The Energy Blog

A Solar Grand Plan

The January 2008 issue of Scientific American has an article titled "A Solar Grand Slam" which outlines a plan in which solar power could end U.S. dependence on foreign oil and slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In a massive switch from coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power plants to solar power plants, the U.S. could supply 69 percent of its electricity and 35 percent of its total energy by 2050. The four key elements of the plan are:

• A vast area of photovoltaic cells would have to be erected in the Southwest. Excess daytime energy would be stored as compressed air in underground caverns to be tapped during nighttime hours.
• Large solar concentrator power plants, with molten salt storage, would be built as well.
• A new direct-current power transmission backbone would deliver solar electricity across the country.
• $420 billion in subsidies from 2011 to 2050 would be required to fund the infrastructure and make it cost-competitive.

The article goes into quite a bit of detail about how the plan would be implemented and financed.

The plan also states that "If wind, biomass and geothermal sources were also developed, renewable energy could provide 100 percent of the nation’s electricity and 90 percent of its energy by 2100."

This comprehensive study is well done and well worth a read.  I disagree on their definition of what is a vast area of photovoltaic cells, which I find reasonable, especially as their estimate of the land required is very conservative compared to other studies.

I also do not see why so much power has to be provided by solar, as other, just as clean sources, could contribute considerable power, especially in the short run.

Unfortunately their study ended before two recent announcements:

1) That Nanosolar producer of thin-film CIGS solar cells, made using nanoparticle ink and roll-printing technology, has begun production of cells that will sell at $0.99 a Watt when their 430. ,000 Mw production facility in CA and a similar facility in Germany are completed. Costs are reduced because, not only by their production technology, but also because their cells and panels are the first ones to have been designed specifically for utility-scale power generation.

and 2) That Ausra which is providing a 177 Mw thermal solar facility for PG&E has begun construction on a 700 Mw production facility which is scheduled to start delivering equipment in April 2008. Ausra claims that It can generate electricity for 10 cents/kWh now and under 8 cents/kWh in 3 yrs (presumably not including storage, which would add another 2 or 3 cents). They claim that all U.S. electric power, day and night, can be generated using a land area smaller than 8,500 sq miles using their equipment.

FYI: Solar Cell Production Jumps 50 Percent in 2007

According to The Earth Policy Institute production of photovoltaics (PV) jumped to 3,800 megawatts worldwide in 2007, up an estimated 50 percent over 2006. At the end of the year, according to preliminary data, cumulative global production stood at 12,400 megawatts, enough to power 2.4 million U.S. homes. Growing by an impressive average of 48 percent each year since 2002, PV production has been doubling every two years, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy source.

A key force driving the advancement of thin-film technologies is a polysilicon shortage that began in April 2004. In 2006, for the first time, more than half of polysilicon production went into PVs instead of computer chips. While thin films are not as efficient at converting sunlight to electricity, they currently cost less and their physical flexibility makes them more versatile than traditional solar cells. Led by the United States, thin film grew from 4 percent of the market in 2003 to 7 percent in 2006. Polysilicon supply is expected to match demand by 2010, but not before thin film grabs 20 percent of the market.

FYI: Washington Wave Power Project Gets FERC Approval

The first approved wave-power program in the United States has been given a green light for a pilot project in Makah Bay, a remote section of the Pacific Ocean just off of the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula.

Finavera's (TSX: FVR.V ) (previous post) Makah Bay pilot plant will begin with four 250-kilowatt buoys anchored in an array 1.9 miles offshore. Electricity will be transmitted onshore using nearly four miles of underwater cable that eventually connects to a station on land that feeds into the Clallam County Public Utility District's power transmission grid.  . . . more

According to the Seattle Post Intelligence, the Electric Power Research Institute estimates that waves off the Washington, Oregon and California coasts could produce from 250 to 500 terawatt-hours per year. A terawatt-hour is a million megawatt-hours, or a billion kilowatt-hours. The nation uses about 4,000 terawatt-hours of electricity every year.  . . . more

In separate news item PG&E and Finavera Renewables announced the nation’s first commercial wave energy power purchase agreement for two megawatt (MW) of commercial wave energy. Located off the Northern California coast, the Humboldt County Offshore Wave Energy Power Plant will be developed by Finavera Renewables. The project is expected to begin delivering renewable, clean electricity in 2012.

