The Energy Blog

Dynamotive Breaks Ground for MegaCity Plant

Dynamotive broke ground on October 7^th for the MegaCity Recycling, 200 tonnes per day BioOil plant on a 22 acre site in Guelph, Ontario.  The plant is expected to be producing BioOil in Q1 2007 as it ramps up through its commissioning process.

Dynamotive President and CEO, Andrew Kingston, said that equipment deliveries to the site are expected early in November with all major components to be on site by year end. The plant will incorporate important technological advances we gained through operating the West Lorne plant.

Dynamotive's carbon/greenhouse gas neutral fast pyrolysis technology uses medium temperatures and oxygen-less conditions to turn dry waste biomass and energy crops into BioOil for power and heat generation. BioOil can be further converted into vehicle fuels and chemicals. The fast pyrolysis process takes less than two seconds to produce BioOil, char, and non-condensable gases. There is zero waste as the BioOil and char have significant commercial application and value and the non-condensable gases are recycled and produce approximately 75% of the energy required for the pyrolysis process. 

Are Super Efficient Buidings Justified?

Energy costs are among the top business expense line items, and some companies are turning that to their advantage.

Smart buildings could be the next big software and networking play with venture capitalists showing strong interest in the sector. Innovations are revolutionizing energy use, to ultimately combat global warming.

An estimated 35% of U.S. electricity is used in commercial buildings and another 29% in industry. Businesses spend $135 billion a year on energy, and as much as half of that is wasted. Commercial buildings create 278 million metric tons of greenhouse gases annually.

That is changing. Some high-performance buildings are generating their own renewable energy and selling excess kilowatts back to the utility. Advanced lighting systems harvest daylight, while new solar technologies can make the whole building produce power. Certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Development (LEED), the green building rating system, is helping to boost property values and lower vacancy rates.

Big buildings have big appetites for energy, with massive potential to conserve it -- and even to produce their own renewable energy. Super-efficient buildings can cut costs and carbon, generating generous goodwill -- but can owners justify the price?

MIT Enterprise Forum Northwest will host a program in Bellevue on November 8, 2006 to explore recent developments and incentives for super-efficient commercial buildings. The Enterprise Forum is an outreach of MIT, which recently has launched major initiatives in energy research.

Altairnano Tests Confirm Extended Battery Cell Life

Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTI), a leading provider of advanced nanomaterials for use in energy, automotive, life sciences and industrial applications has announced that, in ongoing testing, it has completed 15,000 deep charge/discharge cycles of its NanoSafe battery cells. Even after 15,000 cycles the cells still retained over 85% of their original charge capacity. This represents a significant improvement over conventional, commercially available rechargeable battery technologies such as lithium ion, nickel metal hydride and nickel cadmium.

The battery cells were tested in Altairnano’s labs at 6 minute charge and discharge rates. They were deep charged and discharged meaning they were taken to 100% charge and 0% charge respectively during the 6-minute cycles. Although tests involved full charges and discharges, partial charging and discharging of the battery does not appear to impact the life or the holding charge capacity of the batteries i.e. they exhibit no memory loss.

Abengoa Bioenergy Invests in Dyadic

Dyadic International, Inc. (AMEX:DIL), has signed a three-year research and development (R&D) agreement and a stock purchase agreement with Abengoa Bioenergy R&D, Inc. (ABRD). Under the terms of the agreement, Abengoa Bioenergy will invest $10 million in Dyadic, for which it will receive  2,136,752 shares of Dyadic Common Stock.

Dyadic will use the proceeds from this private sale to fund R&D obligations called for in the agreement, which has as its objective the development of a cost-effective enzyme production system for commercial application in Abengoa Bioenergy’s bioethanol (cellulosic ethanol) production process. The R&D agreement calls upon Dyadic to use its proprietary technologies to develop one or more enzyme mixture manufacturing systems customized to ABRD’s proprietary biomass substrates.

The Little Engine That Could

MIT researchers are developing a half-sized gasoline engine that performs like a full-sized engine but offers fuel efficiency approaching that of today's hybrid engine system--at a far lower cost. The key is carefully controlled injection of ethanol directly into the engine's cylinders when additional power is required from the engine.

These small engines could be on the market within five years, and consumers should find them appealing: By spending about an extra $1,000 and adding a couple of gallons of ethanol every few months, they will have an engine that can go as much as 30 percent further on a gallon of fuel than an ordinary engine. If all of today's cars had the new engine, current U.S. gasoline consumption of 140 billion gallons per year would drop by more than 30 billion gallons. Moreover, the little engine provides high performance without the use of high-octane gasoline.

GM plans Plug-in

General Motors Corp., losing sales to Toyota Motor Corp., will use some of the $9 billion in savings from cost cuts this year to make vehicles that match the Japanese automaker in technology and fuel efficiency, according to people familiar with the strategy. ...

GM's plans include a hybrid-electric vehicle with a battery that recharges at any outlet, improved gasoline engines, hybrid versions of its Silverado pickup trucks and hydrogen-powered fuel-cell models that emit only water vapor, according to people, who didn't want to be identified because the plan isn't public. ...

The Detroit-based automaker has assigned a team of engineers to help develop plug-in hybrids. The project -- known internally as I-car, for Icon car -- is meant to be the centerpiece of the new strategy, the people said. Plug-in hybrids recharge when the vehicle isn't in use and switch to the gasoline engine when the batteries are drained. ...

CEO Rick Wagoner and Vice Chairman Bob Lutz this month toured GM's hybrid development center in Troy, Michigan, for the first time to let researchers know the company is making such technologies a priority, according to people familiar with the visit. In meetings, Wagoner, 53, has stressed the automaker is now fully committed to hybrid and other technologies, they said. ...

