Green Bean is rockin' the Alt Power Digest again today; several interesting energy stories:
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 15:03:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Energy bill nightmare for activists
Energy bill nightmare for activists
Republicans happy after approving Democratic
legislation
By Miguel Llanos
MSNBC
Aug. 1 — Not in their wildest nightmares did
environmentalists expect it to happen: Sen. Tom
Daschle, D-S.D., defied Republicans to approve the
Senate energy bill passed last year when Democrats
were in charge — and Republicans complied. Not only do
environmentalists have issues with the Democratic
bill, but they quickly realized that Republicans would
rewrite the bill more to their liking as it goes next
to a conference committee of House and Senate members.
“WITH THIS maneuver, the Senate has cut short needed
debate on America’s energy future and failed to
provide a responsible energy policy for the nation,”
the Sierra Club said shortly after the Senate late
Thursday passed the 2002 bill on an 84-14 vote.
“The Senate neglected to adequately debate and
vote on important issues such as reducing global
warming pollution; closing the light-truck fuel
economy loophole; requiring increased use of clean,
renewable energy sources; and providing consumer
protections against energy market manipulation,” the
Sierra Club added.
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group was
just as angry. “There is no way that any conference
between the House energy bill, written by the
polluters for the polluters, and this Senate energy
bill, which was plundered by the polluters, will
produce the clean, safe energy policy that Americans
deserve,” USPIRG attorney Katherine Morrison said in a
statement. “We are headed to a conference committee
that will be dominated by allies of the polluters.”
VOW TO REWRITE BILL
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Republicans reject the allegations, but
acknowledge they’ll be able to rework the Democratic
bill more to their liking.
“This is a day to smile and smile big,” Sen.
Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said Thursday night.
“The reason I’m smiling is because I’m going to
be rewriting that bill,” he said, referring to the
fact that, as chairman of the Senate energy committee,
he’ll preside over the House-Senate conference. “We’re
in the majority and we’ll write a completely different
bill.”
Among the changes promised by Domenici:
expanding nuclear power and opening more public lands
to oil and natural gas drilling.
It’s not clear if conferees would try to insert
language to allow drilling in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The previously approved
House energy bill would, but neither the Democratic
nor Republican bill in the Senate called for that.
View differing perspectives on the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge
President Bush, who wants Congress to pass an
energy bill that allows refuge drilling, welcomed
Thursday’s vote. “The president looks forward to
working with the conferees to ensure that we enact a
balanced and comprehensive energy policy this year,”
the White House said.
DEMOCRATS’ GAME FACE
Daschle was also quick to welcome the deal,
saying Republicans “made us an offer we couldn’t
refuse.”
For Daschle and other Democrats in farm states,
the deal does improve the chances that Congress will
pass a provision to mandate and double the use of
corn-based ethanol as a gasoline additive.
Republicans are likely to keep the provision in
a conference bill since it is in both Democratic and
GOP bills.
But any final conference bill is likely to
favor Republican views on other energy and
environmental issues — from car mileage standards to
drilling on public lands.
A Daschle spokesman said that should a final
conference bill be unacceptable, Democrats would use a
filibuster — a tactic whereby lawmakers indefinitely
delay a vote by speaking on the floor.
And the spokesman for Democrats on the Senate
energy committee said that if Daschle hadn’t made the
offer, Republicans would have eventually passed their
own bill.
Energy map of america
At least this way, Bill Wicker said, the
conference starts off with a bill that has more
provisions acceptable to Democrats.
“As for the complaints about what will happen
in conference,” Wicker told MSNBC.com, “those are as
predictable as the GOP boasts about how they’re going
to fix things in conference.
“This is precisely what you would expect people
disappointed on both sides to say,” he added. “We are
aware of these concerns, and these forewarnings, and
we will deal with them at the appropriate time. For
now, we’re thrilled.”
‘A LITTLE BIT UNUSUAL’
Thursday’s turn of events came as a surprise to
everyone, especially since the Senate had been mired
in debate over the Republican energy legislation.
That debate was going nowhere Thursday until
Daschle alluded to last year’s bill, saying in his
floor speech that it would have been a better way to
go.
Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., quickly
picked up on it and said that might just work for
Republicans. A closed-door meeting of GOP senators
followed as did the decision to take Daschle up on his
offer.
“It’s been a fascinating day,” Frist later told
reporters, adding that how the deal developed was “a
little bit unusual.”
