM PDT
There is less than a century's worth of proven uranium reserves at current usage.
Like this 2 people like this comment
by myles taylor May 3, 2010 2:46 PM PDT
That's great. The Wind resources of North and South Dakota could alone power the US if harnessed.
Like this Reply to this comment 1 person likes this comment
by Maddog4u May 3, 2010 3:30 PM PDT
(dosnt hold back personal attack) Sorry Myles you are dead wrong.
Wind energy is a variant energy source that is unreliable and can never support the worlds needs. To power all of the USA you will need to cover an area 200 times larger than North and South Dakota with a density of one per 1/4 acre and even then you would not be assured the wind will blow every day. Do the math , 17% efficiency of a 2.5 MWt wind turbine = .0425 MWt now divide that by the current usage of the USA ( which is 925000 MWt last summer) and you will have how many 500 foot tall turbines you have to plant in the ground. The answer 2,176,470 -- I will spell it out for you ,,,, it is 2 million 176 thousand and 4 hundred and seventy. Again typeA911 is correct. [CNET editors' note: Personal attack deleted.]
Like this 5 people like this comment
by Maddog4u May 3, 2010 2:54 PM PDT
The problem is that "GREEN" energy is not always correctly labelled and understood. The CO2 frenzy is triggering very reactive, panic driven, poor policy decisions in the governance. Since wind energy is reliant on the variance of wind being present, a backup system is required. That back up system is usually natural gas powered steam turbine power plants to maintain consistent power. So lets think about it,,, to reduce CO2 producing electrical utilities, you are building Wind Turbines which in turn are supported by CO2 producing natural gas driven steam turbine electrical power plants for when the wind does not BLOW. These Natural Gas plants boil water 24 hours a day 7 days a week to keep the water boiling to make steam, to make electricity, just in case. In a nut shell, large industrial wind turbine power is expensive, intrusive, unreliable, with NO net benefit to reduce CO2. In Europe, governments there are starting to see the error in their way. Britain just completed a study of their wind turbine assets, showing the output is only 17% efficient. Britain is now wondering why have they destroyed their beautiful countryside with little to no CO2 offset. The Spanish have concluded that for every wind job they created through subsidies, they lost 2.2 jobs. Germany is building 25 more coal fired stations because wind is proving to be unreliable. The only thing green about wind power is the green you pay for increased electricity and increased taxes for subsidies your government is paying the Wind companies . Visit www.wind-watch.org and get educated.
Like this Reply to this comment 2 people like this comment
by FixWix May 3, 2010 3:04 PM PDT
hmmmm ...... http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=84733.0
Like this Reply to this comment by May 3, 2010 3:34 PM PDT
Here's the real issue:
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/01/13/234187/google-defends-search-energy-use-after-newspaper-claims.htm
Like this Reply to this comment by baruchz May 3, 2010 4:53 PM PDT
The point is not that wind is the solution. The point is that wind is A solution, among several, which can produce greener electricity. None of them are perfect. If you really want electricity with no environmental impact you'd have to harness lightening and live very simply. The fact is that modern technological human societies are "taker" societies as opposed to "leaver" societies (read Daniel Quinn's Ishmael for the reference) and so we all take more than our fair share.
Like this Reply to this comment 4 people like this comment
by noesbueno May 4, 2010 7:07 AM PDT
manbearpig it is.
Like this Reply to this comment by biffhenerson May 4, 2010 3:17 PM PDT
Must be nice to have enough money to flush some down the toilet.
Like this Reply to this comment by kennedy200 May 5, 2010 3:47 PM PDT
Whether the windmills are good, bad, ugly, not efficient or super efficient ? I am very encouraged to see a non-energy company that cares enough about the environment to dish out some of their profits in any effort to improve it. Most companies of Google?s stature would have just built another energy hogging building with the money. Congratulations to Google and thank you Mr. LaMonica for recognizing them.
Like this Reply to this comment by Maddog4u May 9, 2010 7:47 PM PDT
It would be more appropriate for them to invest in improving conservation and efficiency of use around the world. Such as eliminating standby power in all our TVs, upgrading the transmission grid to avoid stray voltage loss. I have an idea that if we turned off every street light in very urban setting from 2:00am to 5:00am (when your supposed to be asleep) you will accomplish all the CO2 savings, and fossil fuel savings that Wind pretends to deliver. By investing in misleading technologies such as wind, only directs money towards a dead end cause and away areas that could actually make a difference.
Google invests nearly $39 million in wind farms
May 3, 2010 1:04 PM PDT
by Martin LaMonica
Google, a company whose core business is Internet search, has made its first investment in a renewable-energy project, putting up $38.8 million into two wind farms in North Dakota.
The company on Monday announced the funding, saying the two locations generate 169.5 megawatts of power, or enough to supply 55,000 homes. The farms, which were developed by NextEra Energy Resources, will reduce fossil fuel use in the region and make "good business sense," for Google, too, said Rick Needham, Google's green business operations manager, on the company blog.
The look from up in a turbine at the Ashtabula II wind farm in North Dakota.
(Credit: Google) Google has invested millions of dollars in renewable-energy start-ups through its philanthropic arm, Google.org. It also has PowerMeter, a Web-based home electricity monitor which it's making available through utilities and monitoring-device makers.
Now the company is looking for more renewable-energy projects, said Needham. "We look forward to finding more opportunities to invest in renewable-energy projects that use the latest technologies to push the envelope for delivering low-cost clean energy," he said.
Google's investments to make its data centers run efficiently deliver a clear benefit in the form of lower costs. Its activities with PowerMeter, too, are arguably part of its mission to organize the world's information. On a policy level, Google executives have been active in lobbying for investments in clean-energy technologies.
In the past few months, though, it has stepped up its activities in clean energy, which the company says is consistent with its business objectives.
Earlier this year, Google created a Google Energy subsidiary and received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to provide power on the wholesale market. That was done to expand its options for purchasing renewable power to meet a corporate goal of being carbon neutral.
The investment in the North Dakota wind farms is not related to its Google Energy subsidiary, according to a company representative. But it should deliver a financial return, along with furthering Google's desire to further clean-energy adoption, she added.
"You can think of it as a way to diversify our cash holdings while investing in an area that we think is important to support. This investment will help further deployment of wind power, one of the lowest-cost sources of renewable energy," the representative said.
The location for the projected wind farms is one of the best regions of the U.S. for wind. The technology behind the planned is state of the art, too, said Needham.
The 113 turbines are able to adjust the pitch to take advantage of wind direction and there is a computerized control system to optimize maintenance and performance.
In choosing to invest in a wind project, Google is seeking to bolster a troubled part of the green-technology investment chain. With banks and project finance companies scaling back on loans, many renewable-energy projects which need tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars to launch have been stalled.