Wagoner will outline the strategy in a speech before the end of the year, one of the people said.

An earlier story reported that the plug-in designs GM is testing may be ready in time for the Detroit auto show in January, the people said. Any commercial production is at least a year away, they said.

Thanks to calcars news for the tip.

GM to Use Cost Savings to Fight Toyota `Green' Cars, People Say, Jeff Green, Bloomberg, Oct. 27, 2006

Peak Oil Headlines 10/26/06

Simmons: World oil production may have peaked
World production of crude oil may have already peaked, setting the stage for declining output that could lag demand, Matthew Simmons, chairman of Simmons & Co. International, a top advocate of the "peak oil" theory said on Thursday.

Heinberg: days of 'no oil' are nearing
If New College of California Professor Richard Heinberg is right, we'll be dealing with "no gasoline" as early as 2010 and definitely by 2030.

Nigeria Veering Towards Instability
Nigeria's federal system is so deeply flawed and its politics so corrupt as to risk destabilizing Africa's most populous country and largest oil producer, according to an International Crisis Group

Production in Saskatchewan Oil Sands Years Away
It will likely be a decade before any oil is recovered from a huge oil sands deposit in Northern Saskatchewan. But a Calgary based exploration company says its excited about the potential.

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"Monster Cane" for Ethanol Developed in Japan

It is three meters tall and productive even in poor soil, it holds up in droughts and typhoons, and it yields twice as many stems as most sugarcane. No wonder they call it "Monster Cane."

Asahi says the new cane variety can produce three times as much ethanol as other strains, and slightly more sugar. It also yields more bagasse, or crushed sugarcane refuse, which is burned to generate the energy to run a sugar-ethanol plant.

Asahi estimates that the yield of the new sugarcane is 16.7 tons per acre (37.4 tonnes per hectare) excluding moisture, which can be processed into 2.9 tons (7.1 tonnes) of sugar, 4.3 kiloliters of ethanol and 9.7 tons (24 tonnes) of bagasse.

This compares with the yield of conventional cane at 7.6 tons per acre (17.4 tonnes per hectare), 0.9 tons (2.3 tonnes) of sugar, 1.4 kiloliters of ethanol and 2.8 tons (7.8 tonnes) of bagasse, which is too little bagasse to produce sufficient energy for a processing plant.

Evergreen Solar Continues to Shine

Evergreen Solar (Nasdaq: ESLR) is continuing to make progress in the marketplace as indicated in this statement from their quarterly report:

“Through the EverQ partnership, we have captured the initial promise of our String Ribbon technology and demonstrated that it is exportable, scalable and profitable – at 30MW,” Richard M. Feldt, President and Chief Executive Officer said. “As a result of our accomplishments to date, we have created a clear path to grow the EverQ business to roughly 10 times its current size, generating 300MW of solar production by 2010. Based on our technological capabilities and additional growth opportunities, we believe Evergreen Solar is strongly positioned to be in the forefront of helping the solar industry achieve economic parity with retail grid electricity.”

In the String Ribbon technique, high temperature strings are pulled vertically through a shallow silicon melt, and the molten silicon spans and freezes between the strings (diagram left). The process is continuous: long strings are unwound from spools; the melt is replenished; and the silicon ribbon is cut to length for further processing, without interrupting growth. This advantage in material efficiency means String Ribbon yields over twice as many solar cells per pound of silicon as conventional methods. Additionally, the resulting distinctive shape of the solar cell allows for a high packing density. Productivity has been continually increased by increasing the width of the strings, the th ickness of the strings, the speed of pulling the strings and the number of strings pulled from a single furnace. More details about their technology can be found in this previous post.

Pulverized Coal vs Coal Gasification

Some 154 new coal-fired plants are on the drawing board in 42 states. Should power companies be permitted to build new plants that pollute more but are reliable and less expensive? Or should regulators push utilities toward cleaner burning coal plants, even if it means they will cost more and are based on newer, yet still unproven, technology?

These are the points that an online article by Time/CNN discuses. The discussion is focused on whether pulverized coal units or coal gasification plants should be built. The article states that coal gasification plants are 20% more expensive to build, "but they also can be more efficient to operate and save utilities the hassle and expense of adding pollution-control devices." Not quite correct, in that pulverized coal plants can be built to clean coal standards, but gasification plants can achieve even lower emissions of criteria pollutants.  Gasification plants can be adapted to carbon (CO2) capture much less expensively than pulverized coal plants but at a cost more than the 20% factor which does not include carbon capture. However gasificaction plants produce about 33% less CO2 emisions due to their higher efficiency. I would disagree with the premise stated above that gasification technology is unproven, although not proven to the extent that pulverized coal plants are. A few gasification plants are under construction and several are under development. The article does not discuss whether renewable energy or nuclear energy should be considered. The two main points of the discussion are illustrated by these two exerpts from the article:

Is 100% Solar Power Economical?

SanDiegoDave100 writing in The Motley Fool ran some numbers on using Solar PV to provide 100% of his homes electricity and electricity to a Tesla electric car.

His current cost for 600 kWh per month costs $101 and gas for his car $180 for a total of $281.

At $0.25 kWh/mile and 1500 miles per month he would require 375 kWh of electricity, combined with 600 kWh for the house would require 975 kWh of solar power. He determined that he would require an 8 kW solar system, for a San Diego location, at an installed cost of $55,000 before rebates of $17,600 for a net of $37,820.

A home equity loan of $37,800 at the current 6.5% rate would be only $239/month, a saving of $40/month.

He neglected to state how he would store the electricity so he could operate his house and charge his car at night, but it still is an interesting calculation. Perhaps he could be tied to the grid and sell his surplus during the day and buy electricity at night, but he did not make that calculation. The rates might even be in his favor if he was selling at peak rates and buying at off peak rates.