FYI: Benefits of Combined Heat and Power in Corn Ethanol Plants

To date, CHP and ethanol industry stakeholders have recognized that the efficiencies of CHP could further improve energy use patterns of dry mill ethanol plants, but the levels of impact have been unclear.

This paper by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Combined Heat and Power Partnership summarizes an analysis of state-of-the-art natural gas-, coal-, and biomass-fueled dry mill ethanol plants—comparing energy consumption and CO2 emissions of the ethanol production process with and without CHP systems.  . . .

The analysis shows that the use of CHP can result in reductions in total energy use of almost 55 percent over state-of-the-art dry mill ethanol plants that purchase central station power rather than use CHP. With certain CHP configurations, CO2 emission reductions from using CHP to displace central station power even exceed the CO2 emissions from the CHP system and ethanol plant, resulting in negative net CO2 emissions for the plant compared with base case conditions. . . . more

I had thought that plants employing CHP were more common than indicated in this report.  . . . No wonder power consumption is such a big concern.  Of course lower power comes at the price of higher capital costs, but after all these plants are part of the energy industry that should be aware of these costs.  And when are these plants going to start using part of their product to generate their power requirements?  Get with the program!

Nanosolar Ships First Panels

In one of the most significant announcements in renewable energy for the year Nanosolar, producer of CIGS solar cells made using nanoparticle ink and roll-printing technology, announced that it has shipped its first product and received their first check from product revenue. They are already sold out for the next 12 months and are working to scale their production capacity as fast as possible. The advent of low cost thin film cells, that according to Nanosolar will be able to be produced sold for $0.99 per Watt, should mean that low cost solar can be produced at the lowest cost ever and can be produced at sites that are more distributed than from thermal solar. When this cost is achieved, it will mean that solar is competitive with all other forms of power production and only geographical limitations -- lack of sun -- will limit its proliferation -- and of course the problem of storage of energy.  This moves the development of energy storage technologies to the top of the list of priorities for renerwable energy technologies, where it should have been for some time. It has 647,000 sq ft of manufacturing capability in the U.S. and Germany. 430. ,000 Mw of capacity per year in CA according to this CNBC video. Could this be the begining of the end of all other forms of solar power.

In the December 18 Nanosolar Blog Martin Roscheisen, CEO of Nanosolar writes:

Our product is defining in more ways I can enumerate here but includes:

- the world’s first printed thin-film solar cell in a commercial panel product;

- the world’s first thin-film solar cell with a low-cost back-contact capability;

- the world’s lowest-cost solar panel – which we believe will make us the first solar manufacturer capable of profitably selling solar panels at as little as $.99/Watt;

- the world’s highest-current thin-film solar panel – delivering five times the current of any other thin-film panel on the market today and thus simplifying system deployment;

- an intensely systems-optimized product with the lowest balance-of-system cost of any thin-film panel – due to innovations in design we have included.

Today we are announcing that we have begun shipping panels for freefield deployment in Eastern Germany and that the first Megawatt of our panels will go into a power plant installation there.

Power Innovations Energy Efficient Power Supplies

Did you realize that about 10% of household energy consumption is wasted in the standby mode of devices in your home, costing over $5 billion annually in the U.S?  The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab estimates that a 75% reduction is possible in new equipment by replacing inefficient linear power supplies with smarter switch-mode power supplies, such as those made by Power Integrations.

Balu Balakrishnan, CEO of Power Integrations, Inc., (NASDAQ:POWI) appeared on CNBC's Street Signs, see video, today, marking the 10th anniversary of the companies founding.  Their energy efficient power supply components are one of the items that receive little publicity, yet contribute significantly to the reduction of our power usage. Their integrated circuits with EcoSmart(r) technology are used in power supplies, which convert high-voltage AC power from a wall outlet into the low-voltage DC power needed by most electronic products.

Up to 90% of standby power is wasted energy consumed by inefficient power supply designs and unnecessarily energized components.  The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab estimates that a 75% reduction is possible in new equipment and that nearly all standby functions can be performed with a total appliance standby power of one watt or less.  This can be achieved by using improved power supply technologies and designs, namely, by replacing inefficient linear power supplies with smarter switch-mode power supplies.

