Saturday, June 14, 2008
Clark says wind energy is a national security issue
By Karen Boman
Filed from Houston
6/4/2008 6:42:54 PM GMT
HOUSTON: Wind energy presents the best near-term solution to fill U.S. energy demand and help wean the country off its dependence on oil imports, said retired U.S. General Wesley Clark at the American Wind Energy Association WindPower 2008 conference and exhibition in Houston. However, a cap and trade system needs to be implemented in the U.S. in order for wind power to be more widely used.
Developing wind energy also is a matter of national security for the U.S., said Clark, who formerly served as Supreme Allied Commander of Europe for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and who is now director at Emergya Wind Technologies B.V. Dependence on foreign oil imports destroys economic development opportunities in the U.S., negatively impacts U.S. relationships, undercuts competitive energy development and generates cost inflation, Clark claimed.
Political representatives of both the Republican and Democratic parties are now accepting that global warming must be addressed. However, it will take the help of legislation to make alternative energy as widely used as in other countries such as Denmark, where wind power now supplies 20 percent of the Scandinavian nation's energy needs.
John Podesta, who served as chief of staff under former President Bill Clinton and now serves as president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, credits legislative-based programs to incentivize alternative fuel use for the increase in wind power and other fuels in other countries.
"We need to break the stranglehold that fossil fuels has on Congress," Podesta said.
Policy directives are needed to implement a carbon capture and trade initiative, strengthen domestic hydrocarbon supply, improve transportation efficiency of vehicles, and create incentives for wind and solar energy use.
The U.S. Senate began debating this week the Climate Security Act of 2007 (S. 2191), which would direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases. The bill was introduced by Sen. Joe Lieberman (D.-Conn.). Podesta said the bill is the most aggressive of any of the bills introduced to address global warming.
Podesta noted that the use of wind energy and other alternative energy sources needs to be driven through the economy. The Center for American Progress has released a report highlighting what kind of jobs are needed to build a green economy in the U.S. Green jobs associated with six strategies for attacking global warming include sheet metal workers, machinists and truck drivers who work on wind farm construction projects.
"There are already 14.3 million green jobs in our country. These include everything from electricians to environmental engineers," Podesta said.
With global warming, the worldwide rise in oil and natural gas prices and U.S. electricity demand expected to rise 39 percent over 2005 levels by the year 2030, energy security will be the major issue facing the new U.S. president and Congress when they take office, said Greg Wetstone, senior director of governmental and policy affairs for the American Wind Energy Association.
While natural gas is trading in the U.S. as high as $12/Mbtu, up from US$7.50/Mtbu earlier this year, it is trading a even higher prices in other parts of the world. With gas producers able to get better prices elsewhere, U.S. gas supply security is thrown into question, Wetstone said. For example, major exporters of liquefied natural gas are shelving plans for receiving terminals in the U.S. or sending LNG shipments to markets other than the U.S.
Wetstone also cited other factors in the need for wind power and other alternative fuels, noting that Dr. James Hanson with the National Aeronautic and Space Administration said that high levels of carbon in the atmosphere could have a potentially catastrophic impact on the environment.
The National Academy of Sciences also has issued a report that abrupt climatic shift due to high carbon levels was not only possible, but likely, Wetstone said. The report pointed to the deterioration of the Greenland and West Antarctic icesheets, which could cause sea level rises of between 15 feet and 20 feet (5 m to 6 m) and 12 feet and 15 feet (4 m to 5 m) respectively, and the melting of the Arctic ice cap, which could change the planet's reflective properties.
Interest in wind power also is beginning to take off with U.S. cities. The city of Cleveland is looking to retool its local industrial base, workforce and economy by constructing a wind farm in Lake Erie offshore the city. Under the plan, between two and 10 turbines would be erected between 3.1 miles and 5 miles (5 km and 8 km) offshore downtown Cleveland.
The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) has received 45 nominations for offshore wind leases under its interim leasing program and expects to issue a limited number of leases over the next year. Leases included for nomination include acreage offshore New Jersey, Delaware and Georgia. MMS is conducting data collection technology testing on four proposed leases offshore Florida.
MMS also hopes to issue this fall the final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Cape Wind farm, which would be the first U.S. offshore wind farm. Cape Wind has been proposed for installation in Nantucket Sound offshore Massachusetts.
http://www.energycurrent.com/index.php?id=3&storyid=10973
FPL Energy plans Mojave solar plant
Filed from Houston
3/26/2008 9:23:56 PM GMT
Update: 09/23/09
I was reading an article from the New York Times on Sunday about this massive project, the main gist of the article is that, the area where these folks wanted to build the solar plant was an area which had been donated by a trust to the United Stated Federal Government during the Clinton Administration, it was a non-development donation. During the Bush Administration the land designation was changed so that is could be developed. Well the folks who made the donation were understandably up in arms about this unseen set of events which started to unfold upon their donated land.
The bottom line is that the project developers have now agreed to move the project, so now they will have to find another location.
1forCE
USA: Alternative energy supplier FPL Energy has filed an application to construct, own and operate a 250 MW solar plant in the Mojave Desert, to be named the Beacon Solar Energy Project. The proposed plant will be located on a 2,000 acre site in eastern Kern County, California. The plant is planned to have over 500,000 parabolic mirrors assembled in rows to receive and concentrate solar energy, producing steam for powering a steam turbine generator. The generator will produce electric power for delivery to the nearby electric grid.
The company expects to begin production on the project in late 2009, and take two years to complete construction of the plant. FPL Energy has set a goal of adding at least 600 MW of new solar by 2015, and has leased, optioned or owns land in the west and southwest United States for this purpose.
3/26/2008 9:23:56 PM GMT
Update: 09/23/09
I was reading an article from the New York Times on Sunday about this massive project, the main gist of the article is that, the area where these folks wanted to build the solar plant was an area which had been donated by a trust to the United Stated Federal Government during the Clinton Administration, it was a non-development donation. During the Bush Administration the land designation was changed so that is could be developed. Well the folks who made the donation were understandably up in arms about this unseen set of events which started to unfold upon their donated land.
The bottom line is that the project developers have now agreed to move the project, so now they will have to find another location.
1forCE
USA: Alternative energy supplier FPL Energy has filed an application to construct, own and operate a 250 MW solar plant in the Mojave Desert, to be named the Beacon Solar Energy Project. The proposed plant will be located on a 2,000 acre site in eastern Kern County, California. The plant is planned to have over 500,000 parabolic mirrors assembled in rows to receive and concentrate solar energy, producing steam for powering a steam turbine generator. The generator will produce electric power for delivery to the nearby electric grid.