Thanks to AutoblogGreen for the tip.

Enova to Use Valance Batteries in Hybrid Electric Bus

Enova Systems (AMEX: ENA) a supplier of  Hybrid Electric powered systems, has ordered Saphion^® phosphate batteries from Valence Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: VLNC).  Enova Systems, in collaboration with IC Corporation, the nation’s largest school bus manufacturer, recently won a bid with Advanced Energy, a Raleigh, N.C.-based nonprofit corporation, to provide up to 21 hybrid school buses to 11 states. The hybrid school bus is expected to attain a 100 percent increase in fuel efficiency, which becomes even more essential with rising fuel costs affecting the school districts.

The hybrid drive system recovers kinetic energy during regenerative braking; charging the batteries while the bus is slowing down. This ability to charge the batteries provides additional power for acceleration, making school busses ideal candidates for hybrid technology because of the frequent stops and starts they perform along their daily routes.

“We selected Valence’s Saphion^® phosphate batteries for their inherent safety, which addresses the limitations of traditional lithium-ion chemistries particularly in large batteries like those needed for hybrid vehicles,” said John Dexter, Director of Operations and Planning, Enova Systems. “In addition to safety, Saphion technology delivers the power and energy that these buses demand.”

GE to Head Fuel Cell Hybrid Bus Development

GE (NYSE: GE) has announced a $13 million research partnership with the Federal Transit Administration, Ballard Power Systems and A123 Systems to develop a lightweight, battery dominant zero emissions hybrid fuel cell bus. The research will be led by GE’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna, NY.

"Advancements in hybrid propulsion systems and battery chemistry offer tremendous promise for enabling cleaner, more affordable transportation alternatives that will reduce reliance on fossil fuels and promote a cleaner, healthier environment," said Mark Little, Senior Vice President and Director of GE Global Research. "At Global Research, we will be leveraging nearly three decades of experience in hybrid systems and battery chemistry research to help pave the way to commercialization."

FuelCell Energy Receives Award for Coal-Based Multi-Megawatt SOFC

FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL), has finalized terms with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a $36.2 million Phase I award to develop a coal-based, multi-megawatt solid oxide fuel cell-based hybrid system.

The program’s overall objective is to develop solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology, fueled by coal synthesis gas (coal gas) that will be used in highly-efficient central generation power plant facilities. The system is to have an overall efficiency of at least 50 % in converting energy contained in coal to grid electrical power, in contrast to the approximately 35 % efficiency of today’s average U.S. coal-based power plant.

The envisioned SOFC-hybrid system is expected to capture 90 percent or more of the system’s carbon dioxide emissions for environmentally safe disposal while being cost-competitive with other base load power generating technologies. The project will culminate with the fabrication and operation of a multi-MW proof-of-concept SOFC-hybrid power plant at a suitable location, using coal-derived synthesis gas as fuel. FuelCell Energy may consider submitting the project to the FutureGen Alliance Inc. for possible inclusion in the FutureGen Power Plant.

British Fuel Cell Said to Slash Electric Bills

Ceres Power is product development company founded in 2001 to commercially exploit revolutionary fuel cell technology originally developed within Imperial College during the preceding 10 years.

Ceres Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) fuel cell stacks are comprised of multiple fuel cells layered on top of one another, each made from stainless steel with tiny amounts of ceramic coating. The Company has successfully designed, built and tested a 1kW fuel cell stack (the “Ceres Stack”), which is the fundamental building block of Ceres’ micropower generation products, generating sufficient power for the average home (maybe in the UK, but not in the U.S.). The fuel cell stack, is invisioned to be a fundamental building block of micro-power generation products aimed at a variety of uses ranging from domestic Combined Heat and Power (CHP) to off-grid applications and auxiliary power units (APU) in the transport sector, capable of generating between 1kWe and 25kWe.

The production-engineered Ceres Stack is extremely compact, both smaller and lighter than a typical car battery. It is designed to be reliable, robust and economical, lending itself to rapid mass market uptake. And unlike many fuel cells, the Ceres cell can run on widely available fuels like natural gas, LPG and biofuels as well as on hydrogen.

According to fuelcellworks, electricity bills could be slashed up to 40% with this technology and "conversion of domestic boilers is said to be straight-foreword and cost about GBP 2,500, the same as a conventional premium boiler."

"Solar Revolution: The Economic Transformation of the Global Energy Industry"

In his new book, "Solar Revolution," fund manager and former corporate buyout specialist Travis Bradford  says that is happening not so much because solar is the clean, renewable source of energy but because it has proved to be cost-effective. Solar Revolution outlines the path by which the transition to solar technology and sustainable energy practices will occur.

"The shift will happen in years rather than decades and will occur because of fundamental economics."

Although that process could be expedited by more government incentives for the promotion of solar energy use and disincentives for investment in fossil fuels and nuclear power, the inevitable dominance of solar will not depend on government assistance, Bradford writes.

Sharp Shows CPV Panel at Solar Power 2006 Conference

At the Solar Power 2006 Conference and Expo in San Jose, Sharp Electronics showed a concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) solar panel. This system, which may come to market as early as the next year or two, would be used for solar power plants--large installations in a field that would pass power onto the grid.

The panel consists of a series of tiny solar cells measuring about a quarter of an inch (7 x 7 mm) per side, siting beneath Fresnel lenses which concentrates sunlight. The solar cells in these panels is made out of III-V compounds (molecules made from elements in the III and V columns of the Periodic Table of Elements). Producing chips from these materials, such as gallium arsenide, is expensive. Thus, the solar cell needs to be small. The lens, by contrast, is much less expensive and measures a few inches across. The panel itself measures about 12.5 feet by 16 feet and contains 270 lenses. A panel with 270 lenses can produce 2.9 kilowatts and tracks the sun for maximum efficiency.

