Alternative Energy Links

Norway has continued to live up to its clean energy reputation by publishing its first annual report on the Clean Energy for Development Initiative.  This details nearly $130m worth of funds spent by the Norwegian Government on clean energy projects across the developing world in 2008-9, double the amount budgeted by USAID for a variety of issues including clean energy aid.

Key to the initiative's approach has been the electrification of small villages in remote areas and over 44% of the money has been spent on building transmission and distribution infrastructure.  The largest type of generation deployed has been hydroelectric, with 15% of expenditure going on these projects, some of which have been large scale but many of which have been small and localised.

Other forms of generation considered include wind, geothermal and biomass, each depending upon the particular needs of the country and neighbourhood within which the initiative is operating.  Rather pointedly, the report states that it spent 0% of its money on power generation from non-renewable sources.

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From an article by Jaime Hunt in The Northwestern, Oshkosh:

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is installing its first solar energy systems to provide the campus with electricity and hot water. This is the first wave of solar power installations that will soon be commonplace on the campus.

A photovoltaic array has been installed on a popular walkway adjacent to the campus tennis courts. The 2.9-kilowatt system slowly adjusts position to track the sun as it moves from east to west and as it rises and falls in the sky. The system was installed by Appleton Solar and funded as a State of Wisconsin Energy Conservation Project with support from Focus on Energy and Wisconsin Public Service.

Water will be heated by 120 solar panels being installed on the rooftops of four buildings to serve a wide range of needs. Blackhawk Commons will generate hot water for food service and dishwashers. Hot water for showers will be provided in Taylor Hall. Albee Hall solar collectors will heat an indoor swimming pool. The campus Heating Plant will pre-heat water used to generate steam and heat campus buildings. These solar systems will replace natural gas or coal-based heat.

The Solar Thermal Energy Systems are being installed and maintained by H&H Energy Services of Madison. Funding is through a State Solar Energy Agreement that allows the systems to be owned privately by Regenesis Power of California, who will then sell the heat to UW Oshkosh at a set cost. Focus on Energy is also providing financial incentives.

New construction and refurbishment projects at UW Oshkosh are planning to add more solar power in the future.

“University buildings have long lives, so it makes sense to build them with solar power upgrades in mind and to install the systems that are affordable today,” said Michael Lizotte, UW Oshkosh director of sustainability.

In the first emissions trading to be introduced outside of Europe, the New Zealand government has just launched a cap and trade system to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 10 and 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, UPI is reporting.

New Zealand imports most of its oil, but nearly half of the emissions are agricultural, due to the volume of exports from the isolated nation, and they have increased by 25 percent over the last 20 years.

Its nearest neighbor is Australia, but much of its trading is much further away, with the EU. New Zealand has long been a land of sheep farmers, and with an economy of only 4 some million people, has a very high carbon footprint in shipping its products to customers far overseas. When you factor in the carbon footprint of ocean transport, not just exporting, but also, importing, New Zealand is actually not as green as its reputation.

And now, with oil giants like Petrobras nosing around the island nation for an off-shore killing, the announcement is timely.
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Researchers have found a feasible way to turn wet algal biomass directly into biodiesel.

Biodiesel Magazine reports that University of Michigan scientists have published a paper on a two-step hydrolysis-solvolysis process that eliminates costly biomass drying, organic solvent extraction and catalysts:

In the first step, wet algal biomass contained 80 percent moisture and was reacted with subcritical water to hydrolyze intracellular lipids, conglomerate cells into an easily filterable solid that retained the lipids and produced a sterile, nutrient-rich aqueous phase. In the second step, the wet, fatty acid-rich solids underwent supercritical transesterification with ethanol to produce fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs). The team used Chlorella vulgaris algae, which contained 53.3 percent lipid content.

The research yielded promising results, Savage added, but the project is anticipated to be refined and optimized in order for to demonstrate greater economic and environmental feasibility of the process on a larger scale.

The researchers say more work will need to be done to improve the yields and cut down on inputs.

Make your plans now to attend the free Alternative Fuel Trade Alliance Workshop, Thursday, Sept. 9, at the Crowne Plaza in Denver, Colo.