The company expects to begin production on the project in late 2009, and take two years to complete construction of the plant. FPL Energy has set a goal of adding at least 600 MW of new solar by 2015, and has leased, optioned or owns land in the west and southwest United States for this purpose.
CO2: Enhanced Oil Recovery vs. Direct to Fuels
It is estimated that 8,000 cubic feet of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) is needed to bring up one barrel of oil using Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR).
This CO2 is typically a byproduct (considered waste) of natural gas processing plants, or it is actually extracted from certain gas formations high in CO2 gas.
The CO2 is pressurized and sent down a CO2 pipeline to a EOR oil field. It is then pressurized again and sent down the well into the formation to extract oil.
A New approach is being looked at
With our CO2 to fuels process, that same 8,000 cubic feet of CO2 could be converted directly to alcohol fuel.
While a barrel of oil can be converted into 48 gallons of usable product (after heavy refining). About 51 percent is converted to transportation gasoline, or around 21-24 gallons.
A new process can convert that same amount of CO2 used for Enhanced Oil Recovery to produce about 40 gallons of methanol. This methanol can be blended with gasoline, or used directly in FlexFuel vehicles. It can also be used to produce biodiesel, or used directly in industry.
The process we use takes CO2, water and electricity. Where does the electricity come from ? Using our Organic Rankine Cycle Geothermal Turbine, we can use deep well geothermal to produce the electricity in a very clean, renewable and environmentally friendly manner.
More Gasoline Facts:
Where does the cost of a gallon of gasoline come from ?
53 percent - crude oil
19 percent - taxes
19 percent - refining costs and profits
9 percent - distribution and marketing
Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/bookshelf/brochures/gasolinepricesprimer/eia1_2005primerM.html
Here are some examples of EOR - Enhanced Oil Recovery Projects
Weyburn-Midale CO2 Project - How CO2 increases oil recovery
1.CO2 is injected, along with water, deep underground (approx. 1,500 metres) into a depleted oil field. The CO2 used by EnCana and Apache comes from the Dakota Gasification Plant near Beulah, North Dakota. There, the gas is captured after coal gasification (rather than vented to the atmosphere), liquefied by compression and pipelined 320 km north to the oil fields. It is the first man-made source of CO2 being used for enhanced oil recovery.
2.In an operating strategy that alternates gas and water injection, CO2 injection increases reservoir pressure and oil fluidity, enabling oil to escape from rock pores and flow more readily toward production wells. As a general rule, it takes about 8,000 cubic feet of CO2 to get an extra barrel of oil.
3.Much of the injected CO2 is pumped to the surface together with oil and water, then separated and re-injected. At the end of the enhanced oil recovery period, virtually all injected and recycled CO2 is permanently stored.
Research from the Weyburn-Midale CO2 Project ensures that CO2 used for enhanced oil recovery remains safely stored underground.
Here is a recent post from the Denver Post (source):
Blue Source Project - EOR
"The Blue Source project will capture 20 million cubic feet of carbon dioxide per day from a natural-gas plant in Huerfano County - the equivalent of removing more than 70,000 cars from the road.
"This project prevents a significant amount of CO2 from venting into the atmosphere and will further help produce a considerable amount of domestic oil in underused oil fields," said Russell Martin, executive vice president of Blue Source.
The carbon dioxide is pumped into declining oil wells to help push remaining petroleum up to the surface. Martin said it takes about 6,000 cubic feet of carbon dioxide to produce one barrel of oil.
The project highlights the potential of turning waste into a commodity, but industry observers caution that such efforts are often capital-intensive and are difficult to justify financially.
Martin said the company's project makes economic sense because of the revenue it can generate from selling the carbon dioxide.
He said carbon dioxide sells for about 85 cents to $1.20 per thousand cubic feet in the region. The company spent $8 million to connect the carbon- dioxide source to a transportation pipeline. The carbon dioxide will travel 16 miles to Kinder Morgan's Sheep Mountain pipeline, where it will be shipped for enhanced oil recovery in the Permian Basin in West Texas.
The recovery of naturally occurring carbon dioxide from underground wells has long been a staple of the economy in Huerfano County.
The capturing of the greenhouse gas from a natural-gas- processing plant, however, is new for Colorado, Martin said.
"From a Colorado standpoint, it is the first gas plant that's been captured, to my knowledge," Martin said.
Other projects could be forthcoming in the region.
The Wyoming state legislature put together the Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute "to look specifically at CO2 for enhanced-oil-recovery purposes," said Lon Whitman, head of corporate outreach and strategic alliances for the group.
In addition to using carbon dioxide for oil recovery, research groups are looking at long-term sequestration, such as the storage of the greenhouse gas in underground geologic formations, Whitman said."
http://www.oceanethanol.com/CO2/Ocean_Ethanol/Entries/2008/6/3_CO2%3A__Enhanced_Oil_Recovery_vs._Direct_to_Fuels.html
This CO2 is typically a byproduct (considered waste) of natural gas processing plants, or it is actually extracted from certain gas formations high in CO2 gas.
The CO2 is pressurized and sent down a CO2 pipeline to a EOR oil field. It is then pressurized again and sent down the well into the formation to extract oil.
A New approach is being looked at
With our CO2 to fuels process, that same 8,000 cubic feet of CO2 could be converted directly to alcohol fuel.
While a barrel of oil can be converted into 48 gallons of usable product (after heavy refining). About 51 percent is converted to transportation gasoline, or around 21-24 gallons.
A new process can convert that same amount of CO2 used for Enhanced Oil Recovery to produce about 40 gallons of methanol. This methanol can be blended with gasoline, or used directly in FlexFuel vehicles. It can also be used to produce biodiesel, or used directly in industry.
The process we use takes CO2, water and electricity. Where does the electricity come from ? Using our Organic Rankine Cycle Geothermal Turbine, we can use deep well geothermal to produce the electricity in a very clean, renewable and environmentally friendly manner.
More Gasoline Facts:
Where does the cost of a gallon of gasoline come from ?