Jason Bobruk, of Sharp Electronics presented a paper, "Concentrating Photovoltaics on the Path to Grid Parity," at the conference.

Source: CNET News.com

Are "Cean Diesels" Ready to Join Good Hybrids as a Clean Vehicle Option?

Patricia Monahan, Senior Vehicles Analyst for UCS writing in the HybridBlog says: Honda, Mercedes-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and VW are all planning on selling diesel cars, touting their 20 to 30 percent superior fuel economy over comparable gasoline models. ... A gallon of diesel fuel takes more oil to produce and it produces more greenhouse gases than a gallon of reformulated gasoline (with ethanol). This means you should cut the diesel fuel economy by as much as 15% when comparing it to a gasoline model. ... Diesel cars don't have sophisticated pollution monitors-—like gasoline vehicles do— to catch systems when they fail.  So long-term use and emissions impact is still very much up in the air. In all, there are reasons to be both excited, and wary, about the new diesel cars we'll soon be seeing on the market.

I wonder what the comparison is on biodiesel. With very limited supplies of biodiesel, the use of biodiesel is likely to be limited to areas of the U.S. where there are biodiesel supplies.  Until or unless FT diesel becomes available drivers in the U.S. are largely forced to use petroleum diesel.

Patricia Monahan, Senior Vehicles Analyst for UCS writing in the HybridBlog says: Honda, Mercedes-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and VW are all planning on selling diesel cars, touting their 20 to 30 percent superior fuel economy over comparable gasoline models. ... A gallon of diesel fuel takes more oil to produce and it produces more greenhouse gases than a gallon of reformulated gasoline (with ethanol). This means you should cut the diesel fuel economy by as much as 15% when comparing it to a gasoline model. ... Diesel cars don't have sophisticated pollution monitors-—like gasoline vehicles do— to catch systems when they fail.  So long-term use and emissions impact is still very much up in the air. In all, there are reasons to be both excited, and wary, about the new diesel cars we'll soon be seeing on the market.

I wonder what the comparison is on biodiesel. With very limited supplies of biodiesel, the use of biodiesel is likely to be limited to areas of the U.S. where there are biodiesel supplies.  Until or unless FT diesel becomes available drivers in the U.S. are largely forced to use petroleum diesel.

GS AgriFuels to Merge with GS Energy

GS AgriFuels Corporation (OTC: GSGF.PK) today announced an agreement to merge with GS Energy Corporation. GreenShift Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: GSHF.OB), which currently owns about 90% of GS AgriFuels and about 80% of GS Energy in the form of preferred stock, will exchange its GS Energy stock for GS AgriFuels stock such that GreenShift will own about 85% of GS AgriFuels after completion of the merger.

The merger will bring GS Energy’s specialty equipment manufacturing company, Warnecke Design Service, Inc. (“Warnecke”) to GS AgriFuels, where it will focus on the manufacturing of GS AgriFuels’ fuel production infrastructure. Importantly, Warnecke has been manufacturing biodiesel processing equipment for NextGen Fuel, Inc. (“NextGen”) since earlier this year.

QuantumSphere Patents New Zinc-air Battery Cathodes

QuantumSphere, Inc. (QSI), a leading manufacturer of nanoscale metals and alloys for applications in portable power, renewable energy and other markets demanding advanced materials, has announced the filing of two groundbreaking patents covering composition of matter and a paper-thin electrode device responsible for achieving a 320% increase in power and efficiency for zinc-air battery cathodes.

With these latest patent applications, QuantumSphere is tapping into a potential multi-billion-dollar battery market with the goal of delivering significant performance enhancement to disposable zinc-air batteries. Primary zinc-air batteries offer 3-6 times the energy of equivalent size alkaline and rechargeable batteries.

Zinc-air batteries employ oxygen from the air to use in their cathode, and use an anode primarily composed of zinc and an alkaline electrolyte. Zinc-air has a weight and volume advantage over most other battery technologies, because one of its two active reagents, i.e., oxygen, adds no weight or volume within the cell. The energy capacity is dependent only on the amount of zinc present in the anode. Zinc-air disposable batteries are widely used in such applications as hearing aid batteries. Rechargeable zinc-air batteries have eluded significant production due to poor life of the electrodes.

Aesthetically Pleasing SolarSave® Roofing Tiles

Open Energy Corporation (OTC BB: OEGY.OB), has announced the signing of a national distribution agreement for SolarSave® Roofing Tiles and Balance of System products with DC Power Systems, one of the largest wholesale renewable energy distributors in the country.

Open Energy Roofing Tiles are building integrated solar products designed for both new construction and re-roofing. The tiles are claimed to maintain the natural look of your property while generating clean, safe, efficient electricity from the sun. They can be easily installed on commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential structures, making them an ideal solution renewable energy projects.

New Induction Motor for Hybrid Vehicles

Raser Technologies, Inc. (NYSE Arca: RZ), a technology licensing company will announce a new 100-kilowatt AC induction based electric motor design called the Symetron(TM) P-100 in a press conference a the 22nd Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS-22) held October 23-28, 2006 in Yokohama, Japan. The Symetron(TM) P-100 is one in a series of high-horsepower motor designs Raser is developing to meet the demand for more onboard electric horsepower required by the next generation of strong hybrids, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles.

The electric motors used in today's mild hybrid vehicles typically deliver 15-20 kilowatts of power utilizing permanent-magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) that require expensive rare-earth magnets to operate. Permanent magnet motors generally become even more expensive as the motors get larger.