NextEra Energy Resources sold Google a 20 percent stake in the project to get access to capital for project development.
Comment
Its good that Google is taking a leadership position in clean energy and providing some financing for some projects. It may or may not be profitable but it will certainly cut their corporate carbon footprint.
by Martin LaMonica
Google, a company whose core business is Internet search, has made its first investment in a renewable-energy project, putting up $38.8 million into two wind farms in North Dakota.
The company on Monday announced the funding, saying the two locations generate 169.5 megawatts of power, or enough to supply 55,000 homes. The farms, which were developed by NextEra Energy Resources, will reduce fossil fuel use in the region and make "good business sense," for Google, too, said Rick Needham, Google's green business operations manager, on the company blog.
The look from up in a turbine at the Ashtabula II wind farm in North Dakota.
(Credit: Google) Google has invested millions of dollars in renewable-energy start-ups through its philanthropic arm, Google.org. It also has PowerMeter, a Web-based home electricity monitor which it's making available through utilities and monitoring-device makers.
Now the company is looking for more renewable-energy projects, said Needham. "We look forward to finding more opportunities to invest in renewable-energy projects that use the latest technologies to push the envelope for delivering low-cost clean energy," he said.
Google's investments to make its data centers run efficiently deliver a clear benefit in the form of lower costs. Its activities with PowerMeter, too, are arguably part of its mission to organize the world's information. On a policy level, Google executives have been active in lobbying for investments in clean-energy technologies.
In the past few months, though, it has stepped up its activities in clean energy, which the company says is consistent with its business objectives.
Earlier this year, Google created a Google Energy subsidiary and received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to provide power on the wholesale market. That was done to expand its options for purchasing renewable power to meet a corporate goal of being carbon neutral.
The investment in the North Dakota wind farms is not related to its Google Energy subsidiary, according to a company representative. But it should deliver a financial return, along with furthering Google's desire to further clean-energy adoption, she added.
"You can think of it as a way to diversify our cash holdings while investing in an area that we think is important to support. This investment will help further deployment of wind power, one of the lowest-cost sources of renewable energy," the representative said.
The location for the projected wind farms is one of the best regions of the U.S. for wind. The technology behind the planned is state of the art, too, said Needham.
The 113 turbines are able to adjust the pitch to take advantage of wind direction and there is a computerized control system to optimize maintenance and performance.
In choosing to invest in a wind project, Google is seeking to bolster a troubled part of the green-technology investment chain. With banks and project finance companies scaling back on loans, many renewable-energy projects which need tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars to launch have been stalled.
NextEra Energy Resources sold Google a 20 percent stake in the project to get access to capital for project development.
Comment
Its good that Google is taking a leadership position in clean energy and providing some financing for some projects. It may or may not be profitable but it will certainly cut their corporate carbon footprint.
Using a dairy farm to power your server farm
May 18, 2010 6:00 PM PDT
by Erica Ogg
What do 10,000 cows and diesel generators have in common?
Both have the ability to power a 1-megawatt data center. Diesel generators are already used for this purpose at some data center sites, though the energy source is not very environmentally friendly. On the other hand, 10,000 cows grazing a dairy farm produce 20,000 metric tons of manure each year that can be turned into methane gas and eventually electrical power.
That's according to researchers from HP Labs, who are presenting a paper on these findings at the ASME International Conference on Energy Sustainability in Phoenix on Wednesday.
The idea is this: As our demand grows for computing power and data storage, the capacity to power data centers is not keeping up properly. HP's goal is to use sustainable processes to build data centers that are self-sufficient. That is, build data centers whose power sources are from sustainable energy sources and whose heat output can be recycled and reused within that same data center.
(Credit: HP Labs)
As odd as it may sound, that's where the cows come in. The average dairy cow produces 55 kilograms of manure per day, or 20 metric tons per year. An individual cow's manure can generate 3 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy per day. (That alone could power television usage in three U.S. households on a daily basis.)
And on a farm with 10,000 cows, that amounts to enough energy to power a 1-megawatt data center, according to HP researchers.
"These farms already exist. Some already use the methane and (distribute) it elsewhere for local use," said Chandrakant Patel, one of the HP Labs researchers on the project. "We are suggesting that if you are starting to (look for a place to locate) a data center, now that high-speed networking is starting to extend into other areas, why not look at this opportunity where you cannot only use manure, but capture the energy right at the source?"
The process would work like this: farms already have a manure collection system. The biomass goes into an anaerobic digester, which breaks down the waste like a sewage treatment plant would. At this point in the process, methane gas is released. But in HP's vision, instead of a farm burning off that gas--one of the most dangerous greenhouse gases--the chemical energy in that methane could be converted into electrical energy to power the data center.
To complete the circle, the heat that the data center gives off is then reused as part of the energy needed to break down the biomass.
In India, for example, they are running out of power to keep the data centers that are being built there up and running. "In India they need diesel generators because the power grid can't keep up with the growth," said Patel, and there lies a golden opportunity for a dairy farmer. Patel points out, there could be some money to be made for the enterprising farmer who wants to recycle and use his cows' daily output for this purpose.
The cost to build a 1-megawatt data center is around $5 million. But it could generate around $2 million in revenue per year. So after two or three years, the builder would already make the investment back.
by Erica Ogg
What do 10,000 cows and diesel generators have in common?
Both have the ability to power a 1-megawatt data center. Diesel generators are already used for this purpose at some data center sites, though the energy source is not very environmentally friendly. On the other hand, 10,000 cows grazing a dairy farm produce 20,000 metric tons of manure each year that can be turned into methane gas and eventually electrical power.
That's according to researchers from HP Labs, who are presenting a paper on these findings at the ASME International Conference on Energy Sustainability in Phoenix on Wednesday.
The idea is this: As our demand grows for computing power and data storage, the capacity to power data centers is not keeping up properly. HP's goal is to use sustainable processes to build data centers that are self-sufficient. That is, build data centers whose power sources are from sustainable energy sources and whose heat output can be recycled and reused within that same data center.
(Credit: HP Labs)
As odd as it may sound, that's where the cows come in. The average dairy cow produces 55 kilograms of manure per day, or 20 metric tons per year. An individual cow's manure can generate 3 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy per day. (That alone could power television usage in three U.S. households on a daily basis.)
And on a farm with 10,000 cows, that amounts to enough energy to power a 1-megawatt data center, according to HP researchers.
"These farms already exist. Some already use the methane and (distribute) it elsewhere for local use," said Chandrakant Patel, one of the HP Labs researchers on the project. "We are suggesting that if you are starting to (look for a place to locate) a data center, now that high-speed networking is starting to extend into other areas, why not look at this opportunity where you cannot only use manure, but capture the energy right at the source?"