53 percent - crude oil
19 percent - taxes
19 percent - refining costs and profits
9 percent - distribution and marketing
Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/bookshelf/brochures/gasolinepricesprimer/eia1_2005primerM.html
Here are some examples of EOR - Enhanced Oil Recovery Projects
Weyburn-Midale CO2 Project - How CO2 increases oil recovery
1.CO2 is injected, along with water, deep underground (approx. 1,500 metres) into a depleted oil field. The CO2 used by EnCana and Apache comes from the Dakota Gasification Plant near Beulah, North Dakota. There, the gas is captured after coal gasification (rather than vented to the atmosphere), liquefied by compression and pipelined 320 km north to the oil fields. It is the first man-made source of CO2 being used for enhanced oil recovery.
2.In an operating strategy that alternates gas and water injection, CO2 injection increases reservoir pressure and oil fluidity, enabling oil to escape from rock pores and flow more readily toward production wells. As a general rule, it takes about 8,000 cubic feet of CO2 to get an extra barrel of oil.
3.Much of the injected CO2 is pumped to the surface together with oil and water, then separated and re-injected. At the end of the enhanced oil recovery period, virtually all injected and recycled CO2 is permanently stored.
Research from the Weyburn-Midale CO2 Project ensures that CO2 used for enhanced oil recovery remains safely stored underground.
Here is a recent post from the Denver Post (source):
Blue Source Project - EOR
"The Blue Source project will capture 20 million cubic feet of carbon dioxide per day from a natural-gas plant in Huerfano County - the equivalent of removing more than 70,000 cars from the road.
"This project prevents a significant amount of CO2 from venting into the atmosphere and will further help produce a considerable amount of domestic oil in underused oil fields," said Russell Martin, executive vice president of Blue Source.
The carbon dioxide is pumped into declining oil wells to help push remaining petroleum up to the surface. Martin said it takes about 6,000 cubic feet of carbon dioxide to produce one barrel of oil.
The project highlights the potential of turning waste into a commodity, but industry observers caution that such efforts are often capital-intensive and are difficult to justify financially.
Martin said the company's project makes economic sense because of the revenue it can generate from selling the carbon dioxide.
He said carbon dioxide sells for about 85 cents to $1.20 per thousand cubic feet in the region. The company spent $8 million to connect the carbon- dioxide source to a transportation pipeline. The carbon dioxide will travel 16 miles to Kinder Morgan's Sheep Mountain pipeline, where it will be shipped for enhanced oil recovery in the Permian Basin in West Texas.
The recovery of naturally occurring carbon dioxide from underground wells has long been a staple of the economy in Huerfano County.
The capturing of the greenhouse gas from a natural-gas- processing plant, however, is new for Colorado, Martin said.
"From a Colorado standpoint, it is the first gas plant that's been captured, to my knowledge," Martin said.
Other projects could be forthcoming in the region.
The Wyoming state legislature put together the Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute "to look specifically at CO2 for enhanced-oil-recovery purposes," said Lon Whitman, head of corporate outreach and strategic alliances for the group.
In addition to using carbon dioxide for oil recovery, research groups are looking at long-term sequestration, such as the storage of the greenhouse gas in underground geologic formations, Whitman said."
http://www.oceanethanol.com/CO2/Ocean_Ethanol/Entries/2008/6/3_CO2%3A__Enhanced_Oil_Recovery_vs._Direct_to_Fuels.html
The Sunspot Enigma: The Sun is “Dead”—What Does it Mean for Earth?
Dark spots, some as large as 50,000 miles in diameter, typically move across the surface of the sun, contracting and expanding as they go. These strange and powerful phenomena are known as sunspots, but now they are all gone. Not even solar physicists know why it’s happening and what this odd solar silence might be indicating for our future.
Although periods of inactivity are normal for the sun, this current period has gone on much longer than usual and scientists are starting to worry—at least a little bit. Recently 100 scientists from Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and North America gathered to discuss the issue at an international solar conference at Montana State University. Today's sun is as inactive as it was two years ago, and solar physicists don’t have a clue as to why.
"It continues to be dead," said Saku Tsuneta with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, program manager for the Hinode solar mission, noting that it is at least a little bit worrisome for scientists.
Dana Longcope, a solar physicist at MSU, said the sun usually operates on an 11-year cycle with maximum activity occurring in the middle of the cycle. The last cycle reached its peak in 2001 and is believed to be just ending now, Longcope said. The next cycle is just beginning and is expected to reach its peak sometime around 2012. But so far nothing is happening.
"It's a dead face," Tsuneta said of the sun's appearance.
Tsuneta said solar physicists aren't weather forecasters and they can't predict the future. They do have the ability to observe, however, and they have observed a longer-than-normal period of solar inactivity. In the past, they observed that the sun once went 50 years without producing sunspots. That period coincided with a little ice age on Earth that lasted from 1650 to 1700. Coincidence? Some scientists say it was, but many worry that it wasn’t.
Geophysicist Phil Chapman, the first Australian to become an astronaut with NASA, said pictures from the US Solar and Heliospheric Observatory also show that there are currently no spots on the sun. He also noted that the world cooled quickly between January last year and January this year, by about 0.7C.
"This is the fastest temperature change in the instrumental record, and it puts us back to where we were in 1930," Dr Chapman noted in The Australian recently.
If the world does face another mini Ice Age, it could come without warning. Evidence for abrupt climate change is readily found in ice cores taken from Greenland and Antarctica. One of the best known examples of such an event is the Younger Dryas cooling, which occurred about 12,000 years ago, named after the arctic wildflower found in northern European sediments. This event began and ended rather abruptly, and for its entire 1000 year duration the North Atlantic region was about 5°C colder. Could something like this happen again? There’s no way to tell, and because the changes can happen all within one decade—we might not even see it coming.
The Younger Dryas occurred at a time when orbital forcing should have continued to drive climate to the present warm state. The unexplained phenomenon has been the topic of much intense scientific debate, as well as other millennial scale events.
Now this 11-year low in Sunspot activity has raised fears among a small but growing number of scientists that rather than getting warmer, the Earth could possibly be about to return to another cooling period. The idea is especially intriguing considering that most of the world is in preparation for global warming.
Canadian scientist Kenneth Tapping of the National Research Council has also noted that solar activity has entered into an unusually inactive phase, but what that means—if anything—is still anyone’s guess. Another solar scientist, Oleg Sorokhtin, a fellow of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, however, is certain that it’s an indication of a coming cooling period.
Sorokhtin believes that a lack of sunspots does indicate a coming cooling period based on certain past trends and early records. In fact, he calls manmade climate change "a drop in the bucket" compared to the fierce and abrupt cold that can potentially be brought on by inactive solar phases.
Sorokhtin’s advice: "Stock up on fur coats"…just in case.