Sponsored by our friends at the Renewable Fuels Association, the National Biodiesel Board, the Clean Vehicle Education Foundation and the Propane Education & Research Council, this one-day event promises to be a must-attend event for a wide range of alternative fuel users, producers and marketers:

This training seminar will cover alternative fuel quality, infrastructure, available vehicles, safety, and environmental impact of propane, ethanol, biodiesel, and compressed natural gas. Attendees will include fleet managers, petroleum marketers, policy makers, fuel station owners, and media.

To register and for more information, check the alliance's website, www.altfuelsalliance.org, or contact Julie Puckett at julie@thesales.net or 703-675-0520.

A Florida company is trying to win a $250,000 grant from Pepsi to bring alternative fuels to the Gulf Coast region.

Pura-Vida-Ventures is an independent company based in Sarasota that has a proposal in to Pepsi for a share in $1.3 million they are offering to fund ideas that “refresh the Gulf.” Their concept is to convert a closed gas station into a community resource center, offer biodiesel and ethanol blends, then add electric, hydrogen, or CNG/LPG and offset energy consumption by using solar panels and wind.

We will create an Alternative (to petroleum) Oasis. It becomes a “community center” by offering information and access to a product mix that is unavailable in the marketplace. It will become the local resource for green/eco products and services. It will utilize solar panels to decrease energy consumption, harvest rainwater to diminish its use onsite, and be surrounded by lush native landscaping. The market will engage its customers by offering services such as local volunteer information, educational presentations, and encourage local buying habits.

You can vote for the Pura-Vida plan here and find out more on their Facebook page.

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy have teamed up to hand out some research awards to designed to improve and accelerate genetics in plants for bioenergy production.

This USDA release says the announcement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Energy Secretary Steven Chu will make $8.9 million available:

“Cost-effective, sustainable biofuels are crucial to building a clean energy economy,” said Secretary Chu. “By harnessing the power of science and technology, this joint effort between DOE and USDA will help accelerate research in the critical area of plant feedstocks, spurring the creation of the domestic bio-industry while creating jobs and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”

The research grants will be awarded under a joint DOE-USDA program focused on fundamental investigations of biomass genomics, with the aim of harnessing lignocellulosic materials–i.e., nonfood plant fiber–for biofuels production. Emphasis is on perennials, including trees and other nonfood plants that can be used as dedicated biofuel crops. Since such crops tend to require less intensive production practices and can grow on somewhat poorer quality land than food crops, they will be a critical element in a strategy of sustainable biofuels production that avoids competition with crops grown for food. Combining DOE's leadership in genome-scale technologies with USDA's long experience in crop improvement will help accelerate development of such specialized crops and improve their effectiveness as feedstocks for biofuels production.

The Energy Department will be handing out $6.9 million for seven projects across the country and USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture will give $2 million for two projects in Illinois and Texas.

By the end of the year, Canadians will be using more ethanol in their fuel. According to The Epoch Times, regulations were finaized by the government yesterday requiring that all gasoline must contain 5% biofuels starting December 15.

“Regulating renewable fuel content in gasoline is just one of several steps the Government is taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector, which account for about a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Environment Minister Jim Prentice in a statement.

This regulation is part of a strategy by the government to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.

“Support for renewable fuels is support for farmers, rural communities and our economy,” said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz in a statement. “This is a vital step in generating new market opportunities for our farmers and maximizing Canada’s high quality resources to produce food and fuel for the world.”

Chuck and Joanna have been giving you some great coverage of Farm Progress Show from Boone, Iowa here on Domestic Fuel and over at AgWired.com. It only seems fitting that the country's premier farm show is being powered by Iowa-based biodiesel producer Renewable Energy Group (REG). And in the same tradition of having a cold beer after a long day at Farm Progress (I understand that maybe one or two have been consumed during the time in Boone, Iowa), REG is playing a major role in a beer tour throughout the Midwest.

New Belgium Brewing of Ft. Collins, Colo. recently called on biodiesel producer Renewable Energy Group of Ames, Iowa to provide sustainable, clean-burning B100 to power the Midwest portion of the brewing company’s renowned thirteen-city, national bicycle festival.

