Bend startup’s product Simplifying solar power installation February 9, 2010

A year ago, Bend solar-power startup AC Solar Technology did not even exist.

Last week, CEO Glenn Harris presented his company’s product, a solar module, to industry representatives from the United States, France and Switzerland at a startup conference in San Francisco.

And this week, AC Solar Technology expects to receive its ETL Listed Mark, which shows the modules meet Underwriters Laboratory safety standards, and which will allow the company to start production.

AC Solar Technology’s Blue Leaf 210W AC module, which is essentially a small solar electrical system, has the potential to open up the solar market to small commercial and residential users, Harris said. It simplifies solar power installation.

Photovoltaic systems produce DC, or direct current. Most electrical appliances in a home use AC, or alternating current. So most solar systems need wires that lead from the solar panels to an inverter, which converts direct current into alternating current. The wires continue from the inverter to the building’s electrical system.

The Blue Leaf module essentially removes the direct current portion. It has no DC wiring or components and uses AC from the modules to the power grid, according to a company news release. It has a single AC line leading from the inverter on the back panel. It’s like an extension cord, Harris said.

“We think the market is going to like a little 200 watt solar system,” he said. “That’s not something that’s been done before.”

Removing the DC part of the equation also simplifies installation for electricians, he said.

Costs for solar electric systems can vary, depending on the size, the system rating, installer and other factors, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. On average, the costs run $8 to $10 per watt, before rebates or tax credits.

Harris estimates a Blue Leaf module, which measures about 5 feet by 3 feet, will cost $5 per watt installed, or about $1,500, after rebates and credits.

Before his work with AC Solar Technology, Harris worked for Bend-based PV Powered, which makes inverters, both as its president and also a consultant. He also served as CEO of SunCentric, a Grants Pass company that provides a variety of services for solar power firms.

Harris does not believe AC Solar will compete with PV Powered, at least not directly. PV Powered does not make small-sized inverters or modules, he said.

Founded in the middle of last year, Harris said AC Solar Technology does not have a real office.

But it’s looking to get one.

With its certification in hand, the company will be able to start manufacturing, first at a temporary location, he said. AC Solar, which expects to employ about 150 workers by the end of its third year, also has been seeking a permanent site, but Harris said he’s not optimistic it will be in Oregon.

The climate in the state has become uncertain with the debate over the Business Energy Tax Credit, sparked after its estimated $4 million cost expanded to $167 million in lost revenues .

Harris understands, he said, how that leaves lawmakers to make tough decisions, balancing the state’s need for tax revenue with its desire to encourage renewable energy.

Other criteria also factor into the decision on where to locate, Harris said, not just government incentives. Along with Oregon, he said, other states in the running are Arizona, Delaware and Michigan.

Arizona, with its abundant sunshine, major population centers and transportation infrastructure, is attractive, Harris said. In one morning in Phoenix, he saw about 10 buildings and 1 million square feet of real estate.

“Some of the other states are chomping at the bit,” he said.

Harris expanded on his company’s product and market in an interview with The Bulletin.

Q: What makes your product different?

A: The new technology is the box on the back. It takes the DC power right at the back and turns it into … AC. You could put one on your back fence. … You could put one on your roof and wire it right into a 110 (volt line). It’s just three regular wires going into your fuse box. You could walk into Costco and buy this thing. Basically, you enable everybody.

Q: Where does it fit within the solar power market.

A: (It has the) potential to open up lots of different markets. Our interest is expanding the residential market. (It’s a) market expansion device.

Q: Where is AC Solar Technology located presently?

A: We don’t have official offices at the moment. We’re looking for a place to call home. It’s time to put the stake in the ground. We’re going to build the modules. I think we’re pretty well ready to start manufacturing. The question will be where.

Q: What are the considerations?

A: It’s really not a competition, per se. It’s not like they walk in and hand you a check and say thanks for being here. It really comes down to: Is it a great place to build? How’s the transportation system? What the state does is icing on the cake.

Tim Doran, Bend Bulletin - http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100209/BIZ0102/2090373/1002/NEWS01&nav_category=NEWS01

ProjectDX acquired by Renewable Funding February 9, 2010

Renewable Funding, which finances clean energy projects, has purchased ProjectDX, a technology company that automates processes for governments seeking to increase participation in local sustainability programs.

The terms of the sale were not disclosed.

All Portland-based ProjectDX staff, business and technology will be absorbed by Oakland, Calif.-based Renewable Funding.

ProjectDX is an online property of Transformative Sustainable Solutions Inc., an Oregon corporation founded in 2007 by Portland-based professional and civil engineering firm David Evans Enterprises Inc.

Renewable Funding will use ProjectDX’s online services for education, awareness, and community-building in conjunction with its financing program. ProjectDX also brings with it an extensive GIS database and analytical systems help property owners make cost-effective choices about energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy improvements.

Project DX is already working with a number of communities across the country, including Portland, Seattle, Sonoma County, Calif., and Baltimore.

Renewable Funding, led by Cisco DeVries, grew out of a popular public funding program for renewable energy that launched in Berkeley, Calif. The Berkeley FIRST program set up a bond-financed Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) district, allowing residents to borrow from the district to finance solar installations and pay that loan back on their property tax bill over 20 years. The concept has taken off across the country and expanded to energy efficiency and water conservation. So far 16 states and hundreds of cities are starting their own programs.

The technology created by ProjectDX allows property owners to integrate renewable energy project planning with a marketplace of qualified vendors, online financing applications, and back-office support for program administrators. Renewable Funding and ProjectDX partnered on San Francisco’s Sustainable Financing energy efficiency and water conservation program, which is scheduled to launch in early 2010 and will be financed and administered through Renewable Funding.

Portland Business Journal – http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2010/02/08/daily19.html

Bozeman company proposes solution to wind’s variability February 8, 2010

Carl Borgquist’s vision started with a whiteboard and a marker in his hands.

Five years later, the president of the Bozeman-based Grasslands Renewable Energy still flourishes a marker and sketches on the whiteboard to illustrate his plan for wind power in the Northern Plains.

Borgquist doesn’t build wind farms, rather he’s got a plan for collecting and transmitting wind power. Ultimately, he hopes to gather enough wind-generated electricity to equal the output of Hoover Dam, or two coal-fired power plants at Colstrip.

Borgquist refers to Grassland’s Wind Spirit Project as part of the theorized “smart grid.” What makes it “smart” is that it could solve the inherent problem of wind’s variability.

Should Borgquist’s vision come to fruition, he and his team at Grasslands are looking to build a system that will gather renewable energy from Montana, North Dakota and Canada and export a dependable 1,000 megawatts to markets in the Southwest and Northwest.

Grasslands has set a target date of 2017 for full build-out.

The project would involve roughly 1,300 miles of collector transmission lines, mostly in Montana, and a novel energy storage system. The two components together could cost $4 billion.

Add on the related wind farms and trunk transmission, which are not part of Grasslands’ project, and the entire package is likely to run in the $12 billion to $15 billion range.

“We have to do this big,” he said. “There’s no mileage in doing this small.”

Yet, Borgquist’s venture started small, literally “on a whiteboard.”

A tax attorney by training, with stints as a district attorney and U.S. Naval Judge Advocate in California, he was lured into the world of transmission while working with a client interested in developing a wind farm.

Borgquist knew that lack of transmission was the bottleneck that prevented the state from developing its plentiful wind resource. He saw the deficiency as a problem that needed fixing.

“Putting the wires in is not the sexy part of this,” he said. “But the way we move power is key. We need to get that figured out.”

Wind power, however, poses another drawback. Even if transmission were available, the erratic nature of wind threatens its economic feasibility.

Wind farm network

Even before Grasslands Renewable came into existence, Borgquist and founding group Absaroka Energy LLC were testing ideas. (Absaroka Energy later partnered with the Calgary-based Rocky Mountain Power to form Grasslands.)

By tracking wind at a variety of locations, they discovered that they could tap different wind sources to modify the peaks and valleys associated with individual wind farms. When wind was dead in Dickenson, N.D., for example, a gale could be blowing in Cut Bank, he said.

They postulated that, by packaging wind from several wind farms, the reliability of the resource would be enhanced.

Though the model proved promising, the data still failed to achieve the team’s desired result: to make wind power as reliable as a coal-fired power plant.

To approach their goal, they added a virtual 600-megawatt pump storage facility to the model.

The proposed closed-loop pump storage facility, which is planned for a site in central Montana, would consist of two large reservoirs of water, one of them 1,000 vertical feet higher than the other.

When wind blows in excess, the extra energy is used to pump water from the lower to the upper reservoir. When the wind dies down, water is released from the upper reservoir, creating hydropower for the grid.

“It’s like a big battery,” Borgquist said. “It’s clean and it’s environmentally friendly.”

The size of the reservoirs determines the hours of reliability, he said, and the vertical distance between the reservoirs determines the amount of energy that can be stored.

Though the concept is not uncommon in Europe, he said, the United States has only one utility-scale pump storage facility, built several decades ago in Virginia.

Lacing up the grids

As Grasslands refined its concept, the company drew the attention of Elecnor, a Spanish company that specializes in energy projects around the globe.

Founded in 1958, Elecnor employs nearly 5,000 people and saw $2.69 billion in sales in 2008.

“Elecnor found us, tracked us down,” Borgquist said, noting that the two companies are working on a deal that gives Elecnor the option to buy half of Grasslands.

Over the past few years, Borgquist and his expanding team have directed their efforts to all aspects of the project, from generation to delivery. He firmly believes the success of the Wind Spirit Project depends on coordinating all of the pieces together in one package.

As proposed, Grasslands’ large collection system would serve the eastern half of Montana and north-central Montana, with spurs branching out into Canada, North Dakota and possibly Wyoming.

The North Dakota line, a high-voltage 500 kilowatt direct current line, would cross from the Western Electricity Coordinating Council grid to the Midwest Reliability Organization grid, thus opening a new market for Montana wind and bringing additional reliability to the entire system, he said.

Once “lassoed” together, the power from many wind farms would be shipped to hubs planned for Toston and Harlowton. From there, trunk transmission lines such as the Mountain States Transmission Tie and TransCanada’s Chinook project, now in different stages of development, would move the electricity to population centers along the West Coast and in the desert Southwest.

“There’s no load to service in Montana,” Borgquist said, explaining why the power would go out of state.

“Montana will grow, but it won’t grow consistently with the amount of resource we have to develop,” he said.

Ready for FERC

With its feasibility study complete, its preliminary permit filed for the pump storage facility and its application set to go out to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the next week or so, Grasslands is ready to introduce the project to a broader audience.

So far, Borgquist said, Grasslands has talked to 60 renewable energy developers, most working on wind projects. Already, they’ve completed initial agreements with seven of them and look forward to working with others.

Simultaneously, they’re poised to begin talks with landowners regarding right-of-way for the proposed collector line. Environmental analysis of transmission siting is also on the to-do list.

“We haven’t crystallized the map,” Borgquist said. “We’re still looking for resources to connect and ways to connect into the grid.”

Linda Halstead-Acharya, Billings Gazzette - http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_056320b6-1462-11df-a965-001cc4c002e0.html

Oregon Wind power entrepreneur readies turbine for market February 7, 2010

After three years in development, a sullied business partnership and a significant financial set back, a Coquille woman’s invention — a roof-mounted appliance that generates electricity from wind — will soon reach the market.

Mary Geddry, CEO of Coquille-based Rogue River Winds, said the ultra-efficient, low-profile, sturdy wind turbine with a built-in generator called the V-LIM, is generating interest.

She’s gearing up production. But don’t expect any local manufacturing jobs to spin out of it — at least not anytime soon.

“There just isn’t the infrastructure in Coos County at this time,” she said.

After attempts to get the V-LIM off the ground locally failed, Geddry relocated the project to Portland where a prototype was in the works, before she again relocated it to Cottage Grove where it was completed and may be manufactured.

She said some manufacturers in Alaska and the East Coast have expressed interest in producing it, as well.

So what is it exactly?

Owners of industrial and commercial facilities who want to scale back energy usage can affix the V-LIM atop roofs — where wind velocity is greatest — to generate power to pump back into the grid.

The V-LIM is said to be more efficient than traditional wind turbines in that it produces electricity in winds ranging from light breezes to Class 2 hurricanes, is silent and vibration free even in gusts up to 100 miles per hour. As wind speed increases, so does the turbine’s power output.

It has rapid response steering foils to direct the turbine to face oncoming wind, according to a press release.

It’s about three meters in diameter and is designed for commercial and industrial use.

The unit costs between $125,000 to $150,000.

The price could be split.

If several large facilities within proximity of each other purchase one, they could share the cost savings.

“Our goal actually is to implement them into a microgrid, because that is the most cost effective way to purchase and provide power,” Geddry said.

The V-LIM produces 25 kilowatts on average during wind bursts. Peak energy users can expect a return on investment, in consistently blustery regions, in about three years, Geddry said.

The product has garnered interest from a local nonprofit seeking a new location with plans for a energy-efficient facility.

“We’ve been following her project,” said Patricia Gouveia, director of energy services at Oregon Coast Community Action. “Primarily, we want to develop a sustainable campus and support Coos County businesses, so it seemed like a good match if we can make it happen.”

“For a nonprofit,” she added, “if we can get to the point where we can pay our own energy costs, that’s a huge savings for us.”

Gouveia said they’d seek grant money to fund a project.

From concept to finished product was bumpy road. Geddry had hopes originally to design and manufacture the units locally, creating jobs. But a business partnership with a local entrepreneur fell apart.

“It just wasn’t getting done,” she said of the project. “It wasn’t getting finished and I had to get it finished.”

According to Geddry, every part manufactured here had to be replaced. The turbine has been re-engineered completely, which tripled her original cost projection.

She said the move to Portland was necessary to stay within a budget and timeline.

Geddry, who crafted the unit’s aerodynamic design, recruited brain power from Portland State University to upgrade the efficiency of the mechanism with a high-bandwidth generator.

Electrical engineer and Coos County resident Dr. Stanley Marquiss came on board to design a “plug-in-play” feature, which allows the appliance to configure itself into a facility’s energy system automatically once it’s installed.

Before the V-LIM can officially go on the market, it needs to be certified with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energies Laboratory, a process that could take about six months. In the meantime, Geddry hopes to begin production to meet demand — which may come from the U.S. Department of Defense.

All military bases, Geddry said, must produce 25 percent of energy from alternative sources, such as wind, by 2025.

Talks with the DOD are preliminary at this point, she said, but supplying the government agency with the V-LIM has potential.

“It appears that they would be one of our biggest markets,” she said.

Nate Traylor, The World – http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2010/02/06/business/winds_of_change_731.txt

Energy Storage: Utah company aims to store energy with compressed air February 7, 2010

A Utah company plans to dig a series of underground caverns that it hopes to one day fill with compressed air, releasing it to generate electricity by turning a turbine and solving one of the most vexing problems facing the clean-energy industry – how to store power.

Under a barren patch of Utah desert, a private-equity group is bankrolling the project to hollow out a series of energy-storage vaults from a massive salt deposit a mile underground. It promises to make a perfect repository for storing energy and, in effect, creating a giant subterranean battery.

Energy storage is catching on as a way to make wind and solar power more useful.

Without energy storage, the output of solar and wind power is so erratic – the wind doesn’t always blow; cloud cover can shut down solar cells – that utilities can take only so much of it, said Jim Ferland, senior vice president for operations for PNM Resources, the New Mexico utility.

If renewable power makes up too big a part of a utility’s energy mix, it can make the delicate act of balancing loads on a power grid difficult. The lack of storage is one of the things holding back clean energy, say scientists for Sandia National Laboratories’ energy systems group in Albuquerque, N.M.

“Storage is the key here,” said Charlie Hanley, manager of Sandia’s photovoltaic and grid integration group. “We have to find a way to overcome intermittent swings from cloud cover.”

The only commercial-scale, compressed air power plants are in McIntosh, Ala., and Bremen, Germany. Other projects are under development in Norton, Ohio, and Ankeny, Iowa.

Initially, because of market needs, Salt Lake City-based Magnum Energy LLC will store natural gas for Rocky Mountain producers, taking it from a nearby interstate pipeline, in an “energy hub” near Delta, Utah. It hopes to start dissolving the first cavern within a year.

Later, the company is looking to dig other caverns at the site for compressed air, which could store excess energy generated by a nearby wind farm and then release it later when demand is high to turn turbines and create electricity, and possibly for carbon storage, which could trap a neighboring coal-fired power plant’s emissions.