Posted by Rebecca Sato
The Daily Galaxy
1forCE wonders: Global warming a good thing? Prolonging the beginning of the next ice age?
I highly doubt it. Even an extremely cold winter or two will not reverse the warming trend. Anyway not here to debate the issue back to SAVE THE RAINFOREST AND CLEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY
Although periods of inactivity are normal for the sun, this current period has gone on much longer than usual and scientists are starting to worry—at least a little bit. Recently 100 scientists from Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and North America gathered to discuss the issue at an international solar conference at Montana State University. Today's sun is as inactive as it was two years ago, and solar physicists don’t have a clue as to why.
"It continues to be dead," said Saku Tsuneta with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, program manager for the Hinode solar mission, noting that it is at least a little bit worrisome for scientists.
Dana Longcope, a solar physicist at MSU, said the sun usually operates on an 11-year cycle with maximum activity occurring in the middle of the cycle. The last cycle reached its peak in 2001 and is believed to be just ending now, Longcope said. The next cycle is just beginning and is expected to reach its peak sometime around 2012. But so far nothing is happening.
"It's a dead face," Tsuneta said of the sun's appearance.
Tsuneta said solar physicists aren't weather forecasters and they can't predict the future. They do have the ability to observe, however, and they have observed a longer-than-normal period of solar inactivity. In the past, they observed that the sun once went 50 years without producing sunspots. That period coincided with a little ice age on Earth that lasted from 1650 to 1700. Coincidence? Some scientists say it was, but many worry that it wasn’t.
Geophysicist Phil Chapman, the first Australian to become an astronaut with NASA, said pictures from the US Solar and Heliospheric Observatory also show that there are currently no spots on the sun. He also noted that the world cooled quickly between January last year and January this year, by about 0.7C.
"This is the fastest temperature change in the instrumental record, and it puts us back to where we were in 1930," Dr Chapman noted in The Australian recently.
If the world does face another mini Ice Age, it could come without warning. Evidence for abrupt climate change is readily found in ice cores taken from Greenland and Antarctica. One of the best known examples of such an event is the Younger Dryas cooling, which occurred about 12,000 years ago, named after the arctic wildflower found in northern European sediments. This event began and ended rather abruptly, and for its entire 1000 year duration the North Atlantic region was about 5°C colder. Could something like this happen again? There’s no way to tell, and because the changes can happen all within one decade—we might not even see it coming.
The Younger Dryas occurred at a time when orbital forcing should have continued to drive climate to the present warm state. The unexplained phenomenon has been the topic of much intense scientific debate, as well as other millennial scale events.
Now this 11-year low in Sunspot activity has raised fears among a small but growing number of scientists that rather than getting warmer, the Earth could possibly be about to return to another cooling period. The idea is especially intriguing considering that most of the world is in preparation for global warming.
Canadian scientist Kenneth Tapping of the National Research Council has also noted that solar activity has entered into an unusually inactive phase, but what that means—if anything—is still anyone’s guess. Another solar scientist, Oleg Sorokhtin, a fellow of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, however, is certain that it’s an indication of a coming cooling period.
Sorokhtin believes that a lack of sunspots does indicate a coming cooling period based on certain past trends and early records. In fact, he calls manmade climate change "a drop in the bucket" compared to the fierce and abrupt cold that can potentially be brought on by inactive solar phases.
Sorokhtin’s advice: "Stock up on fur coats"…just in case.
Posted by Rebecca Sato
The Daily Galaxy
1forCE wonders: Global warming a good thing? Prolonging the beginning of the next ice age?
I highly doubt it. Even an extremely cold winter or two will not reverse the warming trend. Anyway not here to debate the issue back to SAVE THE RAINFOREST AND CLEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY
Smart Meters Save $$$ Mechanical Engineers' Device Helps Electricity Conservation
Smart meters are small computers that provide real-time information on how much electricity is being used by each customer and when, and can relay information back to the head office over the very same power lines they feed from. Smart meters can bill different rates depending overall grid usage, to encourage conservation. Users can program them to control appliances, for example running the dishwasher during off-peak hours, when rates are lower.
See also:
Matter & Energy
Electricity
Energy Technology
Solar Energy
Batteries
Fuel Cells
Wind Energy
Reference
Electric power
Electric power transmission
Three-phase electric power
Electrical phenomena
SAN FRANCISCO -- During the winter, we crank up the heat. During the summer, we turn up the air. And all the time we're eating up electricity. Now a new smart meter may help to save energy and save money.
Like most parents, finding ways to save is a priority for Trina Camping. But she thought saving on her electric bill was a lost cause. That is, until she saw the light and started using a SmartMeter.
"This is what makes a SmartMeter smart," Mechanical Engineer Tim Vahlstrom, tells DBIS. "It's mounted onto a typical electric meter."
Engineers at Pacific Gas and Electric in San Francisco are working on SmartMeters. They're mini computers that provide real-time information on how much electricity is being used by each customer and when.
"This utilizes a technology called 'Powerline Carrier.' So it puts the signal back on the lines that actually feed the Meter, back through the power lines, to the transformer, back all the way to the head office," Vahlstrom says.
Everything is done remotely. You can turn your air conditioning, heating and lights on at home -- even when you're on vacation.
Vahlstrom says, "I want my thermostat to raise temperature by five degrees or four degrees if the price of electricity gets above this level. Then automatically the thermostat we can send a command to do that."
Power outages can be detected immediately, and within seconds, power is back on. "It actually does these things remotely without a person on-site," Vahlstrom says.
Peak power hours are from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. By running her dishwasher and other appliances later at night, the power company gives Camping and her family a discount.
"We've saved about $150 to $200," Camping says. It's the first step to saving electricity and saving money.
Minnesota, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Florida are already using the SmartMeters. Not all of the functions are available right now in every state, but will be soon.
-----------------------------------------------------
BACKGROUND: Pacific Gas and Electric in California is installing Smart Meters in millions of homes: small computers that communicate with a utility's central data center, providing real-time information on how much electricity a customer is using, and when it is being used. These remotely-read meters can be linked to a variety of pricing and other options, and should help improve service and lower costs for consumers. Similar systems have been introduced in Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Florida.
SAVING MONEY: While there will be an initial small hike in electricity rates to pay for the $2 billion SmartMeter program, in the long term, potential savings could be considerable. The new "voluntary pricing plans" charge customers more for power used during peak periods (such as weekday afternoons) when supply is tight and prices are higher, and charge less at night on weekends, when demand and prices are lower. Users can plan their cost and energy usage accordingly. Power outages can be detected right away, and since everything is done remotely, there is no need for meter readings, or on-site connection or disconnection of service.