“New Belgium has made a commitment to using biodiesel made from sustainable sources like waste oils, fats and greases in order to help reduce our corporate carbon footprint by at least 25 percent. We are pleased that we can continue that commitment by burning Iowa-produced biodiesel produced from another industry’s waste stream,” stated tour impresario Matt Kowal, who works at the brewery year ‘round producing the festival and emceeing its 13 stops (this year) around the country.

Now that's something you can truly raise a cold one to.

A California-based producer of renewable oil from algae production products is getting ready to ship a system that uses a single step to get the oil out of the green pond scum to one of its customers down under.

OriginOil, Inc. has notified Australian MBD Energy Limited that it is ready to ship a Single-Step Extraction™ System (seen in the video below), a cheaper method of algae-oil extraction that eliminates the use of petrochemicals or alcohol solvents and is the second product to be delivered in its multi-phase commercialization agreement:

OriginOil Extracts Oil from Algae Timelapse from OriginOil on Vimeo.

“We believe OriginOil’s concentration and extraction technology holds promise of reducing costs and energy requirements in the algae harvesting process,” said Andrew Lawson, Managing Director at MBD Energy Ltd. “We look forward to now using the equipment we’ve purchased from OriginOil to finalize preparations for our 1 hectare Bio CCS algal synthesizer test facility we’re about to construct at Tarong Power Station in Queensland. If performance tests go to plan we expect to later expand the 1 hectare synthesizer to 80 hectares at which point we hope to produce approximately 10,000 tonnes of oil per year.”

OriginOil’s unit is the second product to be shipped in the test phase of a multi-phase commercialization program under which OriginOil has agreed to supply MBD Energy with progressively larger installations of its algae-to-oil technology as the scale of MBD’s algal synthesizer projects grows. The two products are supplied under a 1 year lease-to-own program. Subject to achieving success in the initial test phase, MBD will purchase significantly larger systems to serve its power station projects in Australia, beginning with the 1 hectare algal synthesizer test plant at Tarong Power Station in South Eastern Queensland, and potentially expanding to full production at all three of MBD’s power station project sites in Australia.

MBD Energy officials say that each of its power station projects can grow 80 hectare commercial pilot plants for algae, each capable of producing about 3 million gallons of oil that can be used for renewable energy and plastics, as well as producing 25,000 tonnes of animal feed each year. Furthermore, the plants could eventually be expanded to 1,500 hectares each, feeding the the algae with the power station's flue-gas emissions.

BP Biofuels is now the official proud owner of Verenium's cellulosic biofuels business. The companies announced the closing today of the $98.3 million transaction announced on July 15, 2010.

Under the sale, BP acquires the Jennings, LA biofuel pilot plant and the demonstration facility, as well as the San Diego R&D facilities. BP also receives Vereniums cellulosic biofuels and enzyme technologies and related IP. Verenium retains its commercial enzyme business, including its biofuels enzymes products and has the right to develop its own lignocellulosic enzyme program. Verenium will also retain select R&D capabilities, as well as rights to access select biofuels technology developed by BP using the technology it is acquiring from Verenium through this agreement.

“We are very pleased that our strategic development partnership with BP has successfully advanced our cellulosic ethanol technology to the cusp of commercialization,” said Carlos A. Riva, President and Chief Executive Officer at Verenium. “We believe that BP is the right company to make the investment needed to carry this forward and expedite the commercialization of the technology.”

BP will also become the sole investor in Vercipia Biofuels and Galaxy Biofuels; both 50-50 joint ventures of the two companies.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) recently debuted a new blog on their website that offers commentary from RFA staffers on various topics.

The E-Xchange Blog debuted earlier this summer and the staff have proven to be quite prolific in their posting. We are going to start featuring posts from the blog as a regular feature here on Domestic Fuel.

Speculators returning to the grain market is the topic of the most recent post by RFA Vice President for Research Geoff Cooper, who notes that “hedge and index fund investors have quietly returned to the agricultural commodities market in droves over the past few weeks.”