1052 Daimler Orion VII Hybrid Buses Ordered

Daimler Buses North America has announced that it received orders totaling 1,052 for Orion VII Next Generation diesel-electric hybrid transit buses, 850 for the MTA New York City Transit, and 202 for the City of Ottawa’s OC Transpo, for delivery into 2010.

This order will bring the MTA's diesel-electric hybrid bus fleet to almost 1,700 units, making it the largest diesel-electric hybrid fleet in the world, accounting for almost 50 percent of MTA's entire fleet.

With already 1,100 diesel-electric hybrid transit buses on the road, 460 pending deliveries and these new orders, Orion has received over 2,600 orders since the launch of the Orion hybrid bus in 2003.

The Orion VII transit buses are powered by BAE Systems' HybriDrive(R) propulsion system. The series power train consists of the following:

• A 6-cylinder, 6-liter, 194 kW (260 hp) Cummins diesel, running at nearly constant speed.
• A 120 kW generator producing electric power for the batteries.
• A single 186 kW (250 hp) electric motor drives the vehicle and regenerates energy during braking. 
• A 32 kWh A123 lithium-ion battery pack, in the majority of buses, supply power during acceleration and hill climbing as well as storing energy from regenerative braking.

Wind Power as a Baseload for Electric Power

A study conducted by Stanford University confirmed that interconnected multiple wind farms can be used to provide baseload electric power. Interconnecting wind farms with a transmission grid reduces the power swings caused by wind variability and makes a significant portion of it just as consistent a power source as a coal power plant.

"This study implies that, if interconnected wind is used on a large scale, a third or more of its energy can be used for reliable electric power, and the remaining intermittent portion can be used for transportation, allowing wind to solve energy, climate and air pollution problems simultaneously," said Archer, the study's lead author and a consulting assistant professor in Stanford's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

This is an advantage that wind and wave power have over solar power (without storage) unless the geographical diversity of the solar power is so great that there are significant differences in the period of sunlight, which would make the cost of transmission too great using current transmission techniques. High-voltage direct current (HVDC) or high temperature cryogenic transmission could alter this picture. The European super grid described in a previous post depended on both the diversity of wind farms and advanced transmission techniques, but such a large geographical diversity is not required. A previous post reported on an earlier study that came to even more favorable results using a mix of all the renewable technologies. The study found that by combining a diversity of geographical locations and a diversity of technologies, "renewables combined with domestic combined heat and power could ultimately make the following contributions to Britain's total energy supply: wind 35%, wave and tidal 15%, combined heat and power 15%, and solar 5-10%." 

An energy storage system, using compressed air storage, here and here, makes wind power dispatchable, but is dependent on suitable geological conditions to store the energy. A vanadium redox battery energy storage system, that stores both solar and wind power as electricity, and thus is not dependent on location, is being planned for an Irish wind farm.

This combined with fact that wind power is less expensive than conventional power in some locations and that solar thermal power should reach that point within a few years, makes utility scale renewable power very possible within a few years and the phasing out of fossil fueled power and energy security realistic goals. Perhaps five years after that PV solar should be competitive opening up another technology for very wide spread use. The limitation at that point will be the production capacity of manufacturers of renewable energy equipment and shortages of some natural resources, such as silicon and vanadium, needed to make the equipment. Alternatives such as non-silicon solar will then be called on to meet the demand. First Solar is already a successful commercial producer of non-silicon solar cells. Market forces will then drive the production capacity without any need for subsidies.  In the meantime subsidies may be justified to keep the industries competitive.

Ausra Building First U.S. Production Facility for Thermal Solar

Ausra Inc., a developer of utility-scale solar thermal power, announced Friday it is building the first U.S. manufacturing plant for solar thermal power systems, in Las Vegas. The 130,000-square-foot, highly automated manufacturing and distribution center will produce the reflectors, towers, absorber tubes, and other key components of the company’s solar thermal power plants.

“Ausra can fill four square miles with solar collectors every year from this one factory, enough to provide market-priced zero-pollution power to 500,000 homes,"

Bob Fishman, president and CEO of Ausra.