Google to Install Largest Corpoarate Solar System

MarketWatch reports that Google is constructing a solar electricity system which will become the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the United States. The solar panels, which cover an area equal to about four acres, will be installed on the roofs of some campus buildings and double as shading for cars in parking lots. The project will utilize 9,212 solar panels provided by Sharp Electronics.

Once they are in place next spring, the solar panels are expected to produce about 1.6 megawatts of electricity, enough to supply about 1,000 homes. The anticipated savings from future energy bills should enable Google to recoup the project's costs in five to 10 years.

Active Drag Reduction Saves Fuel

Green Car Congress reports that researchers at the University of Stuttgart have succeeded, using  computer simulations, in developing a method for stabilizing active drag reduction for the airfoils of commercial airliners. They claim their approach could lead to fuel economy gains of 10-15%.

Range is limited by aerodynamic drag and even a modest reduction of the drag provides significant fuel savings. Recent advances in electronics and control technologies make active boundary layer control possible.

Hybrid Energy System

Fuel Cell Works reports that researchers from the University of Minnesota-Rochester and Rochester Public Utilities are developing a Hybrid Energy System combining a fuel cell and a geothermal heating/cooling system to find out how much better they are in tandem. The hybrid system captures the heat from the fuel cell exhaust and can either circulate it through the geothermal system or stores it in an antifreeze-like solution in underground tanks. Testing is scheduled to start next month.

Practical Instruments Closes Financing to Enable Production of Heliotube CPV

Not to be outdone by SolFocus, previous post, Clean Edge reports that Practical Instruments, previous post, a provider of high-performance concentrating photovoltaic panels (CPV), announced it has closed a $8 million Series A funding round. The investment will fund the production of Practical Instruments' flagship product, Heliotube(TM), for the solar integrator, installer, and project developer channels. Practical Instruments' technology dramatically reduces installation time, materials, and costs, while using 88 percent less photovoltaic material.

Practical, which grew out of Cal Tech, has designed the Heliotube, a tube that contains solar panels. The tube rotates with the sun, so that the panels can generate more electricity. Their self contained single axis tracking system is auto-aligning and is self-powered by a single motor using electricity generated by the panel.

They have a geometric concentration ratio of about 10:1 which, gives them an effective concentration ratio of about 8.5:1, after losses. Because of their low concentration ratio they can use conventional SunPower solar cells with above 20% efficiency and passive cooling, rather than the more expensive aerospace Spectrolab cells.

As reported in the previous post CEO Brad Hines said "We're going after the rooftop market, and believe we can hit the goal of 3 dollars a watt with the rebate in California, and stay below that even after rebates go away. It's cheaper than electricity you buy from the power company."

SolFocus Completes $32 Million Funding, Signs Manufacturing Agreement

SolFocus, Inc., developer of solar concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems, has signed a manufacturing and distribution agreement with Moser Baer India Ltd. (MBI) of New Delhi, India. MBI will become a volume manufacturer of SolFocus CPV products and the exclusive distributor of SolFocus’ CPV panels in India and neighboring countries. MBI also invested $7 million to close out SolFocus’ $32 million Series A funding.

SolFocus has pilot production underway in Sunnyvale, California, where over 4,000 panels will be produced for extensive reliability and field testing. Pilot production and field tests at MBI are expected to begin in 2007. Commercial production is planned for 2008.  Other sites in the US are also being considered for a large manufacturing facility that will serve the North American market.

This announcement comes on the heels of a volume purchase agreement for 600,000 high efficiency PV cells from Spectrolab, a wholly-owned Boeing subsidiary.

Altraverda Bipolar Battery

Atraverda, a battery company based in Abertillery, Gwent, U.K. has signed a development agreement with the world's largest independent battery manufacturer, East Penn Manufacturing Company, based in Lyon Station, PA, U.S.

Atraverda's technology base is founded on the properties of an electrically conductive ceramic that enables the production of bipolar batteries that are smaller, lighter and have enhanced electrical performance over conventional technologies.  Bipolar batteries use a substrate to hold the positive and negative active materials and act as a cell wall.

The ceramic, Ebonex® Technology is a titanium suboxide material and has a unique combination of metallic-like electrical conductivity along with the characteristic high corrosion resistance of ceramics. Ebonex® material for batteries is a resin bonded composite prepared from Ebonex® ceramic filler and a resin matrix. 

Ebonex® Technology composite electrodes have revolutionized the design of batteries enabling true bipolar lead-acid batteries to be produced for the first time.

Firefly Reveals Initial Production Date

In an announcement made on the 16th, Firefly Energy's CEO Edward F. Williams said that he believes the company’s progress in developing its carbon-graphite foam lead acid battery for both commercial and military applications puts Firefly on a pace to see the initial manufacturing of its batteries by late 2007.

According to Firefly (previous post), its carbon-graphite foam-based battery technology can deliver a unique combination of high performance, extremely low weight and low cost, all in a battery which utilizes the best aspects of lead acid chemistry while overcoming the corrosive drawbacks of this same chemistry. This product technology delivers to battery markets a performance associated with advanced battery chemistries (Nickel Metal Hydride and Lithium), but for one-fifth the cost, and can be both manufactured as well as recycled within the existing lead acid battery industry’s vast infrastructure. The company was formed after its technology, technical founder, and initial seed funds were spun out of Caterpillar, Inc. (www.cat.com).

The statement was made in connection to an announcement that it has received an appropriation of $3.25 million in the fiscal year 2007 Defense Bill recently signed by President Bush. The company’s “3D Advanced Battery Technology” was tabbed for $2.5 million in last year’s Defense Bill.

Sunpower Announces Commercial 22% Efficient Solar Cells

SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), manufacturer of the world's highest efficiency, commercially available solar cells and solar panels, today announced its newest solar panel, offering significantly higher power output and conversion efficiency than its current products. The new SPR-315 solar panel utilizes the company's newly developed 22-percent-efficient Gen 2 solar cells and carries a rated power output of 315 Watts. Improved panel efficiency was obtained through a combination of enhanced cell architecture and improved packing density.