Frist did have to negotiate with Democrats on
two issues: pledging time in the future to allow for
votes on climate change and electricity deregulation.
On climate change, a bipartisan amendment by
Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Lieberman,
D-Conn., would set mandatory limits on emissions of
carbon dioxide and other gases that many scientists
fear are warming the Earth.
The Bush administration favors a voluntary, and
incentive-based approach.
LEAVE OUT REFUGE DRILLING?
One seasoned observer noted that while Daschle
benefits from the ethanol provision, his party will
lose the bigger energy battle as long as Republicans
don’t try for too much — particularly the
controversial idea of opening the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.
"In essence, this effort will take any control the
Democrats had in crafting the bill and give it to a
conference run by Republicans,” said Frank Maisano, an
energy industry consultant with the lobbying firm
Bracewell & Patterson. “This could ignite a scenario
where Republicans craft a conference report that is
favorable, but not overtly partisan toward them, and
send it back to the Senate sometime next spring with
the ethanol mandate as its main ingredient.”
If that happens, Maisano added, Daschle and
other Democrats could have trouble with traditional
supporters if they support the bill. “This would place
Daschle and many of his ethanol-supporting Democrat
colleagues in a difficult spot,” he said, “just a few
months from the election” for president and Congress.
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Message: 2
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 15:06:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Fill it up with french-fry grease
August 06, 2003
Fill it up with french-fry grease
A San Diego gas station offers electricity, ethanol,
and biodiesel. Oh, yes, regular too.
By Randy Dotinga
You may catch a whiff of cooking grease at the most
environmentally friendly gas station in the world, but
don't blame the smell on the doughnut shop across the
street. The odor comes from pumps 9 and 10, which
dispense "biodiesel" fuel made from the sludge that
lurks in deep fryers everywhere.
Just a few feet away, you can fill 'er up with
electricity or ethanol fermented from the leftovers of
cheese production. Got a lactose- intolerant car?
Visit the adjoining showroom and check the selection
of alternatively fueled Ford vehicles. Or drop by the
nonprofit education center and learn why you should
bother worrying about the environment in the first
place.
In all, the 90,000-square-foot Regional Transportation
Center is a $15 million gamble on the eventual demise
of unleaded gasoline (still available from pumps 1 to
8.)
"There are huge market forces that inevitably make us
win the bet. Undoubtedly, we will run out of oil in
this world," says general manager Mike Lewis. "The
thing that's unknown is the timing. Whether this will
happen this year or in five decades is to be
determined."
For now, Mr. Lewis is just happy that the monster gas
station, the brainchild of a nearby Ford dealership,
is finally open after more than six years in the
works, more than three of them tied up in red tape.
"It's much easier from a regulatory, permitting, and
design-review perspective to build a good,
old-fashioned gas station that sells gasoline and
diesel," Lewis says.
The plan is to make money by resolving the dilemma of
which needs to come first - cars that can use
alternative fuels or gas stations that sell more than
gasoline. "We decided to build the chicken and the egg
in one place," says Lewis.
And which of the fuels on offer is best equipped to
promote clean skies, healthy trees, and fuller
pocketbooks? The diplomatic Lewis is mum on the
subject. "We're fuel-neutral," he says. "We want to be
the ethanol mecca, the natural-gas mecca, the
biodiesel mecca, and the electric-vehicle mecca."
He'll need plenty of patience to make his dream come
true. While California's aggressive antipollution laws
are inspiring other states, carmakers have bypassed
state laws that tried to force them to produce more
alternatively fueled cars.
The much ballyhooed electrical cars have turned out to
be a flop, and General Motors has stopped making them.
Natural gas and propane, meanwhile, haven't made much
of a dent outside of buses and fleet vehicles.
But there are signs of change. Ethanol - also known as
grain alcohol or just alcohol - is rapidly making its
way into ordinary gas tanks in the Golden State. To
comply with the federal Clean Air Act, refiners in
California are pulling an oxygenizing agent known as
MTBE out of gasoline in the state.
They're supposed to replace all the MTBE with ethanol
by the end of this year. "The market is here, and now
folks are waking up to the opportunity," says Neil
Koehler, director of the California Renewable Fuels
Partnership, a coalition of alternative-fuel
manufacturers and environmentalists.
Indeed, stand-alone ethanol (blended with a bit of
gasoline to keep people from drinking it) may soon
become the undisputed king of alternative fuels in
California. It's already popular in the Midwest, where
enthusiastic support from farmers have turned the fuel
- mostly fermented from corn, not cheese - into a
multibillion- dollar business.
