Time for another trip to the world of renewable energy. The last diary I wrote generated a great deal of debate and landed on the rec list. Of course, I did blame everyone for the oil spill, which caused a few angry comments. But, I think there was also a pretty good debate on our use of oil and how it has resulted in creating a climate where such disasters can occur. With that, let's talk about energy.
Wind energy has proven to be an impressive job producer in Texas:
A new study shows that wind energy has produced 10,000 jobs in Texas... and new infrastructure to carry more power could add another 40,000+ jobs to the Lone Star State.
North American Windpower reports that the Perryman Group economic study, which comes as the American Wind Energy Association gets ready to host Windpower 2010 in Dallas next week, shows the jobs for which wind is already responsible and the prospect of jobs that would be created building new transmission lines under the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) proposal approved by the Public Utility Commission (PUC).
In addition, the construction & development of CREZ would create $1.6 billion in state revenues and $329 million in local revenues.
Any NASCAR fans? Well, if so, you've heard of Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania. Pocono is going green:
EDF Energies Nouvelles Company has confirmed the start of construction on the 3 MW photovoltaic array at Pocono Raceway Solar Project. enXco will design and construct the project and then turn it over to Pocono Raceway upon completion.
The Pocono Raceway Solar Project will be constructed along Long Pond Road on approximately 25 acres of land. The solar system, expected to generate clean electricity for the raceway later this summer, will consist of nearly 40,000 photovoltaic modules and reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 2,370 tons annually.
The new solar energy system will become the primary electric energy source for the race track and will also benefit the local power grid. With the deregulation of Pennsylvania’s electric utility laws allowing more flexibility on power purchases, the track found there is no better time to upgrade their facility.
New solar investment continues in the Southwest:
SunEdison has reached agreement with Weingarten Realty Investors, a real estate investment trust, for the deployment of up to 10 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) solar power plants in Arizona and New Mexico.
By leasing space on Weingarten's rooftops SunEdison will install and operate solar energy systems that will allow Weingarten to convert underused roof space into a source of new revenue. Once a system is operational, Weingarten Realty Investors will purchase the energy for common areas or allow their tenants to purchase power generated through the program at or below average retail energy rates.
The U.S. military is getting a new solar-powered gadget:
HP has started the development of a next-generation wristwatch for the U.S. Military. The wristwatch called "Dick Tracy" may eliminate the need for soldiers to carry backup batteries and cumbersome technological gear.
Beside these, according to the company, the watch will be equipped with a flexible display that shows maps and other strategic information to soldiers in remote combat fields.
Also, the watch’s screen will run on solar energy, being made of plastic. In this case the chances that it to remain out of power in a tensed scenario are less. HP plans to unveil a prototype within a year. Carl Taussig, director of information surfaces at HP Labs in Palo Alto, California said for the beginning that the U.S. military will use this prototype with a small group of soldiers, before deciding whether to expand its use of the technology.
There have been some pretty interesting developments on the hydrogen vehicle front. First, an east coast hydrogen highway:
Proton Energy Systems in Wallingford broke ground last week on the first connection of its planned Hydrogen Highway, a network of nine stations stretching from Maine to Miami where hydrogen cars can be refueled.
The Hydrogen Highway spearheads the company’s effort to create an East Coast market for cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells and, therefore, boosting the need for Proton Energy’s products that create hydrogen out of water.
Auto manufacturers are targeting 2015 as the year most of the models will go on sale, Serfass said, but that depends on whether they believe a market exists for the cars.
For more on what a hydrogen vehicle infrastructure could look like, check out this article.
Hydrogen has always been a promising possible fuel source, because hydrogen vehicles are zero emission vehicles. The only carbon dioxide emitted into the environment comes from the creation of the hydrogen, which usually is accomplished with natural gas. This project is more promising because all the SunHydro stations would use Proton Energy equipment that creates hydrogen out of water using solar power, eliminating carbon dioxide emissions completely.
Another promising development on the hydrogen front came from the trucking industry:
Over a year ago I talked about Asemblon’s plans to introduce Hydrnol, a hydrogen rich liquid chemical carrier that can be used to produce pure hydrogen and that is easily transported and recycled. Now, I’ve learned that the two companies have teamed up in order to establish a nationwide hydrogen refueling infrastructure for trucks. In fact, Vision Industries has signed an agreement in an exclusive licensing agreement to sell Hydrnol to the trucking industry from coast to coast.
Vision and Asemblon don’t see the rollout of a nationwide hydrogen trucking infrastructure anywhere as daunting as one aimed a passenger cars. According to Vision, "While that may be the case for an infrastructure rollout for fuel cell passenger vehicles, Vision looks at the big rig market from a different perspective. In 2006, the U.S. consumed 180.2 billion gallons of transportation fuels, of which 23.8 billion gallons (or 13.2-percent) were diesel consumed by combination highway trucks. There are approximately 1,200 diesel truck stops in the U.S., with Pilot Travel Center and Flying J established as the two largest truck stop chains, each utilizing approximately 300 stations to cover the U.S. from coast-to-coast and border-to-border.
The pairing of these two partners may not be perfect but it’s pretty close. Vision Industries needs a hydrogen solution for propelling long haul trucks 650 miles at highway speeds before refueling and Hydrnol provides this. Asemblon needs a commitment from a major hydrogen vehicle maker in order to manufacture, distribute and recycle its product and Vision Industries provides this.
Ford is adding jobs in Michigan, & they're green:
Over the next few years Ford will add almost 200 new, green jobs in Michigan that will focus on next generation hybrid and electric vehicles, particularly battery pack and transmission assembly.