Still other caverns could be devoted to liquid petroleum; yet another pipeline for liquid fuels, passing through the same part of Utah, is close to receiving federal approval.

The company filed for federal approval in December to build its versatile “energy hub.”

A futuristic type of energy storage could involve putting the battery capacity of plug-in electric vehicles to work for the electric grid. It could take extra power from vehicles when needed, while ensuring a vehicle is properly charged overnight, said Daniel Laird, a researcher for Sandia’s wind energy technology group.

That will work only when plug-in cars make up a big part of the U.S. vehicle fleet, however.

For now, “we’ve got to find a way to store renewable energy for when people need it,” said Steve Michel, a former utility executive who works for Western Resources Advocates, a Boulder, Colo.-based nonprofit law firm.

Other forms of energy storage involve lumbering flywheels or banks of batteries, but they have limited capacities and can be costly.

“In terms of storing bulk energy – lots of megawatt-hours – compressed air is cheaper than anything else out there,” said Paul Denholm, lead analyst for energy storage at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab in Boulder, Colo.

In Utah, Magnum snapped up rights to the largest known salt deposit in the American West, a bed one mile thick by several miles wide. It has the advantage of being close to several energy producers; another company is planning a major solar farm in Utah’s west desert.

“The physical location of that salt deposit is just tremendously valuable, said Scott Jones, managing director of Houston-based Haddington Energy Partners III, which is backing the project. “It’s the only one everybody knows about or has been found. We’re excited about it.”

Each impermeable cavern will hold the volume of an Empire State Building, said Craig Broussard, another Magnum partner.

That’s billions of cubic feet of storage capacity of natural gas, liquid petroleum or compressed air.

The company would take excess energy from wind or solar farms or other energy producers, use it to pump compressed air underground and let it out to generate power during peak-use times.

The system would lose some energy to pumping, and the released air would need to be mixed with some natural gas to power air expansion turbines. Still, “this is far more efficient than a conventional power plant,” Broussard said.

“The power industry is like being in an ice-cream business without a refrigerated warehouse,” he said. “This kind of storage provides a warehouse of energy.”

PAUL FOY, Associated Press Writer – http://www.keprtv.com/news/business/83766377.html

Is Biomass the Brave New World of Energy? January 27, 2010

It was an idea hatched in algae. Now its creators believe it could grow into a better way to power the West, and possibly beyond.

First things first, the scientists at Whitefish-based Algae Aqua-Culture Technologies (AACT) must put their idea into action and test its efficiency. And they have found a willing partner in the F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. of Columbia Falls.

Scientists at AACT have a vision to use woody biomass and algae to produce both heat and commercially viable organic compounds for use in fertilizers. In the process, the system would create methane to be converted into electricity while also capturing and utilizing carbon dioxide, rather than releasing it into the atmosphere.

A team of engineers and scientists is currently working on a model biorefinery for Stoltze. It will be implemented at Stoltze’s mill site over the next couple of months and, if it proves efficient, a much larger full-scale biorefinery will follow. Mike Holecek, a project leader, said the system’s pyrolytic boiler can handle a range of biomass, but initially woodchips will be the primary fuel.

The project, called the “Green Power House,” has already garnered investors and a range of supporters, including retired Air Force Lieutenant General Richard Swope, who now works as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense. He has been part of multiple alternative energy projects.

Swope said the Defense Department has steadily increased its desire to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and pursue alternative energy resources. The Air Force, Swope said, is the Defense Department’s largest consumer of fuel.

“There have been a number of flight tests conducted with military aircraft with a mix of biomass-derived jet fuel,” Swope said.

Current research, on behalf of the Defense Department, is seeking ways to “convert biomass specifically into feedstock or fuel,” Swope said. Keeping his eye out for groundbreaking alternative energy projects, Swope happened to find one in his own backyard. Swope, who lives in Whitefish, said AACT’s project could have influence far beyond Stoltze’s mill site.

“Absolutely, something like this could help at the national level,” Swope said. “It could help with the Defense Department.”

In December, Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. announced the closing of its linerboard plant in Frenchtown, ending employment for 417 workers and raising serious questions for an already beleaguered timber industry in western Montana. Smurfit-Stone was the state’s biggest buyer of slash, small trees and sawmill residuals. Many in the logging industry relied on the mill.

The linerboard plant’s closure triggered discussions about the potential of biomass-derived energy in Montana. With such a major wood consumer gone, folks in the state’s timber industry were left grasping for new uses for forest products. Biomass energy began to dominate headlines throughout Montana.

Furthermore, NorthWestern Energy announced in early January that it’s in discussions with Smurfit-Stone officials about the possibility of turning the shuttered linerboard mill into a biomass power plant. When in operation, the mill already functioned as a biomass cogeneration plant, burning wood products in a boiler to produce energy used at the facility, as well as excess electricity put back on the power grid.

NorthWestern is also working with the Montana Community Development Corporation to study the feasibility of turning other mills into cogeneration biomass power plants.

On Jan. 21, Stoltze hosted a biomass energy forum as part of the “Re-Powering the Flathead” community dialogue series at Flathead Valley Community College. One of the speakers was Dr. Evan Sugden, a member of the AACT team. The event was heavily attended.

Amid all the biomass headlines, AACT’s proposal is particularly striking, primarily, because the ball is already rolling and, secondarily, because it’s such a foreign concept to most outside of scientific circles.

At its core, this seemingly brave new world is actually rooted in two familiar standbys: warm water and old friends. Several years ago, Holecek, who has a background in biochemistry and environmental design, was asked by his friend Paul Stelter to research new approaches to utilizing the geothermal qualities of Alameda’s Hot Springs Retreat, located in the town of Hot Springs. Stelter is part owner of Alameda’s.

From that initial research came the creation of Algae Aqua-Culture Technologies, a partnership between Stelter, Holecek and Michael Smith, who, like Holecek, lives in Whitefish. Sugden, a scientist and professor at the University of Washington, joined the team later. And Swope came on as a chief strategist and promoter, while numerous other people lent their support, through money and otherwise.

In Hot Springs, the AACT team launched a project using low temperature geothermal water to grow algae. The algae are fed into geothermal-heated bioreactors, or digesters, which are essentially sophisticated composters. Sugden calls the Stoltze project’s digester an “algae-eating, mechanical cow.”

The bioreactors consume the algae, along with some cellulose, to produce methane, which is converted into electricity. The Flathead County Landfill installed a system last year that takes methane emanating from trash and turns it into electricity.

But what really caught the scientists’ attention wasn’t the methane produced by the digesters; it was the waste product the digesters spit out. That waste product turned out to be a substance ideal for use in soil amendments such as organic fertilizer.

Also, the scientists discovered that their project’s control system is intelligent enough to manage any type of thermal energy, including heat at sawmills. That discovery led to discussions with Stoltze. And while the AACT team is now focused on the Stoltze project, it hasn’t abandoned its geothermal research, Holecek said.

Sugden, emphasizing the difference between “hot” and “warm” water, said there are numerous warm springs scattered across the West that could be utilized to run algae-based systems like AACT’s.

At Stoltze’s model biorefinery, bioreactors will digest algae – grown on site in a greenhouse – and produce organic compounds for fertilizer, similar to the Hot Springs geothermal project. But it will also incorporate a high-tech pyrolytic boiler. The boiler will generate heat to dry lumber in Stoltze’s kilns, as well as steam to run the rest of the system.

The boiler serves another important function – it produces biochar, or charcoal. The biochar can then be combined with the other organic compounds produced by the system for use in organic soil amendments. The organic fertilizer market, the AACT team points out, is growing rapidly.

With the system, Smith said carbon is sequestered and used to make a substance that could be valuable for agricultural purposes. He sees both commercial and environmental potential. So does Swope.

“The beauty is that there is an enormous amount of intellectual energy coming together to try to solve and resolve energy issues,” Swope said. “It is very exciting.”

Meyers Reece, Flathead Beacon - http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/is_biomass_the_brave_new_world_of_energy/15613/

Coos Bay logger has a plan to profit from timber scraps January 27, 2010

Timber harvesters deal with wood waste, or “biomass,” several ways: Leave it to rot, light a match to it, or profit from it.

The latter option is a bit tricky, but Gary Haga has an idea that could be a game changer in the fledgling biomass industry.

In order to make money from wood residuals, you need to first navigate a chip truck along narrow, winding logging roads to access the slash, chip it and transport the material to an energy plant, which will buy it by the ton to generate electricity.

However, the material is 50 percent water. The energy facility dries it before it buys it — drying up the supplier’s profits with it. For example, a supplier can haul 30 tons of chip to the buyer, but be paid for only 15 tons after it’s processed.

Transportation eats into profits further. There is only one local biomass buyer, Roseburg Forest Products in Dillard, nearly an hour from Coos Bay.

“It’s not economically feasible to take it from any place very far off the main road,” said Haga, a lifelong Coos Bay resident and owner of D & H Logging.

His solution: Chip the slash, dry it on site, and make something marketable out of the material, such as clean burning biobricks or wood pucks to fuel stoves and boilers.

Haga envisions hauling from slash pile to slash pile a 20-foot box containing a chipper, a dryer and a machine that makes the product, with generators supplying the juice.

Think of it as a roaming wood-products factory.

No one has invented it yet. At least not locally. And Haga is asking for input from local engineers.

The engineering hurdle to leap is creating a portable dryer. Current technology isn’t efficient enough for Haga.

What he is proposing could be very promising, said Susanna Noordhoff, president of the Southwest Chapter of the Professional Engineers of Oregon.

“As many rural communities do not have access to natural gas,” Noordhoff said, “biomass usage can be the fuel of choice over propane or diesel for fueling large boilers used in heating schools and other large institutions, with huge potential.”

The Enterprise School District replaced its oil boilers with an automated wood chip boiler in 2008 and will save nearly $113,000 annually as a result, she explained.

Several regional school districts are either making the conversion or looking at the possibility.

The biomass industry — which is devoted to converting debris into energy — is a relatively new one, explained Rep. Jim Thompson (R-Dallas), who is pushing a bill to provide incentives for the transportation and production of biomass. As such, people are trying to figure out how to best profit from woody leftovers. Hauling it long distances is not the best option.

Kevin Yeager of Godfrey & Yeager, a Coos Bay a excavation company, makes frequent trips to Dillard to sell some 32 tons of chip per load. He declined to say what he is paid per ton.

But with only one buyer locally, prices are low.

“If you had more facilities to take it to, it would probably be a better deal,” Yeager said.

Should Haga’s project become a reality (which he estimates would cost about $1.5 million upfront), he figures he would add about six jobs. Money would come from the biobricks made on site at timber landings. He figures the bricks could sell for about $240 a ton.

The feasibility of the project pencils out, he said. It’s just a matter of getting a portable dryer that could process about five tons of chips an hour.

Thompson sees the potential in it.

“We have to make biomass a seamless production unit,” Thompson said — and Haga’s idea is “on the right path.”

Nate Traylor, The World – http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2010/01/27/business/making_cash_from_slash_local_logger_has_a_plan_to_profit_from_timber_scraps_5b7.txt

Energy Storage: Utility to store air underground to generate power November 23, 2009

An Ohio electric company has bought the rights to an abandoned limestone mine so it can pump the cavern full of compressed air and let it out to generate power during peak-use times.

The 600-acre cavern will allow Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. to store energy generated by wind and solar technology for use when customers need it most, the company said.

“The wind doesn’t always blow when customers need electricity,” said FirstEnergy spokeswoman Ellen Raines.

The utility, which has 4.5 million customers in Northern Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, has no timetable to begin using the mine, located in the Akron suburb of Norton.

But FirstEnergy says once operational, the commercial-scale compressed-air generating station would be the second in the U.S. and only the third in the world. Other compressed-air generating stations are working in McIntosh, Ala., and Bremen, Germany, the company said.

Other power companies are investing in the technology.

PSEG Energy Holdings, of New Jersey, is investing about $20 million in similar power storage research and plans to market and license the technology.

During off-peak hours mainly at night, FirstEnergy would generate electricity to run pumps that would fill the cavern with compressed air, Raines aid. The utility would release the air during peak daytime use hours, and it would turn turbines that generate electricity.

Even though there would be a net energy loss from the original electricity used to run the pumps, the system would still benefit the environment because it would cut the need to run power plants during peak use times, and it would store renewable energy, Raines said.

The company would start small with about 268 megawatts of generating capacity, but the mine has the potential to generate 2,700 megawatts, FirstEnergy said.

The purchase price for use of the mine plus 92 acres above it was not disclosed. FirstEnergy’s generating subsidiary bought rights to the mine from CAES Development Co. LLC.

Shares of FirstEnergy rose 16 cents to $42.11 on Monday.

An Ohio electric company has bought the rights to an abandoned limestone mine so it can pump the cavern full of compressed air and let it out to generate power during peak-use times.

The 600-acre cavern will allow Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. to store energy generated by wind and solar technology for use when customers need it most, the company said.

“The wind doesn’t always blow when customers need electricity,” said FirstEnergy spokeswoman Ellen Raines.

The utility, which has 4.5 million customers in Northern Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, has no timetable to begin using the mine, located in the Akron suburb of Norton.

But FirstEnergy says once operational, the commercial-scale compressed-air generating station would be the second in the U.S. and only the third in the world. Other compressed-air generating stations are working in McIntosh, Ala., and Bremen, Germany, the company said.

Other power companies are investing in the technology.

PSEG Energy Holdings, of New Jersey, is investing about $20 million in similar power storage research and plans to market and license the technology.

During off-peak hours mainly at night, FirstEnergy would generate electricity to run pumps that would fill the cavern with compressed air, Raines aid. The utility would release the air during peak daytime use hours, and it would turn turbines that generate electricity.

Even though there would be a net energy loss from the original electricity used to run the pumps, the system would still benefit the environment because it would cut the need to run power plants during peak use times, and it would store renewable energy, Raines said.

The company would start small with about 268 megawatts of generating capacity, but the mine has the potential to generate 2,700 megawatts, FirstEnergy said.

The purchase price for use of the mine plus 92 acres above it was not disclosed. FirstEnergy’s generating subsidiary bought rights to the mine from CAES Development Co. LLC.

Shares of FirstEnergy rose 16 cents to $42.11 on Monday.

Associated Press – http://www.thenewstribune.com/apheadlines/business/story/966287.html

State-Of-The-Art HVAC system is college lab for OIT October 23, 2009

The city of Beaverton and Oregon Institute of Technology have joined forces to develop an educational program that promotes a better understanding of energy management systems.

Students in OIT’s fall heating, ventilation and air conditioning class will utilize the Beaverton Central Plant at The Round as a working laboratory to study energy management equipment, systems and operations.

“The new partnership with OIT is a tremendous opportunity for the city of Beaverton to promote an understanding of innovative energy use and help educate tomorrow’s workforce,” said Beaverton Mayor Dennis Doyle. “Our team looks forward to working with OIT.”

The institute is also looking forward to the partnership.

“This is a unique opportunity for the university to access a state-of-the-art, energy management system that the city has invested in and use this as an ideal educational platform,” said Thomas J. White, assistant professor of renewable energy engineering at OIT. “It’s essential we continue to grow our understanding of how we manage our use of energy and I expect learning in real-world environments will be an area that we will continue to expand within the university.”

The first class for OIT energy management, which is required for a bachelor’s degree in renewable energy engineering, began this month and runs through December.

This Beaverton lab will provide an opportunity for on-site data collection to evaluate the performance of key pieces of heating and cooling equipment, including the boilers, chillers, cooling towers, pumps, heat exchangers, and the hydronic fan coil systems.

The Beaverton Central Plant is a district energy system providing space conditioning to The Round, a mixed-use development in downtown Beaverton.

The plant delivers energy efficient heating and cooling to the multiple buildings at The Round. In addition to heating and cooling services, the plant also provides domestic hot water to both residential and retail spaces and equipment cooling for dedicated computer and server rooms or similar, critical cooling needs.

The Beaverton Valley Times – http://www.beavertonvalleytimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=125632840158774300

WSU gets $1M for transmission grid research and development October 23, 2009

Researchers from WSU’s College of Engineering and Architecture have been working on developing better power grid technology.

Sen. Patty Murray included $1 million for transmission grid research and development at WSU in the 2010 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill.

The Senate passed the bill Oct. 15.

Eli Zupnick, Murray’s deputy press secretary, said he expects President Barack Obama to sign the bill into law soon.