An estimated 200,000 cars and trucks in the Golden
State are "hybrids" that can run on ethanol instead of
gasoline, although many of their owners probably don't
know that because there has been no place to buy
ethanol. In fact, the San Diego gas station's ethanol
dispenser is reportedly the only one west of Salt Lake
City.
"The problem has been that there's no fuel
distribution," Mr. Koehler says. "The oil companies
aren't terribly motivated to supply the fuel, and the
ethanol industry has been pretty infantile in
California."
The immediate goal is to build enough ethanol fuel
pumps so that a driver could travel from the Mexican
border to Oregon and never have to switch back to
regular unleaded gas, he says.
So far, however, the ethanol pump at the San Diego gas
station has received little attention from customers.
Most pull up to the unleaded gasoline pumps or turn to
the two types of environmentally friendly diesel fuel
- low-sulfur and biodiesel, the kind made from
recycled cooking grease.
David Kutnock, a water-quality tester filling up his
1985 Mercedes Benz with biodiesel, is one such
customer. "It would be nice to go off our dependence
on oil," he says, before considering a more pressing
matter - the appetizing smell that might start coming
out his exhaust pipe.
"Everybody will be pulling into McDonald's after me,
saying 'French fries sound good right about now.' "
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Message: 3
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 15:09:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Anaerobic bacteria and biogas
A small ally with large possibilities: Anaerobic
bacteria and biogas
By Mutaz Mango
The Jordan Biogas Company plant at Ruseifa, generating
1MW of power and designed to treat 60 tonnes of waste
per day; mostly from a slaughterhouse, vegetable
market and hotels' organic wastes. Receiving station
(furthest right) has waste manually separated and sent
to the 2,000 m3 anaerobic digester (largest tank)
where it is mixed with liquid waste and stays there
for about 28 days to be broken down by anaerobic
bacteria. The process produces biogas and high-grade
fertiliser (Photo by Mutaz Mango)
Two of the few certainties in nature are that humanity
produces waste and humanity requires energy. A
bacterial process that is part of our natural
environment can alleviate part of our heavy demands on
nature by treating waste and producing usable energy
at the same time.
Per day, a Jordanian produces an average of 800gms of
household waste and requires 120MJ of energy. The
waste usually finds its way into one of the nation's
25 landfills. Energy on the other hand is oil-import
reliant.
Apart from the new Ghabawi landfill 23km east of
Amman, waste management in Jordan is uncontrolled
dumping in landfills. Trucks bring in the waste to a
landfill, which is basically a hole in the ground, and
layers of rubbish are compressed by land-moving trucks
to a thickness of about 60cm, each layer separated by
about 15cm of soil. A final top layer a metre in depth
or greater covers it all, on which vegetation can be
grown.
Out of sight though does not mean out of harm. The
annual 1.5 million tonnes of landfill-wastes are like
underground biological reactors, whose outcome is
dictated by ingredients, temperature and humidity.
Over half of our annual household waste is made-up of
organic substances. The remainder is comprised of
glass, plastics, metals and other materials. Virtually
inert, these materials contain a various assortment of
chemicals that are toxic (such as detergent containers
and heavy metals present in disposable batteries).
Mixed with organic matter, the combination starts
forming a fluid substance called leachate that can
seep through the ground and permeate underground
waterways. Leachate is considered a great threat to
health as it also contains various types of bacteria
and viruses.
It is this threat that has led to lining the Ghabawi
landfill with high-density polyethylene, a tough inert
material. The landfill was selected for its low annual
precipitation, distance from populated areas, low land
porosity and depth of underground water. The JD16
million landfill currently has one 120-dunum cell in
operation, with 9 more cells planned to cover a total
area of 2,000 dunums. It is estimated that Ghabawi
will take all of Amman and Zarqa's waste for the next
two decades.
It has been said that one person's trash is another's
treasure. The landfill at Madaba rents out rights to
its waste for an annual JD100,000. The contractor
employs staff to manually separate the waste and sells
the various materials.
Apart from economic benefits, energy waste and
pollution is also costly to all. For example, the
amount of energy involved in making one `aluminium'
drinks can is equivalent to that needed to recycle 20.
Manufacture of one tonne of glass produces 384 tonnes
of mining waste, which can be reduced to a quarter if
recycled, according to Jordan Environment Society
(JES).