The process would work like this: farms already have a manure collection system. The biomass goes into an anaerobic digester, which breaks down the waste like a sewage treatment plant would. At this point in the process, methane gas is released. But in HP's vision, instead of a farm burning off that gas--one of the most dangerous greenhouse gases--the chemical energy in that methane could be converted into electrical energy to power the data center.
To complete the circle, the heat that the data center gives off is then reused as part of the energy needed to break down the biomass.
In India, for example, they are running out of power to keep the data centers that are being built there up and running. "In India they need diesel generators because the power grid can't keep up with the growth," said Patel, and there lies a golden opportunity for a dairy farmer. Patel points out, there could be some money to be made for the enterprising farmer who wants to recycle and use his cows' daily output for this purpose.
The cost to build a 1-megawatt data center is around $5 million. But it could generate around $2 million in revenue per year. So after two or three years, the builder would already make the investment back.
Study: Smart meters need better user interface
May 19, 2010 6:12 AM PDT
by Martin LaMonica
Consumers needs better operating instructions for the smart grid, a survey published on Wednesday shows.
A Boston Consulting Group study found that the majority of consumers surveyed are willing to tap into the information from smart meters to conserve energy. But utilities haven't done a good enough job of enabling people to use their two-way meters constructively.
A smart meter from Pacific Gas & Electric.
(Credit: PG&E) The survey of 1,700 U.S. consumers, which was done online last December, found a strong interest in lowering energy use. Seventy-five percent of respondents said they were interested in finding easy ways to save power and two-thirds said that getting a daily information would help them better manage their bills.
The idea behind applications such as Google's PowerMeter or an in-home energy display is that more detailed information will help people find ways to curb energy use. Sixty-two percent of people said they would log onto an Internet site to check power consumption at least once a week, the Boston Consulting Group found.
Even though there's been a lot of talk about the smart grid, consumers don't appear familiar with smart meters or aren't yet sure of the actual benefit from them. Sixty-six percent of the respondents to the survey said they would like more communication from utilities on smart meters and less than 30 percent can recall getting information beyond the monthly bill.
Smart meters deliver some direct benefits to utilities, such as automated meter reading, and can be useful for implementing time-of-day pricing. But the lack of customer education threatens to undermine the economic reason to invest in smart meters, Boston Consulting Group said.
"We estimate that from 20 to 30 percent of a utility's customers will have to reduce their overall consumption or peak demand by 15 to 20 percent to make smart meters a winning proposition," said Pattabi Seshadri, a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group's energy practice, in a statement. "Falling short of that threshold will likely prevent the utility from delivering the necessary return on investment."
Seshardi suggested that utilities should explore partnerships with other industries well versed in introducing new products and services to consumers.
by Martin LaMonica
Consumers needs better operating instructions for the smart grid, a survey published on Wednesday shows.
A Boston Consulting Group study found that the majority of consumers surveyed are willing to tap into the information from smart meters to conserve energy. But utilities haven't done a good enough job of enabling people to use their two-way meters constructively.
A smart meter from Pacific Gas & Electric.
(Credit: PG&E) The survey of 1,700 U.S. consumers, which was done online last December, found a strong interest in lowering energy use. Seventy-five percent of respondents said they were interested in finding easy ways to save power and two-thirds said that getting a daily information would help them better manage their bills.
The idea behind applications such as Google's PowerMeter or an in-home energy display is that more detailed information will help people find ways to curb energy use. Sixty-two percent of people said they would log onto an Internet site to check power consumption at least once a week, the Boston Consulting Group found.
Even though there's been a lot of talk about the smart grid, consumers don't appear familiar with smart meters or aren't yet sure of the actual benefit from them. Sixty-six percent of the respondents to the survey said they would like more communication from utilities on smart meters and less than 30 percent can recall getting information beyond the monthly bill.
Smart meters deliver some direct benefits to utilities, such as automated meter reading, and can be useful for implementing time-of-day pricing. But the lack of customer education threatens to undermine the economic reason to invest in smart meters, Boston Consulting Group said.
"We estimate that from 20 to 30 percent of a utility's customers will have to reduce their overall consumption or peak demand by 15 to 20 percent to make smart meters a winning proposition," said Pattabi Seshadri, a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group's energy practice, in a statement. "Falling short of that threshold will likely prevent the utility from delivering the necessary return on investment."
Seshardi suggested that utilities should explore partnerships with other industries well versed in introducing new products and services to consumers.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Need to clean up’ energy agency, Salazar says
Interior chief testifies Minerals Management Service needs shakeup
Daniel Beltra / Greenpeace via AFP - Getty Images
Greenpeace activists made their point about the spill on Monday along the shore in South Pass, Louisiana.
Tar balls on Key West
May 18: Officials will test if they originated from the BP oil slick swirling in the Gulf of Mexico.
Environment news
BP's haste lays waste to Gulf waters
Rachel Maddow shares reports that BP's pressure on Transocean to skip steps in the drilling process to expedite oil extraction from the well led to the explosion that killed 11 workers and created an ecological catastrophe.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oil plumes spark fears of dead zones
Is reliance on BP continuing to hurt the Gulf Coast area?
Does BP need help?
Whistleblower: BP aware of safety problems
Slideshow
Oil spill disaster in the Gulf
Following an explosion that is presumed to have claimed 11 lives, crews attempt to contain an underwater oil well gushing thousands of gallons a day off the Louisiana coast.
Gulf oil spill graphics
How much oil?
How much oil is spilling into the Gulf?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interactive: Rig blast aftermath
Timeline: Oil rig explosions in the Gulf of Mexico
Map: Oil spill trajectory
Wildlife threatened by oil
View images of some of the birds and marine life at risk from the oil rig leak.
Field Notes: Gulf oil spill
Shrimpers just want to keep shrimping
Oysterman: 'Oil monster will gulp us up'
BP CEO: We could have done more to prepare
Still waiting for oil to hit land
Long-suffering tribe fears oil may strike final blow
On the coast, a rising tide of suits and briefcases
In Mississippi, a berm of last resort
Bayou town rides the oil spill boom
For oil workers, accidents are 'a risk you take'
Shrimping like there's no tomorrow
msnbc.com news services
updated 1 hour, 31 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Facing pressure from lawmakers and President Barack Obama, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday told senators that the "collective responsibility" to make sure the Gulf oil disaster is never repeated starts with his department, and specifically, the agency that regulates offshore drilling.
"We need to clean up that house," Salazar said, referring to the Minerals Management Service. He testified before the Senate Energy Committee.
Asked if the MMS had properly regulated the blowout preventers like the one that failed on the Deepwater Horizon rig, Salazar said: "No."
Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., asked whether both government and industry had become lax since the Gulf had not seen a major well blowout for decades. "I would say, yes," replied Salazar.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., was vehement in his criticism of MMS. "It is long past time to drain the safety and environmental swamp that is MMS," he declared. "This agency has been in denial about safety problems for years."
