Another guest post from Mark Louis on, well, news on the alternative (clean) energy front.
Time for another trip to the world of renewable energy. The last item that I wrote generated a great deal of debate. Of course, I did blame everyone for the oil spill, which caused a few angry comments. But, I think there was also a pretty good debate on our use of oil and how it has resulted in creating a climate where such disasters can occur. With that, let’s talk about energy.
Wind energy has proven to be an impressive job producer in Texas:
A new study shows that wind energy has produced 10,000 jobs in Texas… and new infrastructure to carry more power could add another 40,000+ jobs to the Lone Star State.
North American Windpower reports that the Perryman Group economic study, which comes as the American Wind Energy Association gets ready to host Windpower 2010 in Dallas next week, shows the jobs for which wind is already responsible and the prospect of jobs that would be created building new transmission lines under the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) proposal approved by the Public Utility Commission (PUC).
In addition, the construction & development of CREZ would create $1.6 billion in state revenues and $329 million in local revenues.
Any NASCAR fans? Well, if so, you’ve heard of Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania. Pocono is going green:
EDF Energies Nouvelles Company has confirmed the start of construction on the 3 MW photovoltaic array at Pocono Raceway Solar Project. enXco will design and construct the project and then turn it over to Pocono Raceway upon completion.
The Pocono Raceway Solar Project will be constructed along Long Pond Road on approximately 25 acres of land. The solar system, expected to generate clean electricity for the raceway later this summer, will consist of nearly 40,000 photovoltaic modules and reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 2,370 tons annually.
The new solar energy system will become the primary electric energy source for the race track and will also benefit the local power grid. With the deregulation of Pennsylvania’s electric utility laws allowing more flexibility on power purchases, the track found there is no better time to upgrade their facility.
New solar investment continues in the Southwest:
SunEdison has reached agreement with Weingarten Realty Investors, a real estate investment trust, for the deployment of up to 10 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) solar power plants in Arizona and New Mexico.
By leasing space on Weingarten’s rooftops SunEdison will install and operate solar energy systems that will allow Weingarten to convert underused roof space into a source of new revenue. Once a system is operational, Weingarten Realty Investors will purchase the energy for common areas or allow their tenants to purchase power generated through the program at or below average retail energy rates.
The U.S. military is getting a new solar-powered gadget:
HP has started the development of a next-generation wristwatch for the U.S. Military. The wristwatch called “Dick Tracy” may eliminate the need for soldiers to carry backup batteries and cumbersome technological gear.
Beside these, according to the company, the watch will be equipped with a flexible display that shows maps and other strategic information to soldiers in remote combat fields.
Also, the watch’s screen will run on solar energy, being made of plastic. In this case the chances that it to remain out of power in a tensed scenario are less. HP plans to unveil a prototype within a year. Carl Taussig, director of information surfaces at HP Labs in Palo Alto, California said for the beginning that the U.S. military will use this prototype with a small group of soldiers, before deciding whether to expand its use of the technology.
There have been some pretty interesting developments on the hydrogen vehicle front. First, an east coast hydrogen highway:
Proton Energy Systems in Wallingford broke ground last week on the first connection of its planned Hydrogen Highway, a network of nine stations stretching from Maine to Miami where hydrogen cars can be refueled.
The Hydrogen Highway spearheads the company’s effort to create an East Coast market for cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells and, therefore, boosting the need for Proton Energy’s products that create hydrogen out of water.
Auto manufacturers are targeting 2015 as the year most of the models will go on sale, Serfass said, but that depends on whether they believe a market exists for the cars.
For more on what a hydrogen vehicle infrastructure could look like, check out this article.
Hydrogen has always been a promising possible fuel source, because hydrogen vehicles are zero emission vehicles. The only carbon dioxide emitted into the environment comes from the creation of the hydrogen, which usually is accomplished with natural gas. This project is more promising because all the SunHydro stations would use Proton Energy equipment that creates hydrogen out of water using solar power, eliminating carbon dioxide emissions completely.