ON THE GRID: The nation's power grid boasts more than 6,000 inter-connected power generation stations. Power is sent around the country via half a million miles of bulk transmission lines carrying high voltage charges of electricity. From these lines, power is sent to regional and neighborhood substations, where the electricity is then stepped down from high voltage to a current suitable for use in homes and offices. The system has its advantages: distant stations can provide electricity to cities and towns that may have lost power. But unusually high or unbalanced demands for power -- especially those that develop suddenly -- can upset the smooth flow of electricity. This can cause a blackout in one section of a grid, or ripple through the entire grid, shutting down one section after another, making it difficult to restore power from neighboring stations.
AC/DC: There are two different kinds of electrical current: alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC). In direct current a steady stream of electrons flows continuously in only one direction, for example, from the negative to the positive terminal of a battery. Alternating current changes direction 50 or 60 times per second, oscillating up and down. Almost all of the electricity used in homes and businesses is alternating current. That's because it's easier to send AC over long distances without losing too much to leakage. Leakage is the result of friction as electricity travels along a wire over distance; some voltage loss inevitably occurs. AC can be converted much more easily to higher voltages, which are better able to overcome line resistance.
This story and accompanying video were originally produced for the American Institute of Physics series Discoveries and Breakthroughs in Science by Ivanhoe Broadcast News and are protected by copyright law. All rights reserved.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2007/0104-smart_meters_save_363636.htm
See also:
Matter & Energy
Electricity
Energy Technology
Solar Energy
Batteries
Fuel Cells
Wind Energy
Reference
Electric power
Electric power transmission
Three-phase electric power
Electrical phenomena
SAN FRANCISCO -- During the winter, we crank up the heat. During the summer, we turn up the air. And all the time we're eating up electricity. Now a new smart meter may help to save energy and save money.
Like most parents, finding ways to save is a priority for Trina Camping. But she thought saving on her electric bill was a lost cause. That is, until she saw the light and started using a SmartMeter.
"This is what makes a SmartMeter smart," Mechanical Engineer Tim Vahlstrom, tells DBIS. "It's mounted onto a typical electric meter."
Engineers at Pacific Gas and Electric in San Francisco are working on SmartMeters. They're mini computers that provide real-time information on how much electricity is being used by each customer and when.
"This utilizes a technology called 'Powerline Carrier.' So it puts the signal back on the lines that actually feed the Meter, back through the power lines, to the transformer, back all the way to the head office," Vahlstrom says.
Everything is done remotely. You can turn your air conditioning, heating and lights on at home -- even when you're on vacation.
Vahlstrom says, "I want my thermostat to raise temperature by five degrees or four degrees if the price of electricity gets above this level. Then automatically the thermostat we can send a command to do that."
Power outages can be detected immediately, and within seconds, power is back on. "It actually does these things remotely without a person on-site," Vahlstrom says.
Peak power hours are from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. By running her dishwasher and other appliances later at night, the power company gives Camping and her family a discount.
"We've saved about $150 to $200," Camping says. It's the first step to saving electricity and saving money.
Minnesota, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Florida are already using the SmartMeters. Not all of the functions are available right now in every state, but will be soon.
-----------------------------------------------------
BACKGROUND: Pacific Gas and Electric in California is installing Smart Meters in millions of homes: small computers that communicate with a utility's central data center, providing real-time information on how much electricity a customer is using, and when it is being used. These remotely-read meters can be linked to a variety of pricing and other options, and should help improve service and lower costs for consumers. Similar systems have been introduced in Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Florida.
SAVING MONEY: While there will be an initial small hike in electricity rates to pay for the $2 billion SmartMeter program, in the long term, potential savings could be considerable. The new "voluntary pricing plans" charge customers more for power used during peak periods (such as weekday afternoons) when supply is tight and prices are higher, and charge less at night on weekends, when demand and prices are lower. Users can plan their cost and energy usage accordingly. Power outages can be detected right away, and since everything is done remotely, there is no need for meter readings, or on-site connection or disconnection of service.
ON THE GRID: The nation's power grid boasts more than 6,000 inter-connected power generation stations. Power is sent around the country via half a million miles of bulk transmission lines carrying high voltage charges of electricity. From these lines, power is sent to regional and neighborhood substations, where the electricity is then stepped down from high voltage to a current suitable for use in homes and offices. The system has its advantages: distant stations can provide electricity to cities and towns that may have lost power. But unusually high or unbalanced demands for power -- especially those that develop suddenly -- can upset the smooth flow of electricity. This can cause a blackout in one section of a grid, or ripple through the entire grid, shutting down one section after another, making it difficult to restore power from neighboring stations.
AC/DC: There are two different kinds of electrical current: alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC). In direct current a steady stream of electrons flows continuously in only one direction, for example, from the negative to the positive terminal of a battery. Alternating current changes direction 50 or 60 times per second, oscillating up and down. Almost all of the electricity used in homes and businesses is alternating current. That's because it's easier to send AC over long distances without losing too much to leakage. Leakage is the result of friction as electricity travels along a wire over distance; some voltage loss inevitably occurs. AC can be converted much more easily to higher voltages, which are better able to overcome line resistance.
This story and accompanying video were originally produced for the American Institute of Physics series Discoveries and Breakthroughs in Science by Ivanhoe Broadcast News and are protected by copyright law. All rights reserved.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2007/0104-smart_meters_save_363636.htm
A Sound Way To Turn Heat Into Electricity
ScienceDaily (Jun. 4, 2007) — University of Utah physicists developed small devices that turn heat into sound and then into electricity. The technology holds promise for changing waste heat into electricity, harnessing solar energy and cooling computers and radars.
See also:
Matter & Energy
Thermodynamics
Acoustics
Electricity
Electronics
Energy Technology
Technology
Reference
Power station
Distributed generation
Heat pump
Electric power
"We are converting waste heat to electricity in an efficient, simple way by using sound," says Orest Symko, a University of Utah physics professor who leads the effort. "It is a new source of renewable energy from waste heat."
Five of Symko's doctoral students recently devised methods to improve the efficiency of acoustic heat-engine devices to turn heat into electricity. They will present their findings on Friday, June 8 during the annual meeting of the Acoustical Society of America at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center hotel.
