The Energy Blog

EPA Raises Raises Requirements for Renewable Fuels

An item of interest to ethanol producers and other supporters of ethanol is this announcement by EPA, as further clarified by this announcement by EERE:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on November 17 that the 2009 renewable fuel standard (RFS) will require most refiners, importers, and non-oxygenate blenders of gasoline to displace 10.21% of their gasoline with renewable fuels such as ethanol. That requirement aims to ensure that at least 11.1 billion gallons of fuels will be sold in 2009.  . . . While the RFS requirement is increasing by about 23%—from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 11.1 billion gallons in 2009—the percentage requirement is increasing by nearly one third, from 7.76% in 2008 to 10.21% in 2009.

The larger relative increase in the percentage requirement reflects the fact that fuel consumption is expected to be lower in 2009, so a greater percentage of renewable fuel is needed to reach 11.1 billion gallons of renewable fuels. . . .

Qteros - Raises $25 million, Changes Company Name

SunEthanol, a company that is developing microbes to produce cellulosic ethanol, announced on Nov. 18 that has raised $25 million in Series B financing and that it is changing its name to Qteros Inc. The funding will allow the company to scale up its process from the pilot plant to commercial operations, and hire additional engineers and scientists, company officials said. Plans call for a demonstration plant by 2010 and commercial production in 2011.

The two year old Hadley, MA company is developing the Q Microbe™ (Clostridium phytofermentans), a lollipop-shaped microscopic organism that the company claims has unique properties that make it ideally suited to the production of cellulosic ethanol from a variety of non-food plant materials. Dr. Susan Leschine, Qteros’ Chief Scientist and co-founder, is the University of Massachusetts, Amherst microbiology professor who, nearly 10 years ago, first collected a sample of the Q Microbe™ near the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts. The Q Microbe, was nearly perfect for the job, as found in nature, with an unusual ability to dynamically adjusts to the type of organic matter it’s processing; the company is only engaged in “classical genetic engineering”, which basically means selective breeding.

Currently, throughout the industry, the largest cost components are the feedstock and the enzymes used for the bioconversion. The Complete Cellulose Conversion (C3) process (formerly the Q process) can use very low cost feedstocks and does not use any enzymes. With only one-step of bioconversion, the C3 process is much more efficient—and less costly—than other conversions now in use.  Its Q Microbe™ simplifies the process, eliminating the need for a separate enzymatic breakdown step. Instead of the conventional enzyme and yeast process, C3 technology consolidates multiple steps into a single bioconversion step, resulting in a lower cost of production. This process is less costly than conventional corn starch–production technology and allows for the use of many types of plant material.

Aquaflow Algae

Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation (ABC), Melbourne, New Zealand, states on its website: The world is expected to move from the cultivation of corn and sugar cane for energy purposes to the cultivation of marine algae.  Aquaflow has set itself the objective to be the first company in the world to economically produce biofuel from wild algae harvested from open-air environments, to market it, and meet the challenge of increasing demand.

They are trying to simplify the algae to biooil process used by most others in the field by collecting wild algae growing in open-air sludge ponds and waste streams.

UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, and Aquaflow have signed a memorandum of understanding to convert wild algae into fuel products using UOP’s processes and to develop a carbon dioxide sequestration storage model for Aquaflow’s algal oil production facilities.

The companies will also study the feasibility of sequestering carbon dioxide from a refinery or power plant and adding it to wastewater streams in an effort to boost the productivity of the wild algae population.

Aquaflow currently sources its wild algae from oxidation ponds in Marlborough, New Zealand. It doesn’t add carbon dioxide to the wastewater.

Biobutanol - Cobalt Biofuels Raises $25 Million to Accelerate Commercialization of Biobutanol Process

Biobutanol (C₄H₁₀O) or butyl alcohol is a second generation biofuel that can be produced from biomass and can be used either as an industrial chemical or as a transportation fuel. Biobutanol can run in any gasoline engine with no modifications and, like ethanol, has a higher octane rating than normal gasoline. It has the additional advantages that it has a higher energy density than ethanol, can be transferred in our existing pipelines, and can be used as an additive in either gasoline or diesel fuel.

Like ethanol, biobutanol is fermented by microorganisms from sugars, which are broken down from raw feedstocks and mixed with water. For the butanol process, the microbes have been genetically modified to produce an alcohol with a longer chain of hydrocarbons. The fermentation step is followed by a separation step in which the alcohols are separated from the fermentation steep. Since butanol doesn’t mix with water at high concentrations, the finished fuel can be stored easily and transported within existing gasoline pipelines.

Since the cost of the feedstock is the major cost factor, the ability to use low cost non-food feedstocks is a major challenge to cost effective butanol production and much work is being done to develop microbes that can be used with a variety of feedstocks.

The other key research challenge that must be resolved is that butanol production inhibits microbial growth even at low concentrations. The result is that the maximum butanol concentration in the steep of a conventional (ABE)  process is about 1.3 % butanol. The overwhelming majority of the fermentation broth is water and an energy-intensive distillation step has traditionally been used for separation of the butanol from the water. This has caused the production of industrial butanol by fermentation to be abandoned. Much research is now being done to develop microbes are sustainable in higher concentrations of butanol, so as to reduce the power consumption of the separation process.  At the same time, separation process are being developed that are less energy intensive.

Cobalt Biofuels, Mountain View, California, recently announced that it has raised $25 million in equity to accelerate the commercialization of biobutanol.  The Series C equity round was co-led by LSP and Pinnacle Ventures and included both new and existing investors.

"With this round of funding Cobalt Biofuels will move aggressively toward commercial production of cost effective, non-food based biobutanol,” said Pamela Contag, President and CEO of Cobalt Biofuels. New Energy and Fuel reported that Cobalt is using these funds to expand from laboratory scale production to a pilot scale facility with a capacity of 35,000 gallons of fuel per year .

Cobalt has proprietary technologies in microbial physiology, strain development, fermentation and low-energy fuel separation, which they claim make possible a new generation of fuels that burn cleaner, are more cost-effective, and enhance environmental sustainability.   

According to Cobalt, biobutanol is a next generation biofuel that can be used as a standalone transportation fuel, as an additive to gasoline or diesel fuel and as an additive to improve the properties of ethanol.  Unlike ethanol, biobutanol can be used at full strength in today’s automobile engines and can be distributed through existing pipelines.

Cobalt technology will change the biofuel industry by:

• Allowing production of biofuels from local feedstocks based on regional agricultural priorities, including plants that are not subject to food price fluctuations
• Increasing the rate of biofuel production through continuous fermentation
• Improving yield by optimally pairing fermentation organisms with a diversity of feedstocks
• Its patented vapor compression distillation separation system significantly reduces energy and water requirements

Thin Film Solar - First Solar

Thin film solar is becoming an increasingly important segment of the solar industry. Thin-film solar cells consist of layers of active materials about 10 µm thick compared with 200- to 300-µm layers for crystalline-silicon cells. Some sixty companies have announced to start thin film production by 2010, and EuPD Research estimates that by then, the production output will amount to 3.5 GW. According to the EIA, in 2006 thin film represented a 30% share of the of the 337,268 Wp of photovoltaic cells shipped by the U.S. solar industry, as compared to 12% in 2004.  in 2007 total solar (including solar thermal) represented less than 1% of the total of all renewable energy [including biomass (53%), hydroelectric (36%), geothermal (5%) and wind (5%)] which in turn represented just 7% of total energy consumption in the U.S.  Cadmium telluride PV (CdTe PV) is the only thin film photovoltaic technology to surpass crystalline silicon PV in the marketplace, in terms of lower system price, for a significant portion of the PV market.

First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR), producer of Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) PV modules, is the largest manufacturer of thin film solar modules, expanding manufacturing capacity to an expected 735 MW in 2008; and with additional plants under construction, First Solar will bring total expected capacity to more than 1 GW by the end of 2009. 

At the end of 2007, over 300 MW of First Solar PV modules had been installed worldwide and First Solar expects to ship 420 to 460 MW of PV modules in 2008.

The Return of The Energy Blog

Lest all of you that feared of my demise, The Energy Blog is returning, I am still alive and feeling better every day.  I have been ill do to complications from chronic illinesses, but I am now taking medications that seems to have gotten every thing under control.

I wish to thank everyone who has expressed their concern, both with the comments on the last post and by email

I will resume regular posts soon, although probably not as frequently as in the past.  The pressure and the grind required to post every day became too much for me, frequently causing me to work into the wee hours of the morning; that stress no doubt contributed to my illness.

Pickens Mesa Power Orders 1,000 MW of Wind Turbines

Per press release, edited slightly:

Mesa Power LLP, a company created by T. Boone Pickens, has placed an order with General Electric to purchase 667, 1.5 megawatt wind turbines for the worlds largest wind farm, capable of generating 1,000 megawatts, nameplate, of electricity, enough to power more than 300,000 average U.S. homes. The order is part of the $2 billion first phase, see previous post, of the Pampa Wind Project planned in the Texas panhandle by Mesa.