“Our nation’s transmission system is badly aged and vulnerable to disruptions,” Zupnick said. “WSU researchers are working to develop faster, more advanced technologies that will ensure the stability of the power grid.” WSU’s specialty is creating computer and communication systems that allow the power grid to function in real time and increase efficiency, reliability and stability, said Anjan Bose, a co-principal investigator and Regents professor in the College of Engineering and Architecture.

The technology helps to avoid and anticipate major blackouts as well as incorporating renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar, Bose said. The grant will be used to create a platform to simulate the behavior of the large grid to test the computer and control algorithms being developed for the smart grid.

“This platform should be running in about a year,” Bose said.

Other professors from the College of Engineering and Architecture, Dave Bakken, Carl Hauser and Mani Venkatasubramanian, will work with Bose as the other co-principal investigators for the transmission grid research and development.

Last year, the professors received a similar grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, and with a team of graduate students, research associates and postdoctoral fellows, they started researching and developing this summer, Bose said. They are having the first of many meetings with the DOE on Monday.

WSU has also been working with local companies like Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. and Avista Corp. on similar projects.

Improving the electric grid to smart grid technology is a national focus, and an initiative for the smart grid was included in the $819 billion stimulus package passed by the House of Representatives on Jan. 28.

Avista has paired with other regional partners, such as Battelle, and proposed implementing smart grid technology through the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project. The project would make Pullman the region’s first smart grid community to be followed by the rest of the Northwest. The companies hope to get matching stimulus money from the DOE to pay for the total implementation cost of $178 million.

If approved, this would create benefits for students as well as Avista customers, Avista spokesman Hugh Imhof said.

Avista customers’ rates would remain the same, but new technologies, like a smart-meter, would allow consumers to better control and cut down their usage and essentially save them money, Imhof said.

“People don’t realize how much they can save by making a few adjustments,” he said.

WSU is one of the multiple partners that would participate in the smart grid project for Pullman, and the university already has a lot of interaction with Avista, Imhof said.

Kerry Gugliotto, The Daily Evergreen – http://www.dailyevergreen.com/story/29871

INL’s Center for Advanced Energy Studies tests new wind energy system October 18, 2009

Blackhawk helicopters accomplish our nation’s missions every day. Now, Idaho National Laboratory’s Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) is supporting a new kind of Blackhawk to develop energy solutions.

Researchers from the Blackhawk Project LLC are testing and monitoring a new Blackhawk Tilt Rotor (TR-10) Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) recently installed at CAES. This wind system, developed by Blackhawk, represents what could be a significant evolution in wind energy technology.

“One of the reasons we chose Blackhawk is that it invites involvement from students and faculty,” said Raymond Grosshans, program coordinator at CAES. “And it supports economic development in Idaho.”

Blackhawk’s unique design distinguishes it from traditional wind energy systems. The most obvious distinction is that its helicopter-like wings, known as airfoils, rotate parallel to the ground, unlike most commercial turbines.

The airfoils attach to a patent-pending tilt rotor in the center of the turbine. The slanted rotor allows the turbine to self-start without any external devices. This passive-control system offers power generation without the noise, clutching, electronics, tower heights or heavy blades often associated with common wind machines.

The TR-10 is part of The Blackhawk Project’s prototype series and produces around 1.5 kilowatts of power — enough electricity to supplement a home, power a workshop or drive other small applications.

The power generated from the system will feed directly into CAES, but supplying the building with extra electricity is not why the center agreed to test the Blackhawk.

“CAES’ main focus is to create opportunities for research collaborations between Idaho National Laboratory researchers, the  Idaho research universities and the private sector,” Grosshans said.

Students and researchers at CAES will be monitoring the turbine’s performance, acoustic profile, strength, safety and durability.

A student crew chief will oversee maintenance of the turbine, which, Blackhawk says, is more durable than traditional windmills because it has fewer electronic gadgets and parts. Plus, the long arms of the turbine create such a high degree of torque that the unit is able to produce more power with fewer revolutions per minute (RPMs), which reduces wear and tear. When the turbine does need repairs or maintenance, locking magnets hold the rotor in place and prevent accidental spinning, creating a built-in safety feature.

Students also will be responsible for developing operation and procedure manuals for the turbine and helping write grants for the company.

“Collaboration with our company is a natural fit,” said Dawn Cardwell, Blackhawk’s project manager. “The data-collection capabilities and access to universities and researchers is something we don’t have.”

The project also provides learning opportunities for high school students.

A Web cam streams video to high schools all over the country, and telemetry gives students of all levels easy access to real-time data from CAES’ grid-type system.

“Students, faculty and researchers can use it for instrumentation, developing modeling tools and to support ongoing classroom activities,” said Grosshans.

Developers have found that the VAWT can produce electricity in winds as light as 7 mph. Propeller-type wind mills typically require speeds of 12 to 15 mph.

Pushrods and elastomeric bands, which Grosshans describes as “high-tech rubber bands,” are attached to the airfoils and help protect the turbine from storm damage. These rods adjust to the wind and allow the rotor to tilt without overworking the turbine. These features have allowed the turbine to successfully function in wind speeds as high as 101 mph.

Blackhawk hopes the data tracked at CAES will narrow the commercialization gap for its system, which the company bills as a low-cost, low-maintenance alternative to horizontal-axis residential turbines currently on the market.

The entire turbine fits in the back of a pickup and takes about three hours to install. With a mere 10-foot diameter, the TR-10 is set to enter the small-turbine industry targeting farms, shops and homes in rural and semirural areas.

“We can be the market leader for bang-for-the-buck,” said Bruce Boatner, Blackhawk’s lead engineer.

Ryan Weeks, INL – https://inlportal.inl.gov/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=1269&mode=2&featurestory=DA_521418

Spinning flywheels could store wind energy September 20, 2009

Spinning flywheels have been used for centuries for jobs from making pottery to running steam engines. Now the ancient tool has been given a new job by a Massachusetts company: smooth out the electricity flow, and do it fast and clean.

Beacon Power’s flywheels – each weighing one ton, levitating in a sealed chamber and spinning up to 16,000 times per minute – will make the electric grid more efficient and green, the company says. It’s being given a chance to prove it: the U.S. Department of Energy has granted Beacon a $43 million conditional loan guarantee to construct a 20-megawatt flywheel plant in upstate New York.

“We are very excited about this technology and this company,” said Matt Rogers, a senior adviser to the Secretary of Energy. “It’s a lower (carbon dioxide) impact, much faster response for a growing market need, and so we get pretty excited about that.”

Beacon’s flywheel plant will act as a short-term energy storage system for New York’s electrical distribution system, sucking excess energy off the grid when supply is high, storing it in the flywheels’ spinning cores, then returning it when demand surges. The buffer protects against swings in electrical power frequency, which, in the worst cases, cause blackouts.

Such frequency regulation makes up just 1 percent of the total U.S. electricity market, but that’s equal to more than $1 billion annually in revenues. The job is done now mainly by fossil-fuel powered generators that Rogers said are one-tenth the speed of flywheels and create double the carbon emissions.

Beacon said the carbon emissions saved over the 20-year life of a single 20-megawatt flywheel plant are equal to the carbon reduction achieved by planting 660,000 trees.

Flywheels also figure into the emerging renewable energy market, where intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar provide power at wildly varying intensities, depending on how long the breeze blows and sun shines. That increases the need for the faster frequency buffering, Rogers said.

Dan Rastler of the Electric Power Research Institute, an industry research group, added that if a carbon tax is passed by Congress, flywheels start looking a lot better than fossil-fuel powered alternatives.

Beacon’s flywheels, massive carbon and fiberglass cylinders, have already been tested on a small scale in New York, California and the company’s Tyngsborough offices. Chief executive officer Bill Capp hopes the Stephentown, N.Y., plant will be up and running by the end of 2010.

Flywheels are rotating discs or cylinders that store energy as motion, like the bicycle wheel that keeps rotating long after a pedal’s been turned. That energy can be drawn off smoothly depending on the needs of the user, such as when the speed of a potter’s wheel is adjusted to shape the clay as desired.

The basics of Beacon’s flywheels seem simple enough as they spin silently in their chambers in a small facility outside Beacon’s Tyngsborough plant. But the technological challenges to create them were immense and have cost Beacon $180 million, so far.

For instance, the one-ton flywheel had to be durable enough to spin smoothly at exceptionally high speeds. To avoid losing stored energy to friction, the flywheel levitates between magnets in a vacuum chamber.

“We’ve pretty much demonstrated that it works, it’s just a question of scaling,” Capp said. “The more we run, the more people get comfortable with us.”

Beacon’s flywheels are powered by the excess energy they take off the grid. When demand for electricity surges, the flywheels even things out and return the energy to the grid by slowing down.

Flywheels have some clear benefits in energy storage, including the durability to store and release power hundreds of thousands of times over a long, 20-year life, said Yuri Makarov, chief scientist in power systems at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which tested Beacon’s system for the DOE. Chemical batteries being developed for the same job wear out after a couple thousand charge-and-discharge cycles.

Flywheels use less energy than fossil-fuel powered generators because they adjust more quickly to the ever-shifting demands of the electric grid by simply slowing down or spinning faster, Makarov said. Fossil-fuel generators are slower and less efficient as they constantly fire up and down.

The disadvantage of flywheels, Makarov said, is that they can only store a limited amount of energy for a limited amount of time. That can shut them out of numerous other services the grid demands – and that other storage technologies can perform – such as long-term power storage.

Regulations in many markets are also lagging. Beacon will bid against other power generators to provide frequency regulation, but in some markets, the bidding system doesn’t even exist yet for energy storage.

Beacon’s reward for taking on the technology is that it’s the first flywheel company in the nation ready to provide utility-scale frequency regulation in the electric grid. Rogers said the New York project will help show whether the flywheels can do the job:

“If they’re successful in New York, we’d expect this kind of technology to be picked up in many other markets around the country,” he said.

JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press – http://www.columbian.com/article/20090920/APF/909201421

Wash. Energy lab will study producing hydrokenetic power September 5, 2009

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., will receive more than $6.8 million over three years to advance the production of energy from ocean waves and moving rivers.

Funding from the U.S. Department of Energy will pay for a project that examines the environmental impacts of marine and hydrokinetic power. Marine power includes power harnessed from the flux of ocean tides and waves, while hydrokinetic refers to power generated from flowing freshwater without dams.

The project will examine the risks that the power generation techniques pose for the environment and wildlife, conduct laboratory and field experiments to further investigate certain risks, and predict the long-term impact of full-scale energy installations.

Some of the issues include how fish and marine mammals are directly affected by water power devices, including induced electromagnetic fields, noise and blade strike. Researchers will examine whether producing these kinds of power could create “dead zones” by interfering with the ocean’s circulation and nutrient patterns.

Staff from PNNL’s offices in Seattle, Portland, Richland and Sequim, Wash., will work together on the project. The study will be done in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Pacific Energy Ventures, an Oregon renewable energy consulting firm, will take part in the project as well.

Eric Mortenson, The Oregonian – http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/09/energy_lab_will_study_producin.html

Looking for a biofuels breakthrough in Boardman, Ore. September 5, 2009

On paper, making fuel from plant materials looks like a simple five-step process.

You start with a bundle of twigs. Separate the cellulose, add enzymes, then let the brew ferment. A couple of chemical processes later, you’re powering a car with a product that quite literally grows on trees.

In reality, large-scale ethanol production has only rarely been able to compete with the cost of a barrel of oil. And with the recent recession, the dream of cheap, renewable fuel seems even further from reach.

But former oil executive Jim Imbler, who now heads a Colorado biofuels company called ZeaChem Inc., thinks he might have found the key to profitability in Oregon.

And it lies in Boardman, home to one of the nation’s largest hybrid poplar tree farms, grown by Portland-based GreenWood Resources.

“We’ve done the math, and we can compete with $40- to $50-a-barrel crude oil,” said Imbler, based in Lakewood, Colo. “We’re really excited to get going in Oregon.” Backed by $40 million in venture capital, ZeaChem plans to build a demonstration plant in Boardman that will convert Oregon hybrid poplar trees, grass and agricultural waste into ethanol.

Using an innovative technology, the biorefinery could mean a breakthrough for the biofuels industry, on a quest to meet federal mandates for alternative fuels.

Experts believe cellulose, found in nearly every plant, tree and bush, may be the future for abundant, affordable ethanol. And Oregon, with its vast tree farms, forests and farmlands, is poised to be a field of dreams for the industry, recently criticized for relying too heavily on corn, pitting food resources against fuel.

“Corn is a very energy intensive crop,” said Rick Wallace, the state’s biofuels coordinator. “Biomass has a smaller carbon footprint, and we have a lot of it here. There are a lot of benefits for Oregon if we can develop these technologies.”

By the end of the year, ZeaChem plans to break ground on a five-acre site owned by the Port of Morrow. It hopes its tests, using eastern Oregon wheat straw and trimmings from the Umatilla National Forest, will eventually lead to a commercial plant that pumps out up to 50 million gallons of ethanol a year.

But like many biofuels entrepeneurs on a sprint to the next generation, ZeaChem is gambling on the unknown. Across the Northwest, corn ethanol plants that attracted millions of dollars in public and private investment now stand idle.

By all accounts, ZeaChem’s technology looks promising.

“(Their technology) has a very big potential,” Wallace said. “But can it be done at a commercial level economically? We don’t know these answers yet. If they do, it’s a real benefit to Oregon. “

Links to Oregon
Dozens, if not hundreds, of companies are racing toward cellulosic ethanol production, which must meet a federal mandate of 16 billion gallons by 2022.

ZeaChem’s secret weapon: a bacterium found in the guts of termites. The bacterium, acetogen, ferments cellulose into acetic acid, which can eventually be turned into ethanol.

The company’s demonstration plant, unlike some other technologies, will use a variety of plant materials, producing about 1.5 million gallons of ethanol a year.

“We can feed softwood trees, hardwood trees, corn cobs,” Imbler said. “If you think about a termite, it doesn’t really care. Our vision is to become a technological skunkworks.”

ZeaChem, with 30 employees and a lab in California, says its patented process offers higher yields at lower cost, with a lower carbon footprint than other methods. The bacterium can also be used to make another, more valuable chemical, ethyl acetate, a solvent in varnishes and lacquers. It enables the development of other lines of business, turning plant material into solvents for paints or chemicals used in plastics.

“We believe ZeaChem is the leading advanced biofuel company,” said Paul Batcheller, a partner in South Dakota-based PrairieGold Venture Partners, a major investor in ZeaChem. “One thing is that their yields translates to a huge economic advantage. I think Oregon has a great advantage in terms of feedstock and marketing the project.”

Oregon offers fertile ground for the company’s giant leap. For starters, the state may provide a financial sweetner: ZeaChem has applied for the state’s Business Energy Tax Credits, which would be worth about $6.5 million.

Another key reason for locating in Oregon: proximity to GreenWood Resources, which owns the 26,000-acre hybrid poplar tree farm in Boardman. The company also owns 6,000 acres near Clatskanie and accounts for 90 percent of the state’s poplar production.

“We love hybrid poplar because its the best deal we can find now,” Imbler said. “If you have something that can grow cheaper, faster, we’re all for it. But I think the hybrid poplar is hard to beat.”

When it comes to growing trees fast and inexpensively, GreenWood Resources is a well-known expert. Its poplars, through traditional breeding methods, can grow 10 to 15 feet each year. The company’s partnership will provide a steady feedstock near the test plant.

“They’re going to need feedstock 24-7 once they get to the commercial level,” said Jake Eaton, GreenWood’s managing director of global acquisitions and resource planning. “We can optimize high yields and produce a low-cost dedicated feedstock.”

Studies show hybrid poplar is a fairly efficient feedstock for cellulosic ethanol. The partnership allows GreenWood to develop trees for a growing market in cellulosic-based chemicals and ethanol.

“From what we can see, they have the best technology out there,” Eaton said.
Recession and risks But making fuel out of plants is not the hard part. After all, scientists over the past year have turned coffee grounds into biodiesel and watermelon rinds into ethanol. Big oil companies are investing billions of dollars into growing algae.

The challenge is to build a commercial plant, which will take lots of plant material and money.

ZeaChem’s project comes at a turbulent time for nation’s ethanol industry, shaken by bankruptcies and failures over the past year. Along with other agricultural industries, biofuels rode the rollercoaster commodities market to its heights last year, only to have prices collapse with the recession.

The fallout from the credit crisis delivered a double punch, freezing access to credit and private capital for new research and construction. Then early this year, oil prices fell, making it difficult for ethanol producers to compete at the pump. So far, all commercial ethanol plants in the U.S. use corn.