Symko plans to test the devices within a year to produce electricity from waste heat at a military radar facility and at the university's hot-water-generating plant.
The research is funded by the U.S. Army, which is interested in "taking care of waste heat from radar, and also producing a portable source of electrical energy which you can use in the battlefield to run electronics" he says.
Symko expects the devices could be used within two years as an alternative to photovoltaic cells for converting sunlight into electricity. The heat engines also could be used to cool laptop and other computers that generate more heat as their electronics grow more complex. And Symko foresees using the devices to generate electricity from heat that now is released from nuclear power plant cooling towers.
How to Get Power from Heat and Sound
Symko's work on converting heat into electricity via sound stems from his ongoing research to develop tiny thermoacoustic refrigerators for cooling electronics.
In 2005, he began a five-year heat-sound-electricity conversion research project named Thermal Acoustic Piezo Energy Conversion (TAPEC). Symko works with collaborators at Washington State University and the University of Mississippi.
The project has received $2 million in funding during the past two years, and Symko hopes it will grow as small heat-sound-electricity devices shrink further so they can be incorporated in micromachines (known as microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS) for use in cooling computers and other electronic devices such as amplifiers.
Using sound to convert heat into electricity has two key steps. Symko and colleagues developed various new heat engines (technically called "thermoacoustic prime movers") to accomplish the first step: convert heat into sound.
Then they convert the sound into electricity using existing technology: "piezoelectric" devices that are squeezed in response to pressure, including sound waves, and change that pressure into electrical current. "Piezo" means pressure or squeezing.
Most of the heat-to-electricity acoustic devices built in Symko's laboratory are housed in cylinder-shaped "resonators" that fit in the palm of your hand. Each cylinder, or resonator, contains a "stack" of material with a large surface area -- such as metal or plastic plates, or fibers made of glass, cotton or steel wool -- placed between a cold heat exchanger and a hot heat exchanger.
When heat is applied -- with matches, a blowtorch or a heating element -- the heat builds to a threshold. Then the hot, moving air produces sound at a single frequency, similar to air blown into a flute.
"You have heat, which is so disorderly and chaotic, and all of a sudden you have sound coming out at one frequency," Symko says.
Then the sound waves squeeze the piezoelectric device, producing an electrical voltage. Symko says it's similar to what happens if you hit a nerve in your elbow, producing a painful electrical nerve impulse.
Longer resonator cylinders produce lower tones, while shorter tubes produce higher-pitched tones.
Devices that convert heat to sound and then to electricity lack moving parts, so such devices will require little maintenance and last a long time. They do not need to be built as precisely as, say, pistons in an engine, which loses efficiency as the pistons wear.
Symko says the devices won't create noise pollution. First, as smaller devices are developed, they will convert heat to ultrasonic frequencies people cannot hear. Second, sound volume goes down as it is converted to electricity. Finally, "it's easy to contain the noise by putting a sound absorber around the device," he says.
Studies Improve Efficiency of Acoustic Conversion of Heat to Electricity
Here are summaries of the studies by Symko's doctoral students:
-- Student Bonnie McLaughlin showed it was possible to double the efficiency of converting heat into sound by optimizing the geometry and insulation of the acoustic resonator and by injecting heat directly into the hot heat exchanger.
She built cylindrical devices 1.5 inches long and a half-inch wide, and worked to improve how much heat was converted to sound rather than escaping. As little as a 90-degree Fahrenheit temperature difference between hot and cold heat exchangers produced sound. Some devices produced sound at 135 decibels -- as loud as a jackhammer.
-- Student Nick Webb showed that by pressurizing the air in a similar-sized resonator, it was able to produce more sound, and thus more electricity.
He also showed that by increasing air pressure, a smaller temperature difference between heat exchangers is needed for heat to begin converting into sound. That makes it practical to use the acoustic devices to cool laptop computers and other electronics that emit relatively small amounts of waste heat, Symko says.
-- Numerous heat-to-sound-to-electricity devices will be needed to harness solar power or to cool large, industrial sources of waste heat. Student Brenna Gillman learned how to get the devices -- mounted together to form an array -- to work together.
For an array to efficiently convert heat to sound and electricity, its individual devices must be "coupled" to produce the same frequency of sound and vibrate in sync.
Gillman used various metals to build supports to hold five of the devices at once. She found the devices could be synchronized if a support was made of a less dense metal such as aluminum and, more important, if the ratio of the support's weight to the array's total weight fell within a specific range. The devices could be synchronized even better if they were "coupled" when their sound waves interacted in an air cavity in the support.
-- Student Ivan Rodriguez used a different approach in building an acoustic device to convert heat to electricity. Instead of a cylinder, he built a resonator from a quarter-inch-diameter hollow steel tube bent to form a ring about 1.3 inches across.
In cylinder-shaped resonators, sound waves bounce against the ends of the cylinder. But when heat is applied to Rodriguez's ring-shaped resonator, sound waves keep circling through the device with nothing to reflect them.
Symko says the ring-shaped device is twice as efficient as cylindrical devices in converting heat into sound and electricity. That is because the pressure and speed of air in the ring-shaped device are always in sync, unlike in cylinder-shaped devices.
-- Student Myra Flitcroft designed a cylinder-shaped heat engine one-third the size of the other devices. It is less than half as wide as a penny, producing a much higher pitch than the other resonators. When heated, the device generated sound at 120 decibels -- the level produced by a siren or a rock concert.
"It's an extremely small thermoacoustic device -- one of the smallest built -- and it opens the way for producing them in an array," Symko says.
----------------------------------------------------
Adapted from materials provided by University of Utah, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070603225026.htm
See also:
Matter & Energy
Thermodynamics
Acoustics
Electricity
Electronics
Energy Technology
Technology
Reference
Power station
Distributed generation
Heat pump
Electric power
"We are converting waste heat to electricity in an efficient, simple way by using sound," says Orest Symko, a University of Utah physics professor who leads the effort. "It is a new source of renewable energy from waste heat."
Five of Symko's doctoral students recently devised methods to improve the efficiency of acoustic heat-engine devices to turn heat into electricity. They will present their findings on Friday, June 8 during the annual meeting of the Acoustical Society of America at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center hotel.
Symko plans to test the devices within a year to produce electricity from waste heat at a military radar facility and at the university's hot-water-generating plant.
The research is funded by the U.S. Army, which is interested in "taking care of waste heat from radar, and also producing a portable source of electrical energy which you can use in the battlefield to run electronics" he says.