Salazar did deny reports that MMS had approved a number of new oil drilling applications in deep waters of the Gulf since the spill.
"We have hit the pause button," Salazar said. He said no new deep water drilling applications have been approved since April 20, or will be drilled until a safety report is completed on the BP spill.
Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes told the committee that about a dozen applications had been received since April 20.
Salazar last week announced the MMS would be split into two agencies, one that deals with collecting the $15 billion in annual royalty revenue and another that deals with regulating the industry.
Obama himself has cited a "cosy relationship" that MMS had tradionally had with the oil industry.
With a shakeup of MMS imminent, Chris Oynes, the top official overseeing its offshore oil and gas drilling, announced Monday that he would retire at the end of the month.
Obama is expected to announce later Tuesday a presidential commission to probe the MMS as well as industry.
"Whether it's a nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island or an oil blowout one mile deep, appointing an independent review panel is critical to reduce the risks of future accidents," said Edward Markey, chairman of a House of Representatives committee on global warming and energy independence.
The presidential commission will investigate issues related to the spill and its aftermath, including rig safety and regulatory regimes at the local, state and federal levels.
It will also look into the federal government's oversight role and environmental protections.
Fishing shutdown widened
In other developments, the federal area where fishing is shut down because of the spill was widened on Tuesday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said nearly 46,000 square miles, or about 19 percent of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, will be shut under the expanded ban.
NOAA had earlier shut down fishing in nearly 10 percent of Gulf of Mexico waters.
The agency said it has been testing fish to make sure it is safe to eat.
An oil loop?
May 18: Current could potentially take oil through the Florida Keys and up the Atlantic coast.
BP, for its part, on Tuesday doubled the estimate of how much oil it was managing to siphon from the leak in the Gulf of Mexico, as it also lifted the total bill for the clean-up to $625 million.
BP said its "quick fix" mile-long siphon tube deployed on the leaking well was now collecting 40 percent of the estimated 5,000 barrels of oil flowing into the sea per day, double the 1,000 barrels it was capturing on Monday.
"I do feel that we have, for the first time, turned the corner in this challenge," BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward said in Florida on Monday.
Still, concerns remain. The U.S. Coast Guard said 20 tar balls were found off Florida's Key West, but the agency stopped short of saying whether they came from the massive oil spill.
Roughly five million gallons of crude have spewed into the Gulf and tar balls have been washing ashore in several states along the coast since the April 20 rig explosion that killed 11 workers.
Scientists are now worried that oil is streaming into a major ocean current that could carry it through the Florida Keys and up the East Coast.
Tar balls at Key West
The Coast Guard said the Florida Park Service found the tar balls on Monday during a shoreline survey. The balls were three-to-eight inches in diameter.
Coast Guard Lt. Anna K. Dixon said no one at the station in Key West was qualified to determine where the tar balls originated. They have been sent to a lab for analysis.
The updated cost of the oil spill was $175 million more than reported five days ago and includes the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf Coast states, settlements and federal costs.
Daniel Beltra / Greenpeace via AFP - Getty Images
Greenpeace activists made their point about the spill on Monday along the shore in South Pass, Louisiana.
Tar balls on Key West
May 18: Officials will test if they originated from the BP oil slick swirling in the Gulf of Mexico.
Environment news
BP's haste lays waste to Gulf waters
Rachel Maddow shares reports that BP's pressure on Transocean to skip steps in the drilling process to expedite oil extraction from the well led to the explosion that killed 11 workers and created an ecological catastrophe.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oil plumes spark fears of dead zones
Is reliance on BP continuing to hurt the Gulf Coast area?
Does BP need help?
Whistleblower: BP aware of safety problems
Slideshow
Oil spill disaster in the Gulf
Following an explosion that is presumed to have claimed 11 lives, crews attempt to contain an underwater oil well gushing thousands of gallons a day off the Louisiana coast.
Gulf oil spill graphics
How much oil?
How much oil is spilling into the Gulf?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interactive: Rig blast aftermath
Timeline: Oil rig explosions in the Gulf of Mexico
Map: Oil spill trajectory
Wildlife threatened by oil
View images of some of the birds and marine life at risk from the oil rig leak.
Field Notes: Gulf oil spill
Shrimpers just want to keep shrimping
Oysterman: 'Oil monster will gulp us up'
BP CEO: We could have done more to prepare
Still waiting for oil to hit land
Long-suffering tribe fears oil may strike final blow
On the coast, a rising tide of suits and briefcases
In Mississippi, a berm of last resort
Bayou town rides the oil spill boom
For oil workers, accidents are 'a risk you take'
Shrimping like there's no tomorrow
msnbc.com news services
updated 1 hour, 31 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Facing pressure from lawmakers and President Barack Obama, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday told senators that the "collective responsibility" to make sure the Gulf oil disaster is never repeated starts with his department, and specifically, the agency that regulates offshore drilling.
"We need to clean up that house," Salazar said, referring to the Minerals Management Service. He testified before the Senate Energy Committee.
Asked if the MMS had properly regulated the blowout preventers like the one that failed on the Deepwater Horizon rig, Salazar said: "No."
Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., asked whether both government and industry had become lax since the Gulf had not seen a major well blowout for decades. "I would say, yes," replied Salazar.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., was vehement in his criticism of MMS. "It is long past time to drain the safety and environmental swamp that is MMS," he declared. "This agency has been in denial about safety problems for years."
Salazar did deny reports that MMS had approved a number of new oil drilling applications in deep waters of the Gulf since the spill.
"We have hit the pause button," Salazar said. He said no new deep water drilling applications have been approved since April 20, or will be drilled until a safety report is completed on the BP spill.
Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes told the committee that about a dozen applications had been received since April 20.
Salazar last week announced the MMS would be split into two agencies, one that deals with collecting the $15 billion in annual royalty revenue and another that deals with regulating the industry.
Obama himself has cited a "cosy relationship" that MMS had tradionally had with the oil industry.
With a shakeup of MMS imminent, Chris Oynes, the top official overseeing its offshore oil and gas drilling, announced Monday that he would retire at the end of the month.
Obama is expected to announce later Tuesday a presidential commission to probe the MMS as well as industry.
"Whether it's a nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island or an oil blowout one mile deep, appointing an independent review panel is critical to reduce the risks of future accidents," said Edward Markey, chairman of a House of Representatives committee on global warming and energy independence.
The presidential commission will investigate issues related to the spill and its aftermath, including rig safety and regulatory regimes at the local, state and federal levels.
It will also look into the federal government's oversight role and environmental protections.
Fishing shutdown widened
In other developments, the federal area where fishing is shut down because of the spill was widened on Tuesday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said nearly 46,000 square miles, or about 19 percent of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, will be shut under the expanded ban.