When all the phases of the project are completed it will become the world's largest wind energy project, with more than 4,000 megawatts, nameplate, of installed capacity. When completed, projected to be in 2014, the wind farm will be five times as big as the nation's current largest wind power project, now producing 736 megawatts.

Pickens said he expects that first phase of the project will cost about $2 billion. When complete, the Pampa Wind Project will cover some 400,000 acres in the Texas Panhandle.

Pickens envisions that large scale renewable energy projects like his Pampa Wind Project will permit the United States to become less dependent on foreign oil. Large scale renewable energy projects such as this are difficult to execute because they rely upon the Federal Production Tax Credit, which provides incentives for development of renewable energy. However, large scale renewable energy projects require commitments years in advance, while Congress has only extended the Production Tax Credit one or two years at a time.

Worlds Largest, $1.8 Billion, 500 MW, Wind Farm to be Built off the Coast of UK

Per Fluor Corporation press release:

Fluor Corporation, Dallas, TX, (NYSE: FLR) announced Wednesday that it has signed a contract with Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) to design and construct the 500 megawatt (MW) Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm. The venture is the world's largest offshore wind farm project to move into the construction phase and will be built approximately 25 kilometers off the Suffolk coast of the United Kingdom (UK). The new award will be booked in the company’s second quarter of 2008 and is worth approximately $1.8 billion (£900 million).  . . .

The first UK offshore wind farm to be built outside territorial waters, the project will feature 140 wind turbines each having a rated capacity of 3.6 MW. The turbines will be supplied by Siemens Wind Power A/S under a separate contract with SSE. Fluor will be responsible for the installation of the turbines which will be mounted on steel monopiles and transition pieces in water depths between 24 and 34 meters. A new electricity substation will be built near Sizewell, Suffolk, UK.

Construction work is scheduled to commence for the offshore site in summer 2009, with work to prepare the site for the onshore substation already underway. The wind farm will be commissioned in two phases, with the entire construction scheduled to be completed in 2011.  . . .

“The success of the Greater Gabbard Wind Farm will clearly establish Fluor as a leader in the rapidly growing market to develop and construct large-scale offshore wind farms,” said . “Wind farms represent just one aspect of Fluor’s strategy of applying our expertise and resources to assist clients in making meaningful reductions in carbon emissions and providing significant amounts of new, clean and renewable energy.”

Stephen Dobbs, senior group president of Fluor

This award of a project of this size and to a major engineering and construction company is a sign that wind power has reached maturity. A $1.8 billion project, without the turbines as I read it, is a major project by any standard.  The price seems high to me, but the energy is free. Offshore wind power is more expensive than land based wind power and this project is quite a ways off shore and in fairly deep water for wind power, which explains at least part of the high price. Still at half the size of a typical power plant, this is not that big a plant. 

DuPont To Enter Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Market

Per DuPont press release:

DuPont (NYSE: DD) announced that it will soon begin construction on a research center in Hong Kong and a manufacturing facility in Shenzhen to support the rapidly growing photovoltaic (PV) solar energy industry.  . . .

DuPont expects growth in the photovoltaic market to exceed 30 percent in each of the next several years. The company has made significant investments in product development and capacity expansions to help keep pace with the demand.

Accelerating its capability to meet emerging materials requirements is critical for DuPont, which has long been a leading supplier of materials primarily serving the crystalline silicon (c-Si) cell and module markets. The expansions in Hong Kong and Shenzhen will provide new offerings to serve the amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film market.

Thin film technology is well-suited for large-scale utility applications such as "solar farms" and industrial installations. The growth rate for thin film is projected to be approximately twice as high as demand for c-Si, and DuPont expects this increase to drive specifications for both new and existing products that serve the thin film industry.

This announcement is important because it shows that Dupont recognizes that the PV market is significant and growing. It can bring its manufacturing expertise to produce low cost products for the fastest growing segment of the solar PV market. Locating the manufacturing facility in Shenzhen takes on the Chinese manufacturers on their home turf.

Sungri Claims 5-7 cents per kWh for CSP Solar Technology

Using SUNRGI's propriety technology it is possible to produce large amounts of electricity from solar radiation at a wholesale price of US $0.05 / kWh is the lead headline on SUNGRI's website. The system is called Xtreme Concentrated Photovoltaics ™ or XCPV™.

XCPV efficiently concentrates sunlight so than it is more that 1,600 times brighter than the sun. This concentrated sunlight is focused onto triple-junction solar cells photovoltaic (PV) solar cells that convert more than 37% of the sunlight directly into electricity. The technology will enable power companies, businesses, and residents to produce electricity from solar energy at a lower cost than ever before was announced recently by SUNRGI at the National Energy Marketers Association's 11th Annual Global Energy Forum. 

"Solar Power at 5 cents per kWh would be a world-changing breakthrough. It would make solar generation of electricity as affordable as generation from coal, natural gas or other non-renewable sources, without requiring a subsidy"

-- Craig Goodman, president, National Energy Marketers Association

"In a little more than a year we were able to develop and successfully test XCPV. We expect the SUNRGI system to become available for both on and off-grid power applications, worldwide, in twelve to fifteen months"

-- Robert S (Bob) Block, co-founder and SUNRGI principal.

GM Invests in Mascoma

General Motors Corp. and Mascoma Corp. today announced a strategic relationship to develop cellulosic ethanol focused on Mascoma's single-step biochemical conversion of non-grain biomass into low-carbon alternative fuels to help address increasing energy demand.

Mascoma's single-step cellulose-to-ethanol method, called Consolidated Bioprocessing, or CBP, lowers costs by limiting additives and enzymes used in other biochemical processes.

The relationship, which includes an undisclosed equity investment by GM, complements an earlier investment in cellulosic ethanol startup Coskata that uses a thermo-chemical process to make ethanol from non-grain sources.

"Taken together, these technologies represent what we see as the best in the cellulosic ethanol future and cover the spectrum in science and commercialization. Demonstrating the viability of sustainable non-grain based ethanol is critical to developing the infrastructure to support the flex-fuel vehicle market.

One of the things that attracted us to Mascoma was its R&D team. Their development of best-in-class microorganisms and enzymes could lead a transformation to a new era of biofuels."

-- GM President Fritz Henderson

Land for Largest Field of Switchgrass for Bioenergy Acquired

Oklahoma has secured 1,100 acres of land for the world's largest stand of switchgrass devoted to
cellulosic ethanol production. Planting will take place within the next 45 days.

Switchgrass is a perennial grass that is naturally drought resistant and grows on marginal lands.The Oklahoma Bioenergy Center (OBC), demonstration fields will provide academia and industry a unique "living laboratory" to understand the production and long-term impact of bioenergy crops, as well as experiment with new production techniques and critical harvest, collection and transport methods.

The critical piece of this effort is 1,000 acres of switchgrass which will be planted near Guymon, Okla. in the state's panhandle. This switchgrass field will be the first of its size anywhere in the world focused on biomass production. Additional acreage of sorghum and switchgrass will be planted near Chickasha and Maysville in central Oklahoma.

A cellulosic biorefinery currently being constructed by Abengoa Boenergy in Hugoton, Kan., will be less than 35 miles from Guymon, and the switchgrass fields in the panhandle will provide material to this biorefinery. The Abengoa Bioenergy facility is expected to be operational in 2010.

This will be a major step in the production of bioenergy from switchgrass.  While it may seem to be a rather trivial matter, until it is demonstrated that the switchgrass can be successfully harvested at an economic cost, the use of switchgrass for this purpose is in question. Plantings for other uses of switchgrass are unlikely to provide this information as they are generally not harvested and the yield is not of such concern. Some small demonstrations have been made, but they are not necessarily applicable to larger stands.

The harvesting and any other questions about growing the switchgrass could delay the use of switchgrass, 1) by eliminating the need for a commercial grower to go through this step 2) to show financial backers of switchgrass bioenergy facilities that this step is not a problem 3) to shorten the time before switchgrass is accepted as a viable feedstock for bioenergy and 4) To determine the optimum planting density to obtain the best yield per acre as numbers for this vary greatly.   

Missouri City Goes 100% Wind Power

Following the opening of a new 5 MW four-turbine wind farm last week, Rock Port, a town of 1,395 in North West Missouri, has become the first U.S. town to get all its electricity from wind power. The $90 million Loess Hills Wind Farm, was built by St. Louis-based Wind Capital Group and the John Deere Corp.

When fully operational, the four Suzlon 1.25 MW S-64 wind turbines will have the capacity to generate 16 million kilowatt hours a year. Historically, Rock Port electrical customers use approximately 13 million KwH annually.

Missouri Joint Municipal Utilities will buy excess power from the farm, expected to eventually generate 16 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. As part of this powerpurchase agrreement  MJMU will supply Rock Port's power needs when the wind turbines are not generating at capacity.