With the stock market continuing to flounder, these speculators are positioning themselves for another bull run on agricultural commodities and crossing their fingers that corn prices go higher. They’ve laid down their bets that the drought in Russia and flood-induced crop failures in Pakistan will leave the world short of grain and spur demand and prices for U.S. grains. As clearly demonstrated by the 2008 commodities bubble, supply-demand fundamentals take a back seat to frenzied speculation when this many trigger-happy gamblers are in the market. Don’t be surprised if even the slightest hints of higher demand for U.S. crops or lower-than-expected U.S. supply touches off speculative hysterics not seen since the spring and summer 2008. If a speculative rally on corn does come to pass this fall, let’s at least hope that the pundits recognize the role of speculators and avoid immediately jumping to the conclusion—as they did in 2008—that biofuels had anything to do with it.

Cooper gives a nice analysis of what happened in 2008 when oil, gas, and corn prices skyrocketed and then the bubble burst and what is happening right now in the market. Speculators are returning to the agricultural commodities markets in numbers not seen since the weeks leading up to the spectacular bursting of the 2008 bubble. In fact, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) latest Commitments of Traders report shows speculative investors hold as many corn futures contracts today as they did at the height of the 2008 bubble. Not since May 2008 have “non-commercial” investors (CFTC’s parlance for “speculators”) held as many net long positions as they do today (long, or “bullish,” positions are contracts that are purchased and held in the hope of profiting from an increase in prices). Speculators held 358,000 net long positions on corn last week, which is the equivalent of 1.8 billion bushels. That compares to a previous high of 360,000 net longs in mid-May 2008, at the height of the bubble.

Read Cooper's entire commentary here.

“The 50th Anniversary of OPEC made our nation and others dependent on a few countries for oil – many that don't have our best interest at heart,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy during a press conference at the Farm Progress Show currently being held in Boone, Iowa.

OPEC was formed on September 14, 1960 and today, America's dependence on oil from OPEC countries has put our country's security at risk. One answer to this is ethanol; yet ethanol's future in uncertain with several policies in jeopardy including the E15 waiver, ethanol tax credit and ethanol tariff.

The industry is currently being held hostage by a fickle federal policy and today, Washington is pretty much in a stalemate. “It's not because there aren't great ideas, or not great needs to move forward, but it's a very politically competitive town,” explained Buis. “And both political parties want to win this next election. It's like Iowa State playing Iowa in football. Neither side wants to see the other team score any points. The opportunity for bipartisan working relationships is not the most conducive at this time. Hopefully that changes after the elections.”

There is still some hope for this year, as Senator Reid (D-NV) has called for a lame duck sessions to help on November 15, 2010.

Buis has stressed that the ethanol industry doesn't have a production problem, but a market access problem and passing these varied policies, especially the E15 waiver, will help to open up new markets. The simple act of doing this, says Buis, is that ethanol will help reduce an additional 7 billion gallons of ethanol per year. “It's like saying to Hugo Chavez and Venezuelan oil, we're not buying your oil any more.”

Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey, noted that just this week, an ethanol plant sold a gallon of ethanol for $1.62. “We actually have ethanol plants right now that are producing ethanol, selling ethanol, for less than the cost of gasoline and that's without the tax credit.”

He continued, “Certainly we need some of those incentives to continue. We need some predictability, we need more than three months predictability with those incentives going off this December. We need a longer-term vision of what can happen out there.”

A longer term vision is definitely needed if America truly wants to meet is goal of achieving energy independence, and a major step to achieving this is passing more comprehensive policies including the ethanol tax credit, E15 waiver and flex-fuel vehicle policy.

Farm Progress Photo Album

You can listen to the Growth Energy press conference here. Growth Energy Press Conference During Farm Progress Show

Students and faculty from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) won the 2010 Asia Shell EcoMarathon with a hydrogen fuel cell car. The car was able to attain approximately 1,400 miles per gallon equivalent to capture the $1,000 USD prize.

I’ve talked about the Shell EcoMarathon several times in the past and have been to one of their events. The cars don’t look at all like consumer automobiles as they are small, cramped, lightweight one-person vehicles geared towards squeezing out gas mileage.

In the winning Asian EcoMarathon car was a Horizon fuel cell. According to the company, “This year’s leading teams are now looking forward further developing and optimizing their power systems for next year’s race while Horizon Fuel Cell continues its development of higher performance, highly efficient fuel cell technologies. The company’s evolving hydrogen fuel cell technologies offers an attractive technological alternative that brings winning results to Eco-marathon competitors: ultra-light fuel cells with limited peripherals, increasing simplicity, reducing weight, and improving overall vehicle efficiency.”