“A number of plants misread the commodity markets,” says John Urbanchuk, a Pennsylvania-based expert in agriculture and biofuels with LECG LLC, a global consulting firm. “A lot of people thought that corn prices were going to continue to climb, and they were unable to cover their commodity positions.”

A wave of bankruptices and closures has followed, leaving idle corn ethanol plants and stalled projects across the Northwest.

Cascade Grain LLC, built a $200 million ethanol plant in Clatskanie last year and filed for bankruptcy protection in January. The plant ran for just six months before it was shut down.

In Longview, Wash., Northwest Renewables broke ground on a $100 million corn ethanol plant three years ago. Last week, the company announced the project, on hold for some time, would become a biomass plant with an uncertain timeline.

In Boardman, Pacific Ethanol’s plant continues to pump out 40 million gallons a year, despite filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. The plant uses mostly corn from the Midwest, said company spokesman Paul Koehler.

Now, however, the prospects might be getting brighter for ethanol. Oil prices have increased, and corn and natural gas prices, the two largest costs in the industry, have fallen.

“The outlook today is brighter than six or seven months ago,” Urbanchuk said. “The profitibility picture looks better.”

The long-term prognosis for the industry is for steady growth, mostly due to government environmental policies that ensure demand for ethanol, in particular, cellulosic ethanol. Unlike corn, biomass holds the promise of greater efficiency, and it doesn’t compete for food resources.

For 2009, federal mandates require production of 11 billion gallons of biofuel, of which 100 million gallons which must come from no-corn feedstock. By 2022, cellulosic ethanol must make up nearly half of the government’s required 36 billion gallons of biofuels.

“The industry responded quickly to demand, and now we’re seeing demand and supply move into balance,” said Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the Washington-DC- based Renewable Fuels Association. “But there’s so much more growth that’s projected, those closed facilities may once again fire up as the economics of the industry improve.”
Implications for Oregon
In Oregon, the push for renewable fuel and energy has big economic implications. Many parties now eye Oregon’s forests for biomass, from wood pellet manufacturers to utility companies. And many others, from foresters to timber fellers to environmentalists, are pinning their hopes on a new, green market for Oregon wood.

Biofuel projects will likely bring new jobs into rural areas hard hit by years of mill closures. And they will put the state on the map in a growing industry.

“We don’t have the corn or the soy the Midwest does,” said Wallace, who works with different state departments in developing biofuels. “We need to get into (cellulosic) biofuels, if we’re going to play. I think we’re going to see more projects like this.”

In Boardman, ZeaChem’s project will create 75 construction jobs and 20 full-time jobs once the plant is running. If the company builds a commercial plant, dozens more jobs could be added.

“We’re excited about that potential,” said Gary Neal, general manager of the Port of Morrow. “There’s going to be a great utilization of the products and biproducts of the region, good paying jobs. We just see lots of pluses, and it’s good for the environment.”

Beyond jobs, developing local sources of fuel will mean more money stays in the state, Wallace said. In 2008, Oregonians spent $8 billion fueling up their cars and trucks. While some of that money goes toward taxes, most of the money spent on transportation fuels goes out of state.

Ultimately, finding uses for the state’s biomass will be good for the forests, said Mike Cloughesy, director of forestry for the Oregon Forest Resources Institute. The state has about 4.25 million acres capable of providing biomass by forest thinning projects, which would prevent wildfires.

“There is more than enough material to go around,” McCloughesy said. “Anything that makes more markets for biomass creates more opportunities for active forest management.”

Amy Hsuan, The Oregonian – http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/09/a_looking_for_a_biofuels_break.html

Teams to see who best knows the way wind blows August 16, 2009

Think you know which way the wind blows?

Then the folks at Bonneville Power Administration want to hear from you.

In a Pacific Northwest twist on the X-Prize, two research teams have been invited to compete, to see which can best predict wind changes as much as 36 hours in advance.

“Wind power is a great energy source, but we could make even better use of it if we could anticipate big changes,” said John Pease, who’s overseeing the contest for Bonneville. The “friendly competition,” he said, will put some of the world’s best brainpower to work building prediction models.

It’s an international challenge: AWS Truewind of New York vs. Energy and Meteo Systems of Germany. The team with the most accurate predictions will be in line for a BPA contract to develop a full-scale wind forecast model for the region.

Wind, energy analysts say, has both tremendous potential and terrific pitfalls. The most obvious downside – that it doesn’t always blow when you want it to – is complicated by the fact that electricity on the grid cannot be stored. Instead, the power being used must roughly equal the power being produced.

Better forecasting, Pease said, will help grid managers (think air traffic controllers for electrons) smooth the balance of anticipated supply and demand.

If successful, the predictive model would be the first created specifically to foresee sharp changes – called “ramps” – in wind energy. And if successful, it will be key to blending the many power sources expected to make up tomorrow’s grid.

The teams will begin this month, Pease said, projecting the blow at four Oregon and Washington wind farms.

Phil Barbour, an Oregon-based research meteorologist, called it “an exciting project,” with potential to support a growing wind-power industry around the globe. “Winds are often very localized and difficult to predict,” he said. “It’s even harder to predict these specific ramp events. This is a huge challenge for the competing teams.”

Wind power on BPA’s regional grid, Pease said, can vary over one hour’s time by as much as 1,000 megawatts – the equivalent of a big nuclear plant. That means BPA must keep backup energy reserves on tap, and must charge the wind producers for those reserves, which in turn increases the cost of wind power.

A solid predictive model, Pease said, could reduce the need for reserves, and so lower energy costs for consumers.

Michael Jamison, The Missoulian - http://www.missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_3436f418-895b-11de-91c3-001cc4c002e0.html

Obama move to cut wave power funding upsets NW advocates May 30, 2009

The Obama administration has proposed a 25 percent cut in the research and development budget for one of the most promising renewable energy sources in the Northwest – wave and tidal power.

At the same time the White House sought an 82 percent increase in solar power research funding, a 36 percent increase in wind power funding and a 14 percent increase in geothermal funding. But it looked to cut wave and tidal research funding from $40 million to $30 million.

The decision to cut funding came only weeks after the Interior Department suggested that wave power could emerge as the leading offshore energy source in the Northwest and at a time when efforts to develop tidal power in Puget Sound are attracting national and international attention.

By some estimates, wave and tidal power could eventually meet 10 percent of the nation’s electricity demand, about the same as hydropower currently delivers. Some experts have estimated that if only 0.2 percent of energy in ocean waves could be harnessed, the power produced would be enough to supply the entire world.

In addition to Puget Sound and the Northwest coast, tidal and wave generators have been installed, planned or talked about in New York’s East River, in Maine, Alaska, off Atlantic City, N.J., and Hawaii. However, they’d generate only small amounts of power.

The Europeans are leaders when it comes to tidal and wave energy, with projects considered, planned or installed in Spain, Portugal, Scotland, Ireland and Norway. There have also been discussions about projects in South Korea, the Philippines, India and Canada’s Maritime provinces.

The proposed cut, part of the president’s budget submitted to Congress, has disappointed Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

“Wave and tidal power holds great promise in helping to meet America’s long-term energy needs,” Murray said, adding that Washington state is a leader in its development. “It’s time for the Department of Energy to focus on this potential. But playing budget games won’t get the work done.”

Murray’s staff said that while $16.8 billion in the recently passed stimulus bill is reserved for renewable energy and energy efficiency, none of it is earmarked for wave and tidal power.

Energy Department spokesman Tom Welch, however, said the Obama administration is asking for 10 times more for tidal and wave power than the Bush administration did.

“The trend line is up,” Welch said. “The department is collaborating with industry, regulators and other stakeholders to develop water resources, including conventional hydro.”

Murray sees it differently. Congress appropriated $40 million for the current year, so the Obama administration proposal actually would cut funding by a fourth.

Utility officials involved in developing tidal energy sources said the administration’s approach was shortsighted.

“We need all the tools in the tool belt,” said Steve Klein, general manager of the Snohomish County Public Utility District. “It’s dangerous to anoint certain sources and ignore others.”

The Snohomish PUD could have a pilot plant using three tidal generators installed on a seabed in Puget Sound in 2011. The tidal generators, built by an Irish company, are 50 feet tall and can spin either way depending on the direction of the tides. The units will be submerged, with 80 feet of clearance from their tops to the water’s surface. They’ll be placed outside of shipping channels and ferry routes.

The pilot plant is expected to produce one megawatt of electricity, or enough to power about 700 homes. If the pilot plant proves successful, the utility would consider installing a project that powered 10,000 homes.

“A lot of people are watching us,” Klein said.

The Navy, under pressure from Congress to generate 25 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2025, will install a pilot tidal generating project in Puget Sound near Port Townsend next year.

In Washington state, law requires that the larger utilities obtain 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. The law sets up interim targets of 3 percent by 2012 and 9 percent by 2016.

Most of the attention so far has focused on developing large wind farms east of the Cascade Mountains. Because wind blows intermittently, however, the region also needs a more reliable source of alternative energy. Tidal and wave fit that need. Also, at least with tidal, the generators would be closer to population centers than the wind turbines in eastern Washington.

“The potential is significant and (tidal and wave) could accomplish a large fraction of the renewable energy portfolio for the state,” said Charles Brandt, director of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s marine sciences lab in Sequim.

LES BLUMENTHAL, THE BELLINGHAM HERALD – http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/761430.html

Update: Wind turbine prototype delayed by weather February 22, 2009

Local entrepreneurs have pushed back until March the unveiling of a wind turbine prototype that they hope can operate in adverse weather conditions.

Rogue River Wind and Yaiyu Turbine Technologies have collaborated on a new kind of turbine that can be mounted on roof tops and work in gusty winds.

Their hope is to see the wind turbine installed on buildings up and down the coast, generating power locally instead of relying on distant utility companies for energy. By doing so, it will reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and create jobs for the area.

The last piece of the puzzle is a rotor that encircles the blades.

Ironically, part of the reason for the delays is due to the weather.

Mary Geddry, owner of Rogue River Wind, said that component is being crafted in Blaine, Wash., which got hit with some nasty weather in late December and early January.

“Part of their crew couldn’t get there for a while,” she said.

The other problem surfaced when they put an insulated adhesive on generators built into the turbine.
“It would make the coils overheat and reduced efficiency,” Geddry said.

They decided to go with ceramic coating instead, but first they had to remove the adhesive and test the conductivity of the stators. They passed the test and the only thing left is waiting for the arrival of the rotor, which is expected any day.

Once it is in, it will only be a matter of putting the pieces together. When it is assembled, possibly within the next two weeks, the team will test electrical components of the turbine before setting it up outside.

By Alexander Rich, The World (Coos Bay, OR) – http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2009/02/21/news/doc499f721b5aa8c844074343.txt

Here is a previoius NW Renewable News post with more background on the turbine prototype.

Clean Energy Aspects of now signed recovery act February 18, 2009

President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on Tuesday and the measure includes US $16.8 billion for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The funding is a nearly tenfold increase for EERE, which received $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2008.

The act also directs DOE to analyze the nation’s electrical grid to determine if significant potential sources of renewable energy are locked out of the electrical market by a lack of adequate transmission capacity. DOE must then provide recommendations for achieving adequate transmission capacity.

While the bulk of the new EERE funding is supporting direct grants and rebates, $2.5 billion will support EERE’s applied research, development and deployment activities, including $800 million for the Biomass Program, $400 million for the Geothermal Technologies Program, and $50 million for efforts to increase the energy efficiency of information and communications technologies.

An additional $400 million will support efforts to add electric technologies to vehicles. And separate from the EERE budget, $400 million will support the establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), an agency to support innovative energy research, modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The economic stimulus act also stipulates that $5 billion will go towards the Weatherization Assistance Program, and the act also increases the eligible income level under the program, increases the funding assistance level to $6,500 per home, and allows new weatherization assistance for homes that were weatherized as recently as 1994.

A complementary measure in the act provides $4 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to rehabilitate and retrofit public housing, including increasing the energy efficiency of units, plus an additional $510 million to do the same for homes maintained by Native American housing programs. HUD will receive an additional $250 million to increase the energy efficiency of HUD-sponsored, low-income housing.

The act also directs $2 billion in EERE funds toward grants for the manufacturing of advanced battery systems and components within the United States, as well as the development of supporting software. The battery grants will support advanced lithium-ion batteries and hybrid electric systems. Another $300 million will support an Alternative Fueled Vehicles Pilot Grant Program, and an additional $300 million will support rebates for energy efficient appliances, while also supporting DOE’s efforts under the Energy Star Program.

The act also stipulates that $3.2 billion will go toward Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants, which were established in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, but were not previously funded. The grants will go toward states, local governments and tribal governments to support the development of energy efficiency and conservation strategies and programs, including energy audit programs and projects to install fuel cells and solar, wind, and biomass power projects at government buildings. For background on the program, see pages 176-183 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

The act also stipulates that $3.1 billion of EERE funds will go toward the State Energy Program for additional grants that don’t need to be matched with state funds, but the act only allows such grants for states that intend to adopt strict building energy codes and intend to provide utility incentives for energy efficiency measures. To help states implement the measures, a separate portion of the act allocates $500 million to the Department of Labor to prepare workers for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Renewable Energy and Smart Grids

The act includes $6 billion to support loan guarantees for renewable energy and electric transmission technologies. The funds are expected to guarantee more than $60 billion in loans. The act requires the DOE Loan Guarantee Program to only make loan guarantees to projects that will start construction by September 30, 2011, and that involve renewable energy, electric transmission, or leading-edge biofuel technologies.

The act also directs DOE to analyze the nation’s electrical grid to determine if significant potential sources of renewable energy are locked out of the electrical market by a lack of adequate transmission capacity. DOE must then provide recommendations for achieving adequate transmission capacity. To help achieve those recommendations, the act includes a provision allowing the Western Area Power Administration to borrow up to $3.25 billion from the U.S. Treasury for transmission system upgrades, particularly for facilitating the delivery of power from renewable energy facilities.

In addition, the act provides $4.5 billion for the DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability for activities to modernize the nation’s electrical grid, integrate demand-response equipment and analyze, develop and implement smart grid technologies. The funds will also support research in energy storage technologies, efforts to facilitate recovery from energy supply disruptions and efforts to enhance the security and reliability of the nation’s energy infrastructure. A complementary section of the act opens smart grid demonstration projects to electric systems in all areas of the country and establishes a smart grid information clearinghouse to share data from the demonstration projects.

Greener Federal Buildings and Fleets

Federal buildings and fleets will become greener under a measure of the new bill. The act provides $4.5 billion to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to convert federal buildings into high-performance green buildings, which generally combine energy efficiency and renewable energy production to minimize the energy use of the buildings. The act also directs $4 million toward the establishment of an Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings within the GSA. In addition, the act provides $100 million for the Energy Conservation Investment Program within the Department of Defense, as well as another $100 million for energy conservation and alternative energy projects at facilities of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

For federal vehicle fleets, the act provides $300 million to cover the costs of acquiring greener motor vehicles, including hybrids, electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid vehicles, once they become commercially available. Buying plug-in hybrids could be an iffy proposition, however, as the funds must be spent by September 30, 2011.

Renewable Energy Tax Credits

The tax section of the act provides a three-year extension of the production tax credit (PTC) for most renewable energy facilities, while offering expansions on and alternatives for tax credits on renewable energy systems. The extension keeps the wind energy PTC in effect through 2012, while keeping the PTC alive for municipal solid waste, qualified hydropower, and biomass and geothermal energy facilities through 2013.

In addition, a two-year extension of the PTC for marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy systems will keep that tax credit in effect through 2013. The PTC provides a credit for every kilowatt-hour produced at new qualified facilities during the first 10 years of operation, provided the facilities are placed in service before the tax credit’s expiration date.

For 2008, biomass facilities fueled with dedicated energy crops (“closed-loop biomass”), as well as wind, solar, and geothermal energy facilities earned 2.1 cents per kilowatt-hour, while other qualified facilities earned 1 cent per kilowatt-hour.

Unfortunately, the current slump in business activity means that fewer businesses are seeking tax credits, which means that renewable energy producers are having trouble taking advantage of the PTC. With that in mind, the act also allows owners of non-solar renewable energy facilities to make an irrevocable election to earn a 30% investment credit rather than the PTC. The option remains in effect for the current period of the PTC, that is, through 2012 for wind energy facilities and through 2013 for other qualified renewable energy facilities.