Optisolar to Build Largest Solar Farm in North America

OptiSolar, Hayward, California, is developing a 550 megawatt photovoltaic (PV) solar farm, the largest in North America, covering over 6,000 acres, in San Luis Obispo County, California.

OptiSolar intends to submit an application to San Luis Obispo County for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) in May. Construction is targeted to begin in 2010, after completing the local approval process. Installation of panels will occur over a period of up to three years.

OptiSolar is a vertically intigrated company manufacturing its own solar cells and panels and claims its amorphous silicon thin-film solar PV panels combine proprietary manufacturing processes and innovative design to yield affordable, durable panels that significantly reduce the cost of clean solar power. Their thin-film design requires only about 1% of the silicon used in crystalline systems, thus not being affected by the availability of crystalline silicon. The companies technology enables low-profile solar panels to be placed on simple concrete and steel ballasts with minimal grading.

Although photovoltaic solar panels are currently less efficient than solar thermal systems, OptiSolar claims that its solar cells are significantly more cost effective as they require less expensive silicon during manufacture, consume little water, and require far less maintenance than turbine based systems. In addition they avoid the need for large structures that turbine-based systems require, and do not result in the noise associated with such systems.

OptiSolar Farms Canada has 21 solar project  in Canada under various phases of development including the 60-megawatt "Sarnia Solar" park, which will be broken into six construction phases with the first 10-megawatt phase expected to be completed by year's end and the balance competed in 2009.

Thanks to Tyler Hamilton in the Toronto Star for the tip

EPRI Analysis Finds Utility Based Energy Efficiency Programs Could Cut Energy Consumption 7-11 %

Energy efficiency improvements in the U.S. electric power sector could reduce electric consumption by 7 to 11 percent more than currently projected over the next two decades if key barriers can be addressed, according to a preliminary analysis of potential energy savings released recently by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) during an Edison Foundation conference which examined strategies to meet the growing demand for electricity which is expected to soar 30 percent by 2030, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“This study demonstrates the potential of energy efficiency to offset some of the projected need for new electric generation as cutting-edge technologies become available and are adopted. We think a 7-percent efficiency improvement is realistic – and gains of 11 percent or more are technologically feasible – depending on the degree to which various obstacles can be overcome.”

-- Dr. Michael Howard, senior vice president at EPRI

That demand growth projection would be even higher without the implementation of existing building codes, appliance standards and market-driven consumer incentives, which will shave electricity consumption by 23 percent, according to the EPRI-EEI study. However, additional efficiency gains could be achieved only by overcoming major market, regulatory and consumer barriers, the analysis found.  . . .

Essential steps include increased consumer education; adoption and enforcement of aggressive building codes and appliance standards; creation of utility business models that promote increased efficiency within the power sector; and adoption of electricity pricing policies that more accurately reflect the cost of providing electricity to consumers – and give them the information they need to use it wisely.  . . .

At the same time, consumers’ ever-increasing appetite for electricity-hungry devices – even with continuing efficiency improvements – will keep electricity demand on a steady upward trajectory. A 42-inch plasma television consumes two and a half times more energy (250 watts) than a standard 27-inch TV (100 watts). And while many large household appliances have become more efficient over the years, many smaller devices have not. Two 30-watt set-top television boxes, for example, may consume as much electricity as a large refrigerator.

eSolar Receives Funding for 33MW Modular Solar Power Plants

From a 4/21 press release:

eSolar™, a producer of modular solar thermal power plants, announced (pdf) that is has closed $130 million in funding from Idealab, Google.org, Oak Investment Partners, and other investors for the construction and deployment of pre-fabricated power plants. Their distributed solar thermal plants achieve economies of scale at 33 MW, and are modularly scaled to fit the needs of large and small utilities.

"The eSolar™ power plant is based on mass manufactured components, and designed for rapid construction, uniform modularity, and unlimited scalability. Rather than over-engineering the solution, eSolar’s smart scalable solar architecture targets what we see as the four key business obstacles facing the sector: price, scalability, rapid deployment, and grid impact."

-- Asif Ansari, CEO of eSolar.

. . . Centering on eSolar’s 33 MW pre-fab form-factor, the company’s modular design translates to minimal land requirements. The company’s solar power plant solutions are tailored to fit local resources and produce a low environmental footprint, favoring a straightforward siting and permitting process.

. . . eSolar has secured land rights in the southwest United States to support the production and transmission of over 1 GW of power. eSolar will have a fully operational power plant later this year in southern California.

From their website:

The economic tipping point, for solar power, occurs when the capital cost of the solar field is less than the capital costs and fuel costs of the traditional system. To address this issue, eSolar has developed a modular power plant architecture designed to take advantage of mass manufactured components at every level.

Order your Tesla Roadster Now, TH!NK City Coming to North America in 2009

On Earth Day it is appropriate to feature one of the most sustainable products of the future, the electric car. High gas prices and growing environmental consciousness could finally usher in a new era for electric cars. The Tesla Roadster and the TH!NK City, represent the two extremes in electric vehicle choices and they are among the first, if not the first, electric cars scheduled to go into production.

With the announcement, on March 17, that Tesla Motors had achieved their goal of starting regular production of the Tesla Roadster, the company claimed that the modern era of the electric car had begun.

While this is an important milestone for the company and a watershed for the new era of electric vehicles, we still have a lot of work to do. Our key focus with the Roadster will be on gradually ramping up our production in a deliberate and controlled manner reaching a rate of over 100 Roadsters per month early next year.

Ze'ev Drori, President and CEO, Tesla Motors

With a 0 to 60 mph acceleration of 3.9 seconds, a 13,000 rpm redline, the Roadster has the fastest top gear acceleration of any production car tested by Car & Driver magazine in 2007, With an EPA rating of 135 MPG equivalent, the Roadster provides super car performance at twice the energy efficiency. The batteries provide a range of more than 200 miles (333 km) between charges. The Roadster runs on 6,831 laptop computer batteries stuffed in a car, assembled by Britain's Lotus.

More than 1,000 customers have ordered the $98,000 2008 Roadster, according to the company. The estimated base price for the 2009 Roadster is $109,000. Final pricing will be announced just prior to the start of 2009 production.Tesla started production, making one or two cars a week, but it says it will steadily increase production  to around 100 cars a month by early next year. Tesla had to delay production by about six month primarily due problems with the transmission.  The company is now involved with lawsuits with both suppliers and competitors.

Think Global, the Norwegian electric car producer, along with RockPort Capital Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, announced this Monday plans to introduce the TH!INK City to the North American Market in 2009. 

The TH!NK city is currently produced in Norway and international sales are scheduled to begin in Scandinavia, with Switzerland and France also being the initial focus areas. Sales, other than initial trial and demonstration projects, will begin in the North American market in 2009.

"The TH!NK city is the world's only crash-tested and highway-certified electric vehicle and is ideal for markets such as California where we will initiate demonstration projects offering an exceptionally safe and fun car to drive."

-- Jan-Olaf Willums, CEO of Think Global

Study Develops More Accurate CO2 Data

Purdue University press release: - A new, high- resolution interactive map of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels has found that the emissions aren't all where we thought.

"For example, we've been attributing too many emissions to the northeastern United States, and it's looking like the southeastern U.S. is a much larger source than we had estimated previously.

"When you compare the old inventories to Vulcan, the new data show atmospheric CO2 differences that are as large as five parts per million in some U.S. regions in the late winter. The levels in the global atmosphere only rise one and a half part per million every year, so this is the equivalent of three years of global emissions in the atmosphere that isn't where we thought it was. This will be important for policy-makers and is enormous from a scientific point of view. It's shocking."

-- Kevin Gurney, Project leader and assistant professor of earth and atmospheric science at Purdue University.

The maps and system, called Vulcan, show CO2 emissions at more than 100 times more detail than was available before. Until now, data on carbon dioxide emissions were reported, in the best cases, monthly at the level of an entire state. The Vulcan model examines CO2 emissions at local levels on an hourly basis.

Largest Laser Beam in the World to Create Fusion

This video is about the National Ignition Facility, more details in previous post, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, employing the largest bank of laser beams in the world, to be used in an experiment designed to create fusion ignition, a potential clean energy source for the 21st century. The $3.5 billion complex is under construction and expected to start full operations in 2009.

Scientists are creating a system to replicate fusion by using lasers to create the high heat and pressure needed for fusion. At the center of the project is a gold cylinder the size of a dime. This gold cylinder, called the hohlraum, houses a capsule containing the hydrogen isotopes – the fuel for the fusion reaction. NIF scientists will blast the hohlraum with 192 laser beams simultaneously (containing a total of 1.8 million joules of energy, about 500 trillion watts) for a few billionths of a second. The cylinder will produce x-rays that compress and heat the capsule resulting in a nuclear fusion reaction.

This experiment is not a continuous fusion reactor, it is an experimental device designed to determine whether scientists can create a fusion reaction for an instant of time, using this method. It does not produce any continuous output as ITER is designed to, It is one of the first major steps designed to see if lasers can be used to create fusion.