It’s likely that some of the student engineers working on these hydrogen fuel cell cars will in the very near future graduate and go on to develop the next generation hydrogen cars that the rest of us will be driving.

Two days ago I talked about a hydrogen fueling station in Rochester, NY catching fire and this would mean that hydrogen haters would be coming out in droves. Over at Jalopnik there is an example of fanning the flames (so to speak) of the hydrogen haters (plus to be fair a few defenders) to come out and show their true colors over the safety of hydrogen fuel.

The hydrogen haters are showing their ignorance by talking about the Hindenburg explosion (of course). But also someone posted a picture of a nuclear explosion as well. Another person speaks of Hiroshima.

Yet, there is another person talking about hydrogen being stored at 1,000 psi in cars inside steel tanks prone to hydrogen embrittlement. It’s not hard to conceive that a small group of people are spreading misinformation and fear-mongering about hydrogen to move along their own agendas.

As an analogy, in this country 25-percent of the population believe that President Obama is a Muslim and a large percentage say he was born outside the U. S. This is due largely do to a small group of people spreading misinformation and fear-mongering.

Hydrogen has enough technical issues right now in regard to widespread rollout of cars. But, because of this kind of ignorance and fear being disseminated to the public, the largest hurdle for hydrogen cars may be education and public relations.

The hydrogen deniers and delayers have their own agendas to stall the spread of hydrogen vehicles and fueling stations and the example I’ve posted is just a microcosm of what hydrogen advocates must overcome in order to assure widespread public acceptance of H2.

By the way, in case you’re interested here are some videos of some traditional gasoline station related fires and explosions:

Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
Video 5

I always like talking about the Formula Zero racing go-kart events. They are a fun, fast & furious venue in which to talk about the merits of hydrogen powered vehicles.

At The Hague, the Netherlands, the Technical University Delft’s Greenchoice Forze hydrogen fuel cell race team won, beating a gasoline powered go-kart. And not only did it win, but it did so with zero emissions.

The Dutch students who built the Greenchoice Forze set a record time for the last lap of 22.91 seconds. The demonstration of the racing go-karts shows that hydrogen can be used in a wide range of vehicles, ranging from ultra high mile cars such as the ETH Zurich Pac Car II to other hydrogen race cars which have more oomph to everything in-between such as hydrogen powered go-karts.

Formula Zero is a fun event that gets hydrogen fuel vehicles out before the public eye. And the fact that they can kick the butts of gasoline powered vehicles is just icing on the cake.

Late last week two Praxair hydrogen tanks at a hydrogen fueling station in Rochester, NY partially exploded and caused a fire. The person closest to the explosion is in the hospital in satisfactory condition and another person was treated for minor ear pain and released.

Now, if you’re a hydrogen detractor as they apparently are at Cars.com you’ll run a headline such as this: “Hydrogen Explosion Deals Blow to Fuel Cell Advocates”. Of course they relate this event to the Hindenburg fallacy that so many hydrogen haters will latch onto.

According to Cars.com, “During a swap of hydrogen tanks by a company that supplies GM with tanks for its fuel-cell fleet, one tank exploded, and the resulting fire led to a second tank exploding.” Now, this sounds pretty bad, having two hydrogen tanks fully exploding creating all sorts of fire and chaos such as a mini Armageddon. People must have been running to and fro yelling about the End of Days, getting on their cell phones and telling friends and relatives to leave town, now.

But, here is another report about the same event from 13wham.com, “Friday morning, Praxair crews were on the scene surveying their tanks and beginning the process of emptying those tanks of the remaining hydrogen gas. Upwards of 2,500 pounds of compressed gas remained in the tanks and it was slowly released through a small hose.”

They go onto say, “A preliminary investigation conducted by Monroe County Fire Officials and Praxair is giving a lot of credit to a one-inch thick steel plate that separates the hydrogen tanks from the manifolds nearby. That plate and other safety features on the trailers prevented potentially much more serious, and subsequent, explosions according to fire officials.”