Alternately, the facility owner could choose to receive a grant equal to 30% of the tax basis (that is, the reportable business investment) for the facility, so long as the facility is depreciable or amortizable. The grants are also available for renewable energy facilities that would normally earn a business energy credit of 10%-30%, including systems using fuel cells, solar energy, small wind turbines, geothermal energy, microturbines and combined heat and power (CHP) technologies.

To earn a grant, the facility must be placed in service in 2009 or 2010, or construction must begin in either of those years and must be completed prior to the termination of the PTC. For facilities that would normally earn a business tax credit, construction must be completed prior to 2017. The grants will be paid directly from the U.S. Treasury. A separate measure in the act removes limitations on the business credit based on how the systems are financed and also removes a business credit limit on small wind energy systems.

The stimulus bill also provides greater tax credits for clean energy projects at homes and businesses and for the manufacturers of clean energy technologies. For homeowners, the act increases a 10% tax credit for energy efficiency improvements to a 30% tax credit, eliminates caps for specific improvements (such as windows and furnaces), and instead establishes an aggregate cap of $1,500 for all improvements placed in service in 2009 and 2010 (except biomass systems, which must be placed in service after the act is enacted).

The act also tightens the energy efficiency requirements to meet current standards. For residential renewable energy systems, the act removes all caps on the tax credits, which equal 30% of the cost of qualified solar energy systems, geothermal heat pumps, small wind turbines and fuel cell systems. The act also eliminates a reduction in credits for installations with subsidized financing.

For businesses and individuals buying electric vehicles, the act simplifies and expands the available tax credits. For electric low-speed vehicles, motorcycles, and three-wheeled vehicles, a 10% tax credit is available through 2011, with a cap of $2,500. For vehicles converted into qualified plug-in electric vehicles, a 10% tax credit is also available through 2011, with a cap of $4,000. And starting in 2010, full-scale commercial plug-in electric vehicles can earn a maximum tax credit of $7,500, depending on their battery capacity. The credit will phase out over a year for each manufacturer after they sell 200,000 plug-in vehicles.

The act also provides a bonus to homeowners or business owners installing clean fuel refueling systems at their homes or businesses. For businesses, the maximum credit for installing such refueling systems increases to $50,000 for most systems, up from $30,000, and it increases to $200,000 for hydrogen refueling stations. For homeowners, the credit is doubled from $1,000 to $2,000. Homeowners might install their own natural gas refueling system for a natural gas vehicle, or they might install recharging systems for plug-in electric vehicles. The credit is available through 2010 for most refueling systems and through 2014 for hydrogen refueling systems.

The economic stimulus act has also added a new tax credit to encourage investment in the manufacturing facilities that help make such clean energy projects possible. A new 30% investment tax credit is available for projects that establish, re-equip or expand manufacturing facilities for fuel cells, microturbines, renewable fuel refineries and blending facilities, energy saving technologies, smart grid technologies and solar, wind and geothermal technologies.

The credit also applies to the manufacture of plug-in electric vehicles and their electric components, such as battery packs, electric motors, generators and power control units. The credit may also be expanded in the future to include other energy technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Secretary of Treasury must establish a certification program within the next 180 days and may allocate up to $2.3 billion in tax credits.

Clean Energy Bonds Expanded

Two bonding mechanisms for financing renewable energy and energy efficiency systems have been expanded under the tax section of the act. The act authorizes the allocation of as much as $1.6 billion in new Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs), which are tax credit bonds for financing renewable energy projects. CREBs were previously limited to a maximum of $800 million. The act also authorizes the allocation of $2.4 billion in qualified energy conservation bonds, up from the current limit of $800 million. These tax credit bonds are allocated to states and large local governments to finance a variety of clean energy projects.

Unlike normal bonds that pay interest, tax credit bonds pay the bondholders by providing a credit against their federal income tax. In effect, the new tax credit bonds will provide interest-free financing for clean energy projects. But because the federal government essentially pays the interest via tax credits, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service must allocate such credits in advance. However, tax credit bonds require the investment of a bondholder that will benefit from the federal tax credits, and those investors may be hard to find during the current business downturn. To try to draw more investment, a separate measure in the tax bill will allow regulated investment companies to pass through to their shareholders the tax credits earned by such bonds. Yet another measure adds a prevailing wage requirement to projects financed with CREBs or energy conservation bonds.

RenewableEnergyNews.com – http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/02/clean-energy-aspects-of-the-american-recovery-and-reinvestment-act

Emerging Tech: Hydrogen Fuel From Woodchips And Other Non-food Sources February 12, 2009

Researchers at Virginia Tech, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the University of Georgia have produced hydrogen gas pure enough to power a fuel cell by mixing 14 enzymes, one coenzyme, cellulosic materials from nonfood sources, and water heated to about 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius).

The group announced three advances from their “one pot” process: 1) a novel combination of enzymes, 2) an increased hydrogen generation rate — to as fast as natural hydrogen fermentation, and 3) a chemical energy output greater than the chemical energy stored in sugars – the highest hydrogen yield reported from cellulosic materials. “In addition to converting the chemical energy from the sugar, the process also converts the low-temperature thermal energy into high-quality hydrogen energy – like Prometheus stealing fire,” said Percival Zhang, assistant professor of biological systems engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech.

“It is exciting because using cellulose instead of starch expands the renewable resource for producing hydrogen to include biomass,” said Jonathan Mielenz, leader of the Bioconversion Science and Technology Group at ORNL.

The researchers used cellulosic materials isolated from wood chips, but crop waste or switchgrass could also be used. “If a small fraction – 2 or 3 percent – of yearly biomass production were used for sugar-to-hydrogen fuel cells for transportation, we could reach transportation fuel independence,” Zhang said. (He added that the 3 percent figure is for global transportation needs. The U.S. would actually need to convert about 10 percent of biomass – which would be 1.3 billion tons of usable biomass).

The research is supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research; Zhang’s DuPont Young Professor Award, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Science Daily - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090211162026.htm

Hydrokinetic river generator gives power to remote villages in AK February 5, 2009

A technology almost as simple as a Yukon River fishwheel could one day power the laptop computers and microwave ovens of Alaska’s river people. In Ruby it’s beginning to do just that.

Last summer, the Western Alaska village on the banks of the Yukon became the first community in America to tap into the power of an in-stream hydrokinetic generator, a submersible turbine that looks a bit like a tipped-over fish wheel.

In-stream power also gets called “low-impact hydro” and “hydro without the dam.” By any name, it may be an idea whose time has finally come.

A 100-kilowatt turbine about 20 times larger than Ruby’s is scheduled to be installed later this year in the Upper Yukon River village of Eagle, where it’s expected to power all the homes in town from breakup to freezeup.

That could eventually provide a fuel-free alternative to Eagle’s present practice of burning about 80,000 gallons of increasingly costly diesel fuel each year to generate electricity.

In-stream hydro is no longer just a quirky, renewable energy concept, Ruby project director Brian Hirsch said Tuesday, displaying a slide-show image of four generators now in production during a workshop on the subject at the 2009 Alaska Forum on the Environment under way in Anchorage.

“Every one of these devices that you see up there are not just an artist’s rendering anymore but actually a device that is made of steel and now producing electricity,” Hirsch said.

Admittedly not a whole lot so far. Unlike increasingly popular wind farms and geothermal power plants, in-stream hydro is still a costly technology in its infancy, with lots of unanswered questions. Especially in Alaska.

Can the turbines floating on the surface of the Yukon withstand bombardment by the huge logs that regularly drift downstream? Will the Yukon’s notoriously silty water damage their intricate mechanism? Or might the turbines cause problems of their own, disrupting river navigation or posing a threat to migrating fish?

The Ruby generator, a mere 5-kilowatt turbine capable of powering only two households, was an experiment. After one month of operation last summer, Hirsch can report that it works.

“But there’s a lot to improve,” he said.

On the plus side, in-stream hydro is a simple, highly portable technology that can be up and running in a matter of weeks and might be ideal for remote riverbank communities.

The Ruby project, sponsored by the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (Hirsch serves as the council’s energy program manager), was partly assembled in Fairbanks, then barged downstream from Nenana. Its price tag was $65,000.

That included the cost of the turbine itself, manufactured by a Canadian firm, as well as the cost of a pontoon boat to float it, gear to anchor it, a debris boom to protect it and underwater transmission cables to connect the generator to Ruby’s power grid.

Ruby was selected as a test case partly because diesel-generated power there is so expensive, and partly because its residents enthusiastically supported the project, Hirsch said. Ruby also satisfied some technical requirements.

In-stream turbines ideally get placed in the part of a river where the current is strongest. That’s usually on the surface near the middle, where the river is deepest. But placing it in the middle of a river increases the length of the transmission lines required and possibly creates navigational hazards. Ruby proved ideal because the fastest, deepest current was close to shore.

To protect the turbine from floating driftwood, the construction team fashioned a simple A-frame prow out of two logs. That was only halfway successful, Hirsch said. It diverted everything that floated on the surface. But some debris on the Yukon floats beneath the surface, and it accumulated on the vessel’s anchor chain. Eventually all the snagged flotsam began to shield the turbine from the current and lowered its electrical output.

“It’s a challenge, and it’s something we’re working on,” Hirsch said.

The larger in-stream hydro turbine waiting to be installed in Eagle this summer may offer an answer to that problem. It’ll come equipped with a heavy, metal sieve-like prow that will extend deep into the river, deflecting subsurface debris.

Underwritten by a $1.6 million grant from the Denali Commission, the Eagle project was proposed and advanced by the Alaska Power & Telephone Co., a Washington-state- based utility that provides Eagle residents with electricity. The company chipped in some seed money of its own.

But it’s still “really expensive” per kilowatt to put a hydrokinetic generator in the water when you compare the new technology with more mass-produced renewables like wind power, said Benjamin Beste, an AP&T engineer who also addressed the forum.

Even so, Beste thinks in-stream hydro is a viable summer source of power for Eagle, as well as other small, isolated river communities in Alaska. He doesn’t think the turbines could avoid damage in winter or spring, when break-up occurs. Like Ruby, the in-stream hydro operators in Eagle plan to remove their turbines from the river each fall.

And its effect on migrating salmon? “The fishery impact is not really well known yet,” Beste said.

What is known is that adult salmon that migrate upstream favor the slowest current in the river, rather than the fastest, where in-stream turbines are typically placed, said Gwen Holdman, director of the Alaska Center for Energy and Power at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

So adult salmon might be OK, as well as the fishing vessels that pursue them. But juvenile salmon migrating downstream to sea as smolts prefer the faster current to expedite their journey, and they represent a potential concern, Holdman said.

The university’s energy center plans to study such issues if and when a 50-kilowatt in-stream generator is installed this summer as planned in the Tanana River at Nenana.

And Ruby might receive another turbine — a 25-kilowatt generator large enough to satisfy about half the village’s summer energy needs — if a renewable energy appropriation previously approved by the Alaska Legislature survives the current session.

By GEORGE BRYSON, The Anchorage Daily News – http://www.adn.com/3221/story/679569.html

PG&E customers to pay for wave power studies January 31, 2009

Pacific Gas and Electric Company has won approval to recover from ratepayers $4.8 million in wave energy development costs.

The California Public Utilities Commission this week approved the funding mechanism for the company’s WaveConnect project, said Jana Morris, a PG&E spokeswoman, said.

“Over time, it will be incorporated into the rates like some of our other projects,” she said. She did not provide any specific information of when or how bills will be affected.

The funding approval allows the company to move forward with wave energy studies, which remain in the exploratory stages.

“It’s a small amount” when it’s spread out over time and shared by all California PG&E customers, said Fort Bragg City Councilmember Dave Turner.

Of more concern are the project’s potential environmental, economic and visual effects, he said.

County officials and area residents said they favor “green energy” projects, but want to know more about the potential impacts to the ocean and coast before they take a stand on wave energy.

The devices could damage fisheries, interfere with whale migration and create visual blight on a seascape that is crucial to tourism, critics say.

There are dozens of wave energy devices PG&E will study. Some look like giant buoys bobbing in the ocean while others are train-sized contraptions that snake along the surface.

The energy generators could be placed between a half-mile and five miles offshore at depths of up to 600 feet, according to PG&E’s proposal. Each device could potentially generate from 150 kilowatts to 4 megawatts, which at the upper limit is enough to power about 3,000 homes.

Each of the two WaveConnect project sites could produce up to 40 megawatts of clean renewable electricity, according to PG&E.

Morris said the company is years away from launching ocean wave energy devices, Morris said.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090130/ARTICLES/901309845/1042/OPINION?Title=PG_E_custuomers_to_pay_for_wave_studies

Emerging Technology: Turn trash into energy in your office parking lot January 19, 2009

When a school or office building thinks about distributed energy, it usually means solar panels propped up on a roof.

A small company called IST Energy has another vision: it’s developed a shipping container-size contraption that turns your building’s trash into electricity and heat. The company is expected to unveil the unit, called the Green Energy Machine (GEM), on Monday.

The idea behind the GEM is to offset a building’s energy use while dramatically cutting trash disposal fees. The cost of trash removal can vary greatly, but a university or office park with a number of buildings could pay about $200,000 a year, according to IST Energy executives.

The company says the GEM is clean technology because it doesn’t burn the trash. Instead, the machine uses gasification, a process that overall pollutes less than combustion. A number of clean-tech companies are trying to combine gasification with renewable sources of fuel, namely municipal solid waste or biomass.

The GEM unit is designed to take up as much space as three parking spaces, making it suitable for office buildings, hospitals, and the like. Metal and glass have no energy content, so they should be recycled. But everything else–food, cardboard, plastics, agricultural wastes–can go in.

“Normally, when we tell people what we’re doing, they say, ‘You can do that? I had no idea that was possible,” said Stu Haber, president and chief executive of IST, which is based in Waltham, Mass.

The company, which was spun out of a research and development firm, says it can convert 95 percent of the waste–up to three tons of trash a day–into usable energy. The remaining 5 percent is ash. With three tons of trash a day, a unit can provide enough electricity and heat for a 200,000 square-foot building holding about 500 people, it says.

So far, a handful of universities, a municipality, and a real-estate developer have come by its Waltham, Mass. offices for demonstrations.

Got a big trash bill?
Haber said the unit pays for itself relatively quickly but realizes that the novelty of the GEM could make it a tough sell. He hopes to sell between 5 and 10 units this year. “The first GEM will be the hardest one to sell,” he said. Noise from the machine could also be a barrier.

Corporate purchases of solar panels have been growing rapidly, depending on a state’s incentives. Haber argued that many companies invest in solar energy to reduce their carbon footprint in a visible way, but a purchase of a GEM can be driven entirely by money, he argued.

Feeding the maximum of three tons of trash will yield about 120 kilowatts of electricity and about double that in heat, which will fulfill about 15 percent of a building’s energy needs, IST Energy figures. The bigger financial benefit is in cutting disposal fees, Haber said.

With an up-front cost of $850,000, a GEM unit will have a payback in three to four years, the company calculates. More likely, those interested will go with a leasing option that would eliminate the hefty up-front investment.

“Everybody loves the fact that they’re helping the environment, but because we’re talking to businesspeople, I have to assume that they’re interested because of the very quick payback,” he said.

There’s also a 10 percent federal tax credit available for this sort of renewable energy, Haber said.

Squeezing more value from refuse
From the end user’s point of view, the GEM is designed to be simple. Through a loader, trash goes into the machine, which shreds the garbage.

Then the machine removes moisture and creates pellets–shaped just like the sawdust pellets used in pellet stoves. Then the pellets are put into an air-fed gasifier designed by the company, which generates what is called a synthetic gas, or producer gas, which typically contains mostly hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

That gas is the fuel for making electricity or heat. IST Energy recommends that the best energy source would be a natural-gas microturbine, which would need to have its setting adjusted, or a generator. It takes about two hours before the GEM runs from its own energy output, so the main carbon emissions come from burning the synthetic gas.

Garbage is already used as fuel source in a number of places. Some landfill operators capture methane from degrading trash to make electricity. Trash incinerators, too, can create some usable energy, but they are considered inefficient and polluting.

Looking to reduce shipments of diesel fuel, the U.S. Army last year tested portable trash-powered generators in Iraq, but the project is said to have not met all its goals.

For energy technology firms looking for a cheap source of fuel, trash appears to be attracting more interest.

Another Boston-area company called Ze-Gen is pursuing the same general idea as IST Energy. Last week, it raised a Series B round of $20 million to build a facility to take construction debris and make electricity at a central location using a gasification process.

Another firm, InEnTech in Oregon, is pursuing a different technology process to get the most energy out of household garbage.