In November 2007, Ausra and California utility PG&E announced a power purchase agreement for a one-square-mile, 177-megawatt power plant, enough to power over 120,000 homes, to be built in central California

The production plant will begin regular operation in April 2008. Ausra’s new Las Vegas facility will manufacture the solar field equipment for the PG&E project and for other power projects throughout the American Southwest. The factory, the first of its kind in the U.S., will be capable of making over 700 megawatts (electric) of solar collectors per year.

Lithium Energy Japan Established to Produce Lithium-ion Batteries

GS Yuasa Corporation (TSE: 6674), Mitsubishi Corporation (TSE: 8058), and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (TSE: 7211) announced that, effective December 12, they have formed the joint venture company "Lithium Energy Japan" to produce large capacity and high performance lithium-ion batteries. The companies have been in collaboration since last May to set up this joint venture company.

GS Yuasa possesses advanced technologies in large lithium-ion batteries and is striving to broaden their applications. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Corporation intends to enter the battery manufacturing business and aims to create other related businesses as well. Finally, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is working to promote greater use of electric vehicles, which is the ultimate in environmentally-friendly automobiles. Through their mutual interests, the three companies have come together to invest in this new joint venture. Their intent is to apply their comprehensive strengths in vertical value chains and take advantage of their powerful synergy to advance this business.

Judge rejects automakers' emissions suit

AP writer Samantha Young reported:

Handing a major defeat to the auto industry, U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Ishii ruled Wednesday that California can regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.  . . .

Automakers sued the state over the tailpipe standards it approved in 2004, which would force automakers to build cars and light trucks that produce about 30 percent fewer greenhouse gases by 2016.

However, the state still needs a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to begin implementing the program. The EPA has not yet issued a decision, leading California and 14 other states to sue the agency in November seeking quicker action.  . . .

In its lawsuit against the state, the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers argued that it was the federal government's responsibility to establish one uniform fuel economy standard. Without one, manufacturers would be forced to produce vehicles using too many different efficiency standards, raising the cost of cars and eliminating some model choices.

But Ishii rejected that claim, saying Congress gave California and the EPA the authority to regulate vehicle emissions, even if those rules are more strict than those imposed by the federal government.

This is a really big decision, I agree with the ruling, it will speed up the adoption of greater standards by all state, and might even cause the U.S. congress to take some tougher action.  These standards will speed the adoption of plug-in hybrids and all electric vehicles.

Ener1: (Lithium-ion) Batteries in Think Vehicles by End of '08

From a Dec. 12 press release:

"We have already announced a commercial contract with Think Electric Vehicle in Norway," Charles Gassenheimer, chairman of Ener1, Inc. (OTCBB: ENEI) added, referring to a $70 million development and supply agreement signed in October. "It's the largest electric vehicle company in Europe. You will see our batteries in their cars by the end of 2008." the Ener1 chairman told interviewer Alexis Glick.

Ener1, Inc. is an alternative energy technology company that is developing lithium ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) at its 80.5% owned EnerDel subsidiary through corporate ventures and strategic partnerships with Delphi, ITOCHU and EnerStruct.

A previous post reported that EnerDel says it will come out with a lithium-ion battery for plug-in hybrids that will cost $1,500. Also in that post is a description of their technology.

This presentation (a lot of rhetoric) indicates that one $1,500 battery is equivalent to the $4000 NiMH battery currently used in hybrid vehicles, at half the size and 35% of the weight.

Noted in Passing: IEA Says Massive Investment in Alternative Electricity Generation to Reduce CO2 Emissions

The Telegraph.co.uk ran the following post:

The world needs to build 30 nuclear power stations and the equivalent of two Three Gorges dams every year to prevent dangerous climate change, the International Energy Agency has said.

It also needs to build 13,000 wind turbines and 40 coal and gas power stations fitted with carbon capture and storage technology each year between 2013 and 2030, the head of the Agency told the climate change conference in Bali. 