The ITER Tokamak, a $13 billion magnetic containment device, is based on totally different technology and would be the first fusion device to produce thermal energy at levels equivalent to conventional electricity power plants.

Several other containment devices are being tested throughout the world, in an attempt to develop a device that is superior to that used in ITER. The technology used in ITER is the most advanced and thus was selected for use in that ground breaking experiment.

Thanks to Lauren Sommer of KQED for the tip

Pickens Wind Farm to Get Underway

Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens is commencing action, with plans for his company, Mesa Power, to build, over the next four years, the previously announced $10 billion wind farm, the world's largest, that will eventually generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity - the equivalent of building two commercial scale nuclear power plants - enough power for about 1 million homes.

Next month Mesa Power, will begin buying land and ordering the first 500 wind turbines of the 2,700 turbines required for the project, at about $2 million each, to be located across 200,000 acres of the Texan panhandle.

"Don't get the idea that I've turned green. My business is making money, and I think this is going to make a lot of money."

-- Pickens in the Guardian

Pickens grand plan, not to be built by him, for resolving the energy needs of the US. is to build wind farms on a corridor of land running north to south through the middle of the US - along the great plains and to harvest solar energy from a corridor running east to west from Texas to southern California.

Pickens certainly thinks big, and somebody has to, as the U.S. government is doing little to resolve our compounding needs for new power sources. I assume thermal solar power would be used for the solar part of his plan as it currently is much less expensive than PV solar and thermal solar power can be quite easily adapted to thermal storage, although that brings the price up to where the total cost is quite expensive.

The only other comment I have is on Pickens grand scheme, and that would be to utilize geothermal power in addition to solar and wind.   Conventional geothermal would be used in the northwestern part of the U.S., primarily in California, Nevada, Idaho and Oregon, Hawaii and along parts of the New England coast. Hot dry rock or deep geothermal/EGS can be used in almost all of the U.S. and would serve the southern and eastern parts of the country, where solar and wind are not particularly applicable. The current cost of geothermal is comparable to natural gas power and thus is very attractive. Geothermal has the advantage of being a baseload power source, whereas wind and solar are not particularly suited for this application.  Thermal storage can be added to thermal solar but that would be more costly than geothermal. Significantly improved utilization of wind and solar can be obtained by tying geographically diverse sources together with an extensive grid. However, that is costly and would have to be studied in detail.

I personally think that a part of this plan would have to be to use generation III+ nuclear reactors and clean coal with sequestration to compliment the renewable power portions of this plan. This will be required to improve the baseload properties of the grid and provide the required power we need until the renewable power providers have built up sufficient capability. If Pickens, through his companies, can finance a $10 billion project that will supply 4 gigawatts of power, I would think that there would be several other companies, utility companies in particular, that could spend that much and supply all the incremental needs for power. Companies like Glitner and Chevron are capable of very large geothermal plants. Other diversified oil companies could get into the act as the supplies of oil get even more expensive and the world turns to electrictity as a larger and larger share of its power supply.

Trina Solar Cancels $1 Billion Polysilicon Plant

China-based Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) announced that it has canceled plans to build a $1 billion polysilicon plant that was revealed in December of 2007, with a target completion date by the end of 2012. Favorable changes in the polysilicon market has led Trina to believe that it can now obtain sufficient polysilicon on the open market to meet its production requirements. 21 new firms started manufacturing polysilicon during 2007.

Trina also announced on 4/2/08 that it has entered an eight-year polysilicon supply agreement with GCL Silicon Technology Holdings Ltd.for enough polysilicon to produce about 2.6 gigawatts worth of solar modules. Trina has now secured about 95 percent of its estimated polysilicon requirements for 2008.

Trina previously had said that it was targeting solar module production capacity of 350 megawatts of annual capacity by the end of this year. Trina announced in late October 2007, that it had launched production on its new multicrystalline module line, complimenting its monosilicon module line.

In a somewhat related announcement Fluor Corporation said that it has been awarded the contract for engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services by LDK Solar for its $1 billion, 15,000MT polysilicon plant in Xinyu City, Jiangxi, China.

High purity silicon ("Polysilicon") is the key feedstock for almost all solar cells and modules produced today. The solar PV industry and semiconductor manufacturers are the two main consumers of polysilicon. In 2000 the solar industry consumed only 10% of the world's silicon supply. In 2006 the PV industry consumed more than half of the world's available supply of polysilicon for the first time ever.

So Trina sees that it can obtain enough silicon from the open market, such that its own production facility is not needed.  Its recent agreement with GCL will supply nearly all of its silicon needs for the next eight years.  Meanwhile silicon suppliers such as LDK Solar continue to expand production. Does this mean that the silicon supply shortage is over?  My opinion is that, at this moment, there is not enough silicon production to allow the much needed expansion of the PV solar cell industry, but that facilities under construction will probably allow for some expansion.  The trend to use more thin film silicon PV and non-silicon PV will reduce requirements for silicon. How much is enough? This will depend on whether solar PV modules can reach the price target of under $1.00 per Wp that have been promised by some. In the meantime there is a market demand for more modules than can currently be produced at relatively high prices (Solarbuzz currently lists $3.74/Wp (€2.36/Wp) as the lowest price for thin film solar modules).

Climate Change Confirmed but Global Warming is Cancelled

I ran across an article, in The National Business Review (NZ), that (attempts to) explain why the climate is not highly sensitive to CO2 warming.

In December last year .  . . (the author) heard   . . . a paper . . . that showed while the IPCC models predict that greenhouse gases would produce an extensive "hot spot" in the upper troposphere over the tropics, the satellite measurements show no such hotspots have appeared.  . . .

a large part of this discrepancy is the result of some basic errors in the IPCC's assessment of the Stefan-Boltzmann equation. When they applied their revised factor to the effect of greenhouse gases, the temperature rise was about a third of that predicted by the IPCC.  . . .

The findings that the predicted "tropical hot spots" do not exist are important because the IPCC models assume these hot spots will be formed by increased evaporation from warmer oceans leading to the accumulations of higher concentrations of water vapour in the upper atmosphere, and thereby generating a positive feedback reinforcing the small amount of warming that can be caused by CO2 alone.  . . .

The Beginning of the End for Coal

A post on Earth Policy Institute describes the difficulty power companies are having in getting coal fired power plants approved. There first paragraph sums up the difficulty they are having:

With concerns about climate change mounting, the era of coal-fired electricity generation in the United States may be coming to a close. In early 2007, a U.S. Department of Energy report listed 151 coal-fired power plants in the planning stages in the United States. But during 2007, 59 proposed plants were either refused licenses by state governments or quietly abandoned. In addition, close to 50 coal plants are being contested in the courts, and the remaining plants will likely be challenged when they reach the permitting stage.

The post goes on to outline 18 events that have occurred in the last year that have contributed to this dilemma.  The latest action was the introduction of a bill in the House of Representatives that would block the EPA and states from issuing permits to new coal-fired power plants that lack state-of-the-art carbon capture and storage, CCS, technology. A comment added to this item was: Since this technology is at least a decade away from commercial viability, if this bill passes it would essentially place a near-term moratorium on new coal-fired power plants.

We have an urgent need for more power production and some way of providing this power must be provided. If the bill introduced in house should pass, as proposed, we would be dependent on renewable energy, nuclear power and conservation to provide the power in the near term. Since these options would not be sufficient, we could only hope that this bill would not pass or it would be modified before passage.

I disagree that CCS technology is at least a decade from commercial viability -- I believe that at least one technology will be successfully demonstrated in 5-7 years. We have at least four CCS technologies in the testing stage and I would propose that coal fired power plants be allowed to be built, 1) under more stringent conditions that the power is needed, 2) that they be located where carbon sequestration can take place and 3) that they be built so that the emerging CCS technologies can be easily adapted to the plant. Their are two ammonia based systems and two amine based systems that I am aware of. It may be necessary to pick one of these technologies or it may be possible to provide (perhaps massive) piping connections that would allow any process to be connected.

While many will say that conservation of electricity is the answer, it is only part of the solution. It will take many years before a structured plan could be put in place.  It may be possible that certain industries could be found where conservation could be mandated, if that can be done constitutionally. Higher prices for electricity may end up being the the greatest force causing conservation. Practices that reduce electrical consumption in the home have been written about by many and these should receive more widespread availability. A simple search on your favorite search engine using the search words "home electricity efficiency" brings up several sources including this one, How to Save Electricity in Your Home from the Edison Electric Institute.

Nuclear and Renewable energy simply cannot be brought up to speed fast enough to meet all our needs, although I think they should be accelerated as fast as possible.  Incentives for renewables should be maintained until the industries are fully sustainable. Geothermal energy has become my favorite renewable energy because it is a baseload power provider, and with new, hot dry rock, HDR, technology can be located in almost all areas of the world, as such it should receive much more funding for demonstration plants from the government. At least four geothermal projects, two funded by DOE and one in France and one in Germany using HDR technology are already underway. Although a large number of HDR plants could be built with existing technology, it might take 10 or 15 years before this technology can be applied universally.