Symko expects the devices could be used within two years as an alternative to photovoltaic cells for converting sunlight into electricity. The heat engines also could be used to cool laptop and other computers that generate more heat as their electronics grow more complex. And Symko foresees using the devices to generate electricity from heat that now is released from nuclear power plant cooling towers.
How to Get Power from Heat and Sound
Symko's work on converting heat into electricity via sound stems from his ongoing research to develop tiny thermoacoustic refrigerators for cooling electronics.
In 2005, he began a five-year heat-sound-electricity conversion research project named Thermal Acoustic Piezo Energy Conversion (TAPEC). Symko works with collaborators at Washington State University and the University of Mississippi.
The project has received $2 million in funding during the past two years, and Symko hopes it will grow as small heat-sound-electricity devices shrink further so they can be incorporated in micromachines (known as microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS) for use in cooling computers and other electronic devices such as amplifiers.
Using sound to convert heat into electricity has two key steps. Symko and colleagues developed various new heat engines (technically called "thermoacoustic prime movers") to accomplish the first step: convert heat into sound.
Then they convert the sound into electricity using existing technology: "piezoelectric" devices that are squeezed in response to pressure, including sound waves, and change that pressure into electrical current. "Piezo" means pressure or squeezing.
Most of the heat-to-electricity acoustic devices built in Symko's laboratory are housed in cylinder-shaped "resonators" that fit in the palm of your hand. Each cylinder, or resonator, contains a "stack" of material with a large surface area -- such as metal or plastic plates, or fibers made of glass, cotton or steel wool -- placed between a cold heat exchanger and a hot heat exchanger.
When heat is applied -- with matches, a blowtorch or a heating element -- the heat builds to a threshold. Then the hot, moving air produces sound at a single frequency, similar to air blown into a flute.
"You have heat, which is so disorderly and chaotic, and all of a sudden you have sound coming out at one frequency," Symko says.
Then the sound waves squeeze the piezoelectric device, producing an electrical voltage. Symko says it's similar to what happens if you hit a nerve in your elbow, producing a painful electrical nerve impulse.
Longer resonator cylinders produce lower tones, while shorter tubes produce higher-pitched tones.
Devices that convert heat to sound and then to electricity lack moving parts, so such devices will require little maintenance and last a long time. They do not need to be built as precisely as, say, pistons in an engine, which loses efficiency as the pistons wear.
Symko says the devices won't create noise pollution. First, as smaller devices are developed, they will convert heat to ultrasonic frequencies people cannot hear. Second, sound volume goes down as it is converted to electricity. Finally, "it's easy to contain the noise by putting a sound absorber around the device," he says.
Studies Improve Efficiency of Acoustic Conversion of Heat to Electricity
Here are summaries of the studies by Symko's doctoral students:
-- Student Bonnie McLaughlin showed it was possible to double the efficiency of converting heat into sound by optimizing the geometry and insulation of the acoustic resonator and by injecting heat directly into the hot heat exchanger.
She built cylindrical devices 1.5 inches long and a half-inch wide, and worked to improve how much heat was converted to sound rather than escaping. As little as a 90-degree Fahrenheit temperature difference between hot and cold heat exchangers produced sound. Some devices produced sound at 135 decibels -- as loud as a jackhammer.
-- Student Nick Webb showed that by pressurizing the air in a similar-sized resonator, it was able to produce more sound, and thus more electricity.
He also showed that by increasing air pressure, a smaller temperature difference between heat exchangers is needed for heat to begin converting into sound. That makes it practical to use the acoustic devices to cool laptop computers and other electronics that emit relatively small amounts of waste heat, Symko says.
-- Numerous heat-to-sound-to-electricity devices will be needed to harness solar power or to cool large, industrial sources of waste heat. Student Brenna Gillman learned how to get the devices -- mounted together to form an array -- to work together.
For an array to efficiently convert heat to sound and electricity, its individual devices must be "coupled" to produce the same frequency of sound and vibrate in sync.
Gillman used various metals to build supports to hold five of the devices at once. She found the devices could be synchronized if a support was made of a less dense metal such as aluminum and, more important, if the ratio of the support's weight to the array's total weight fell within a specific range. The devices could be synchronized even better if they were "coupled" when their sound waves interacted in an air cavity in the support.
-- Student Ivan Rodriguez used a different approach in building an acoustic device to convert heat to electricity. Instead of a cylinder, he built a resonator from a quarter-inch-diameter hollow steel tube bent to form a ring about 1.3 inches across.
In cylinder-shaped resonators, sound waves bounce against the ends of the cylinder. But when heat is applied to Rodriguez's ring-shaped resonator, sound waves keep circling through the device with nothing to reflect them.
Symko says the ring-shaped device is twice as efficient as cylindrical devices in converting heat into sound and electricity. That is because the pressure and speed of air in the ring-shaped device are always in sync, unlike in cylinder-shaped devices.
-- Student Myra Flitcroft designed a cylinder-shaped heat engine one-third the size of the other devices. It is less than half as wide as a penny, producing a much higher pitch than the other resonators. When heated, the device generated sound at 120 decibels -- the level produced by a siren or a rock concert.
"It's an extremely small thermoacoustic device -- one of the smallest built -- and it opens the way for producing them in an array," Symko says.
----------------------------------------------------
Adapted from materials provided by University of Utah, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070603225026.htm
Gamesa, Iberdrola Sign EUR6.3 Billion Wind Power Deal
By Bernd Radowitz
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
MADRID -(Dow Jones)- Spanish wind-turbine maker Gamesa SA (GAM.MC) Friday said it reached a deal to provide wind turbines, construction and services worth EUR6.3 billion to Iberdrola Renovables SA (IBR.MC), the renewables unit of Spanish power utility Iberdrola SA (IBE.MC).
The deal is the largest wind power deal in the world to date and a "historic milestone for Iberdrola and the whole renewables industry due to its volume, timing and strategic value," Iberdrola Renovables Chief Executive Xabier Viteri Solaun said at a conference call Friday afternoon.
The wind turbines to be delivered from 2010 to 2012 will have the joint potential to generate 4,500 megawatts in electricity in wind parks in Europe, Mexico and the U.S., Gamesa said in a note to the Spanish stock market regulator.
Gamesa, based in Bilbao, northern Spain, is one of the world's largest wind- turbine makers. Iberdrola Renovables is the world's biggest wind power generator.