NOAA had earlier shut down fishing in nearly 10 percent of Gulf of Mexico waters.
The agency said it has been testing fish to make sure it is safe to eat.
An oil loop?
May 18: Current could potentially take oil through the Florida Keys and up the Atlantic coast.
BP, for its part, on Tuesday doubled the estimate of how much oil it was managing to siphon from the leak in the Gulf of Mexico, as it also lifted the total bill for the clean-up to $625 million.
BP said its "quick fix" mile-long siphon tube deployed on the leaking well was now collecting 40 percent of the estimated 5,000 barrels of oil flowing into the sea per day, double the 1,000 barrels it was capturing on Monday.
"I do feel that we have, for the first time, turned the corner in this challenge," BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward said in Florida on Monday.
Still, concerns remain. The U.S. Coast Guard said 20 tar balls were found off Florida's Key West, but the agency stopped short of saying whether they came from the massive oil spill.
Roughly five million gallons of crude have spewed into the Gulf and tar balls have been washing ashore in several states along the coast since the April 20 rig explosion that killed 11 workers.
Scientists are now worried that oil is streaming into a major ocean current that could carry it through the Florida Keys and up the East Coast.
Tar balls at Key West
The Coast Guard said the Florida Park Service found the tar balls on Monday during a shoreline survey. The balls were three-to-eight inches in diameter.
Coast Guard Lt. Anna K. Dixon said no one at the station in Key West was qualified to determine where the tar balls originated. They have been sent to a lab for analysis.
The updated cost of the oil spill was $175 million more than reported five days ago and includes the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf Coast states, settlements and federal costs.
Pythagoras Solar unveils power-generating skylight
May 18, 2010 5:00 AM PDT
by Martin LaMonica
Start-up Pythagoras Solar has designed a window that doubles as a solar panel and layer of insulation.
The company on Tuesday detailed its photovoltaic glass unit, a replacement for the glass structures used on the facades or roofs of commercial buildings. Pythagoras Solar's first product, due in the third quarter this year, will be a skylight but the company also plans to make curtain walls for new buildings.
Anatomy of a green window: optics on the surface filter light to let in daylight while mirrors reflect light onto solar cells (in purple). Click for larger image.
(Credit: Pythagoras Solar) Typical commercial insulated glass units have two panes of glass, placed about one inch apart and held in a metal frame, which are coated with a film to block out heat from the sun. Pythagoras Solar's glass unit also uses two panes but the glass unit is made of several tiles, each of which has a solar cell to generate electricity. The rectangle-shaped tiles allow daylight in and have internal mirrors reflect light onto the solar cells.
The key to the design is a plastic prism, placed on the outside of the glass unit, and the adhesive materials used, said company Vice President Udi Paret. "We manipulate the light with optics so the direct light gets onto the cell and the materials make the heat dissipate," he explained.
The company, which was founded in 2007 and has raised $12 million in venture capital, has a partnership with cell provider China Sunergy for the monocrystalline silicon solar cells and contract manufacturer Flextronics to make the end product, said Paret. Production of the photovoltaic glass unit is scheduled for the third quarter this year and two projects are already in the works for this year, he added.
The mirrors within the tiles concentrate the light onto the solar cells, which helps the glass unit produce as much electricity as a comparably sized solar panel placed on a flat roof, Paret said.
He did not disclose pricing but the company says that building owners can get a return on investment of about five years.
Flexible, thin-film solar cells allow for several building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products, such as power-generating windows, roofs, or awnings. But actual sales of BIPV material is still a tiny niche, about 100-megawatts worth of product last year, according to Paret.
In practice, Pythagoras Solar expects that its photovoltaic glass units will be used among other traditional insulated glass units. For example, one project under discussion could use the power-generating glass for about 20 percent of the facade, he said.
by Martin LaMonica
Start-up Pythagoras Solar has designed a window that doubles as a solar panel and layer of insulation.
The company on Tuesday detailed its photovoltaic glass unit, a replacement for the glass structures used on the facades or roofs of commercial buildings. Pythagoras Solar's first product, due in the third quarter this year, will be a skylight but the company also plans to make curtain walls for new buildings.
Anatomy of a green window: optics on the surface filter light to let in daylight while mirrors reflect light onto solar cells (in purple). Click for larger image.
(Credit: Pythagoras Solar) Typical commercial insulated glass units have two panes of glass, placed about one inch apart and held in a metal frame, which are coated with a film to block out heat from the sun. Pythagoras Solar's glass unit also uses two panes but the glass unit is made of several tiles, each of which has a solar cell to generate electricity. The rectangle-shaped tiles allow daylight in and have internal mirrors reflect light onto the solar cells.
The key to the design is a plastic prism, placed on the outside of the glass unit, and the adhesive materials used, said company Vice President Udi Paret. "We manipulate the light with optics so the direct light gets onto the cell and the materials make the heat dissipate," he explained.
The company, which was founded in 2007 and has raised $12 million in venture capital, has a partnership with cell provider China Sunergy for the monocrystalline silicon solar cells and contract manufacturer Flextronics to make the end product, said Paret. Production of the photovoltaic glass unit is scheduled for the third quarter this year and two projects are already in the works for this year, he added.
The mirrors within the tiles concentrate the light onto the solar cells, which helps the glass unit produce as much electricity as a comparably sized solar panel placed on a flat roof, Paret said.
He did not disclose pricing but the company says that building owners can get a return on investment of about five years.
Flexible, thin-film solar cells allow for several building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products, such as power-generating windows, roofs, or awnings. But actual sales of BIPV material is still a tiny niche, about 100-megawatts worth of product last year, according to Paret.
In practice, Pythagoras Solar expects that its photovoltaic glass units will be used among other traditional insulated glass units. For example, one project under discussion could use the power-generating glass for about 20 percent of the facade, he said.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Nuclear power: Friend or foe to renewable energy?
April 13, 2010 12:59 PM PDT
by Martin LaMonica
The nuclear power question: Sierra Club President Michael Brune (second from right) says that nuclear power is expensive and not safe, while others argue that the technology is mature and disposal issues can be dealt with. From left: David Crane, CEO of utility NRG Energy, environmentalist Stewart Brand, Brune, and James Connaugton of Constellation Energy.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET )
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.--As renewable energy gains steam, environmentalists are increasingly being asked whether to support their longtime enemy: nuclear power.
At the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference here, nuclear power has frequently entered the discussion over the future of clean energy. Prompted by government policies, utilities are investing in wind and solar power but there are limits to what renewable power can do, say people in the industry.
When environmentalists say that clean energy can supply all electricity needs in the near future, they're being idealistic, said David Crane, the CEO of utility NRG Energy, which has invested in solar and wind, but is seeking to build a nuclear power plant in Texas. Compared to carbon capture and underground storage at coal plants, nuclear is more mature, he said.