So, who to believe? Do we believe Cars.com with the apocalyptic view that the sky is falling for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and this is the last gasp for this industry? Or do we believe a neutral news agency without an agenda who reports that yes, there was an explosion, no one died and in fact the person closest to the explosion will survive and the event could have been much worse if it wasn’t for the safety features in place to prevent further explosions?

Cars.com failed to report was that there was a substantial amount of hydrogen left in the tanks that did not explode or catch on fire because of the safety features. What they also failed to report is that gasoline carrying trucks and gasoline fueling stations do experience fires and explosions which can be much more devastating than this incident. In fact in the 5-plus years I’ve been writing about hydrogen this is the first time I’ve come across a story about an explosion at a hydrogen fueling station.

Here is a video of the explosion taken from a security camera at the nearby Rochester, NY airport. The explosion and fire are in the upper left hand corner of the screen. The video seems a bit shocking when you play it for the first time and not so shocking the second time. You’ll see the camera shake from the shock wave of the explosion and some fire that quickly shuts down. Trucks, cars and other vehicles continue to drive by.

I don’t want to understate that hydrogen has the potential to catch fire and explode because it does. It is both combustible and flammable. I also don’t want to hype hydrogen incidents such as this are akin to the Hindenburg explosion with fear mongering that says “Oh, the Humanity” this could shut down the entire hydrogen industry.

Chalk this one off to yes, fuel sometimes does catch fire and explode. Yes, we need to be careful in handling fuel. Yes, hydrogen fuel like any other fuel needs safety precautions in place for handling, storage and transportation.

And because of this false paranoia by some of the public and detractors about hydrogen, the manufacturers of hydrogen fueling equipment have created safety features that far exceed that for other fuels. The incident that happened in Rochester should be a wake-up call that handling hydrogen fuel will have accidents and incidents.

But these accidents and incidents will be no scarier than those involving other fuels. In fact, there are so many safety features in place, such as automatic shutoff valves and one-inch thick steel plates, that one would expect the incidents that do happen will be of a much smaller scale that incidents involving other fuels.

So, to recap, the whole fuel cell industry is not in jeopardy because of this one incident. The one person closest to the flames is in the hospital in satisfactory condition. Another person was treated and released for minor hearing problems after the explosion. There is nothing more to see here folks, now let’s move on.

September 2, 2010

This is the first guest blog post from Wako Takayama, sustainability consultant and author of Everyday Sustainable. Wako is committed to living and working sustainably and helps companies develop sustainable products and services.

When people find out that I have a passion for energy efficiency and have been conducting basic residential energy efficiency audits (as a volunteer with Acterra Green@Home HouseCall,) they often ask what they can do to be more efficient at home.

Talking about CFLs is easy because you can see them and you can tell when they are on and using electricity. Not so with so many of the other electronics products plugged into our homes.

A recent study of energy usage in Minnesota shows that “Home electronics is a growing portion of each household's electricity usage, close to 20 percent.” In 1980, the average home had three electronic devices. We might guess a TV, stereo/radio and how about a blender?

These days, think about all the gadgets plugged in around a typical house. And we keep bringing new ones home, eager to try out the new computer, brew a cup of coffee or play the latest video game. The last thing on our minds is wasted electricity and how to manage it.

But it turns out that a lot of these things are drawing power even though we don't see it–for example when electronics are is “standby mode.”  And then there are the things that we forget are even plugged in because we don't use them, like that extra fridge out in the garage that is empty except for a couple liters of soda left over from last Thanksgiving.

The Minnesota study names 5 low-cost and no-cost energy reducing opportunities:

1. Enable computer power management [in other words, make sure your computer goes to sleep or hibernates automatically after it hasn't been used for a while ]
2. Manually unplug devices that draw standby power when not in use
3. Manually turn off devices that are left on but not used
4. Use “smart” power strips to eliminate standby power consumption of peripherals (e.g., a DVD player) when the main device (e.g. television) is turned off
5. Use timers to eliminate electricity use by devices that are only used at certain times of day

So here is what I suggest for cutting down wasted electricity at home. Walk around your house and give it a one-time plug load audit. A device like a Kill-a-Watt can help you “see” the watts used by a device when it's on and off and on standby. You can also feel the heat on devices that are drawing power when they are “off.” As you review the devices in your house, consider which of the opportunities above might work for it. And don't forget to do this every time you bring home your next latest-and-greatest-gadget.