Many of these firms have yet to test their products at commercial scale. But at a time when people are seeking clean and renewable-energy sources, waste may come full circle and become a valuable commodity again.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10140500-54.html

New Device Harvests the Sun’s Light AND Heat Energy January 18, 2009

Solar companies are beginning to see the benefits in harvesting both forms of the sun’s energy (heat and light) with a single device. On the forefront of this developing trend is Entech Solar, based out of Ewing, NJ, with their ThermaVolt™ solar hybrid system.

The solar unit has both photovoltaic (PV) cells to convert the sun’s light into usable energy and a fluid-filled pipe to trap the sun’s heat and use it to warm water. The device is efficient and economical due to a Frensel lens that concentrates sunlight to 20X its normal power. With such intense light, the amount of PV cells required is 95% less than that of a traditional solar panel. The lens also serves to increase the amount of heat that reaches the fluid-filled pipe.

According to Entech, the devices are able to generate 3 to 4 times the amount of energy of a standalone PV unit. While Entech is currently focused on commercial and industrial applications for the ThermaVolt™ arrays, it will be interesting to see if the company eventually develops a modified version for the residential sector.

Check out this video detailing how the ThermaVolt™ system works: ThermaVolt Video.

http://cleantechnica.com/2009/01/18/entech-device-harvests-suns-light-and-heat-energy/

University Research: Energy-Efficient Water Purification Made Possible January 16, 2009

Water and energy are two resources on which modern society depends. As demands for these increase, researchers look to alternative technologies that promise both sustainability and reduced environmental impact. Engineered osmosis holds a key to addressing both the global need for affordable clean water and inexpensive sustainable energy according to Yale researchers.

Yale doctoral student Robert McGinnis and his advisor Menachem Elimelech, Chair of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, have designed systems that harness the power of osmosis to harvest freshwater from non-potable sources, including seawater and generate electricity from low-temperature heat sources, such as waste heat from conventional power plants.

Yale University is commercializing their desalination technology through a newly-established company, Oasys. Their approach, which requires only one-tenth the electric energy used with conventional desalination systems, was featured in the December issue of Environmental Science & Technology.

“The ideal solution,” says Elimelech, “is a process that effectively utilizes waste heat.”

According to the authors, desalination and reuse are the only options for increasing water supply beyond that which is available through the hydrologic cycle — the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth. However, conventional desalination and reuse technologies use substantial energy.

Using a new twist on an old technology, the engineers are employing “forward osmosis,” which exploits the natural diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane. Their process “draws” pure water from its contaminants to a solution of concentrated salts, which can easily be removed with low heat treatment — effectively desalinating or removing contaminants from water with little energy input.

Another application of engineered osmosis the Yale researchers are pioneering, the osmotic heat engine, may be used to generate electrical energy. Elimelech and McGinnis say that it is possible to produce electricity economically from lower-temperature heat sources, including industrial waste heat, using a related method — pressure-retarded osmosis. In this closed loop process, the “draw” solution is held under high hydraulic pressure. As water moves into the pressurized draw solution, the pressure of the expanded volume is released through a turbine to generate electrical energy. The applied hydraulic pressure can be recovered by a pressure exchanger like those used in modern reverse osmosis desalination plants.

“The cost of producing electricity by this method could be competitive with existing means of power production” says Elimelech.

The research was funded by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, the Office of Naval Research, and the NSF Science and Technology Center, WaterCAMPWS (Center for Advanced Materials for the Purification of Water with Systems).

Citation: Environmental Science & Technology

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090114172310.htm

PG&E gives more specifics about Hydrokenitic project in Fort Bragg, CA January 16, 2009

Pacific Gas & Electric has volunteered to pay the city of Fort Bragg’s costs for wave energy as any other developer of a local project would do, City Manager Linda Ruffing told a City Council committee on Tuesday.

After nearly two years of local pleas for specifics about the WaveConnect project, PG&E representatives surprised city and county representatives with many new details. Those included the promise by PG&E that all environmental studies would be public, not private information. The utility had been resisting calls by competitors and ratepayer advocates before the California Public Utilities Commission to make public more information learned during the WaveConnect study.

Another surprise was that PG&E has found about 10 different viable wave energy technologies — far more than first envisioned. The utility will choose the top three or four wave energy devices and test those under a pilot project license.

PG&E representatives had said in the past that the pilot license was not a good fit because they wanted to take all the time needed for study.

On Tuesday, the pilot license process became the biggest issue for Mayor Doug Hammerstrom and other wave energy officials gathered at Town Hall to hear two top officials explain the roles of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, and the California Coastal Commission.

Both Tom Luster, who will oversee all wave energy projects for the California Coastal Commission and 23-year FERC veteran

Ann Miles said Fort Bragg has had more interest in wave energy than anywhere else in California.

Ruffing told Miles that FERC’s 30-day comment period for the pilot license was an “outrageously” short amount of time for comments, a concern echoed by Hammerstrom and Terri Gross from the Mendocino County Counsel’s Office.

Hammerstrom said 30 days wasn’t enough time to hire a consultant much less employ one to provide comments for the city. He said further there should be a provision to react to the suggestions of others made during that 30-day period.

The much quicker pilot license process was invented in the heyday of Neoconservative policy from the Bush administration which sought new ways to cut through red tape. Miles said she couldn’t answer questions about how the Obama administration might change this approach, as that was beyond the scope of her visit to Fort Bragg.

Miles said the pilot process is intended to cause minimal impacts with more extensive monitoring while generating power. A pilot project must be able to be shut down and removed quickly under FERC rules.

Ironically, PG&E may have chosen the faster pilot process to give themselves more time, locals at the morning meeting speculated.

Miles said PG&E would need to file for a conventional license by this March under FERC rules. Using the “faster” pilot license gives them until next March to get started.

Miles, who is director of FERC’s Division of Hydropower licensing, provided lengthy and knowledgeable explanations of convoluted FERC processes during a three-hour meeting. But PG&E’s new announcements, which came in private meetings last week, overshadowed the presentations by the top state and federal officials.

Luster explained how the California Coastal Commission would work with the State Lands Commission to review any wave energy project within three miles of shore.

But PG&E is now saying their 40-megawatt powerplant will be located “well beyond” that three-mile state limit. The powerplant would likely come after the five-year pilot project license.

That announcement unexpectedly changed the game for the state.

Luster said the big power cable that extends to shore would be regulated by the Coastal Commission, but development beyond three miles would be regulated only for “federal consistency.”

PG&E told the city that wave energy is “more robust farther from shore,” Ruffing reported. Questions have been repeatedly raised locally and never answered about the impracticality of attaching cables to the bottom in waters as deep as those more than three miles from shore.

Some locals have speculated the real intent of working so far from shore is oil and gas exploration, a notion PG&E has denied.

PG&E has not released any of its new information to the press. Ruffing said she emailed her summary of what the company is now saying to the PG&E representatives, who provided no objections by reply.

While planning for an eventual project many miles from shore, PG&E will give up on areas more than 3 miles from shore for now, they have told FERC.

PG&E told the city they would site the pilot project much closer to shore, to avoid the jurisdictional conflict between FERC and fellow federal agency Minerals Management Service, or MMS.

FERC claims the authority to be the regulatory authority for all water energy projects in the United States. MMS claims authority for ocean federal waters, which are those more than 3 miles from shore.

PG&E’s 68-square-mile preliminary permit area, which runs from Point Cabrillo to Cleone and to more than three miles offshore, will be trimmed down to eliminate areas beyond the federal-state jurisdiction line.

“PG&E expects that MMS and FERC will have worked out their dispute by the time PG&E is ready to apply for a long-term license,” Ruffing reported.

PG&E representatives are now promising significant help to local governments.

“All of the power generated by the 40 megawatt WaveConnect would be consumed in Mendocino County and would provide for nearly all of Fort Bragg’s electric demand when WaveConnect is generating,” Ruffing reported.

Additionally, the city and county have been promised that PG&E will pay their expenses, including reviewing, permitting and the community process for public participation.

Miles said FERC has no requirements in place to determine that a developer be able to pay for removal of devices in case of bankruptcy or disaster.

Luster said the State Lands Commission handles financial arrangements, such as bonding of projects.

That question has come up more with GreenWave LLC, which has proposed a wave energy project off Mendocino village. The LLC stands for limited liability company, a business form invented to allow greater risks to be taken.

GreenWave’s preliminary permit application is in the public comment phase until Feb. 3. The GreenWave permit has not been issued, as was reported here previously. FERC always grants these permits, unless they directly violate federal law, which is not the case with GreenWave.

Miles was making her first ever visit to Northern California. She was set to answer questions from the general public at a Town Hall forum Tuesday night.

She came equipped with a powerpoint presentation that illustrated the process. She offered a map that showed all hydrokinetic projects. There have been 137 hydrokinetic preliminary permits issued, with another 68 pending, as of December. Most of those are clustered in the Mississippi River, the Yukon River, below Niagara Falls and off the Washington, Oregon and Northern California coasts. The East Coast features a cluster of tidal energy projects.

Judith Vidaver and Char Flum, of the local Ocean Protection Coalition, also attended Tuesday morning’s Council. Committee meeting.

Jim Martin and John Innes of the FISH committee (Fishermen Interested in Safe Hydrokinetics) also were in attendance. PG&E also apparently met with the FISH committee. Also on hand was Lisa Badenfort, who will now represent the Mendocino County Chief Executive’s Office on wave energy issues.

A report on Tuesday night’s public meeting with Miles will appear in the Jan. 22 edition of the Fort Bragg Advocate-News.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2129662/

Ocean Energy: Nations first offshore wind farm gets environmental OK January 16, 2009

Plans to build the nation’s first offshore wind farm in the waters off Cape Cod cleared a major hurdle Friday, winning environmental approval from a key federal agency.

The proposal has sparked a bitter public fight begun more than seven years ago.

The wind farm’s foes, including Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., argue it will harm the environment and hurt the tourism and fishing industries.

But the new Minerals Management Service report said developer Cape Wind Associates’ plans pose no major environmental problems.

Various federal and state agencies have been reviewing the proposal for 130 windmills across 25 miles of federal waters in Nantucket Sound since 2001.

Supporters say it will provide cheaper energy, reduce pollution and create green jobs.

The new Obama administration will decide the project’s fate. President-elect Barack Obama, who wants to double alternative energy production over the next three years, was visiting an Ohio company that makes parts for wind turbines on Friday. He takes office Tuesday.

“We’re handing off to the next administration,” said Minerals Management Service director Randall Luthi. “It is up to them to decide.”

Cape Wind has pitted two of the most powerful politicians in Massachusetts against each other. Both are strong Obama supporters.

Kennedy, whose family’s Hyannis Port compound would have a clear view of the farm, has tried to derail the project in Congress, citing risks to fishing, navigation, aviation and the sanctuary of Nantucket Sound.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a close Obama ally who wants his state to be a leader in alternative energy, has been a strong Cape Wind backer.

The developers, who have estimated the project’s cost at $1.2 billion, hope the wind farm will be operational by the end of 2011. They say it could provide up to 75 percent of Cape Cod’s power demands.

Cape Wind has sparked controversy since it was proposed more than seven years ago. The turbines would stand 440 feet above sea level when the tallest blades are pointing straight up.

The report’s conclusions were welcomed by supporters who see the wind farm as a safe, clean way to create renewable energy and new jobs.

Opponents vowed to continue their fight, accusing the government of overlooking environmental, safety and other problems as officials rushed to approve the project before the Bush administration departs.

The Minerals Management Service must wait at least 30 days before issuing its final decision on the project. That order will include a decision on whether to issue a lease, Luthi said. Approval would set the stage for Cape Wind to seek a federal lease for the project to be located in federal waters.

Both sides predict legal challenges whatever the government decides.

http://www.columbian.com/article/20090116/APF/901161246

Boise startup creates smart-Grid solar-Powered streetlight – January 13, 2009

A Boise company’s solar-powered streetlight doesn’t just save electricity by tapping the sun to run its lamp – it one day may feed power back to the grid at times of peak demand.

The Inovus Solar SmartPole – created and marketed from a small office in Downtown Boise – demonstrates the promise of “smart grid” technology, which could revolutionize electric power in the United States.

And the young outfit behind it represents what some local business leaders say could help define Boise’s future: A cluster of high-tech energy companies that could tap into the nation’s “green” revolution and attract the kind of creative professionals that Micron and Hewlett-Packard have brought here for years.

Inovus is emblematic of the companies to be discussed at the Northwest Energy Innovation Summit that begins Monday at the Boise Centre on The Grove. The summit will bring top experts to talk about the opportunities in the new industry.

Inovus was one of the first tenants of the Water Cooler, a tech-friendly and low-cost business center built by the summit’s organizer, Mark Rivers. The Water Cooler and the conference were both designed to help bring together the creative forces that can encourage and attract new industry.

“We need to be doing everything and anything we can to turn this tiny industry into a new strategic industry in Idaho,” Rivers said.

INTELLIGENT STREET LIGHTS?

The SmartPole doesn’t need to be hooked to the electric grid at all, which makes it ideal for areas wires don’t reach – whether they’re in the outskirts of Boise or in Third World nations like Vietnam.

But on the grid, its computer can automatically reduce energy use when power demand is high. And the light’s battery, which holds enough power to operate for more than six days without sun, could even send power back in times of peak need – which can reduce the need for electricity companies like Idaho Power to build new plants.

Inovus Solar’s outdoor lighting system has caught the attention of Southern California Edison, which has 600,000 street lights. The utility is looking at upgrading its electric power grid with computerized appliances with batteries – even electric cars – to maximize the efficient use of each electron in the system.

“We’re really focused on the smart grid technology,” said Clay Young, Inovus Solar’s president and CEO. “We are trying to make street lights a more intelligent part of the grid.”

Young and solar inventor Seth Myer started Inovus Solar in 2007. They now have eight employees and contractors with more than 35 employees across the Valley are building the lights for shipment across the country and overseas.

The startup has raised enough capital to carry through its plan for two years. Young and Myer expect to grow three to four times in size by the end of 2009 – but others are even more optimistic.

“I honestly think this is going to scale to a company that is going to do hundreds of millions of dollars worth of sales in a couple of years,” said Chris Winn, principal of SSI, a technical marketing company in Orange County that is partnering with Inovus. “It’s going to create a lot of jobs.”

LIGHTING DESOLATE (FOR NOW) SPOTS AT HOME

The city of Boise installed eight SmartPole lights along a road past Idaho IceWorld where WinCo Foods is building a new warehouse. With the cost of running electrical lines to the isolated location, the street lights would have cost WinCo $12,000 each. Inovus Solar’s lights cost $8,000 each – a $32,000 savings on eight lights.

Read More: http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/629155.html

Tilting at Wind Farms January 9, 2009

A way to make wind power smoother and more efficient that exploits the inertia of a wind turbine rotor could help solve the problem of wind speed variation, according to research published in the International Journal of Power Electronics.

Wind power is being touted as a clean and inexhaustible energy source across the globe, but the wind is intermittent and so the power output of wind farms can be variable. Proposed measures to smooth these power fluctuations usually involve the installation of units of batteries or capacitors to store electricity on good days and release their energy on still days or at times when wind speeds are too high for system stability. Technology to smooth the power supply and prevent blackouts due to the tripping of safety switches when electricity frequency deviates wildly is also essential.

Despites its deficiencies, a report from the US Department of Energy suggests that installed wind energy capacity could reach 300 gigawatts by 2030 to meet a fifth of the US electricity demand.

Now, Asghar Abedini, Goran Mandic and Adel Nasiri at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Power Electronics and Motor Drives Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, have devised a solution to the electricity grid susceptibility to changes in wind speed.

The researchers have devised a novel control method that can mitigate power fluctuations using the inertia of the wind turbine’s rotor as an energy storage component. Simply put, they have created a braking control algorithm that adjusts the rotor speed so that when incoming wind power is greater than the average power, the rotor is allowed to speed up so that it can store the excess energy as kinetic energy rather than generating electricity. This energy is then released when the wind power falls below average.