Pressurized Oxy-fuel System has no Pollutants and Captures CO2

ThermoEnergy Corporation  (OTCBB:TMEN - News) is developing a pressurized oxy-fuel approach known as the ThermoEnergy Integrated Power System (TIPS) which is a process designed to produce energy (electricity, steam) from coal, with integral carbon capture as liquid CO2 and near zero air emissions. Pressurized oxy-fuel technology addresses two major issues affecting the future use of the country’s coal resource. These are:

1. Economic capture of criteria and toxic pollutants (such as mercury) from the diverse power and steam generators needed, and
2. Economic capture of CO2 from the larger power and steam generators used by utilities and large industrial facilities.

Once it is commercially deployed, TIPS will revolutionize the way the world generates energy from hydrocarbons. Based on reliable oxy-fuel chemistry, TIPS departs from the traditional oxy-fuel approach by pressurizing the entire combustion system.  Because the process operates at an elevated pressure it is able to use gas-to-liquid steam-hydroscrubbing to collect and remove pollutants, including NOx, SOx, mercury, particulates and CO2, and recover latent heat from water entrained or produced in the combustion process at efficiencies comparable to those of conventional large-scale combustion technologies. The pollutants are recovered via direct condensation and can be sold as commodity products. The pressurized oxy-fuel approach also enables CO2 to be recovered as a pressurized liquid through direct condensation. Emerging improvements to oxygen separation technology will significantly improve the economics of oxy-fuel processes.

Cost of Hybrids Coming Down

In a cost-cutting race between Honda and Toyota, the cost premium for hybrid vehicles is expected to be reduced substantially in the next three years.

The Financial Times reported that Toyota said that its new target would trim the cost premium for hybrids to about $1,900 in the next three years. The new hybrid technology, which will be used in the next-generation Prius, will be about half the size and weight of the current system.

In July, Honda said it expected to cut the cost premium of its hybrid system to about $1,700 per vehicle by 2009.

Source: Finacial Times via Inside Line.

Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel Available Oct. 15, 2006

On Sunday, October 15, operators of more than eight million diesel-powered trucks and buses in the U.S. will be able to fill up with a new, Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel (ULSD)that is 97 percent cleaner than the old formulation it replaces.

Cleaner diesel fuel will immediately cut soot emissions from any diesel vehicle by 10 percent. But when combined with a new generation of engines hitting the road in January, it will enable emission reductions of up to 95 percent, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF).

Diesel trucks move 94 percent of the nation's goods -- more than 18 million tons of freight each day. Half a million diesel buses take 14 million people to work and school. The new fuel opens the door for auto companies to begin offering cleaner diesel cars that deliver greater fuel economy.

A new 2007 diesel truck will emit just one-sixtieth the soot exhaust of one produced in 1988. And thanks to the new fuel, owners of existing diesel vehicles will have the option to install new emission controls that can reduce soot emissions by more than 90 percent.

Beginning on January 1st, 2007, new trucks' engines will have state-of-the-art emissions filters in place so technologically advanced that they will only be able to run on the new clean fuel. The new filters will capture and eliminate harmful emissions. The clean fuel, coupled with the new filters on every new truck, will work in concert to ensure that all new diesel rigs pass the "white handkerchief test," eliminating 98 percent of emissions and any hint of the smoke associated with diesels of the past.

Further information can be found here and here.

GE Delivers 6 kW SOFC to DOE

GE today announced it has successfully developed and delivered a 6 kW prototype of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) system to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) for testing as part of a multi-year research program under the Department’s Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) Coal-Based Systems program.

The delivered prototype exceeds DOE’s key performance specifications for both efficiency and potential for low cost and represents a major step forward in providing the SOFC technology required for large scale, commercially viable SOFC products for power generation. The prototype achieved an efficiency of 49%, which is well above the minimum requirement of 35% set forth in the program. The development of this prototype is part of a 10-year, three-phase program with DOE/NETL to build a highly efficient, multi-megawatt SOFC-based power system operating on coal. This system has the potential to achieve dramatically reduced emissions and close to 50% efficiency from coal. This would far surpass the 35% efficiency that can be achieved in a typical conventional pulverized coal-fired power plant today.

Assessing GM's Fuel Cell Strategy

A recent article in the MIT Technology Review "Assessing GM's Fuel Cell Strategy" supports The Energy Blog's view that GM's plans to introduce a test fleet of 100 fuel cell vehicles is a mistake. Plug-in hybrids are suggested as a more viable alternative. The most critical was Joseph Romm, executive director of the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions, and formerly in charge of energy efficiency and renewable energy at the U.S. Department of Energy:

Hydrogen fuel must be extracted from fossil fuels or water--both energy-consuming processes. Once produced, the gas must be compressed or liquefied for distribution, and this process and the distribution itself take yet more energy. By the time the hydrogen has been delivered to the fuel cell for conversion to electricity, then, a significant amount of energy has been lost to these processes.

"Along the way, you've thrown away nearly three-quarters of the electricity. No one in their right mind would do that--if your alternative is to just string a power line from zero-carbon electricity and charge a battery onboard a car,"

Romm goes on to say: "Money for research and development of fuel-cell vehicles and their related infrastructure is going to waste and the GM approach is "insane." He adds: "Hydrogen is the last thing you would do, only if everything else has failed."

Cummins to Build Plant for Automotive Diesels

Per several recent comments regarding the need for clean, energy efficient, light weight diesel engines comes this announcement:

COLUMBUS, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) today announced that it has selected the Columbus Engine Plant (CEP) here as the production facility for its new family of light-duty, clean-diesel engines, which the Company plans to begin manufacturing by no later than 2010.