Another promising development on the hydrogen front came from the trucking industry:
Over a year ago I talked about Asemblon’s plans to introduce Hydrnol, a hydrogen rich liquid chemical carrier that can be used to produce pure hydrogen and that is easily transported and recycled. Now, I’ve learned that the two companies have teamed up in order to establish a nationwide hydrogen refueling infrastructure for trucks. In fact, Vision Industries has signed an agreement in an exclusive licensing agreement to sell Hydrnol to the trucking industry from coast to coast.
Vision and Asemblon don’t see the rollout of a nationwide hydrogen trucking infrastructure anywhere as daunting as one aimed a passenger cars. According to Vision, “While that may be the case for an infrastructure rollout for fuel cell passenger vehicles, Vision looks at the big rig market from a different perspective. In 2006, the U.S. consumed 180.2 billion gallons of transportation fuels, of which 23.8 billion gallons (or 13.2-percent) were diesel consumed by combination highway trucks. There are approximately 1,200 diesel truck stops in the U.S., with Pilot Travel Center and Flying J established as the two largest truck stop chains, each utilizing approximately 300 stations to cover the U.S. from coast-to-coast and border-to-border.
The pairing of these two partners may not be perfect but it’s pretty close. Vision Industries needs a hydrogen solution for propelling long haul trucks 650 miles at highway speeds before refueling and Hydrnol provides this. Asemblon needs a commitment from a major hydrogen vehicle maker in order to manufacture, distribute and recycle its product and Vision Industries provides this.
Ford is adding jobs in Michigan, & they’re green:
Over the next few years Ford will add almost 200 new, green jobs in Michigan that will focus on next generation hybrid and electric vehicles, particularly battery pack and transmission assembly.
Certainly a few hundred new jobs is welcome news in recession-slammed Michigan, but such jobs could be just the beginning of a manufacturing revolution in Michigan, if consumers quickly accept battery-powered vehicles.
Regardless, the new plant will soon assemble lithium-ion battery packs for new Ford hybrid and EVs. Unfortunately, however, Ford did not provide any details regarding which hybrid and electric vehicles will use the new battery packs, nor did Ford offer any production estimates.
3 New Jersey malls have gone green:
Developers Diversified, an international shopping mall owner-operator has installed solar power arrays on the roofs of three large malls in New Jersey, the company announced today. Projects at the Nassau Park Pavilion in Princeton, Hamilton Marketplace in Hamilton, and Route 22 Retail Center in Union were activated between December 2009 and February 2010.
The New Jersey projects use over 143,000 square feet of available roof space and will generate approximately 1.4 million kilowatts solar energy in their first full year of operation.
Developers Diversified, based in Beachwood, Ohio, entered into a partnership last year with solar energy services provider, SunEdison of Beltsville, Maryland. SunEdison plans to install solar energy systems at over 200 Developers Diversified shopping centers throughout the United States.
9 wind energy projects are coming to North America, 6 of them in the United States. They are:
Hardscrabble Wind Project in Fairfield, NY: 37 Gamesa 2-MW wind turbines. In addition, Mortenson will build access roads, turbine foundations, an operations building, and a meteorological tower.
Elm Creek II Wind Project in Jackson, MN: 62 Mitsubishi 2.4-MW wind turbines.
Nobles Wind Project in MN: 134 GE 1.5-MW wind turbines for the 201-MW project. Mortenson also is installing 33 miles of access roads, 86 miles of collection system, 134 foundations, a switchyard to feed an existing substation, and an operations and maintenance facility.
Goshen North Wind Project in Idaho Falls, ID: 83 GE 1.5-MW wind turbines. This 125.5-MW project also includes the installation of 28 miles of access roads, 37 miles of underground collection, seven miles of 161-kV transmission line, a project substation, interconnect substation, and an operations and maintenance facility.
Penascal II Wind Project in Sarita, TX: 201.6-MW project.
Linden Wind Farm in Goldendale, WA: 50-MW wind farm.