Recycling is the popular catch phrase, but a proper
infrastructure needs to exist for it to happen. This
infrastructure is built upon individual involvement.
In parts of Europe waste bins are divided into
categories. Over here, all municipal waste goes into
one container. JES now has some small-scale recycling
projects using separate bins, whose contents are sent
to appropriate plants. Paper waste, for example, is
sent to a paper plant in Zarqa for recycling.
This is part of a national initiative financed by
Global Environment Fund (GEF), Danish International
Development Agency (DANIDA) and the government, aiming
to increase awareness and create a master plan that
addresses the issue at a national scale.
Waste has no political borders. Gasses emitted from
landfills are poisonous and dangerous and if untreated
can play havoc with nature. According to the National
Energy Research Centre, a small-sized landfill emits
gasses equivalent to that from 60,000 cars, the
elimination of which is the same as planting 80,000
trees.
Then there is the famous greenhouse effect. Methane is
21 times more of a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide
and will unabashedly flow out of a landfill if not
dealt with. Minor modifications to existing landfills
can reduce the gas outflow by 85 per cent.
A small-sized landfill receiving 100,000 tonnes of
waste a year (equivalent to that generated by 130,000
people) would produce 80 million cubic metres of
methane in its 20-year lifetime. As a greenhouse gas,
this is equivalent to 1.1 million tonnes of carbon
dioxide.
A more immediate threat from methane is its
flammability and toxicity. The odourless gas is
explosive and can seep into nearby settlements,
poisoning those who breathe it. Perforated pipes can
be placed in the landfill at various points to extract
the gas under negative pressure, and after minor
treatment, can turn a foe into a friend.
Methane is an energy source: Under atmospheric
pressure and room temperature a cubic metre contains
about 34 million joules of energy, a quarter of the
energy in an equivalent volume of gasoline. This gas
can be used to generate electricity in a gas turbine
or can be combusted to provide heat. The
aforementioned small-sized landfill can generate about
457 cubic metres of the gas per hour, which translates
to almost 5 GWh of energy per year. Bearing in mind
that total national electricity consumption is 6,900
GWh/year and that waste generated is 40 times more
than the small-sized landfill, almost three per cent
of electricity consumption can be covered by present
landfills. The country is literally sitting on
treasure.
Making practical use of this fact is the Jordan Biogas
Company (JBC) at Ruseifa. Financed by GEF and DANIDA
under the supervision of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), it was established in
1997 by the Municipality of Greater Amman and the
National Electric Power Company. A leading German
company in the field of renewable energy, Farmatic,
constructed the plant at the Ruseifa landfill. Methane
gas has been generating 1MW of electricity that is fed
into the national grid since May 2000.
The Ruseifa landfill, an old phosphate mine, closed
earlier this year after complaints by residents in the
nearby town about unpleasant odours. The landfill had
been receiving 2,400 tonnes of waste daily from Amman,
Zarqa and Balqa' since the late 1980s. Ever since the
first batch of waste was placed in the landfill,
bacteria started working on it.
Aerobic bacteria consume landfill waste until the air
runs out. Warmth created by the aerobes and moisture
in the oxygen-free waste become ideal conditions for
anaerobic bacteria to flourish. Acid-forming anaerobes
break down the long molecular chains in fats, proteins
and carbohydrates to smaller molecules, hydrogen and
carbon dioxide. Methanogenic anaerobes then convert
those products into methane and more carbon dioxide.
The resulting gas is called biogas and is generally
made up of about 60 per cent methane, 40 per cent
carbon dioxide and traces of other gasses, such as
hydrogen sulphide (substance that gives a landfill its
bad smell).
Gas with over 45 per cent methane can sustain
combustion, thus biogas can be burnt in a gas electric
generator and produce electricity at an efficiency of
about 30 per cent. The whole gas-forming process in
landfills takes roughly two years, but it can be
speeded up hundreds of times by the use of anaerobic
digesters.
Anaerobic digesters create ideal conditions for
anaerobes. A 2,000 cubic-metre digester exists at JBC
and is currently producing 80 m3 of biogas per hour
from 25 tonnes of waste per day, according to Hatem
Ababneh, JBC plant manager.
This gas, combined with landfill gas is currently
generating 1MW of energy and is expected to increase
to over 15MW in the near future, when new wells are
tapped into. To put matters into perspective though,
an average fossil fuel power plant produces 1,000 MW
of energy. Thus many biogas plants of this size are
needed to produce a substantial amount of power.