. . . an £11 trillion investment in alternative electricity generation technology was needed to meet the target of more than halving atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide by 2050.  . . .  More

Noted in Passing: EIA: Oil to Average $85 a Barrel in 2008

As oil rose above $94.00 today, in a post on todays Forbes.com, Energy Information Administrator Guy Caruso was quoted as saying:

The average price of crude oil was $66 in 2006, is expected to rise to $72 this year and will reach $85 a barrel in 2008, Caruso  said in testimony prepared for a joint hearing of the Senate's permanent subcommittee on investigations and the subcommittee on energy that's focusing on speculation's role in the recent oil-price surge.  . . .  more

Noted in Passing: Toshiba SCiB Battery

Toshiba Corporation has announced the commercial launch of the SCiB the Super Charge ion Battery a breakthrough rechargeable battery primarily targeting the industrial systems market that can recharge to 90% of full capacity in less than five minutes. The battery offers excellent safety and a long-life cycle of over 10 years, even under conditions of constant rapid charging. Toshiba aims to make this high potential battery a mainstay of its industrial systems and automotive products businesses, with global sales of 100 billion yen targeted for fiscal year 2015. The first SCiB will be shipped from March 2008.

With the SCiB Toshiba has progressed beyond the breakthrough in fast recharging lithium-ion technology that it announced in March 2005. In order to realize the outstanding characteristics of the SCiB, Toshiba adopted a new negative electrode material, new separators, a new electrolyte, and new manufacturing technology. The result is a highly reliable rechargeable battery with well-balanced performance, offering excellent safety, a long-life cycle and a rapid charge-discharge capability.

UOP, USC to Develop Technology to Transform CO2 into Clean-Burning Alternative Fuels

UOP LLC, a Honeywell  (NYSE: HON) company, announced that it will partner with the USC Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute to develop and commercialize new technology to transform carbon dioxide into clean-burning alternative fuels.

USC developed fundamental chemistry to transform carbon dioxide to methanol or dimethyl ether, two potentially cleaner-burning alternatives to traditional transportation fuels, thereby reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas known to contribute to global warming.

This agreement could pave the way toward the practical implementation of the “Methanol Economy™, a concept that involves the production and use of methanol on a massive scale. Pioneered by USC Nobel Laureate George A. Olah, the Methanol Economy™ is a conceptualized future economy in which methanol will increasingly supplement fossil fuels.

“UOP already has commercial technology that uses methanol as a key intermediate in petrochemicals production. We believe methanol can also be a viable option for transportation fuels in the future. The partnership between UOP and USC is aimed at achieving the breakthroughs needed to make this happen.”

-- UOP President and CEO Carlos A. Cabrera

Noted in Passing: GM Starts New Design Studio for Volt

CNN Money Reports:

GM has taken another step toward bringing its Volt plug-in electric car to market by opening a new studio where work is being done exclusively on its next generation of electric vehicles.

The studio, made from a former management training center on the grounds of GM's Warren Technical Center, has clay and vinyl models of the next generation Volt.  . . .

Designers using computer and small clay models already have cut 30 percent from the wind drag of the original concept, said Ed Welburn, vice president of global design.

Noted in Passing: Shell to Build Algae Test Facility

The International Hearld Tribune reported that Shell will build a facility in Hawaii to grow and test algae for its potential as a biofuel.

"This is a 2.5 hectare (6 acre) demonstration project, and it will take up to two years to complete," Shell spokeswoman Olga Gorodilina said of the project. Whether it proceeds further "will depend on the results," she said.  . . .

Shell will form a majority-owned joint venture to build the project with Delaware-based HR Biopetroleum Inc., which has expertise in growing algae.  . . .

"Algae have great potential as a sustainable feedstock for production of diesel-type fuels with a very small CO2 footprint," said Graeme Sweeney, a Shell executive overseeing the project, in a statement. "This demonstration will be an important test of the technology and, critically, of commercial viability".

Peak Oil - How Will You Ride the Slide

Noted in Passing: Supply Hitches, Demand to Power Uranium Prices

Uranium, a silvery white metallic element used as the basic fuel for nuclear power, is trading at $93 per pound on the spot market this week, compared with just $7 in 2000.  . . .

Nuclear now accounts for 16 percent of the world's energy consumption electricity generated and this share is likely to increase if reactor building firms such as Westinghouse meet their order books.  . . .