This approach, the team explains, precludes the need for external energy storage facilities such as capacitors and the additional infrastructure and engineering they entail. Their method also captures wind energy more effectively and so improves the overall efficiency of wind farming potentially reducing the number of turbines required at any given site.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090107092724.htm

Continental Airlines to use algae/Jatropha based biofuel blend in test flight January 6, 2009

Continental Airlines has announced that it will be conducting the first biofuel-powered demonstration flight by a US commercial aircraft. The flight will be powered by a fuel blend including components derived from algae and jatropha plants. According to Continental Airlines the demonstration flight will be the first biofuel flight conducted by a commercial carrier using algae as a fuel source. The aircraft used for the demonstration flight will be a Boeing 737-800 equipped with CFM International CFM56-7B engines. The demonstration flight is scheduled to depart from Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport on 7 January.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2109102/

First Commercial Hydrokinetic Power Turbine is Successfully Installed January 5, 2009

Hydro Green Energy, LLC has successfully completed the installation of one of two turbines at the nation’s first-ever commercial hydrokinetic power project. Once the electrical systems are tested, the hydrokinetic turbine will send clean, environmentally-friendly, renewable electricity to the Minnesota electric power grid. The second underwater turbine will be installed in the spring of 2009.

Hydrokinetic power refers to the generation of electricity from moving water without impoundments or diversionary structures that are typically used at conventional hydropower facilities. Hydro Green Energy’s technology operates in open rivers, tidal areas and oceans. Its broadly patented technology (U.S. Patent # 6,955,049), which is the first surface-suspended system in the industry, is also deployable downstream from existing hydropower facilities (known as Hydro+(TM)), which allows for new, clean power generation within the existing project footprint.

The City of Hastings is installing a two-turbine Hydro+(TM) project downstream from its 4.4 megawatt run-of-river hydropower plant on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Lock & Dam No. 2. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the project by a 5-0 vote on December 13, 2008 and on December 23 authorized the installation of the first turbine. Once the project is operational, extensive water quality, fish survival, mussel and avian studies and/or monitoring will be performed by Hydro Green Energy, much at the request of the National Park Service, which participated extensively in the nearly two-year long licensing process.

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/2923802

Solar antireflective coating has overcome two major hurdles December 31, 2008

A new antireflective coating has overcome two major hurdles facing solar energy – boosting the amount of sunlight captured by solar panels and allowing those panels to absorb the entire solar spectrum from nearly any angle. The discovery by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute brings the industry closer to realizing high-efficiency, costeffective solar power.

“To get maximum efficiency when converting solar power into electricity, you want a solar panel that can absorb nearly every single photon of light, regardless of the sun’s position in the sky,” says Shawn-Yu Lin, the Wellfleet Constellation Chair professor of physics at Rensselaer. “Our new antireflective coating makes this possible.”

An untreated silicon solar cell absorbs only 67.4% of the sunlight that hits the panel – meaning that nearly one-third of that sunlight is reflected away and cannot be harvested. From an efficiency and economic perspective, this unharvested light is wasted potential and a major barrier hampering the proliferation and widespread adoption of solar power.

After a silicon surface was treated with the new nanoengineered antireflective coating, the material absorbed 96.2% of sunlight – with only 3 .79% of the sunlight reflected and unharvested. This huge gain in absorption was consistent across the entire spectrum of sunlight, from ultraviolet to visible to infrared.

“At the beginning of the project, we asked ‘would it be possible to create a single antireflective structure that can work from all angles?’ Then we attacked the problem from a fundamental perspective, tested and finetuned our theory, and created a working device,” Lin says.

Typical antireflective coatings are engineered to transmit light of one particular wavelength. The new coating stacks seven of these layers in such a way that each layer enhances the antireflective properties of the layer below it. These additional layers also help to bend the flow of sunlight to an angle that augments the coating’s antireflective properties, so each layer not only transmits sunlight, it also helps to capture any light that may have otherwise been reflected by the layers below it.

The seven layers, each with a height of 50 nm to 100 nm, are made up of silicon dioxide and titanium dioxide nanorods positioned at an oblique angle – each layer looks and functions similar to a dense forest where sunlight is “captured” between the trees. The nanorods are attached to a silicon substrate via physical vapor disposition. Lin says the new coating can be affixed to nearly any photovoltaic materials for use in solar cells, including III-V multi-junction and cadmium telluride.

This layered design successfully tackles the challenge of angles. Most surfaces and coatings are designed to absorb light (i.e., be antireflective) and transmit light (i.e., allow the light to pass through it) from a specific range of angles. Eyeglass lenses, for example, absorb and transmit quite a bit of light from a light source directly in front of them, but those same lenses absorb and transmit considerably less light if the light source is off to the side or in the wearer’s periphery.

The same is true of conventional solar panels, which is why some industrial solar arrays are mechanized to slowly move throughout the day so their panels are perfectly aligned with the sun’s position in the sky. Without this automated movement, the panels would not be optimally positioned and would therefore absorb less sunlight. The tradeoff for this increased efficiency, however, is the energy needed to power the automation system, the cost of maintaining the system, and the possibility of misalignment errors.

Lin’s discovery couìd antiquate these automated solar arrays, as the antireflective coating absorbs sunlight evenly and equally from all angles. This means that a stationary solar panel treated with the coating could absorb more than 95% of sunlight regardless of the position of the sun.

http://www.semiconductor.net/articleXml/LN904593002.html

Jet has successful test flight using 50/50 Biofuel mix December 30, 2008

Looking to reduce its carbon footprint and cut its fuel bill, Air New Zealand on Tuesday tested a passenger jet that was powered partially with oil from a plum-sized fruit known as jatropha.

The airline is the latest carrier to experiment with alternative fuels, partly due to the threat of rising oil prices but also to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from aviation, which are projected to rise by 90 percent by 2020.

Air New Zealand said the two-hour flight from Auckland International Airport was the first to use what are known as second generation biofuels to power an airplane. Second generation biofuels typically use a wider range of plants and release fewer emissions than traditional biofuels like ethanol.

One engine of the Boeing 747-400 airplane was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel.

“Today, we stand at the earliest stages of sustainable fuel development and an important moment in aviation history,” Air New Zealand Chief Executive Rob Fyfe said shortly after the flight.

Along with investing in new technology to replace outdated fleets and new designs that reduce weight and air resistance, the International Air Transport Association says airlines are experimenting with a range of plant materials in an effort to find the jet fuel of the future.

The association, which represents 230 airlines, said it wants 10 percent of aviation fuel to come from biofuels by 2017 as part of a broad climate change plan. Air travel now generates only 2 percent of global carbon emissions that are believed to contribute to global warming, but the industry’s high growth rate has raised concern about future emissions.

“There are very promising biojet fuels, and jatropha is one of them,” association spokesman Anthony Concil said Tuesday, adding that the industry is also looking at switch grass, algae and salt-tolerant plants called halophytes.

Jatropha is a bush with round, plum-like fruit that has been found in parts of South America, Africa and Asia. Seeds from jatropha are crushed to produce a yellowish oil that is refined and mixed with diesel.

Read More: http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/international-33/123064164587580.xml&storylist=international

Air New Zealand to Test first biofuel flight today December 29, 2008

Here is the News Release in full:

WHAT:		The world’s first commercial aviation test flight powered by a sustainable second-generation biofuel will take place today in New Zealand. For media not in attendance, a pre-flight briefing with Chief Pilot Captain David Morgan is available today.
		The Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 will have one of its four Rolls-Royce RB211 engines powered by a biofuel blend derived from a second-generation biofuel plant – Jatropha Curcas.
WHO:		The Air New Zealand test flight is a joint initiative with partners Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Honeywell’s UOP in commercial aviation’s drive for more sustainable air travel for future generations. Captain Morgan will detail the various stages of the flight and the tests that will be undertaken to check the performance of the biofuel blend under a variety of operating conditions.
WHEN:		Please dial in at 1 p.m. PST today, December 29, 2008. The briefing will take approximately 20 minutes.
		USA Toll Free 1866 469 8380
		A replay of the briefing will be available approximately one hour after the completion of the briefing until close of business (NZ time) on January 7, 2009.
		Details as follows:
		International Metered + 61 2 8016 4509
		Passcode 125407#
WHY:		Air New Zealand and its partners have been non-negotiable about the three criteria any environmentally sustainable fuel must meet for the test flight program. These are social, technical and commercial. For more details on these criteria, visit www.airnz.com.

Air New Zealand
Sarah Miller-Reeves, 310-648-7039

Highway Right of Ways show major solar potential December 29, 2008

On both sides of I-15 all one can see is scrub, weeds, debris, and power lines. Highway departments must keep their right of way clear of invasive weeds such as Russian thistle(tumbleweed), cheat grass, etc. Mowing or pesticide spaying operations are the most common methods. Instead of spending all those tax payer dollars trying to control photosynthesis, why don’t we use photosynthesis to create electricity along these highways?

By designing the proper alignment of solar systems along highways, land managers could also funnel wildlife away from dangerous highway crossings and into safe wildlife corridors. In the desert Southwest, miles of small fences are built along highways to protect the desert tortoise from getting killed by cars. Larger structural solar systems could also protect larger animals such as cattle, deer, and antelope. These larger animals also cause many serious accidents and human deaths on our highways.

How much acreage are we talking about? The first estimate to consider is the amount of land that highway departments currently manage. This is a small subset of all right of way highway acreage. Road Ecology: Science and Solutions written by Richard T. Forman in 2002 is a good source of information on managed right of way land along our nations highways.

Forman’s book states that California manages 230,000 acres of right of way on 15,000 miles of highway—about 15 acres per mile of highway. In the US we have about 4 million miles of roads, or 60 million acres of right of way to manage. On many sections of highways in the western US, the highway right of way is contiguous to federal land like the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). By using a small amount of this BLM land, we could easily double the amount of land available for highway solar energy.

Depending on the particular solar technology, one needs 2-4 acres of land to place a 1 megawatt solar power system. So a conservative estimate for US highway solar would be 20 million megawatts of total capacity.

In 2006 the existing US capacity for electricity was about 1 million megawatts. For example, in just the disturbed land along our nation highways, we could have almost 20 times more capacity then currently installed. Here are some energy figures from 2007:

The U.S. electric power industry’s total installed generating capacity was 1,089,807 megawatts (MW) as of December 31, 2007.

Total U.S. electricity generation was 4,159,514 gigawatt-hours (GWh).

The capacity of different power plants will produce different amounts of total electric generation. A coal or natural gas fired plant can run almost all the time. A solar power plant may only average 8 hours a day of energy generation.  So the real effective electric generation for the 20 million megawatts of highway solar capacity would be about 7 million megawatts of full generation capacity. This is 7 times the electricity we currently consume in the US.

In summary, right of way highway solar could be a solution to our nation’s energy needs and could also reduce costs to manage these right of ways. Another benefit would be to help wildlife managers create wildlife corridors for both human and wildlife safety. Let’s preserve our undisturbed public lands by implementing solar technologies on these existing managed lands.

http://cleantechnica.com/2008/12/29/a-new-place-for-solar-energy-highway-right-of-way/

More on Douglas County, OR Mobile Biomass Project December 28, 2008

It’s one thing to come up with a concept and toss it around on the front porch, but it’s even better when you get to scrutinize the real thing up close, take it around the block a few times, see if the wheels fall off before you spend any money on it.

That’s what county officials plan to do next summer, when a biomass project designed to convert forest slash and other wood waste into a No. 3 grade heating oil comes to Douglas County.

The idea of creating biomass projects locally has been largely championed by Douglas County Commissioner Joe Laurance. We commend him for exploring the possibilities and coming up with some interesting ideas.

It is noted that one-third of the wood waste material that can be used for biomass projects in Oregon is found on the forest floors of Douglas County. That creates an opportunity locally that is found in few other places.

“This is ground zero for that,” Laurance said in a story last Sunday by reporter John Sowell.

Laurance said the project will involve the superheating of 5 to 7 tons of woody material per day at a site near Lemolo Lake in eastern Douglas County.

Renewable Oil International told the Douglas County Forest Council recently that a small modular biomass operation can be loaded on a flatbed truck and driven into the forest.

Once there, wood slash is chipped into small pieces and superheated, with each ton of slash capable of producing 157 gallons of bio-oil. It can be used as a heating oil or slightly refined and turned into No. 2 diesel fuel.

A byproduct of the burning process is char, which can be used in applications calling for activated charcoal, briquettes and as home heating pellets, according to the company.

The local test project is going to take place next summer, and it should provide concrete evidence on whether a large-scale facility could provide an economic boon to Douglas County.

That includes jobs, which are in increasingly short supply these days, as well as opportunities for a new revenue stream in Douglas County, with tons and tons of growth potential.

We have the raw material. Renewable Oil International says it has the technology. And this project should provide interesting answers to some good questions.

“If this shows us what we think it will, we think it will be justifiable, perhaps, to invest in the process,” Laurance said.

And first we get to kick the tires. We like this idea, and we’re appreciative of the chance to give it a road test.

http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20081228/STAFFCOLUMNS/812269964/1055&title=Biomass%20project:%20A%20chance%20to%20road%20test%20an%20interesting%20idea

Transparent Solar Windows the new thing in solar December 20, 2008

Solar PV developers have been spending more time on aesthetics recently. They’ve created solar roof tiles that blend in with a building’s roof and now RSi Solar has announced that they’ve designed transparent solar windows.

The photovoltaic windows generate 80 – 250 watts each, depending on the size. What is more impressive are the extra features the windows contain. Besides harnessing the sun’s energy, they reduce heat, which reduces cooling costs and they provide a 100 percent reduction in UV and infrared radiation. They can be customized to include bulletproofing or to meet specific weather or climate needs.

The company claims this new design could result in energy savings of 50 percent based on a recent case study. The company is also working on smart home features like an electrical privacy curtain and the ability for the window to transform into a light panel.

These windows almost seem too good to be true and I can’t wait to see them in action. RSi already has plans to install them in buildings in Las Vegas and Hollywood. Hopefully the technology will trickle down to more everyday buildings soon.

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2391/83/

New System Captures Significantly More Wave Energy December 20, 2008

MIT researchers are working with Portuguese colleagues to design a pilot-scale device that will capture significantly more of the energy in ocean waves than existing systems, and use it to power an electricity-generating turbine.

Wave energy is a large, widespread renewable resource that is environmentally benign and readily scalable. In some locations — the northwestern coasts of the United States, the western coast of Scotland, and the southern tips of South America, Africa and Australia, for example — a wave-absorbing device could theoretically generate 100 to 200 megawatts of electricity per kilometer of coastline. But designing a wave-capture system that can deal with the harsh, corrosive seawater environment, handle hourly, daily and seasonal variations in wave intensity, and continue to operate safely in stormy weather is difficult.

Chiang Mei, the Ford Professor of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been a believer in wave energy since the late 1970s. After the recent oil-price spike, there has been renewed interest in harnessing the energy in ocean waves.

To help engineers design such devices, Professor Mei and his colleagues developed numerical simulations that can predict wave forces on a given device and the motion of the device that will result. The simulations guide design decisions that will maximize energy capture and provide data to experts looking for efficient ways to convert the captured mechanical energy to electrical energy.

Read More: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081216114102.htm

Scientists turn coffee grounds into diesel December 18, 2008

Researchers have reportedly created biodiesel from one of the Northwest’s most common by-products – coffee grounds.

The researchers from the University of Nevada at Reno announced their results in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, according to the New York Times, which added that several hundred million gallons of the diesel could be generated annually.

One of the researchers, Mano Misra, told the Times that the idea started when he “made a coffee one night but forgot to drink it,” recalling how the next morning, he had spotted a layer of oil on the surface. From there, he and his team were off to Starbucks to acquire about 50 pounds of coffee grounds, which reportedly contain up to 15 percent oil by weight.

Up next, the team is planning a pilot operation to gather coffee grounds from a local roasting company. Still, Misra acknowledges that coffee grounds won’t be a cure-all for world energy needs because they only have the potential to fill less than one percent of the nation’s annual diesel demand.

Along with coffee, researchers are working on many different ways to create biofuels, from prairie grasses to corn and even algae. The National Biodiesel Board reports that biodiesel is currently a $24 billion industry that is expected to create up to 40,000 jobs nationwide in the coming years.

http://www.washingtonenergy.com/articles/article/910/scientists-turn-coffee-to-diesel

Camelina based biofuel will get test flight in Boeing jet December 17, 2008

A Japanese commercial airliner is scheduled to take a test flight next month using jet fuel derived in part from camelina – an emerging biofuels crop that has received strong backing from Montana officials.

Camelina is a seed-oil crop that at least two Northern Plains companies are pursuing as a potential source of alternative fuels. Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Montana’s U.S. senators, Max Baucus and Jon Tester, have promoted camelina as a way to lessen U.S. reliance on foreign oil.

Camelina companies have been struggling to reach their goal of converting millions of acres of the region’s farmland to production of the crop. Competition with high prices for wheat made attracting farmers difficult.