Preparations for the manufacturing lines are scheduled to begin in mid-2007 and are expected to create 200 additional jobs by the end of next year. Cummins expects the new line to employ at least 600 to 800 people within two years of the product launch.

DaimlerChrysler will be the major customer for the engine, which will be designed to power vehicles below 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight for a number of automotive applications.

Mitsubishi i MiEV Single Motor EV (rev. 10/15/06)

Mitsubishi's third-generation, battery-powered electric car will be unveiled Oct. 23 at an alternative vehicle symposium in Yokohama, Japan. The new research EV is based on MMC's "i" mini-car, and named "i MiEV".   The i MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle), is equipped with a single motor, unlike the Colt (previous post) and Lancer Evolution electric cars, which use in-wheel motors.

Mitsubishi says the car has a top speed of 80 mph and can travel 80 to 100 miles on a single charge. A Mitsubishi Motors spokesman said 2010 was one target for offering marketable electric vehicles by stretching their driving range to 250 km (155 miles) from up to 160 km (100 miles) now. But he stressed that the need for special infrastructure and higher recharging speeds meant auto makers were powerless to achieve this on their own.

In Favor of the Plug-in Hybrid Diesel

"Google Tech Talks September 20, 2006" has an excellent presentation, Better Than Ethanol? BTL in plug-in hybrid diesel vehicles, by Reed Benet a PhD student at UC Davis, Institute of Transportation Studies, that makes a strong case for the plug-in hybrid diesel vehicle.  The plug-in is combined with biomass-to-liquid diesel fuels, (versus ethanol, cellulosic or otherwise) and is presented as the best medium-to long-term solution for our dependence on foreign oil and our transportation accelerated global warming. Benet also provides a whirlwind historical and prospective tour of transportation, vehicles, fuels, infrastructure, business models, motivations and options.

The presentation emphasized that the diesel is 30% more efficient than the gasoline engine, that the net energy balance for gasification/Fischer-Tropsch process is 10x vs much lower values for conventional biodiesel or ethanol and that the technology is much closer to reality and less costly than hydrogen/fuel cell cars. The added expense of the vehicles can be justified by the V2G capability of the vehicles and the fact that they can be charged at night using off-peak power.

More on a Mitsubishi MIEV

In the article, Zero Emissions, Autoweek reports that Mitsubishi has plans to sell a small electric car in the U.S. The car will be powered by lithium-ion batteries, has four doors, all-wheel drive and a 1.1-liter gasoline engine. Each wheel has an electric motor built into the wheel assembly, a MIEV--Mitsubishi In-wheel Electric Vehicle. The four electric motors provide awd without a traditional transmission and its additional weight. With electric motors powering the wheels, it is always driven by the electric motors, the engine being only used to recharge the batteries. This is very similar to the car described in a previous post. Whether the car can be plugged in for recharging was not stated. Reasons for producing the car include:

• Electric cars have zero emissions
• Fuel cell technology is still off in the future
• Diesels are big in Europe but not in Japan and the U.S.

Timing and sales volume targets were not disclosed. A detailed announcement about the car is expected shortly. The production version might be based on the next-generation Colt, which is due before the end of the decade.

A Dec. 2005 article in the Chicago Tribune stated that the estimated recharging time for the lithium-ion batteries would be only 10 minutes, not stating where the electricity was coming from and the car would be available in 2009. The car is only zero emissions while running -- which does not count the emissions created while making the electricity for charging, which is advantage when driving the car in an urban environment and since central power lants can run more efficdintly than on-vehicle electrical production. The small ICE allows for charging of the vehicle fairly efficiently, in case the batteries are discharged unexpectedly, assuming the batteries are normally charged by connecting them to the grid. This would reduce the fear of being stranded, while not having the complexity and cost of a plug-in hybrid.  Cars using motors built into the wheels are becoming a popular concept.

Forbes 2007 Energy Outlook

Forbes.com has much of this weeks issue devoted to a Special Report "2007 Energy Outlook", which has nine articles covering Consumption, A forecast for low cost oil, Discussion of oil supply from: Latin America, Russia, Europe and America, and China; The cost of standby by power, The worlds largest geothermal heat pump system at Fort Knox and an article on ethanol, from the investors viewpoint.

A timely and fairly interesting group of articles, especially for the novice.  The article on consumption has a lot of statistics on how energy consumption is growing. Its too bad they did not include articles on plug-in hybrids or renewable energy. The slant of the articles is as you would expect from big business.

U.S. to Become Exporter of Ethanol

According to this article the U.S. will have an excess of ethanol in the 2007-2008 time period, leading to a virtual stoppage of imports and the need for exports. 

This prospect of exports is made difficult because the cost of producing corn ethanol in the U.S. is $1.10 to $1.40 per gallon, compared to $0.90 per gallon for sugar ethanol in Brazil, the largest exporter of ethanol. At these production costs, U.S. corn ethanol is competitive with $55.00/barrel oil. However the U.S don't have significant storage capacity for ethanol, which creates a need for exports.

Thus we will have a period of time when the need for more E85 stations and increased production of flex fueled vehicles will become desirable.  The economic reason for expanding the ethanol market will be largely driven by the desire to reduce oil imports. Non-economic reasons, such as reduced global warming, are usually not important in the market place unless mandated by law.

Vertigro Algae Bio-Fuel Oil/C02 Sequestration System

Global Green Solutions Inc (OTC BB: GGRN.OB) has announced that it will fund a demonstration pilot plant of the Vertigro bio-fuel oil/C02 sequestration system developed by Valcent Products Inc.(OTC BB: VCTPF.OB)) of El Paso, Texas at an estimated cost of $ 2,500,000. The Plant will be built on Valcent's lands located in the El Paso area by mid July of next year.  Global Green will have earned the exclusive world rights to a bio-fuel oil technology from Valcent on completing the pilot plant. Global Green will have earned a 70% joint venture interest, leaving Valcent with a 30% carried joint venture interest.