A huge wind farm is under construction south of the border:
Spanish wind turbine builder Gamesa and San Diego wind farm developer Cannon Power Group have teamed up to start building a wind farm South of the Border to supply clean power to a quarter of a million households in both California and Mexico from 500 MW of power by 2015. Cannon says the site’s potential capacity is ultimately 1,000 MW.
The location’s wind production peaks when demand for electricity is highest; from mid-afternoon to early evening. Typically wind production peaks at low demand hours.
Cannon and Gamesa have signed a 10-year exclusivity agreement and will collaborate on further wind farms that Cannon has plans to develop in Baja California (Mexico) with Gamesa supplying some development assistance and the wind turbines.
The project is just 60 miles south of San Diego, but because it is in Mexico, there is no where near as much regulatory red tape to work through. Also, the turbines for the project will be built in Gamesa’s two U.S. manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania, employing 1,000 people in the U.S.
The Great Lakes are is finally getting wind energy development:
GE and Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) of Northern Ohio recently announced a long-term partnership beginning with the development of the first fresh water offshore wind farm in the US and involving a broad range of other initiatives. Under the new partnership GE will provide direct-drive wind turbines to LEEDCo’s 20 megawatt offshore wind project in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie. The announcement was made at the American Wind Energy Association’s annual Windpower Conference in Dallas.
To kick off the collaboration with LEEDCo, GE has committed to providing offshore wind turbines and maintenance services for an initial 20-megawatt wind farm. Upon its completion, targeted for late 2012, this project would be located off the shores of Lake Erie, near Cleveland, Ohio. This would be followed by subsequent projects with a long-term goal of 1,000 megawatts in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie by 2020.
At the core of the Lake Erie Project is GE’s next generation wind turbine, a 4-megawatt machine designed specifically for offshore deployment. As the largest wind turbine in GE’s fleet, it will incorporate direct-drive technology gained through GE’s acquisition of ScanWind. The 4-megawatt wind turbine will feature GE’s innovative advanced loads controls and aeroelastically tailored blade technology. In addition to collaborating on the initial 20-megawatt project, GE and LEEDCo say they will create a strategic plan to identify opportunities for cost reduction to make offshore wind energy in the Great Lakes economically and politically viable.
And finally, after a hiatus, poo is back:
A research paper published by the American Chemical Society indicates that biodiesel production from municipal sewage is tantalizingly close (within several pennies) of being profitable. Although kind of disgusting, few would argue there isn’t a tremendous, renewable supply of the stuff. Nor would they say that every municipality doesn’t already have its’ own sources.
One of the main issues with turning poop into fuel is simply how to make it cost effective. One might assume that with really what amounts to a surplus of raw material, that production costs shouldn’t be much of an issue. The paper cites $3.11 per gallon as the production cost for sewage to biodiesel conversion. To be competitive in the marketplace, the study authors say the cost must be the same as petroleum diesel. Their competitive diesel figure is $3 per gallon, so eleven cents isn’t a long way to go.
What makes sewage sludge so good for biodiesel production? Energy-containing lipids like monoglycerides, phospholipids, free fatty acids, triglycerides, and diglycerides are found in great quantities in it. Also, the microbes used in sewage treatment contain lipids that can yield from 7% to 36% oil. And it’s not just the quantity of lipids, it’s the type; the study authors say that the particular lipids found in sewage could produce a very high quality biodiesel. The paper cites another study which found that if 50% of municipal wastewater treatment plants used lipid extraction, and chemical conversion, about 1.8 billion gallons of biodiesel could be produced annually.
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1 Tweets that mention Alternative Energy News Roundup -- Topsy.com // May 25, 2010 at 8:49 pm
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2 Bob Nikon // Oct 23, 2013 at 6:23 pm
Human beings always defy to live their lives under the conditions of nature-given. Since we acquire the brain that is so complex that we would be able to manipulate it in order to obtain the preferred way of life regardless of any nature-given conditions. We have conquered the most effective conditions to life such as the harsh climate in some particular region on earth. Human beings can manage to inhibit anywhere around the globe. Other creatures have to adapt from their DNA in order to transform their bodies to be suitable to such an environment. That can take millions of years. Why human beings can settle down to live anywhere in just one generation? Because we have such a complex brain that can manipulate things around us. In order to inhabit in every region on this planet regardless of the conditions of the habitats.