Representatives of Bozeman-based Sustainable Oils say they hope the upcoming test flight will show farmers that a market for the crop will exist.

Japan Airlines plans a one-hour flight out of Tokyo on Jan. 30, using a jet fuel blend made from Sustainable Oils camelina, said Scott Johnson, general manager of the company built on a partnership between Targeted Growth of Seattle and Green Earth Fuels of Houston.

“We need to prove that it’s a consistent and good source of renewable fuels for this type of market,” Johnson said. He added that the number of acres devoted to the crop “could be scaled up quickly” to meet demand.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing also is participating in the test project. “Until recently it was assumed the only thing we could ever use was petroleum,” said Darin Morgan, head of Boeing’s sustainable fuels program. “Boeing set out to prove that wrong.”

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/local/story.asp?ID=272650

FERC Approves Licensing and Installation of Hydrokinetic Power Station December 16, 2008

Hydro Green Energy has said that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the licensing and installation of a commercially operational hydrokinetic power station.

The city of Hastings, Minnesota will soon rely on broadly patented technology from Hydro Green Energy to generate clean, emissions-free hydrokinetic power from the Mississippi River.

Hydrokinetic power refers to the generation of electricity from moving water without impoundments or diversionary structures that are typically used at conventional hydropower facilities. Hydro Green Energy’s technology operates in open rivers, tidal areas and oceans.

Wayne Krouse, chairman and CEO of Hydro Green Energy, said: “The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has made history with the Hastings order. Hydro Green Energy fully applauds all of the commissioners for their leadership, as well as their commitment to ensuring that the US enjoys a cleaner and more secure energy future.”

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/2884217

Unique Towers Could Be Urban Answer to Wind Turbines December 16, 2008

Wind power has so far been relegated to areas off-shore and rural, but a Cleveland State University professor wants urban centers to be able to join in on the fun too. Dr. Majid Rashidi has designed a helical wind tower that can harness wind from atop city buildings.

The spiraling towers, outfitted with miniature turbines at each spire, are expected to have a power generation ratio of 4:1, which would power the tower itself as well as contribute power to businesses, hospitals, schools or residential buildings.

While turbines are still the most efficient technology for harnessing wind, these towers would allow wind power to be generated in places where large, open space isn’t available and could help bring renewable energy to where large populations live. One of the major drawbacks of wind power has been the transfer of energy from rural areas to populated areas. These towers allow electricity to be generated onsite, which is usually far more efficient.

Dr. Rashidi stresses that the towers aren’t a replacement for turbines, only a way to complement them in urban settings.

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2388/86/

Douglas County, OR to convert forest slash and wood waste into heating oil December 14, 2008

Douglas County plans to set up a test project next summer to convert forest slash and other wood waste into a No. 3 grade heating oil, Douglas County Commissioner Joe Laurance told members of the Douglas Timber Operators on Thursday.

Speaking at a breakfast meeting, Laurance said the project would involve the superheating of 5 to 7 tons of woody material per day at a site near Lemolo Lake in eastern Douglas County.

The project would utilize a process described to Laurance and other members of the Douglas County Forest Council during a meeting in September. At that time, Philip Badger, president of Renewable Oil International, explained how a small modular plant could be loaded onto a flatbed truck and taken out into the forest.

The wood waste would be chipped into small, thumbnail-sized pieces and mixed with heated steel shot placed into a heated chamber. The biomass then is heated to 1,000 degrees within a second and the resulting gases are then used to further heat the chamber, which is initially heated by propane.

Each ton of slash produces 157 gallons of bio-oil, the equivalent of nearly four barrels of oil. It could then be used as heating oil or refined slightly to a No. 2 diesel fuel.

The conversion process also produces 500 pounds of char per ton of slash. That material can be used in applications calling for activated charcoal, charcoal briquettes or as home heating pellets with twice the energy of traditional wood pellets.

One-third of the biomass material available in Oregon is located in Douglas County, according to state foresters.

“This is ground zero for that,” Laurance said.

One of the biggest hindrances for large-scale biomass projects has been the high cost of transporting slash materials to a processing plant. In most cases, it’s not feasible because of the long distance between the source of the material and the processing plant.

The portable system was tested in a two-year pilot program at a chicken farm outside Huntsville, Ala. Badger’s company converted the waste of 264,000 chickens into bio-oil that was used to warm the poultry houses on the farm.

“If this shows us what we think it will, we think it will be justifiable, perhaps, to invest in the process,” Laurance said.

Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation, including Sen. Ron Wyden and Reps. Peter DeFazio and Greg Walden, have expressed interest in the project, Laurance said.

http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20081214/NEWS/812129865/1063/NEWS&ParentProfile=1055&title=Biomass%20test%20project%20scheduled

More on Advanced biodigester to be built in Boardman, OR December 13, 2008

NW Natural is partnering with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) and Threemile Canyon Farms, LLC (TMCF) to build a first-of-its-kind biodigester. This initial Smart Energy project will be built and operated at TMCF in Boardman, Ore. The design, patented by J-U-B ENGINEERS, Inc. out of Kennewick, Wash., will be the first phase in a multiphase project and employs a technology that could be implemented at farms of all sizes throughout the region.

“The economic benefits of this type of project are exactly what we hope to encourage across the state, and especially in Oregon agriculture” said Gov. Ted Kulongoski. “By encouraging the use of tax credits for innovative investments like these, we are demonstrating ways we can help businesses and consumers address climate change and global warming.”

This biodigester investment is also the first project funded by the newly incorporated BEF Renewable Incorporated, a for-profit business that is a wholly owned subsidiary of the nonprofit Bonneville Environmental Foundation. The subsidiary business allows investment of foundation dollars in innovative renewable energy projects, which also support the environmental mission of the nonprofit parent organization.
“We’re trying something new here to produce a renewable fuel source, while also reducing methane emissions,” said Margie Gardner, CEO of Bonneville Environmental Foundation.   “This is a design that holds promise for widespread use.”

Work will begin on the biodigester by the end of the year and should be fully operational by mid-March. At that point, waste from 1,200 cows – roughly 144,000 lbs. a day, will be added to the biodigester instead of being left on the farm. The first phase of the biodigester will reduce carbon emissions by 1,500 tons which equals the emissions from the natural gas use of more than 400 homes. While the biogas is to be used on site by Threemile Canyon Farms, it would be enough gas to supply about 102 homes.
The innovative design overcomes one of the biggest challenges for on-farm anaerobic digester development – namely, cost.  Historically, the initial investment to construct a biodigester has been daunting for most dairy farms, especially those using flush systems common among western dairies.

J-U-B’s design incorporates a lined and covered lagoon that eliminates the need for the more standard high-priced concrete or steel tanks.  The covered lagoon is filled with discarded automobile tires which trap and retain bacteria from the cow manure.  In the treatment process, the retained bacteria break down the manure and convert it into methane-rich biogas, a renewable energy source.  This process significantly improves the treatment efficiency of the system, making it a more cost-effective design.
Threemile Canyon Farms produces 1.1 million pounds of milk a day, all of which is shipped to Tillamook’s Columbia River Processing Plant in Boardman for processing and distribution. The farm grows approximately 5,000 acres of organic onions, potatoes, sweet peas and feed crops, along with approximately 20,000 acres of conventional potatoes and feed crops.

http://portland.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=172739&type_news=latest

Oregon’s largest dairy testing a new methane digester technology December 12, 2008

Oregon’s largest dairy will test a new generation of technology that captures methane from cow manure — tapping an underused energy source and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

NW Natural and Bonneville Environmental Foundation are building the $1 million methane digester at Threemile Canyon Farms in Boardman.

Methane digesters are not new, but Bill Eddie of the foundation said the model developed by J-U-B Engineers of Boise, Idaho, costs much less and can be used on small farms as well as big ones.

That means small farms wouldn’t have the expense of trucking heavy manure to a central facility. Instead, they could have their own digesters and pipe excess gas to a collection spot.

Unlike older digesters that rely on concrete and steel to build the manure holding basin, the new design contours the earth and lines the basin with plastic. The covered basin is filled with old tires, which serve as a matrix for bacteria that break down the manure, allowing the methane to be drawn off for use as fuel.

The utility and the environmental group get half the capital costs back as state energy tax credits spread over five years. NW Natural can sell carbon offsets to its 6,300 Smart Energy customers, who make up about 1 percent of its customer base. The dairy can substitute the methane for propane to heat water that is used to clean milking parlors.

Agriculture accounts for about a third of the methane released into the atmosphere in the U.S. Other sources include landfills, coal mining, and oil and gas refineries. It is considered the No. 2 greenhouse gas contributing to global warming, after carbon dioxide.

Oregon is one of the seven western states and four Canadian provinces that have signed the Western Climate Initiative to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the region by 15 percent by 2020.

The Threemile Canyon equipment is scheduled to go on line in March.

“It’s a risky project,” said Eddie. “Every piece of the revenue stream is going to be important.”

Farm manager Marty Myers said the digester fits the dairy’s existing manure handling operation and easily be expanded if the test works out. The methane could ultimately power the refrigeration units that cool milk.

Threemile Canyon Farms employs 300 people full time and 400 seasonally. The farm milks 16,000 cows on a farm covering 93,000 acres. Until now, the manure has been held in a lagoon and sprayed on the farm’s 37,000 acres of farmland growing feed for the cows.

The digester will handle the manure from 1,200 cows, each producing an estimated 120 pounds of manure a day — for a total of about 144,000 pounds a day.

Once technology is ready to remove impurities, NW Natural expects to use digester methane in its pipelines, said spokesman Bill Edmonds. Methane is the main component of natural gas.

Stephanie Page, renewable energy specialist for the Oregon Department of Agriculture, said methane digesters are coming into increasing use in Oregon. Two are working on diary waste in Tillamook and Salem, and others are in municipal waste. A fruit processing company outside Corvallis is developing one.

http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-28/1229040870144480.xml&storylist=orlocal

researchers test new above ocean wind turbine design December 9, 2008

At the University of Maine’s Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, researchers are designing, manufacturing and testing windmill blades and towers in search of a solution.

Habib Dagher, director of the center, said he is working with a number of companies on developing wind turbine technology that is suitable for conditions that are found where waters are hundreds of feet deep, out of sight from land. Out there, waves can swell 40 feet high and winds can roar at 80 mph or more.

First, Dagher said, such a wind turbine must be big – a 300-foot tower from the water to the hub of the turbine with blades that are 200 feet long. By comparison, land-based windmills are typically about 240 feet tall with 130-foot blades.

It also must be strong, because of the powerful offshore winds and waves – even the threat of hurricanes. And to cut down on maintenance, it must resist corrosion associated with an ocean environment.

Inside a warehouse testing center, Dagher is overseeing testing of wind blades made of fiberglass, balsa wood and carbon fiber. The balsa makes the blade light, the carbon fiber is stronger than steel, and the lack of metal significantly reduces corrosion.

For the turbine tower, Dagher’s research is focusing on composite materials and new manufacturing techniques so they can be built on site – out at sea – eliminating the need to build unwieldy and heavy structures on land and then transport them 20 miles or more offshore.

Testing is centered on inflatable towers that are injected with resin and filled with a low-cost substance like concrete. Similar structures are also being tested for bridge construction.

Deep-water energy farms are years or even a decade or more away, but Dagher is convinced they’re an answer to the nation’s future energy needs.

“What we’re looking at are long-term solutions for this country,” he said.

http://www.theolympian.com/business/wire/story/692779.html

Electric car line designed and to be manufactured in Portland December 9, 2008

After three years of quietly designing prototypes, Porteon Electric Vehicles Inc. wants to raise $15 million to begin production of a lineup of electric cars.

With volatile gas prices and frenzied consumer demand for green products, CEO Ken Montler said the company’s potential is enormous.

“We will not be limited by sales, but by how fast we want to crank up manufacturing” said Montler from the company’s unmarked office in Northwest Portland.

Whether manufacturing will happen in Portland, however, remains an open question.

The company wants to make its cars here, but Montler said local officials, such as Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Mayor-elect Sam Adams, remain focused on attracting Asian automakers at the expense of local companies.

Meanwhile, Porteon is being wooed by other states, as well as Mexico. The opportunities to manufacture elsewhere could be too good to pass up.

“We want to assemble in Portland,” Montler said. “Everybody wants us to move.”

Montler doesn’t want to compete with General Motors, Toyota, or other traditional automakers building highway-friendly electric vehicles.

Porteon’s vehicles, which will retail for around $10,000, are designed for 35 mph speed limits and get about 40 miles per charge, making them more useful as secondary vehicles.

Montler, a former executive of Gem Electric Motorcars, said the vehicles are designed to serve urban communities. He said 75 percent of all vehicle trips are short jaunts to the grocery story or other neighborhood destinations.

http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/12/08/story6.html?b=1228712400^1743054

Algae could be next hot biofuel December 8, 2008

The Boeing Co. and other aerospace companies and airlines are betting algae, a simple organism that comes in hundreds of strains that can be genetically modified, will prove a green fuel to power jet planes. It also could be blended into diesel and gasoline and, perhaps one day, it could actually replace petroleum-based diesel and gasoline.

As the infant industry organizes, algae needs to make its case for the same tax breaks, market incentives, loans and research and development backing that other biofuel sectors already have. Though corn and soybean growers have long lobbied in Washington, D.C., the Algal Biomass Organization is a new kid on the block.

On Monday, Dec. 8, the organization will meet in the nation’s capital to discuss how to convince Congress and the incoming administration that algae is much more than the film on the inside of your fish tank or the scum blooming in the neighborhood pond.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/705069.html

Coos Bay, OR pair push wind turbine project December 6, 2008

Mary Geddry was one of Ric Morrisonn’s most loyal customers when he opened a restaurant in downtown Coos Bay in 2007. Geddry stopped in two or three times a week.

The restaurant eventually failed, but thanks to Geddry, Morrisonn has found another endeavor to occupy his time — starting an energy revolution.

It all started one day when Geddry told Morrisonn she had come up with a design for a new kind of wind turbine. She told him it would be extremely efficient, capable of operating in gusty winds and have a built-in generator.

“If it was just another windmill, I probably wouldn’t have been interested,” he said. “But I was intrigued by how revolutionary a concept it was.”

By the time Posto Bella closed in May, Morrisonn had set up a new company, Vaiyu Turbine Technologies, to create a prototype.

They hope to have it completed before February. Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative has said it would help test early models.

If customers appear, the two have plans to lease a property in Coos Bay to manufacture the turbines.

Their hope is to see the wind turbine installed on buildings up and down the coast, generating power locally instead of relying on distant utility companies for energy.

“The idea is to help rural areas where local folks can make a living,” said Morrisonn.

http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2008/12/06/news/doc493a439f7cc8f976728809.txt

Vestas Wind announces plans to expand in Portland December 4, 2008

Vestas Wind Systems, the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, said Monday it plans to expand its North American headquarters in Portland by increasing its work force in the city from about 350 employees to at least 1,200 and building a roughly 500,000 square-foot office.

The city offered Vestas $12.5 million in incentives in hopes the wind farm developer would expand its Portland operations and build a $250 million facility, Portland Mayor-elect Sam Adams said.

Vestas is expected to add 850 white-collar jobs to its Portland work force under the deal, and build on the city’s south waterfront.

Adams added, however, that the city’s agreement with the Danish wind farm developer is not a done deal. The city and Vestas will have to agree on a specific site in Portland and the state must decide the financial incentives it will provide Vestas, he said.

“This is an agreement with Vestas,” Adams said. “It’s a nonbinding agreement.”

http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2008/12/02/news/doc49356c261716e071300343.txt?redirect=y

Editorial: Tidal energy begs for a pilot project November 21, 2008

After eight years of little progress in exploring energy alternatives to fossil fuels, the U.S. may soon begin full-scale research and development of things like tidal and wave-powered electric turbines. Coastal leaders and citizens must have prominent places at the table when these decisions are made.

So what sort of changes might this bring to our shores? An absence of ready answers is at the heart of the problem. So far, making electricity from waves and tides lacks solid information about exactly how such turbines will survive rough maritime conditions and how they will interact with fish, birds and marine mammals.

To begin filling this knowledge vacuum, private and academic researchers are starting to look intently at waters all around us. Reedsport looks likely to host the nation’s first commercial wave-energy park within the next two years. Another small experimental facility is currently under development off the northwest Washington coast. Nationwide, 200 tidal and wave projects already have been or are awaiting preliminary permitting, including many on the West Coast.

Here is the whole editorial:http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=392&ArticleID=56147&TM=19368.21