The Vertegro system consists of a series of closely spaced vertical bio-reactors constructed of thin film membranes allowing high levels of light penetration. This new bio-reactors are tailored to grow a species of algae that yields a large volume of high grade vegetable oil, which is very suitable for blending with diesel to create a bio-diesel fuel.

The membrane is configured for an optimum flow for the growth of algae. This dynamic system produces much higher algae growth rates than conventional static systems. It uses certain algae that consume up to 90% of their weight with C02 using sunlight as the energy source to drive photosynthesis. Approximately 50% of the dry weight of the algae is an oil suitable for bio-fuel blending with diesel and for other uses. When fully operational, the system yields a constant supply of algae which is harvested, dried and processed to remove the oil, leaving a residue of some 50% by weight, which can also be sold for a variety of commercial products. The system will be a continuous closed loop, which allows for a greater retention of water in the system, and eliminates cross contamination by other algae species.

E85 now available in 39 States

There are now over 1,000 publicly and privately accessed E85 fueling locations throughout the United States! The Cenex in Bemidji, Minnesota can proudly be named the thousandth facility.

The number of E85 stations has grown significantly in just a short period of time. Below is an approximation of how many E85 outlets were in operation over the past several years:

January 2003: 100
January 2004: 150
January 2005: 285
January 2006: 600

In October of 2005, the station count was 438; the number has more than doubled in 12 months!

California Geothermal Resouces 5-25 Gigawatts

A new report issued by the US Geothermal Energy Association concludes that California's in-state "geothermal resource base could supply more power than is currently used by all of the state's investor- owned utilities combined." But the report warns that "a business as usual approach toward resource identification and development will not result in these resources being developed in a timely manner."

The study of the states gothermal resources indicate that "California's geothermal reserves could produce between 5,000 and 25,000 Megawatts (MW), depending upon different assumptions," according to Karl Gawell, executive director of the US Geothermal Energy Association. But, "the total potential of the resource base is likely to be significantly greater," the report concludes.

Efficient Fuel Cell Hybrid Power Plant to be Built

Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) and Siemens Power Generation (PG) are joining forces to build a highly efficient fuel cell hybrid power plant. Plans call for the construction of a megawatt-class demonstration plant. The goal of this research project is to convert up to 70% of the fuel energy into electricity.

The efficiency of this hybrid process is significantly greater than that of modern gas and steam turbine power plants, which can reach an efficiency approroaching 60 percent. This hybrid power plant combines a high-temperature fuel cell with a gas turbine in order to make more efficient use of the fuel and minimize emissions.

In solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), an electrochemical reaction, directly and very efficiently, converts fuel energy into electricity and heat. In this hybrid power plant, the hot exhaust gases exiting the fuel cell are fed into the gas turbine, thereby reducing or totally eliminating the fuel consumption of the turbine. The gas turbine makes it possible to operate the fuel cell at increased gas pressure, which makes it more efficient.

Ford Teaming with Azure to Develop Hybrid Trucks

Azure Dynamics Corporation (TSX: AZD) a developer of hybrid electric and electric powertrains for commercial and military vehicles, on Oct. 5 announced it has signed an agreement with Ford Motor Company to enable Azure to develop a hybrid electric powertrain for Ford's E-series commercial platform.

Azure is responsible for the development of the parallel hybrid electric gasoline system that will be applied to Ford's E-series commercial vehicles. Azure will be the Vehicle Modifier and will complete the hybrid modification on the E-350 and E-450 commercial chassis. Ford, as the OEM of the incomplete commercial vehicles, will provide Azure with assistance to facilitate the development of the hybrid electric powertrain.

ACCC (Aluminum Conductor Composite Core) cable

A new kind of electric power transmission cable is starting to be used by electric utilities.

ACCC (Aluminum Conductor Composite Core) cable, as developed by Composite Technology Corporation (CTC) (OTC Bulletin Board: CPTC), can double the current carrying capacity over existing transmission and distribution cable and can dramatically increase system reliability by virtually eliminating high-temperature sag.

Growing energy demand and an aging electricity infrastructure underscore the urgent need for new and upgraded transmission lines. Sagging and over-utilized power lines are increasingly becoming bottlenecks for electrical distribution systems. Despite catastrophic system failures and seasonal symptoms such as rolling brownouts, efforts to expand or improve transmission systems invariably stall due to the limited options available to utilities and government. With the power grid load up 35% in the last decade and only an 18% growth in grid capacity (source: EPRI), utility industry problems are going to continue to multiply.

Alternative Liquid Fuels from Nuclear Hydrogen and CO2 Emissions

MIT conducted a study, An Alternative to Gasoline: Synthetic Fuels from Nuclear Hydrogen and Captured CO₂, to determine the extent to which nuclear power can contribute to a transition in the transportation sector.

The study concluded that the concept of alternative liquid fuels produced from nuclear hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide is viable. There is abundant CO₂ for use and the hydrogen can be produced with proven technology.

Combining hydrogen with carbon dioxide captured from fossil fired plants to produce liquid fuel, either ethanol or methanol, is a way of producing fuels that could be used with little modification in the production of vehicles, requires few changes in the infrastructure for distributing fuels and is complementary to the production of ethanol from biosources.

A total cycle analysis revealed that the total reduction in CO₂ emissions will be slightly more than 12% for either ethanol use or methanol use. A second benefit would be to decrease a nation’s dependence on imported petroleum.