A total of 439 reactors are now operating, while another 33 are under construction, 94 are planned (mostly expected to be in operation within eight years) and 222 more are proposed, according to the World Nuclear Association (WNA) web site.  . . . more

BorgWarner Dual-Clutch Transmission Design for Small Cars

From BorgWarner press release:

BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA) is revolutionizing the transmission market. A new new dual-clutch transmission for developing markets and small cars is in the final development stages at BorgWarner.

Working in conjunction with several Asian automakers, BorgWarner will be providing patent-pending dual-clutch transmission architecture that delivers fuel efficiency in an affordable package ideal for the growing small car demand in developing markets.

"Drivers in developing markets like China and India are looking for the ease of using an automatic transmission in an affordable vehicle," said Dr. Bernd Matthes, President and General Manager, BorgWarner Transmission Systems. "Up until now, the complexity and cost of automatic transmissions made it impractical to package this option in smaller cars. With BorgWarner's new design, we can deliver the responsive, fuel-efficient, fun-to drive characteristics of a dual-clutch transmission in a smaller, more affordable package. The unique architecture of our compact dual-clutch transmission is expected to expand the use of automatic transmissions in emerging markets. Test results with this transmission indicate a 13% fuel efficiency improvement, better top-end speed and a significant improvement in acceleration over automatic transmissions currently in production."

Noted in Passing: Britain Plans Enough Offshore Wind to Power Every Home

Britain plans to generate enough electricity through offshore wind farms to power every home in the country by 2020.

Business secretary John Hutton says the government plans to reach the target through a fourfold increase in the amount of space off Britain's coast allocated for wind farms. Hutton acknowledges that the move will change Britain's coasts.

But he says the need for energy self-sufficiency leaves no choice. 

But its says a shortage of turbines will make it difficult to raise Britain's wind power production to 33 gigawatts by 2020 from the current level of half a gigawatt. . . . more

Ethanol Blends can Provide Better Fuel Economy than Gasoline

Recent research findings show that mid-range ethanol blends - fuel mixtures most likely between E20 and E30 - can in some cases provide better fuel economy than regular unleaded gasoline, even in standard, non-flex-fuel vehicles.

Previous assumptions held that ethanol's lower energy content directly correlates with lower fuel economy for drivers. Those assumptions were found to be incorrect. E20 and E30 ethanol blends outperformed unleaded gasoline in fuel economy tests for certain autos. The tests were conducted using four 2007 model vehicles: a Toyota Camry, a Ford Fusion, and two Chevrolet Impalas, one flex-fuel and one non-flex-fuel. Contrary to Btu-based estimates of fuel economy for ethanol blends, three of the four vehicles tested achieved their highest fuel efficiency not on gasoline, but on an ethanol blend. Mid-level blends of ethanol E20 (20% ethanol, 80% gasoline) and E30 (30% ethanol, 70% gasoline) offered the best fuel economy in these tests.

• E30 offered better fuel economy than gasoline (a 1% increase) in both the Toyota and the Ford.
• E20 offered better fuel economy than gasoline (a 15% increase) in the flex-fuel Chevrolet.
• The non-flex-fuel Chevrolet more closely followed the Btu-calculated trend for fuel economy, but did experience a significant improvement over the trend line with E40 (40% ethanol, 60% gasoline), indicating that this may be the “optimal” ethanol blend level for this vehicle.

Noted in Passing: Solar is the Solution

The current edition of Mother Earth News has an excellent post on why Solar energy is the best solution for our energy needs.

Steve Hollerith writes:  I have been studying our energy options for more than 30 years, and I am absolutely convinced that our best and easiest option is solar energy, which is virtually inexhaustible.

Read this interesting article to see if you agree. 

Thanks to Robert Rapier of the R-Squared Energy Blog for the tip.

Power Plant CO2 + Sodium Hydroxide = Baking Soda

The Skyonic SkyMine™ process mineraizes CO2 as sodium carbonate (baking soda) for long-term storage as land or mine fill. It is a post-combustion carbon capture and sequestration technology that works with any large-scale stationary CO2 emitter (e.g.- fossil fueled power plants). The  process removes heavy metals and acid gasses as well as carbon dioxide from conditioned at-temperature flue gas.