Humans build the structure to dwell in from variety of materials for their comfort and existence. The materials may have come from different sources such as the trees, elements underground, sand, stones and so on.
All these materials require energy to operate the tools or create heat to alter them to be the finished materials in the process. Ironically, We also need energy to keep our dwelling warm in winter and cool in summer along with household appliances to be operated. They all need energy to work for our well being. An energy allows us to choose the lifestyle that we prefer. So it becomes an important part of our lives. We cannot live on comfortably in any given time without it.
There are two methods to obtain this energy in the form of electricity. One method is to burn fossil deposits such as crude oil, coal and convert heat into electricity. Our planet has the ample supply of fossil deposits at the present time but they will be depleted. So far, nobody can predict when that will happen. The other method is called “green energy” such as windmill, solar power and water dam along with some other green energy methods such as ocean waves, geothermal and so on. Green energy is clean and good for all lives to live naturally but all of them come with the conditions or restrictions when to yield electricity and when not being able to. Most of them can yield a minuscule amount of energy. All of them can take care up to 1 percent of the total energy consumption we need. The rest is taken care by the first method. Which is to carry on consuming limited natural resources. In addition, this method emits the heat and pollution into our atmosphere Which contributes to cause global warming.
Ironically, we have nothing to rely on going into the future. Moreover, we increase the rate of energy usage by increasing the number of population on every new generation. We consume the limited natural resources progressively to obtain the energy to support the increasing number of population. It is obvious that these resources will be depleted one day. The crux of this matter is, what the later generations would do when they have to face the depletion. Is there anything our generation ought to do to ensure the certainty for them when we are a part of chain reactions of bringing more population into this planet. But it appears that we live our lives day by day with no plans at all. Contrarily, we have done the right thing when it comes to food. There is something that we have got it right for decades. That is why we have food enough to support the increasing number of population. Our earlier generations used to hunt animals for their food. They actually drove some species to extinction. At some point of time, the later generations started to realize that if we keep killing animals for their meat from the wild to support the growing population. As the time goes by we will drive these animals to extinction. That means no more meat to eat later on. The right way is to farm them by selecting the ones from the wild that litter in large number and use the knowledge in genetics to turn them into the way we want. We do the same thing on vegetation as well so we can ensure that we have enough food to sustain the growing population. Unfortunately, when it comes to energy consumption we have not found the right way to handle the situation. Not until now.
Fortunately, there is a new idea emerges on horizon. The idea to manipulate the effects of interactions between water and air driven by the most reliable and powerful forces. Thus, the outcomes will be an ample supply of electricity for us to use at no cost. It is completely “green energy”.
This idea creates the apparatus that goes on pumping electricity by itself. This idea is the key to solve a lot of serious problems that we are now facing. Does it sound too good to be true?!?! Go to http://hydro-electrenergy.com to find out.
3 Bob Nikon // Apr 28, 2014 at 2:24 pm
Hydrogen vehicles are our future only if we can figure out the reasonable way to produce hydrogen. Fortunately this new idea would allow us to do just that:-
Mother Nature is the only one planet amongst her siblings in this universe who can support lives. Not only that she supports all of her inhabitants in her facilities but she also nurtures them with all the balances of her elements. The perfect combinations of air, land, water and gravity. Additionally, she orbits around the sun at a certain distance in order to maintain the moderate level of radiation from the sun and also revolves around herself thus all inhabitants can have what they need to grow. Most of them have thrived. There is one creature amongst them whose way of life has impacted effectively on Mother Nature. The impacts that can alter the balances of her elements. The impacts that can wipe out her precious elements which she has saved for millions of years. That creature is human being. The way humans live their lives is different from any other creatures as we have learned.