"For people who want to deal with realism, ask yourself what does a utility CEO do when the lights go out and the governor of the state calls you yelling and screaming," he said during a panel on Tuesday. "I'm not against renewable but you got to keep all of this in proportion. We need low-carbon or no-carbon baseload generation in this country."
Wind and solar power are intermittent, which means that they do not provide electricity continuously. Nuclear power plants can work round the clock and don't have carbon emissions during operation, which is the primary reason that environmentalist Stewart Brand now backs nuclear.
There is also the issue of cost. Nuclear, wind, and solar are all more expensive than generating electricity with natural gas at its current prices, said Crane. But if government policies do not include support for nuclear power, such as loan guarantees, then utilities will move to natural gas because it is less polluting than coal. But a spike in demand will drive up prices from $4 per million BTUs, which is where it is now, panelists said.
"Renewables could get to 20 or 30 percent of generation (from about 2 percent now) and we can get there affordably. But if you take nuclear out of the equation, the choice is not 50 percent renewable, the choice is taking natural gas to 40 or 50 percent," said James Connaughton, executive vice president for corporate affairs, public affairs, and environmental policy at utility Constellation Energy.
In the U.S. there are 26 proposals to build new power plants to meet growing electricity demand and three are in the running for government loan guarantees, said Connaughton. He projects a "symbiosis" between nuclear, natural gas, and renewable in the decades ahead where scaling up each power source will lower costs.
Environmental group the Sierra Club "enthusiastically" opposes nuclear power for a number of reasons, including its high cost, risks of handling nuclear waste, and risk of proliferation of weapons, said Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club.
"I can understand why we are having this conversation," he said. "But the only reason to invest in nuclear power is because we tried it before, because we know it can work. That's not a compelling reason, we need to rise to a challenge as a species, as a country."
By contrast, representatives from other environmental groups, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council, said on Monday that they were not totally opposed to additional government incentives for nuclear power.
Those groups expected that an energy and climate bill--now being crafted by the Senate--would include support for nuclear but not a huge expansion because of the costs, waste disposal, and proliferation risks of nuclear, said Frances Beineke, the president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Nuclear, which now accounts for about 20 percent of power generation in the U.S., cannot get to 50 percent, as coal does now, because of cost, she said.
Solar, wind cheaper than nukes?
Policy questions aside, there is still an ongoing question over what the impact of technology improvements can have on the adoption rate of solar and wind, compared to other potential sources.
Bill Gross, the CEO of solar thermal company eSolar, is optimistic that solar can generate 20 percent of electricity in the U.S. by 2020, but it will only happen with lower costs. eSolar makes equipment for solar power plants using computer-controlled mirrors which create heat that makes steam to run an electricity turbine
"We're focused on price and to be competitive with solar thermal you need to focus on higher capacity factor (of how often a solar system can generate electricity). It's very hard to store electrons. It's easy to store heat so we can get a capacity factor of 60 to 65 percent," he said.
Oil giant BP has diversified into alternative energy because it sees a growing demand for energy across the world in the next 20 years. It has decided to focus its efforts on biofuels, solar, wind, and carbon, capture, and storage.
"We believe that onshore wind and solar PV (photovoltaics) can compete and are much more cost-competitive with nuclear or perhaps carbon capture and storage at this time given its newness," said Katrina Landis, the CEO of BP's Alternative Energy division.
Which one will scale up quickest? "It depends on government support. Governments need to be very clear on the rules and the rules need to be lasting," she said.
Comment
It will also depend on the trade-offs with the Republicans. Politics is horse trading. Obama will include some nuclear in order to get support for some of his other ideas. Nuclear plants take seven years to build and billions of bucks. France has used nuclear however, for years without much problem, and are looking at reusing the spent radioactive rods. if we can reuse them the disposal problem is considerably less.
by Martin LaMonica
The nuclear power question: Sierra Club President Michael Brune (second from right) says that nuclear power is expensive and not safe, while others argue that the technology is mature and disposal issues can be dealt with. From left: David Crane, CEO of utility NRG Energy, environmentalist Stewart Brand, Brune, and James Connaugton of Constellation Energy.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET )
LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.--As renewable energy gains steam, environmentalists are increasingly being asked whether to support their longtime enemy: nuclear power.
At the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference here, nuclear power has frequently entered the discussion over the future of clean energy. Prompted by government policies, utilities are investing in wind and solar power but there are limits to what renewable power can do, say people in the industry.
When environmentalists say that clean energy can supply all electricity needs in the near future, they're being idealistic, said David Crane, the CEO of utility NRG Energy, which has invested in solar and wind, but is seeking to build a nuclear power plant in Texas. Compared to carbon capture and underground storage at coal plants, nuclear is more mature, he said.
"For people who want to deal with realism, ask yourself what does a utility CEO do when the lights go out and the governor of the state calls you yelling and screaming," he said during a panel on Tuesday. "I'm not against renewable but you got to keep all of this in proportion. We need low-carbon or no-carbon baseload generation in this country."
Wind and solar power are intermittent, which means that they do not provide electricity continuously. Nuclear power plants can work round the clock and don't have carbon emissions during operation, which is the primary reason that environmentalist Stewart Brand now backs nuclear.
There is also the issue of cost. Nuclear, wind, and solar are all more expensive than generating electricity with natural gas at its current prices, said Crane. But if government policies do not include support for nuclear power, such as loan guarantees, then utilities will move to natural gas because it is less polluting than coal. But a spike in demand will drive up prices from $4 per million BTUs, which is where it is now, panelists said.
"Renewables could get to 20 or 30 percent of generation (from about 2 percent now) and we can get there affordably. But if you take nuclear out of the equation, the choice is not 50 percent renewable, the choice is taking natural gas to 40 or 50 percent," said James Connaughton, executive vice president for corporate affairs, public affairs, and environmental policy at utility Constellation Energy.
In the U.S. there are 26 proposals to build new power plants to meet growing electricity demand and three are in the running for government loan guarantees, said Connaughton. He projects a "symbiosis" between nuclear, natural gas, and renewable in the decades ahead where scaling up each power source will lower costs.
Environmental group the Sierra Club "enthusiastically" opposes nuclear power for a number of reasons, including its high cost, risks of handling nuclear waste, and risk of proliferation of weapons, said Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club.
"I can understand why we are having this conversation," he said. "But the only reason to invest in nuclear power is because we tried it before, because we know it can work. That's not a compelling reason, we need to rise to a challenge as a species, as a country."
By contrast, representatives from other environmental groups, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council, said on Monday that they were not totally opposed to additional government incentives for nuclear power.