An exception could be made on my, and the US governments, stand that only a few generation III+ nuclear plants can be be built until they have demonstrated that they can operated safely.  If it could be shown that the AP1000 and AREVA plants, and any other that meet US criteria, have been safely and successfully operated in a foreign country, the requirement for operation in the US could be waived.

FYI: Nanomaterial Turns Radiation Directly into Electricity

According to an article in New Scientist, materials that directly convert radiation into electricity could produce a new era of spacecraft and even Earth-based vehicles powered by high-powered nuclear batteries, say US researchers.  . . .

The materials they are testing would extract up to 20 times more power from radioactive decay than thermoelectric materials, they calculate.  . . .

Tests of layered tiles of carbon nanotubes packed with gold and surrounded by lithium hydride are under way.  . . .

The tiles would be best used to create electricity using a radioactive material, says Liviu Popa-Simil, former Los Alamos National Laboratory nuclear engineer and founder of private research and development company LAVM , because they could be embedded directly where radiation is greatest. But they could also harvest power directly from a fission reactor's radiation.

Devices based on the material could be small enough to power anything from interplanetary probes to aircraft and land vehicles, he adds.

Volt Status Update

GM released some more information on the status of the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid last week in meeting with journalists and analysts at its battery research labs and design studio near Detroit. No real news to those of you who are following the Volt closely.

A Reuters article summarized the information quite well, also see this post in GCC. The main points are:

• Executives are still committed to launching the Volt by November 2010, calling it the "No. 1 priority project"
• GM has started testing of two 16 kWh, 170 kg battery packs, one from a subsidiary of Korea's LG Chem and the 2nd suppled by Continental AG using A123 Systems technology.
• The goal for the battery is to  be able to run at least 150,000 miles, last 10 years, provide 60-mph acceleration in less than 9 seconds and provide an all electric range of 40 miles.
• Testing some Volt-like technology in a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu began last year and battery testing in the Malibu will begin this month.
• Relatively small aerodynamic improvements have increased the electric range by more than half a mile.

Largest Tidal Stream System Installed

Marine Current Turbines, has successfully completed the first installation phase of the 1.2MW SeaGen Tidal System, previous post, the world’s largest grid-connected tidal stream system, into the fast-flowing waters of Strangford Narrows off the coast of Northern Ireland.

A crane barge safely positioned the 1000 ton structure onto the seabed in the early hours of Wednesday morning, 2 April, and released its four moorings on 3 April. SeaGen’s location is roughly 1km south of the ferry route between Strangford and Portaferry, approximately 400m from the shoreline.

When fully operational later in the summer, its 16m diameter, twin rotors, one shown above, will operate for up to 18-20 hours per day to produce enough clean, green electricity, equivalent to that used by a 1000 homes, four times greater than any other tidal stream project so far built.

“SeaGen is a hugely exciting project, as well as an historic achievement for both Marine Current Turbines and for renewables in the UK and Ireland. Tidal energy has the great advantage of being predictable and no other system can harness the power of the tidal currents in the way this one can. We take great pride and see enormous potential in the technology and hope it will eventually make a significant contribution to the future energy needs of the British Isles, Ireland and beyond.”

-- Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines

.

Skeptics Speak Out on Global Warming

Aqua satellite data suggests there are reasons why we should be skeptical to the extent to which carbon dioxide drives warming, that CO2-driven increases in water vapor actually cool the earth, not magnify warming, and with equal interest the latest data from Argos float buoy data in the ocean could suggest the ocean is cooling since 2003 when they became operational.

In a report posted on Australia’s ABC National on March 17th entitled “Climate Change,” Jennifer Marohasy of the Australian Environment Foundation comments on data from the NASA Aqua satellite:

“The satellite was only launched in 2002 and it enabled the collection of data, not just on temperature but also on cloud formation and water vapour. What all the climate models suggest is that when you’ve got warming from additional carbon dioxide this will result in increased water vapour, so you’re going to get a positive feedback. That’s what the models have been indicating. What this great data from the NASA Aqua satellite…and the first time this data has been able to be collected is 2002 so we’ve got a little bit of data now, it’s actually showing just the opposite, that with a little bit of warming, weather processes are compensating, so they’re actually limiting the greenhouse effect and you’re actually getting a negative rather than a positive feedback.”

DesignLine Orders 150 Capstone Turbines for HEV Buses

Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ: CPST), announced that it has received a 150 unit order for C30 Capstone MicroTurbines(R) to be deployed in ECOSaver IV hybrid electric buses manufactured by DesignLine International. This is the largest order to date for Capstone products in a Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) application.

Hybrid electric buses equipped with Capstone microturbines, have been operating in various parts of the world for approximately 10 years. DesignLine buses are constructed with advanced extruded aluminum technology making them lightweight and very strong. The end result is the most fuel efficient vehicle available. In recent product demonstrations the ECOSaver IV hybrid buses equipped capstone turbines have seen up to a 100% improvement in fuel economy over a traditional diesel bus which equates to fuel savings of up to 6,000 gallons per year according to DesignLine.

The bus has a serial drive, running on batteries all the time, the turbine being only used to charge the batteries  The buses are also equipped with regenerative braking. In urban driving the buses get about seven miles per gallon. The buses were tested by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority for two month beginning in October 2007.

Standard nominal specification are: Top speed: 62 mph, Max gradient: 15%, Max Power: 250 KW, Max Torque: 2500 NM which may change depending on configuration selected.

FYI: TransAlta and Alstom Develping CCS Facility in Alberta

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE: TAC) and Alstom (EPA: ALO) signed an agreement to work together to develop a large scale CO2 capture and storage (CCS) facility in Alberta, Canada.

The project will pilot Alstom’s proprietary Chilled Ammonia Process.  TransAlta considers the Chilled Ammonia Process as one of the more promising and potentially lowest cost solutions for CCS. TransAlta’s plan with Alstom is to test the technology at one of TransAlta’s coal-fired generating stations west of Edmonton and reduce current CO2 emissions by one million tons per year. . . . more

A similar article can be found on Bloomberg.com

Every CCS project that is built is a step foreword in controlling CO2 emissions and brings us a step closer to being able to require CCS on all coal fired power plants. Alberta already has regulation that require companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Waste Hydrogen Used to Power Vehicles and Car Wash

CBCnews (Canada) has an interesting story about how the Integrated Waste Hydrogen Utilization Project (IWHUP) uses hydrogen from two chemical plants to power pickup trucks, shuttle buses and a car wash.

The chemical plants produce more than 1000 kg/hr of hydrogen resulting form the production of sodium chlorate and clor-alkali by electrolysis of salt water. The waste hydrogen contains "chlorine, water vapor and other nasties," which have to be removed before it can be used.

Sacré-Davey Engineering saw that the hydrogen was being wasted by venting the hydrogen to the atmosphere and designed a C$18.3 million facility to treat, compress and deliver the hydrogen to two fueling stations— one in North Vancouver and the other in Port Coquitlam, a nearby suburb.

MIT Spin-off Developing Solar Cells That are 27% More Efficient, No more Expensive to Make

1366 Technologies claims that its small multicrystalline solar cells are 27% more efficient than conventional cells while keeping costs about the same.  It also announced its first round of funding of $12.4 million from Venture capitalists co-led by North Bridge Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners.

The company's efficiency and cost claims are based on results from small solar cells (about two centimeters across) made in the lab of professor of mechanical engineering Emanuel Sachs, who is one of the company's founders.

1366 Technologies is building a pilot-scale manufacturing plant that will make full-sized solar cells (about 15 centimeters across) that should yield results in about a year.

Sachs says that current solar cells cost about $2.10 per watt generated. When manufactured at a commercial scale, the first cells incorporating his new technology will cost $1.65 per watt while planned improvements will reduce the cost to about $1.30 a watt.

The company's solar cells include three key innovations to improve efficiency:

1. A method for adding texture to the surface of the cells that allows the silicon to absorb more light.
2. A method for making the current collecting wires as small as one-fifth the width of the wires that are typically used, while improving their conductivity.
3. A new Light-Capturing Ribbon that increases the efficiency of a solar module by reflecting light back onto the surface of the cell. This grooved ribbon replaces the traditional wires used to interconnect solar cells.

Professor Sachs previously invented the String ribbon™ wafer technology being commercialized at Evergreen Solar, a leading developer of solar energy products. Sachs is joined by 1366 Technologies co-founder and investor, Frank van Mierlo, who serves as the company’s president. Harvard Business School professor Joseph Lassiter rounds out the board of directors, all of whom hold degrees from MIT.

Sources: Technology Review and 1366 Technologies website.

Project A Better Place Expands to Denmark

Project Better Place (PBC), California, has signed a letter of intent with Danish energy company DONG Energy aimed at reducing CO2 emissions from the Danish car fleet by providing electric cars, batteries and the infrastructure required for implementing a sustainable transportation energy solution. Together with PBC, DONG Energy will work on the further development of the project to give Danish consumers access to buying environmentally friendly electric vehicles (EVs) at attractive prices. 