Our Mother Nature is so nice to us. She provides us with things that we need. Things(fossil deposits) that she has saved for millions of years. We pick them out from her purse to consume, then we leave garbage(toxic waste,green house gases,ashes) for her to clean up. That is not very nice, is that? It is very despicable for mother this nice to receive the treatment like this. But it is inevitable because we need to live on.
At some point of time some of us come up with ideas to amend the dire situations by offering the green energy as an alternative to obtain energy. There are several methods to produce clean energy but all of them are futile. Because every method comes up with conditions and restrictions to determine when the apparatus is able to produce energy and when not to be able to. So it will be inadequate energy. We fail to get rid of the despicable treatments that we have been giving to our mother. We have been tied up with the dire situations for quite some time.
I have observed and despised the dire situations for all along. Until about 4 years ago I came across something very interesting and unprecedented. This idea is to build the apparatus that is driven by the gravitational and buoyant forces. It works in any waters. Once being set up and running, this apparatus will generate ample supply of electricity by itself around the clock anywhere on this planet. There are no pros and cons to discuss about, neither conditions nor restrictions. The great news is that we can eventually extricate ourselves completely from the carbon footprint and the notion “save energy”. as well. Eventually, we can treat our nice mother the way that she deserves.
There are three major elements that all of us rely on for our energy needs. Natural gas, coal and crude oil. These are actually wrong elements to be used to fulfill our energy needs. The effects of using them are sinister that could come to hurt us seriously in some ways. Additionally, these are limited supplies. They should have been used for some specific applications. It will be a huge mistake if we just live on without doing any corrections. We are human being, we live our lives with plans. This is what makes us different from any other earth inhabitants. Most people have realized that but what are the alternatives? HYDRO-ELECTRENERGY is an answer to this question but in order to be completely extricated from carbon footprint we have to get one more element under control. That element is hydrogen.
Hydrogen is an ubiquitous element on earth. It is proven to be a right element that will eradicate the carbon footprint out of our lives. Unfortunately, it can not stay by itself in our environment that we can just grab it. It coheres with some other elements by chemical bond. The significant amount of electricity as an energy is required to break this bond. In order to obtain usable amount of hydrogen.
Hydrogen has been proven to be the best source of energy but it has hit the roadblock. It does not make sense to produce hydrogen from conventional sources and also too expensive. When we already have crude oil to support our energy needs. So people are counting on alternative methods but with all methods that we acquire are inadequate to produce hydrogen to support our energy needs. That is why hydrogen has hit roadblock and stopped on its track. In fact, nice things about what hydrogen can do are nothing new to our knowledge. Is hydrogen tantalizingly out of our reach? Yes..but…not any more. Here is when the big plan is being implemented on this issue. Since this system can produce ample supply of electricity. We are now capable of producing hydrogen in significant amount at a very low cost or no cost at all. We now can expel the carbon footprint out of our lives once and for all. We can live our lives without carbon footprint at last.
Hydrogen can be extracted from some substances available in our atmosphere. The only one substance with benign consequences for Mother Nature is water. It is abundant in our surroundings. Water can be from any available sources and it doesn’t have to be purified. So it is practically cost free for hydrogen production since there is an ample supply of electricity being generated at no running costs.
The great thing that happens when water is chosen as raw material to produce hydrogen is that we do not consume water in the process. We borrow water from Mother Nature and after we use energy then we give water back to her. Remember, hydrogen that is extracted from water is being forced to cohere with oxygen in the air by the chemical reaction(combustion). Energy and water are the results. Now we have the energy to fulfill our needs and the water is released back to earth. That is the idea of recycling. We just need energy to nourish our preferred lifestyle and we have found the way to recycle the water to get energy we need. Isn’t that fantastic? It is time folks to wake up and smell the aroma of flowers after being smothered by the carbon smoke for too long. But first, before all these happen we have to congregate to get the prototype up and running. So please go to http://hydro-electrenergy.com look through the whole website. If you agree on the idea, please donate small contribution to the project. Many hands can lift the big project off the ground.