Those groups expected that an energy and climate bill--now being crafted by the Senate--would include support for nuclear but not a huge expansion because of the costs, waste disposal, and proliferation risks of nuclear, said Frances Beineke, the president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Nuclear, which now accounts for about 20 percent of power generation in the U.S., cannot get to 50 percent, as coal does now, because of cost, she said.
Solar, wind cheaper than nukes?
Policy questions aside, there is still an ongoing question over what the impact of technology improvements can have on the adoption rate of solar and wind, compared to other potential sources.
Bill Gross, the CEO of solar thermal company eSolar, is optimistic that solar can generate 20 percent of electricity in the U.S. by 2020, but it will only happen with lower costs. eSolar makes equipment for solar power plants using computer-controlled mirrors which create heat that makes steam to run an electricity turbine
"We're focused on price and to be competitive with solar thermal you need to focus on higher capacity factor (of how often a solar system can generate electricity). It's very hard to store electrons. It's easy to store heat so we can get a capacity factor of 60 to 65 percent," he said.
Oil giant BP has diversified into alternative energy because it sees a growing demand for energy across the world in the next 20 years. It has decided to focus its efforts on biofuels, solar, wind, and carbon, capture, and storage.
"We believe that onshore wind and solar PV (photovoltaics) can compete and are much more cost-competitive with nuclear or perhaps carbon capture and storage at this time given its newness," said Katrina Landis, the CEO of BP's Alternative Energy division.
Which one will scale up quickest? "It depends on government support. Governments need to be very clear on the rules and the rules need to be lasting," she said.
Comment
It will also depend on the trade-offs with the Republicans. Politics is horse trading. Obama will include some nuclear in order to get support for some of his other ideas. Nuclear plants take seven years to build and billions of bucks. France has used nuclear however, for years without much problem, and are looking at reusing the spent radioactive rods. if we can reuse them the disposal problem is considerably less.
Japanese town to test solar-to-electric cars
May 13, 2010 8:18 AM PDT
by Candace Lombardi
Mazda2 cars, known as the Mazda Demio in Japan, have been converted to all-electric drive trains.
(Credit: Mazda)
A Japanese town near Tokyo is about to become a test community for cars that run mainly on solar energy, several companies announced Wednesday.
Through a partnership with Mazda, Think Global, EnerDel, and Japanese conglomerate Itochu among others, Tsukuba City will be testing cars that rely on solar-generated electricity for their batteries, which will be rapid-charged at stations at local FamilyMart stores.
Mazda2 vehicles (known as the Mazda Demio in Japan) have been outfitted with all-electric drive trains made by Think containing EnerDel lithium ion batteries.
Solar panels attached to stationary grid-storage units designed by EnerDel will also have rapid-charging stations for the all-electric cars. The stationary storage units, gleaning and storing electricity from solar panels, will supply almost entirely solar-generated electricity for the cars.
The Japanese community is testing use of the Mazda2 EVs with a ZipCar business model through a program announced in December. Drivers will have smart cards that will be used for billing, tracking charges and wear, and for granting access to the cars and charging stations.
EnerDel said that combining battery storage units with rapid re-charging stations will allow for the use of direct current, which is designed to sharply reduce the amount of time it takes the car batteries to charge.
by Candace Lombardi
Mazda2 cars, known as the Mazda Demio in Japan, have been converted to all-electric drive trains.
(Credit: Mazda)
A Japanese town near Tokyo is about to become a test community for cars that run mainly on solar energy, several companies announced Wednesday.
Through a partnership with Mazda, Think Global, EnerDel, and Japanese conglomerate Itochu among others, Tsukuba City will be testing cars that rely on solar-generated electricity for their batteries, which will be rapid-charged at stations at local FamilyMart stores.
Mazda2 vehicles (known as the Mazda Demio in Japan) have been outfitted with all-electric drive trains made by Think containing EnerDel lithium ion batteries.
Solar panels attached to stationary grid-storage units designed by EnerDel will also have rapid-charging stations for the all-electric cars. The stationary storage units, gleaning and storing electricity from solar panels, will supply almost entirely solar-generated electricity for the cars.
The Japanese community is testing use of the Mazda2 EVs with a ZipCar business model through a program announced in December. Drivers will have smart cards that will be used for billing, tracking charges and wear, and for granting access to the cars and charging stations.
EnerDel said that combining battery storage units with rapid re-charging stations will allow for the use of direct current, which is designed to sharply reduce the amount of time it takes the car batteries to charge.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Electric car maker BYD to charge into home energy
April 26, 2010 11:38 AM PDT
by Martin LaMonica
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Chinese battery manufacturer BYD, which is readying a line of all-electric vehicles, plans to introduce a home energy suite that includes solar panels and batteries.
BYD, which gained prominence in the U.S. when Warren Buffet invested in the company, plans to start testing its all-electric e6 sedan in the U.S. later this year, said Michael Austin, vice president of BYD America.
High-volume auto battery manufacturing helps the company's entry into home energy products by bringing costs down, he said here on Monday at the Lux Executive Summit during a panel on energy storage. BYD plans to supply solar panels, battery packs, car charging pedestals, efficient LED lighting, and inverters to manage energy flow within a home, Austin said.
From electric cars to home storage: China's BYD's e6 all-electric sedan.
(Credit: BYD) "The vehicle market is driving scale for the energy market and we're already well below $500 per kilowatt-hour (for batteries)," he said. BYD electric cars will have a range of about 250 miles, he added.
Two weeks ago, BYD announced a partnership with KB Homes to build a low-energy home in Lancaster, Calif., which is equipped with solar panels and batteries and costs about the same as comparable new homes, according to Austin. BYD America plans to offer similar systems elsewhere in the world. In the U.S. it will target communities where homeowners can finance energy-efficiency investments through property taxes over 20 years.
So far, many of these property assessed clean energy financing (PACE) programs have run out of money, but Austin said BYD expects it can work when backed by commercial banks. The company plans to introduce its home energy line in China this year, he added.
The 15-year-old company started out making batteries and other components for consumer electronics, such as cell phones. Now, as many companies push into electric vehicles, BYD advertises battery prices significantly lower than other companies, which it expects will drive adoption of all-electric cars.
During the panel discussion, Lux analysts projected that auto battery pack costs will decline from about $900 per kilowatt-hour to about $500 per kilowatt-hour in the next 10 years, which is a target that many auto companies say is necessary to make electric vehicles more accessible.
BYD's manufacturing costs and battery technology allow it to achieve that level now, Austin said. One downside of iron phosphate battery chemistry, compared to lithium ion, is that battery packs cannot store as much energy per volume, he said.
BYD has also designed grid storage units that can store power made at off-peak times for local distribution. An 800-kilowatt system, which fits into a tractor trailer, costs $450,000, Austin said.
BYD is relatively new to the U.S. market, so even though its stated prices are low, it's hard to compare its actual products to other manufacturers, one analyst said.