Denmark is the second country in which such a transportation solution is being planned, Israel, previous post, being the first.

The presentation, below, by Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of PBC, at a New Democrat Network meeting gives a very good explanation of the business model that will be used by PBC to implement the electric car fleet and required infrastructure (drag slider to 4:15 to avoid introduction), my short explanation is given following the video.

Through the PBC and Renault-Nissan Alliance partnership announced last January, Renault will provide Better Place Denmark with zero emissions electric vehicles that offer driving performances similar to a gasoline engine. Nissan, through its joint venture with NEC of Japan, has created an advanced Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery pack, using currently available technology, that meets the requirements of the electric vehicle and will be mass-produced.

More News on EEStor

The latest about EEStor, the promising developer of ultracapacitors can be found in a post by Tyler in Clean Break, EEStor Powered cityZenn targeted for fall 2009 the key item is taken from Zenn Motor Company's  press release following its annual general meeting of March 28:

The cityZENN is planned to be a fully certified, highway capable vehicle with a top speed of 125 KPH/ 80 MPH and a range or 400 kilometres/250 miles. Powered by EEStor, the cityZENN will be rechargeable in less than 5 minutes, feature operating costs 1/10th of a typical internal combustion engine vehicle and be 100% emission-free! The Zero-Emission, No-Noise cityZENN will be designed to meet the transportation requirements of a large percentage of drivers worldwide.

"EEStor's game-changing energy storage technology is in the advanced stages of commercialization", stated Ian Clifford, Chief Executive Officer. "EEStor has publicly committed to commercialization in 2008 and their first production line will be used to supply ZENN Motor Company."

EEStor is believed to have had trouble developing its product, an ultracapacitor claimed to have a specific energy of 280 watt-hours per kilogram, compared to a lithium ion battery with about 120 watt-hours and a lead-acid gel battery, with only 32 watt hours. (Although ElectroVaya claims 330Wh/kg, so they may not be alone) 

The problem is believed, by some, to be in producing the ultra-pure barium-titanate used in the capacitor, which is the key to having the high specific energy. A January 2007 announcement indicated that 1) An automated production line had been proven to meet the requirements for precise chemical delivery, purity control, parameter control and stability and 2) they had completed the initial milestone of certifying purification, concentration, and stability of all of its key production chemicals notably the attainment of 99.9994% purity of its barium nitrate powder. At that time they claimed that they would be shipping product to Zenn in 2007, a year earlier than indicated in the current announcement. 

EEStor's recently announced collaboration with Lockheed Martin, which gives the company credibility and is a further indication that the company is making progress. The current announcement seems to be in agreement with the timing indicated in the Lockheed Martin announcement, although, based on past performance, a wait and see position must be held. 

Virent: Biomass to "Biogasoline"

Shell and Virent Energy Systems, Inc., (Virent™) have announced a joint research and development effort to convert plant sugars directly into gasoline and gasoline blend components, via the BioForming™ process, rather than producing ethanol. The process is a simple reactor system operating at relatively low temperatures and pressures and once it is functioning, no additional energy inputs are required. The resulting "biogasoline" could potentially eliminate the need for specialized infrastructure, new engine designs and blending equipment.

The production of gasoline via BioForming™ is a new pathway for the production of liquid fuels and chemicals from biiomass rather than from fossil fuels. Virent has received significant commercial interest and entered into key strategic industrial collaborations, including with Shell for the development of liquid fuels, which will speed the technology’s time to market and enable broad commercial penetration

Virents process is a technology that economically transforms the sugars from biomass into universally usable fuel. The sugars can be sourced from non-food sources like corn stover, switch grass, wheat straw and sugarcane pulp, in addition to conventional biofuel feedstock like wheat, corn and sugarcane. It produces gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels with with twice the net energy yield per acre as traditional ethanol processes and with a small CO2 footprint. Gasoline made via the BioForming™ process will enjoy a 20% to 30% per BTU cost advantage over ethanol.

The resultant biofuels have the same properties as their petroleum based counterparts.  They have the same energy content (for example, gasoline has 52 percent more energy per gallon than ethanol). The fuels produced through this process are fully compatible with existing engines, pipelines and fuel pumps. Virent’s products are universally usable, requiring no new infrastructure investment. They are compatible with existing engines, pipelines, and fuel pumps.

“Virent has proven that sugars can be converted into the same hydrocarbon mixtures of today’s gasoline blends. Our products match petroleum gasoline in functionality and performance. Virent’s unique catalytic process uses a variety of biomass-derived feedstocks to generate biogasoline at competitive costs. Our results to date fully justify accelerating commercialization of this technology.

-- Dr. Randy Cortright, Virent CTO, Co-Founder and Executive Vice President

FYI: Petrosun to Start Commercial Operation of 4.4 MGY Algae Oil Plant

PetroSun, Inc (PINK: PSUD) announced that their Rio Hondo, Texas algae farm will commence operations on April 1, 2008 as PetroSun's initial commercial algae-to-biofuels facility. The current algae farm consists of 1,100 acres of saltwater ponds that the company projects will produce a minimum of 4.4 million gallons of algal oil and 110 million pounds of biomass on an annual basis. The company has dedicated 20 acres of ponds for a proposed algae derived JP8 jet fuel research and development program.

The Rio Hondo algae farm will be expanded in the future to provide the feedstock required by present or proposed company owned or joint ventured biodiesel and ethanol refineries. The Company plans to construct or acquire additional plants in the Gulf Coast region that are reachable via barge up the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The previously announced Bridgeport, Alabama refinery will receive algal oil feedstock from this distribution program.

"Our business model has been focused on proving the commercial feasibility of the firms' algae-to-biofuels technology during the past eighteen months Whether we have arrived at this point in time by a superior technological approach, sheer luck or a redneck can-do attitude, the fact remains that microalgae can outperform the current feedstocks utilized for conversion to biodiesel and ethanol, yet do not impact the consumable food markets or fresh water resources."

-- Gordon LeBlanc, Jr., CEO of Petrosun

Petrosun plans to establish algae farms and algal oil extraction plants in Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mexico, Brazil and Australia during 2008. The algal oil product will be marketed as feedstock to existing biodiesel refiners and planned company owned refineries.

I don't think any other algae producing firms have reached this milestone. The production of algae oil is the critical step in producing biofuels from algae.  Algae has the potential to produce all the petroleum needs for transportation on 2% of the land area of the US, which could be located on desert or semi-arable land. (see previous post)

9MWe CHP Jatropha Bio-oil Plant Being Developed in Belgium

Thenergo, a Belgian developer and operator of decentralized sustainable energy projects using biomass, biogas, bio-oil and cogeneration has announced that it has commenced development of a 9MWe, 6MWth CHP bio-oil to energy plant in Merksplas (Belgium).

The project, named Greenpower, representing a total investment of €11 million will run on bio-oil extracted from the seeds of the jatropha plant (previous post). The jatropha seeds are a non-edible, high energy fruit grown on semi-arid or waste land in South East Asia.

”The Greenpower bio-oil project is a prime example of Thenergo’s multifuel approach to the production of sustainable energy. Our strategy to diversify our feedstock base,namely biogas, natural gas, bio-oil, woody biomass and secondary fuels, ensures long term procurement security, better management of fuel costs, while allowing us to be more reactive to market driven opportunities”.

-- Kurt Alen, Thenergo CEO

This is one of a few projects that I have seen using jatropha bio-oil as a feedstock. CHP plants are much more efficient than pure electricity or motor fuel projects.  Because jatropha can be grown on semi-arid or waste land it can use land that is not suitable for growing food seeds  This advantage is claimed to be being abused because the jatropha seeds bring in more cash than food seeds in some cases and land that formerly was used for growing food crops is already being used to grow jatropha.  It seems that biofuel projects can become controversial wherever the feedstock comes from.  Eventually market forces will sort out how much land is used for food and how much is used for growing biofuel feedstocks.  The continued high price of oil favors more use of biofuels. The development of cellulose based biofuels will lessen this problem somewhat and the development of electrically powered vehicles that can get most of their energy from renewable energy will eventually mitigate this problem to a great degree, but not for a long time. 

FYI: Double Digit Oil Price is History

The Economic Times has an article "Double-digit oil price is history: R S Sharma" that gives a perspective on where we stand on oil supply and consumption and some comments on what we need to do:

Oilonomics has gone haywire. The rise in oil prices has now started to hurt. Crude oil price increased five-fold in five years (from $22 per barrel in 2003); doubling in just fourteen months (from $54 per barrel in January 2007 to $110 per barrel in March 2008). . . .