The study was conducted by the Energy Center of Wisconsin. To read the full report of the study and video presentations, go to http://www.ecw.org/plugload.

As nations gear up toward Peak Oil, conserving energy becomes increasingly important.  This includes the office, where the business of business takes place at the highest levels, with executives establishing production quotas even as they develop downsizing plans to boost the bottom line.

You, as an office worker or manager, can help in that effort, and also help yourself, since the better your company does, the more likely you are to keep your job and even (someday, sigh) get a raise.

Take baby steps, like:

• Recycling printer cartridges for charity, which saves the earth and helps fund non-profit rescue organizations
• Shutting down your computer, or at least your monitor, when you leave work. A monitor uses about twice as much energy as a CPU.
• Reducing or eliminating unnecessary print jobs by making often-used office documents available (and interactive) online. Most printers use more energy in standby or sleep mode than they do printing.

Make the steps bigger as you and your coworkers become more comfortable with change. For example, urge your company to install overhead fans to eliminate cubicle overheating or chilly spots, which can be symptoms of a potential “sick building” problem.

When everyone has gotten behind your “green office” campaign, go big-time. Ask the office manager to buy occupancy sensors for the offices, so that lights automatically turn off when occupants leave. This alone can save up to 40 percent of lighting costs.

Then ask your IT guru to do the same for the computers, using software that automatically logs them off after they stand idle for more than 15 minutes.

Tackle the lunch/break room, where always-on vending machines can be put on a diet with Vending Mi$er, or similar automated control systems.

Another big but important step is switching out incandescent-lit areas and signs with newer, true-white LEDs, which are even more energy efficient than compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), and don’t contain dangerous mercury.

Advance to the lavatories and install low-flow faucets and water-miser toilets. If you can’t afford to go whole-hog, given the lingering recession, adapt toilets by filling an empty gallon milk jug with water and dropping it into the right side of the tank, clear of the valve and stopper assembly.

And a final, though very expensive step: switch ink-jet and laser printers for a PrePeat printer, which works without ink or plain paper, and reuses special plastic sheets hundreds of times by essentially “erasing” them with heat.

Photo Credit: ecotopia

September 2, 2010

Last weekend, I was in Minnesota, where I had the chance to visit the “Great Minnesota Get Together”, also known as the Minnesota State Fair.  There was a lot of buzz around solar power and the excitement was absolutely infectious!  If one thing was clear, it's that people are extremely curious about new ways to get energy.  Luckily, the number of available resources is quickly growing!

One of the main attractions at the Minnesota State Fair was an expo hall dedicated to smart homes, including homes powered by solar, called the Eco Experience Building.  Inside the Eco Experience Building, there were several demo homes outfitted with smart solutions like cork flooring and no-VOC wallpaper.  One of the demo homes also had an entire room dedicated to home solar, with presentations, displaying information about everything from solar monitoring to solar panel equipment to solar power inverters.

Here are some of the audience's questions from one of the smart home sessions I attended:

Do solar panels work in the harsh winters?
Solar PV Panels depend on sunlight, not heat. Production does decrease in the winter because of the shorter length of the day, but this can be accounted for and planned for when you size your system. If the panels are covered in snow, that can slow or stop can stop production, but snow generally slides off the angled panels or melts when the sun shines.  Professionally installed panels from a quality local installer will account for resistance to high winds if that is a threat.  In extreme weather situation, if panels are damaged, sometimes that is covered by a warranty or if you purchase insurance.

Can I make money by selling extra power back to the grid?
Yes and no. Local utilities have varying policies on buying back power from residential customers. In Minnesota, utility customers with a grid-tied solar system earn credits from the utility company when they generate more electricity than they use. These credits are based on market value, and they reduce a customer’s electric bill.  The concept of making a bunch of cash by putting in a big array and selling power back to the utility is a misconception in most cases.