Certainly a few hundred new jobs is welcome news in recession-slammed Michigan, but such jobs could be just the beginning of a manufacturing revolution in Michigan, if consumers quickly accept battery-powered vehicles.
Regardless, the new plant will soon assemble lithium-ion battery packs for new Ford hybrid and EVs. Unfortunately, however, Ford did not provide any details regarding which hybrid and electric vehicles will use the new battery packs, nor did Ford offer any production estimates.
3 New Jersey malls have gone green:
Developers Diversified, an international shopping mall owner-operator has installed solar power arrays on the roofs of three large malls in New Jersey, the company announced today. Projects at the Nassau Park Pavilion in Princeton, Hamilton Marketplace in Hamilton, and Route 22 Retail Center in Union were activated between December 2009 and February 2010.
The New Jersey projects use over 143,000 square feet of available roof space and will generate approximately 1.4 million kilowatts solar energy in their first full year of operation.
Developers Diversified, based in Beachwood, Ohio, entered into a partnership last year with solar energy services provider, SunEdison of Beltsville, Maryland. SunEdison plans to install solar energy systems at over 200 Developers Diversified shopping centers throughout the United States.
9 wind energy projects are coming to North America, 6 of them in the United States. They are:
Hardscrabble Wind Project in Fairfield, NY: 37 Gamesa 2-MW wind turbines. In addition, Mortenson will build access roads, turbine foundations, an operations building, and a meteorological tower.
Elm Creek II Wind Project in Jackson, MN: 62 Mitsubishi 2.4-MW wind turbines.
Nobles Wind Project in MN: 134 GE 1.5-MW wind turbines for the 201-MW project. Mortenson also is installing 33 miles of access roads, 86 miles of collection system, 134 foundations, a switchyard to feed an existing substation, and an operations and maintenance facility.
Goshen North Wind Project in Idaho Falls, ID: 83 GE 1.5-MW wind turbines. This 125.5-MW project also includes the installation of 28 miles of access roads, 37 miles of underground collection, seven miles of 161-kV transmission line, a project substation, interconnect substation, and an operations and maintenance facility.
Penascal II Wind Project in Sarita, TX: 201.6-MW project.
Linden Wind Farm in Goldendale, WA: 50-MW wind farm.
A huge wind farm is under construction south of the border:
Spanish wind turbine builder Gamesa and San Diego wind farm developer Cannon Power Group have teamed up to start building a wind farm South of the Border to supply clean power to a quarter of a million households in both California and Mexico from 500 MW of power by 2015. Cannon says the site’s potential capacity is ultimately 1,000 MW.
The location’s wind production peaks when demand for electricity is highest; from mid-afternoon to early evening. Typically wind production peaks at low demand hours.
Cannon and Gamesa have signed a 10-year exclusivity agreement and will collaborate on further wind farms that Cannon has plans to develop in Baja California (Mexico) with Gamesa supplying some development assistance and the wind turbines.
The project is just 60 miles south of San Diego, but because it is in Mexico, there is no where near as much regulatory red tape to work through. Also, the turbines for the project will be built in Gamesa’s two U.S. manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania, employing 1,000 people in the U.S.
The Great Lakes are is finally getting wind energy development:
GE and Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) of Northern Ohio recently announced a long-term partnership beginning with the development of the first fresh water offshore wind farm in the US and involving a broad range of other initiatives. Under the new partnership GE will provide direct-drive wind turbines to LEEDCo's 20 megawatt offshore wind project in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie. The announcement was made at the American Wind Energy Association's annual Windpower Conference in Dallas.
To kick off the collaboration with LEEDCo, GE has committed to providing offshore wind turbines and maintenance services for an initial 20-megawatt wind farm. Upon its completion, targeted for late 2012, this project would be located off the shores of Lake Erie, near Cleveland, Ohio. This would be followed by subsequent projects with a long-term goal of 1,000 megawatts in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie by 2020.
At the core of the Lake Erie Project is GE's next generation wind turbine, a 4-megawatt machine designed specifically for offshore deployment. As the largest wind turbine in GE's fleet, it will incorporate direct-drive technology gained through GE's acquisition of ScanWind. The 4-megawatt wind turbine will feature GE's innovative advanced loads controls and aeroelastically tailored blade technology. In addition to collaborating on the initial 20-megawatt project, GE and LEEDCo say they will create a strategic plan to identify opportunities for cost reduction to make offshore wind energy in the Great Lakes economically and politically viable.
And finally, after a hiatus, poo is back:
A research paper published by the American Chemical Society indicates that biodiesel production from municipal sewage is tantalizingly close (within several pennies) of being profitable. Although kind of disgusting, few would argue there isn’t a tremendous, renewable supply of the stuff. Nor would they say that every municipality doesn’t already have its’ own sources.
One of the main issues with turning poop into fuel is simply how to make it cost effective. One might assume that with really what amounts to a surplus of raw material, that production costs shouldn’t be much of an issue. The paper cites $3.11 per gallon as the production cost for sewage to biodiesel conversion. To be competitive in the marketplace, the study authors say the cost must be the same as petroleum diesel. Their competitive diesel figure is $3 per gallon, so eleven cents isn’t a long way to go.
What makes sewage sludge so good for biodiesel production? Energy-containing lipids like monoglycerides, phospholipids, free fatty acids, triglycerides, and diglycerides are found in great quantities in it. Also, the microbes used in sewage treatment contain lipids that can yield from 7% to 36% oil. And it’s not just the quantity of lipids, it’s the type; the study authors say that the particular lipids found in sewage could produce a very high quality biodiesel. The paper cites another study which found that if 50% of municipal wastewater treatment plants used lipid extraction, and chemical conversion, about 1.8 billion gallons of biodiesel could be produced annually.
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