During the last quarter century, primary energy consumption increased by about 64% (oil by 31%; gas by a spectacular 97%), primarily driven by growing demand from the developing world. CRISIL in a recent report has pointed out that non-OECD countries, particularly China and other Asian countries, have been the largest contributors to the 3.2 million bpd incremental world oil demand over the period 2004-07. Most forecasts for the next quarter century project more than a 60% increase in energy demand, mainly from emerging consumption centres. India’s demand for primary energy in 2030 is projected to be four times what we are consuming today (423 million tonnes of oil equivalent).

On the supply side, the emerging scenario is even more complex. Oil and gas resources are concentrated in a few countries. OPEC has around 73% of the world’s proven oil reserves. One-third of the world’s oil production comes from just three countries: Saudi Arabia, the Russian Federation and the US. Half of the world’s oil production comes from the 100 largest fields, almost all more than 25 years old. Discoveries of new giant fields are becoming rarer. Out of 85 million bpd oil production today, only 15 million bpd come from new finds and day-by-day incremental demand is outstripping incremental supply. . . .

Against these hard facts, ‘Peak Oil’ theory has kept every one guessing. Have we reached the peak or not quite yet? We may not have a definite answer as of now, but its effect is quite visible on the dynamics of the oil market. Now, many oil geologists believe that 90% of the globe’s oil fields have already been tapped and many are already exhausted. . . . Reserve replacement ratios (RRR) for most, if not all, is less than one. . . .

I believe we do not have any options other than recognising the long-term devastating effects of flared-up oil prices. We need to bite the bullet and go for energy demand management with a vengeance. Increasing efficiency of transportation, residential, commercial, and industrial uses is a must. Further, we need to ease the pressure on oil and gas by expansion and diversification of other energy resources.

Duke Researchers Develop Ceramic Membrane that Permits Fuel Cells to Operate at Low Humidity and Higher Temperatures

Researchers at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering have developed a membrane that allows fuel cells to operate at low humidity and theoretically at higher temperatures.

“The current gold standard membrane is a polymer that needs to be in a humid environment in order to function efficiently. If the polymer membrane dries out, its efficiency drops. We developed a ceramic membrane made of iron nanoparticles that works at much lower humidities. And because it is a ceramic, it should also tolerate higher temperatures.

“The efficiency of current membranes drops significantly at temperatures over 190 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the chemical reactions that create the electricity are more efficient at high temperatures, so it would be a big improvement for fuel cell technology to make this advance.”

Mark Wiesner, Ph.D., a Duke civil engineering professor

The membrane most commonly used today, known as Nafion, was discovered in the 1960s. As the temperature rises, the polymer becomes unstable and the membranes dehydrate, leading to a loss of performance.

In addition to its temperature and heat limitations, Nafion is also much more expensive to produce than the new membrane, Wiesner said, adding that membranes make up as much as 40 percent of the overall cost of fuel cells.

While I am not a big fan of fuel cells, especially for automotive applications, It is well to keep abreast of technological innovations, such as this one, which may make them more viable.

Most GM Vehicles will be Hybrids by 2020

Via the Detroit News: General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz said on May 19 that GM would have produce 80 percent of its vehicles as some type of hybrid by 2020 in order to meet new tougher fuel economy standards.

"Ultimately by 2020, we figure that 80 percent of vehicles are going to require some sort of level of hybridization. We cannot get to 35 miles per gallon with anything resembling the current product portfolio with conventional technology."

Bob Lutz General Motors vice chairman

Automakers must average a combined 35 miles per gallon by 2020 for passenger cars and light trucks, a 40 percent increase, in order to meet the first increases in the requirements, GM would build about one-third of its vehicles as hybrids by 2015 -- when new fuel economy standards "really start to bite."

By the end of 2008, GM will have eight hybrids. That includes some "mild" cheaper hybrids that get a smaller fuel economy increase than so-called "full" hybrids.

Lutz said earlier that building so many hybrids will add $6,000 to $7,000 to the cost of an average vehicle and that most -- if not all -- V-8 engines will disappear.

Why Exxon Won't Produce More

From Business Week online March 20, 2008:

. . . If you want to understand why Exxon won't produce more, it helps to listen in to ExxonMobil's  presentation to analysts in New York City in early March. Halfway through the three-hour meeting, Exxon management flashed a chart that showed the company's worldwide oil production staying flat through 2012. . . .

Yet even with prices at the pump near all-time highs, Exxon isn't planning on producing any more oil four years from now than it did last year. That means the company's oil output won't even keep pace with its own projections of worldwide oil demand growth of 1.2% a year.  . . .

"We don't start with a volume target and then work backwards," Instead, he said, his team examines the available investment opportunities, figures out what prices they'll likely get for that output down the road, and places their bets accordingly. "It really goes back to what is an acceptable investment return for us."

-- Exxon Chairman Rex Tillerson

. . . Since 2000, Exxon's oil output from two of its largest regions, the U.S. and Europe, declined a startling 37%. That's 500,000 fewer barrels a day in just seven years. . . .

Exxon plans on bringing new fields online in Russia, the Middle East, and Africa over the next four years but they won't be enough to generate growth beyond what the company is losing due to the maturation of its fields in the North Sea and Alaska, the nationalization of its fields in Venezuela, and volumes lost due to production sharing agreements with other countries.  . . .

Big oil companies can continually miss their targets or even target no growth and still shine on Wall Street due to the peculiar nature of commodity businesses. Less supply of a commodity means higher prices. Higher oil prices mean more profits for the oil companies. Exxon shares have risen 21% in the past year—and even closed a bit higher on Mar. 5, the day of its analysts meeting.

An Update on Uranium Reprocessing

A March 22 article "Recycling uranium and plutonium: where's it heading?" on the Nuclear Engineering International website explores the status of uranium recycling and its future.

Programs for the recycling of plutonium were developed in the 1970s when it appeared that uranium would be in scarce supply and would become increasingly expensive. It was originally proposed that plutonium would be recycled through fast breeder reactors, that is, reactors with a uranium ‘blanket’ but which would produce slightly more plutonium than they consume. Thus it was envisaged that the world’s ‘low cost’ uranium resources, then estimated to be sufficient for only 50 years’ consumption, could be extended for hundreds of years.  . . .

As things transpired, the pressure on uranium resources was very much less than expected and prices remained low in the period up to 2003.  . . .

Revived interest in nuclear power in the 21st Century, as a clean air solution which contributes to world sustainable development, is encouraging the development of new materials and technologies. In addition, the substantial rise in uranium prices since 2003 and the difficulties with commissioning waste repositories have prompted the beginning of a revaluation of recycling.  . . .

FYI: GE Demonstrates World's First ''Roll-to-Roll'' Manufactured Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs

Press release - GE Global Research and GE Consumer & Industrial in conjunction with ECD announced the successful demonstration of the world’s first roll-to-roll manufactured organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting devices. This demonstration is a key step toward making OLEDs and other high performance organic electronics products at dramatically lower costs than what is possible today.  . . .

OLEDs have the potential to deliver dramatically improved levels of efficiency and environmental performance when compared to traditional products.

GE researchers provided the organic electronics technology and were responsible for developing the roll-to-roll processes, while ECD provided its unique roll-to-roll equipment-building expertise to build the machine that manufactures the OLED devices.

When commercialized this technology will make possible low cost high, efficieny lighting. Lighting currently comsumes about 22% of the total electricity generated in the U.S. and about 25% of the average homes electric bill.

Thanks to Tyler at Clean Break for the tip.

New Enzyme Promises to Reduce Ethanol Costs

University of Maryland research that started with bacteria from the Chesapeake Bay has led to the development of a bacterium, called Saccharophagus degradans which can break down almost any source of biomass, or plant life, into sugars, which can then be converted into ethanol and other biofuels.

That process, developed by University of Maryland professors Steve Hutcheson and Ron Weiner, professors of cell biology and molecular genetics, is the foundation of their incubator company Zymetis.

They discovered how to produce the enzyme in their own laboratories. The result was Ethazyme, a bacterium that creates a mixture of enzymes—through a patent-pending system which degrades the tough cell walls of cellulosic materials into bio-fuel ready sugars in one step, which are then converted into ethanol and other biofuels at a significantly lower cost and with fewer caustic chemicals than current methods. 

“We believe we have the most economical way to produce biofuels from cellulosic material”

-- Steve Hutcheson, CEO of Zymetis Inc.

Basin Electric Selects Powerspan's ECO2 Carbon Capture Process for Commercial Demonstration Project

Basin Electric Power Cooperative and Powerspan Corp. today announced the selection of Powerspan's carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technology, called "ECO2(TM)," for a commercial demonstration at Basin Electric's Antelope Valley Station, a coal-based electrical generation facility located near Beulah, North Dakota. Approximately one million tons of CO2 will be captured annually from the 120 megawatt slipstream project, making this demonstration among the largest in the world.

ECO2 is a post-combustion, regenerative process, which uses an ammonia-based solution to capture CO2 from the flue gas of a power plant and release it in a form that is ready for further compression, safe transportation, and geological storage.