Solar was featured in other parts of the Eco Experience Building, as well.  There were displays from Fifty Lanterns International, a solar charity, an interactive area sponsored by the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society, as well as a solar boat on display!  The curiosity and creativity buzzing around solar was thrilling; it was wonderful to see how solar technology is spreading across the country.  The Minnesota State Fair ends this Labor day, September 6, so be sure to check it out and visit the Eco Experience Building this weekend!

Curious about going solar in your home? Check out our Solar By Location pages to learn more about solar in your state!

WindEnergyUpdate speaks to Petter Karal, CEO of offshore wind turbine foundation technology provider, Seatower, to learn how the latest gravity base foundations resolve installation issues that have plagued the offshore wind industry to date.

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Material distributor Composites One says that Composites One China will be an exhibitor at China Composites Expo in Beijing. The International Composites Industrial Technical Expo, now in its 16^th year, will be held September 15 to 17 at the China National Convention Center.

Closed-mold expert Charles Tur will conduct demonstrations at the Expo on September 15 and 16 at 1:30 pm

“We have found the China Composites Expo to be the best place for us to introduce new products and process technologies and also to meet with both existing and new customers to better understand their requirements and how we can help them to improve the products they manufacture.” said Don Hairhoger, President of Composites One China. “As this is our fourth year exhibiting at the China Composites Expo and we hope to continue to build upon the Composites One brand as the one resource for manufacturers, offering the highest quality products and technical support.”

This year the company will conduct a live closed mold demonstration in its exhibit at the expo. The demonstration will feature the Light Resin Transfer Molding (LRTM) Process and will be presented with assistance from Magnum Venus Plastech and industry renowned closed-mold expert Charles Tur. The demonstrations will be held on September 15 and 16 at 1:30 pm

“The LRTM process is being accepted by China’s open-mold manufactures as an affordable option to convert to a process that produces better quality parts with good surface appearance, reduced labor costs, and gives better overall control of the cost of materials ” said Philip Condron, General Manager Composites One China. “The company is becoming known as the leader in closed mold technologies for the China Composites Industry”

In addition, several suppliers have partnered with Composites One to exhibit at the expo. Those suppliers include: Acrastrip, AGY, ATC, Chomarat, Cray Valley, I-Core, Magnum Venus Plastech, Specialty Products, and Syrgis Initiators. Visitors to the expo can stop by the Composites One booth #1428/1430/1529 and visit with these suppliers to discuss their new products, latest technologies and technical solutions.

Composites One

compositesone.com

The WindFloat is large enough to produce 10 MW.

A new floating platform would allow wind turbines to float offshore without water-depth restrictions. The WindFloat platform was conceived by engineering firm Marine Innovation & Technology and owned by Principle Power. The device is a floating support structure for offshore wind turbines.  The structure would let turbines sit in locations with excellent wind resources that were previously off limits because water depth exceeded 50m.

The WindFloat foundation has many advantages. It’s economic because it reduces the need for offshore operations during final assembly and commissioning. Also, its static and dynamic stability offers low pitch and yaw performance, enabling use of existing commercial wind turbine technology. Its design and size allow for onshore assembly, while its shallow draft allows for depth-independent sitting and towing it to sites not visible from shore.

The design and size of the WindFloat enables overall structure assembly onshore. Horizontal water-entrapment, or heave, plates at the base of each column significantly improve the motion performance of the system, due to additional damping and entrained water effects. A closed-loop active ballast system mitigates wind-induced thrust forces, restoring the system to optimal efficiency following changes in wind velocity and direction. A catenary mooring system uses conventional components, such as chain and polyester lines to minimize the cost. Pre-laid drag-embedded anchors minimize site preparation and impact.

Marine Innovation & Technology engineers used digital prototyping to create the WindFloat. The software from Autodesk, Inc. helped design and render the device in just three weeks. Multiple project proposals are being submitted for full-scale demonstration and utility-scale developments in the UK, Europe, and U.S.

Marine Innovation & Technology www.marineitech.com

Autodesk usa.autodesk.com

Despite a buoyant European offshore wind market, offshore construction & installation contractors that fall short of budget and technology challenges risk falling by the wayside.

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The nonprofit Iowa Central Fuel Testing Laboratory has become the first to earn accreditation as a BQ-9000 laboratory.