Another company that plans to offer a full suite of home energy is Panasonic, which makes batteries, LED lighting, and home energy management systems. It also has a majority stake in solar panel maker Sanyo.
by Martin LaMonica
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Chinese battery manufacturer BYD, which is readying a line of all-electric vehicles, plans to introduce a home energy suite that includes solar panels and batteries.
BYD, which gained prominence in the U.S. when Warren Buffet invested in the company, plans to start testing its all-electric e6 sedan in the U.S. later this year, said Michael Austin, vice president of BYD America.
High-volume auto battery manufacturing helps the company's entry into home energy products by bringing costs down, he said here on Monday at the Lux Executive Summit during a panel on energy storage. BYD plans to supply solar panels, battery packs, car charging pedestals, efficient LED lighting, and inverters to manage energy flow within a home, Austin said.
From electric cars to home storage: China's BYD's e6 all-electric sedan.
(Credit: BYD) "The vehicle market is driving scale for the energy market and we're already well below $500 per kilowatt-hour (for batteries)," he said. BYD electric cars will have a range of about 250 miles, he added.
Two weeks ago, BYD announced a partnership with KB Homes to build a low-energy home in Lancaster, Calif., which is equipped with solar panels and batteries and costs about the same as comparable new homes, according to Austin. BYD America plans to offer similar systems elsewhere in the world. In the U.S. it will target communities where homeowners can finance energy-efficiency investments through property taxes over 20 years.
So far, many of these property assessed clean energy financing (PACE) programs have run out of money, but Austin said BYD expects it can work when backed by commercial banks. The company plans to introduce its home energy line in China this year, he added.
The 15-year-old company started out making batteries and other components for consumer electronics, such as cell phones. Now, as many companies push into electric vehicles, BYD advertises battery prices significantly lower than other companies, which it expects will drive adoption of all-electric cars.
During the panel discussion, Lux analysts projected that auto battery pack costs will decline from about $900 per kilowatt-hour to about $500 per kilowatt-hour in the next 10 years, which is a target that many auto companies say is necessary to make electric vehicles more accessible.
BYD's manufacturing costs and battery technology allow it to achieve that level now, Austin said. One downside of iron phosphate battery chemistry, compared to lithium ion, is that battery packs cannot store as much energy per volume, he said.
BYD has also designed grid storage units that can store power made at off-peak times for local distribution. An 800-kilowatt system, which fits into a tractor trailer, costs $450,000, Austin said.
BYD is relatively new to the U.S. market, so even though its stated prices are low, it's hard to compare its actual products to other manufacturers, one analyst said.
Another company that plans to offer a full suite of home energy is Panasonic, which makes batteries, LED lighting, and home energy management systems. It also has a majority stake in solar panel maker Sanyo.
NanoH2O lands Navy water desalination deal
May 6, 2010 9:00 AM PDT
by Martin LaMonica
NanoH2O on Thursday said it will supply components to the Navy for an on-ship desalination test that promises to be significantly more efficient with energy and space.
The El Segundo, Calif.-based company has developed a membrane that can improve the energy efficiency of reverse osmosis seawater desalination machines by 50 percent to 100 percent, according to NanoH2O CEO Jeff Green. It plans to start production of modules that use the membrane for testing with customers in the second half of this year, he said.
The Navy will be testing an on-ship desalination system which uses reverse-osmosis membranes which are housed in these pressure vessels.
(Credit: NanoH2O) The Office of Naval Research awarded NanoH2O $400,000 to test the system on ships for two years. In addition to being more energy efficient (Navy boats typically use diesel generators), the grant program will test the durability of the membrane in the face of water pollutants compared to existing products.
"You can imagine when it comes to the Navy, the footprint is really important, so a more productive membrane can make a difference," Green said. "And with Navy ships operating closer to shore these days, that means warmer water with more pollutants, so fouling of the membrane is a big concern."
The membranes include an engineered inorganic material, made out of a metal, which is combined with the polymers usually used for reverse osmosis membranes. That hydrophilic and porous material allows for more rapid throughput of water and less energy per volume, Green said. The Navy is interested in the technology for its size, which is 40 percent smaller than traditional systems.
NanoH2O in 2007 raised $5 million from Khosla Ventures, followed by another $15 million in late 2008. The company also has a distribution partnership with Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies, which owns and operates desalination plants around the world. Pending results of tests, Veolia will use the technology in upcoming projects.
NanoH2O makes modules--tubular pressure vessels that hold the membrane--which fit into existing reverse osmosis machines. High-pressure water is passed through the membranes to filter out salt and other materials.
The reverse osmosis desalination business is dominated by a handful of global corporations, although there are a handful of start-ups working in the area. Green said the company's business plan is to sell desalination systems to small and medium-size municipalities in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Middle East where high energy prices make municipalities more willing to try new technologies.
by Martin LaMonica
NanoH2O on Thursday said it will supply components to the Navy for an on-ship desalination test that promises to be significantly more efficient with energy and space.
The El Segundo, Calif.-based company has developed a membrane that can improve the energy efficiency of reverse osmosis seawater desalination machines by 50 percent to 100 percent, according to NanoH2O CEO Jeff Green. It plans to start production of modules that use the membrane for testing with customers in the second half of this year, he said.
The Navy will be testing an on-ship desalination system which uses reverse-osmosis membranes which are housed in these pressure vessels.
(Credit: NanoH2O) The Office of Naval Research awarded NanoH2O $400,000 to test the system on ships for two years. In addition to being more energy efficient (Navy boats typically use diesel generators), the grant program will test the durability of the membrane in the face of water pollutants compared to existing products.
"You can imagine when it comes to the Navy, the footprint is really important, so a more productive membrane can make a difference," Green said. "And with Navy ships operating closer to shore these days, that means warmer water with more pollutants, so fouling of the membrane is a big concern."
The membranes include an engineered inorganic material, made out of a metal, which is combined with the polymers usually used for reverse osmosis membranes. That hydrophilic and porous material allows for more rapid throughput of water and less energy per volume, Green said. The Navy is interested in the technology for its size, which is 40 percent smaller than traditional systems.
NanoH2O in 2007 raised $5 million from Khosla Ventures, followed by another $15 million in late 2008. The company also has a distribution partnership with Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies, which owns and operates desalination plants around the world. Pending results of tests, Veolia will use the technology in upcoming projects.
NanoH2O makes modules--tubular pressure vessels that hold the membrane--which fit into existing reverse osmosis machines. High-pressure water is passed through the membranes to filter out salt and other materials.
The reverse osmosis desalination business is dominated by a handful of global corporations, although there are a handful of start-ups working in the area. Green said the company's business plan is to sell desalination systems to small and medium-size municipalities in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Middle East where high energy prices make municipalities more willing to try new technologies.
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