Sodium hydroxide, which is produced on site as a part of the SkyMine™ process is used to react with the CO2 to produce the sodium carbonate. The heat to drive the process is captured from the heat in the flue gas. The reaction to produce sodium hydroxide also produces hydrogen and chlorine as byproducts. These chemicals are also “green”; they are produced at low energy and without emitting CO2.

From a CNET report:

(According to Joe Jones, inventor and founder of the company), because the system captures metals and acid gases, it can replace the $400 million scrubbers that power plants currently have to install. Skyonic's system will probably cost about the same amount as a scrubber. Although the capital budget will be equal, power plant owners will get a salable byproduct and avoid carbon taxes, which may be imposed in the future.

A 500-megawatt power plant will produce approximately 338,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year. Multiply that weight by 1.9 and you get the number of tons of baking soda that the plant will produce.

Smith Electric (UK) Launching Electric Truck in U.S., Plans U.S. Facility to Produce 10,000 Trucks per Year

Smith, the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial electric vehicles is launching a zero emission truck in the North American market.

The Newton is the first vehicle in its class that can compete with the diesel equivalent – but without the polluting effects of tailpipe emissions such as nitrogen oxide; particulate matter and CO2.

The Smith Newton, earlier post, is the world's largest high performance electric truck, weighing in with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of over 24,000lbs. A bank of four suitcase-sized, “Zebra” 278v Sodium Nickel Chloride batteries and a 120 kilowatt motor quickly propel the vehicle up to its top speed of 50mph. The Newton can accelerate from 0-30mph faster than the equivalent diesel-powered truck. It is equipped with regenerative braking and has a range of 150 miles.

The Newton’s body panels are built from an ultra light, state-of-the-art fully recyclable composite material manufactured by Omnia. The panels, are a plastic honeycomb material said to weigh around 65% of GRP of the equivalent strength. This substantially reduces body weight and increases the payload capacity by as much as 7480lb. The vehicle has a payload capacity of up to 15,800lbs and is available in US truck Classes 5 through 7.

Valence Technology Premieres First Intelligent, Large-Format Lithium-Ion Battery System at EVS-23

Valence Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: VLNC) unveiled its third generation of lithium-ion battery technology, Epoch^TM, at The International Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exposition (EVS-23), which started Sunday at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif.

From their press release and website:

Valence believes its new generation of phosphate-based lithium-ion battery systems will move the electric vehicle industry one step closer to the Holy Grail -- finding a battery solution that is safe, intelligent, lasts longer and weighs less than outdated technologies being used today. Epoch batteries are equipped with an advanced management system that will monitor and adjust cell performance so battery packs will always operate at their optimum performance capacity. Epoch batteries present a safe, powerful and reliable energy solution designed to be low maintenance, cost competitive and environmentally friendly. 

Epoch represents significant electronic, mechanical and thermal improvements over their second generation U-Charge^TM product. Some of the main advantages are fail soft capability, improved balancing for optimized energy delivery, enhanced SOC calculation, higher system voltage capability, field serviceability, remote access capability and higher continuous discharge capability.

Neste Oil to Build Largest Plant Producing Renewable Diesel

Neste Oil (Helsinki: NES1V.HE ) has announced plans to build a €550 million (US$810 million) NExBTL plant, the largest renewable diesel plant in the world, with a capacity of 800,000 t/a (12,150 bpd¹), located in Singapore, and using palm oil as feedstock. NExBTL technology, is the first commercial second generation biodiesel production process (Neste prefers to call it renewable diesel rather than biodiesel, because of its improved properties and the potential ability to be made from energy crops other than oil seeds or animal fat).

The first NExBTL facility, shown above, was commissioned in Finland at Neste Oil's Porvoo refinery in summer 2007, and a second is due to come on stream there in 2009. Both have an annual production capacity of 170,000 tons (2,580 bpd).

NExBTL Renewable Diesel, outperforms conventional fossil diesel fuel and can be used as such in existing vehicles and be distributed in existing logistics systems. It is a pure hydrocarbon with properties and quality similar to fossil diesel. Wider feedstock base can be utilized in the production process.  Due to quality, it is possible to blend tens of percents of NExBTL into diesel. The higher the NExBTL content is, the lower are the emissions.