The demonstration will draw the equivalent of a 120 megawatt slipstream and will be designed to capture 90 percent of the incoming CO2. The captured CO2 would then be delivered by pipe to the existing compressor station at Dakota Gasification's adjacent Synfuels Plant and injected into Dakota Gasification's 205-mile pipeline system for delivery to Canada where it will be used in an EOR project.

GM, Toyota Dismiss Fuel Cells for Mass Use

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that executives from General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp., at the Geneva Auto Show Tuesday, "expressed doubts about the viability of hydrogen fuel cells for mass-market production in the near term and suggested their companies are now betting that electric cars will prove to be a better way to reduce fuel consumption and cut tailpipe emissions on a large scale."

Both GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz and Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe expressed strong opinions that fuel cells are too expensive and will be for some time and that advances in lithium-ion batteries make them much more practical as a mass-market product.  . . . read the WSJ article

in a somewhat related post, the MIT Technology Review has a little more information on GM's BAS+ mild hybrid system that further explains how the Hitachi Li-ion batteries fit in with that system that increase the mileage by 20% and indicates that GM will use about 100,000 of these batteries annually by 2010.

The new battery pack, a lithium-ion pack made by Hitachi, combined with an improved alternator-generator, can deliver three times more power than the company's older system, which used nickel metal hydride batteries. GM claims that this system will be a perfect complement to another fuel-saving strategy: downsizing the engine and adding a turbocharger for bursts of power. The turbocharger doesn't kick in right away, and it doesn't work well at low engine speeds. But the battery and motor kick in right away, compensating for the so-called turbo lag.

That is quite a change in attitude, considering the large amounts of money that these companies and others have spent developing fuel cells for light vehicles. This agrees with my assessment of the technology that I have expressed several times, most recently in my comments on my post EU Research Shows that Hydrogen Energy Could Reduce Oil Consumption in Road Transport by 40% by 2050.

Could the use of Hitachi batteries in their mild hybrids mean that they might not use A123Sytems batteries in the Volt or the Saturn hybrid? I don't think so, but does Hitachi have a better battery or is it just more available in the required time frame or is it just a means of diversifying suppliers.

Five Passenger TH!NK Ox Introduced at Geneva Auto Show

Norwegian car maker TH!NK unveiled a new model, a five seater, the TH!NK Ox, at the Geneva Auto Show. The production model is said to closely resemble the concept car. The base model Ox, scheduled for production in 2011, will have a range of about 125 miles (200 kilometers) on a charge and a top speed of about 80 mph (130km/hr).

A crossover, the TH!NK Ox is an electric five-seat car close to the size of a sport utility vehicle but lighter and more aerodynamic.

In a related announcement GE said it is ramping up its efforts to enable global electrification of transportation by investing in $4 million in TH!NK and $20 million in A123Systems. GE is now A123’s largest cash investor. TH!NK has signed a commercial supply agreement with lithium-ion battery manufacturer A123Systems. The A123 supply agreement provides TH!NK with patented Nanophosphate™ lithium-ion batteries for the TH!NK City, now in production at the company’s factory in Norway. Think is delivering TH!NK City cars in Norway, with international sales to follow later in the year.

We see many important opportunities emerging from our new relationship with GE. This relationship will help TH!NK – the manufacturer of the first highway-approved electric car in mass production – to stay at the forefront of electric vehicle technology.

--Jan-Olaf Willums, TH!NK CEO, at the Geneva Auto Show

GM will use Lithium-ion Batteries with its "Mild" Hybrid Drivetrains

The Wall Street Journal reports that GM will announce an upgrade of its "mild" powertrain, the "Belt Alternator Starter," (BAS) drivetrain that is used on hybrids such as the Saturn Aura and Chevrolet Malibu at the Geneva Motor Show.

The new system, "BAS-plus," will use lithium-ion batteries supplied by Japan's Hitachi Ltd. The upgrade to lithium-ion batteries will allow the new hybrid system to produce "limited electric drive" during the "extremely fuel-consumptive phase of initial acceleration."

The system will increase mileage "better than the 12% to 15% benefit" of GM's current BAS system.

Mr. Lutz, GM Vice Chairman, stressed that the system is less expensive than other electric-only driving hybrid systems and therefore more cost-effective for consumers.

Chilled Ammonia Carbon Capture Process to be Demonstrated

A pilot plant that uses chilled ammonia to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-fueled power plants was launched by Alstom, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and We Energies, at We Energies’ Pleasant Prairie Power Plant in Wisconsin. Alstom designed, constructed and will operate the 1.7 MW system that captures CO2 from a portion of coal-fired boiler flue gas at the power plant, a 1,224 MW coal-fired generating station.

Alstom’s process uses chilled ammonia to capture CO2 and isolates it in a highly concentrated, high-pressure form. In laboratory testing it has demonstrated the potential to capture more than 90 percent of CO2 at a cost that is far less than other carbon capture technologies. Once captured, the CO2 can be used commercially or sequestered in suitable underground geologic sites.

“Developing cost-effective carbon capture technology is one of the most important environmental challenges facing the utility industry in the 21st century and it’s important that we take steps now to achieve a long-term technology solution”

-- Gale Klappa, Chairman, President and CEO of Wisconsin Energy, parent company of We Energies

This process sounds like one that could be fairly easily integrated into existing power plants and lead the way towards the government requiring carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) at all coal fired power plants.  Note that this project is being done with no government financing. Other technologies that are being developed and that have been reported on by TEB, include: ones using ZIFs, sodium hydroxide, or amine based solvents, another, I believe ambient temperature ammonia system, algae systems, and an e.coli system.  These processes are aimed at conventional coal fired plants.  IGCC and Oxyfuel plants isolate the CO2 as part of the processes so carbon capture is a much simpler process, but these plants cost more than conventional coal plants.  There is disagreement whether conventional plants with CCS or IGCC plants with just sequestration are the most economical and which plants will dominate the industry in the future.  In any case there is a huge number of existing conventional coal plants that need CCS, once legislation is passed requiring it.

Nuclear Power: A Change for the Better

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush shared his opinions on nuclear power in the Ocala, Fl  Star Banner:

"Change" seems to be the operative word this election season. It's on the lips of political contenders and on the minds of the voters. But politics isn't the only arena where change is in the air. Change is happening in the world of energy as well, specifically when it comes to nuclear energy.

Against the backdrop of a larger discussion about how we will meet our future energy demand while keeping our environment clean, nuclear energy is experiencing a renaissance. Americans are beginning to shed the emotional debate about nuclear energy and are taking a practical look at why it is essential to meeting our future energy demand.

They like what they see. The support for nuclear energy is diverse. It's one of the few issues in Washington, D.C., these days that feels bipartisan. Even former naysayers are coming around to the merits of nuclear.

There are now 104 nuclear power reactors in the United States that are safely producing 20 percent of the nation's electricity - notably, without producing any of the harmful greenhouse gases some believe to be a major factor in climate change. Americans are beginning to recognize that nuclear energy caters to both our lifestyle and our greening mentality. And it offers the most proven means for our country to achieve much needed energy security.

Sodium Sulfur Batteries to be Used for Energy Storage at MN Windfarm

Xcel Energy, (NYSE: XEL)in partnership with the University of Minnesota, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Great Plains Institute, will soon begin testing a one-megawatt sodium-sulfur battery storage system to demonstrate its ability to store wind energy and dispatch it to the electricity grid when needed.

Fully charged, the batteries could power 500 homes for six and one-half hours. Xcel Energy will purchase the batteries from NGK Insulators, Ltd. that will be an integral part of the project. The sodium-sulfur battery is commercially available and versions of this technology are already being used in Japan and in a few US applications, but this is the first U.S. application of the battery as a direct wind energy storage device.

The 50-kilowatt battery modules, 20 in total, will be roughly the size of two semi trailers and weigh approximately 60 tons. They will be able to store about 6.5 megawatt-hours of electricity, with a charge/discharge capacity of one megawatt. When the wind blows, the batteries are charged. When the wind calms down, the batteries can be used to supply energy to the grid as needed.

"Energy storage is key to expanding the use of renewable energy. This technology has the potential to reduce the impact caused by the variability and limited predictability of wind energy generation."

-- Dick Kelly, Xcel Energy chairman, president and CEO.

The project will take place in Luverne, Minn., with the battery installation beginning this spring adjacent to a nearby 11-megawatt wind farm owned by Minwind Energy, LLC. Testing will begin in October and is expected to last up to two years.

Commercial projects are now underway that use flow batteries, compressed air energy storage, thermal energy storage, pumped hydro, and sodium sulfur batteries for energy storage in connection with renewable energy projects.  American Electric Power (AEP) is also using NaS batteries in a couple of their systems, but not in connection with wind power. While not enough experience has been gained with any of these technologies to make any decision as to which technology is best under what conditions, pumped hydro and sodium sulfur batteries are the most well proven and thus seem to be the first choice of electric utilities. Thermal storage is gaining acceptance for use with thermal solar systems, the only energy technology that it is suitable for use with. As Mr. Kelly stated, energy storage is essential to widespread use of renewable energy technologies.