"Securing such a large deal is positive for Gamesa, and good for Iberdrola as it guarantees it supply in a tight market," said David Garcia, an analyst with Bankinter in Madrid.
The contract guarantees Iberdrola Renovables 70% of its wind turbine needs until 2012, the company said.
Gamesa surged 4.12% to EUR33.65 at 1504 GMT in Madrid, while Iberdrola Renovables added 2.98% to EUR4.49. The parent company Iberdrola rose 1.22% to EUR9.14.
Under the contract, Gamesa commits to building and installing the wind turbines, and connecting them to the electricity grid, as well as starting their operation and providing maintenance services during the turbine's warranty period from 2010 to 2012.
Separately, Iberdrola Renovables will also acquire wind projects currently run by Gamesa in three countries for EUR65 million, which have a joint generating potential of 940 MW, Iberdrola said.
Of those, 600 MW are located in the U.K., 300 MW in Mexico and 40 MW in the Dominican Republic.
The two companies also reached a deal for a strategic alliance for the development and the joint operation of wind farms.
In the agreement, "both companies' competencies in the promotion, development and operation of wind energy projects in Spain and continental Europe will be merged," Gamesa said in a release.
For those new developments, the two companies will set up a joint venture in Spain, in which Iberdrola Renovables will hold 77% and Gamesa 23%. Gamesa under the deal has an option to raise its stake in the JV to 32%.
The two companies will also set up a second joint venture for an international company, in which Iberdrola Renovables will have a 76% stake, and Gamesa a 24% stake.
"Merging their businesses will contribute to greater creation of value for both companies' shareholders, as their activities are complementary."
The setup of the new company still has to be approved by anti-trust regulators.
"The operation aims at uniting two world leaders in the sector of the development of wind parks," Iberdrola said.
The JV deal includes a structure that allows Gamesa to sell its stakes under market conditions on January 1, 2011. The deal doesn't include operations the U.S. and Chinese markets.
As a result of the JV agreement, Iberdrola will add another 800 MW in renewable energy generating capacity in the 2009 to 2012 period, CEO Viteri Solaun said. That is on top of 2,000 MW in capacity the company had already been planning to add in the period.
Iberdrola Renovables at the end of the first quarter had an installed capacity of 8,164 MW. Of that, 7,822 MW comes from wind power and the rest from small hydroelectric power plants.
Gamesa is market leader in Spain, and said it is one of the world's three largest wind turbine generator manufacturers with a market share of 15% in 2007.
The deal comes after Iberdrola Renovables in 2006 had signed a contract with Gamesa to supply it with wind turbines generating 2,700 MW. Recently, the company also signed a 300 MW wind turbine contract with General Electric Co. ( GE), another with Mitsubishi (MSBHY) over 300 MW, one with Suzlon Energy Corp. ( 532667.BY) over 700 MW, and one with Alstom SA (1022047.FR) unit Ecotecnia over 310 MW, Iberdrola Renovables said.
Iberdrola Friday afternoon also said that the wind power deal was part of EUR10 billion in deals the company had signed with a total of ten providers of for power generation. Among them is a deal with French company Alstom SA ( 1022047.FR) to supply pipes for Iberdrola's new hydroelectric power plant in La Muela in the eastern Spanish province of Valencia.
Company Web site: http://www.gamesa.es
-By Bernd Radowitz, Dow Jones Newswires, 34 913958125, bernd.radowitz@ dowjones.com
Jun. 13 - Japanese company Genepax presents its eco-friendly car that runs on nothing but water.
Jun. 13 - Japanese company Genepax presents its eco-friendly car that runs on nothing but water.
The car has an energy generator that extracts hydrogen from water that is poured into the car's tank. The generator then releases electrons that produce electric power to run the car. Genepax, the company that invented the technology, aims to collaborate with Japanese manufacturers to mass produce it.
See the Video:
http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=84561&videoChannel=74
The car has an energy generator that extracts hydrogen from water that is poured into the car's tank. The generator then releases electrons that produce electric power to run the car. Genepax, the company that invented the technology, aims to collaborate with Japanese manufacturers to mass produce it.
See the Video:
http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=84561&videoChannel=74
A land rush in the desert, or plenty of room for everyone?
The U.S. housing market may be in a serious slump, but competition for big chunks of land in the hot, dry Southwest is heating up.
Developers of solar and wind power projects are scrambling to get their hands on swathes of land in the U.S. West that not only have lots of sun or wind, but are also close enough to critical transmission lines.
“There is a lot of activity staking out that land,” said Dan Kabel, chief executive of Acciona Solar Power, the unit of Spanish building-to-energy firm Acciona that is building solar thermal power plants in the United States. “People keep talking to me about a land rush. They say there is a land rush. The evidence I’ve seen personally is the patchwork effect of all the applications for solar and wind. There is very active prospecting for solar land.”
The U.S. West is in such high demand because not only are the sun and wind resources enormous, they are also located near areas of burgeoning power demand, such as Southern California, Kabel said in an interview at Acciona’s Nevada Solar One solar thermal power plant in Boulder City, Nevada.
But even with all that competition, Kabel said, there is plenty of room for Acciona to grow. So far, it operates one solar thermal power plant in the United States, though more are in the works (he wouldn’t say how many.)
“There is a lot of desert out there,” Kabel said.
Published from Reuters news enviroment Blog Section
Next: Japanesse have a new car it runs on water. Now why didn't I think of that?
Developers of solar and wind power projects are scrambling to get their hands on swathes of land in the U.S. West that not only have lots of sun or wind, but are also close enough to critical transmission lines.
“There is a lot of activity staking out that land,” said Dan Kabel, chief executive of Acciona Solar Power, the unit of Spanish building-to-energy firm Acciona that is building solar thermal power plants in the United States. “People keep talking to me about a land rush. They say there is a land rush. The evidence I’ve seen personally is the patchwork effect of all the applications for solar and wind. There is very active prospecting for solar land.”
The U.S. West is in such high demand because not only are the sun and wind resources enormous, they are also located near areas of burgeoning power demand, such as Southern California, Kabel said in an interview at Acciona’s Nevada Solar One solar thermal power plant in Boulder City, Nevada.
But even with all that competition, Kabel said, there is plenty of room for Acciona to grow. So far, it operates one solar thermal power plant in the United States, though more are in the works (he wouldn’t say how many.)
“There is a lot of desert out there,” Kabel said.
Published from Reuters news enviroment Blog Section
Next: Japanesse have a new car it runs on water. Now why didn't I think of that?
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