Investment costs seem to be discouraging, amounting to
about JD500,000 to equip a landfill with gas
extractors and power generators and JD1.4 million for
an anaerobic digester like JBC's (designed to receive
60 tonnes of waste per day).
Cost is relative, as such a plant would provide power
for over 20 years at a constant price. Between
start-up in May 2000 and 2002, the JBC has sold
electricity to the grid at an average 32 fils/kWh for
a profit of nearly JD160,000. There is also the
digested sludge produced from the anaerobic digester
that is a high-grade fertiliser valued at JD125,000
annually.
Biogas from sewage treatment plants was used as far
back as the late 1800s to power street lighting in the
UK. Why are there no other biogas projects in Jordan?
Lack of awareness and interest it seems. A workshop
organised by the National Energy Research Centre took
place last week in Madaba as part of an awareness
campaign targeting all governorates. The master plan
to be produced by the end of the year aims to
transform the nation's waste management into a more
constructive and profitable effort, explained Project
Manager Munther Bseiso from the National Energy
Research Centre.
It thus seems that microscopic bacteria can have
macroscopic effects on the economy and the
environment, all they need is some consideration and
effort from individuals and the nation as a whole.
Wednesday, August 6, 2003
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Message: 4
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 15:17:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Big purchasers can spark sustainability shift
Big purchasers can spark sustainability shift, study
says
05 August 2003
By GreenBiz.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Spending billions of dollars
annually on goods and services — often more than the
gross domestic product of entire countries —
corporations, international organizations,
universities, and other large institutions are key in
fostering the shift towards an environmentally
sustainable world, reports a new study from the
Worldwatch Institute.
Through their daily purchases, these mega-consumers
hold considerable sway over the health and stability
of many of the world's most fragile ecological
systems, says Worldwatch research associate Lisa
Mastny, author of the study.
“While environmentalists have worked for decades to
win the hearts and minds of individuals, some of the
world's biggest consumers have remained out of the
spotlight,“ says Mastny. “Yet their enormous and often
environmentally devastating purchases of everything
from gas-guzzling vehicle fleets to cancer-causing
cleaning supplies can have far greater consequences
for the future of our planet than the buying habits of
most individual households.“
In some industrial countries, government purchasing
accounts for as much as 25 percent of GDP. Government
procurement in the European Union alone totaled more
than $1 trillion in 2001, or 14 percent of GDP. In
North America, it reached $2 trillion, or about 18
percent of GDP.
Universities, too, spend billions of dollars each year
on everything from campus buildings to cafeteria food.
In the United States, colleges bought some $25 billion
in goods and services in 1999 — equivalent to nearly 3
percent of U.S. GDP. And the United Nations spent
nearly $14 billion on goods and services in 2000.
Because of the large-scale, systematic approach that
most institutions take in their purchasing, a single
decision made by one professional buyer or purchasing
department can have a tremendous ripple effect,
influencing the products used by hundreds or even
thousands of individuals.
“By that same token,“ says Mastny, “just one
environmentally focused purchasing policy or guidance
— if properly implemented and enforced — can bring
widespread benefits to an institution. By investing in
everything from energy-efficient lighting to organic
food, growing numbers of businesses, government
agencies, hospitals, and other organizations are not
only creating safer and healthier workplaces, but are
also saving money.“
If enough demand for green products is generated,
entire markets can shift. A few notable successes
point to the tremendous power of green purchasing:
* When the world's single largest computer buyer,
the United States government, was directed by
President Clinton in 1993 to buy only computer
equipment that met energy-efficiency standards
described under the government's EnergyStar program,
it set into motion a massive overhaul of the consumer
market. Today, largely as a result of this increased
demand, 95 percent of all monitors, 80 percent of
computers, and 99 percent of printers sold in North
America meet Energy Star standards.
* A high-profile campaign by the Rainforest Action
Network, aimed at pressuring leading U.S. home
improvement retailer Home Depot to improve its wood
buying practices, provided the impetus for the
company's adoption of a green purchasing policy in
1999. Within a year of this shift, retailers
accounting for well over one-fifth of the wood sold
for the U.S. home remodeling market announced that
they too would phase out endangered wood products and
favor wood coming from certified sustainably managed
forests. Two of the nation's biggest homebuilders also
pledged not to buy endangered wood.
* Government purchasing is credited with spurring
the rise of recycled paper to the level of standard
office supply in many European countries. And analysts
link a jump in the environmental performance of
Japanese electronics to that country's preeminence in
the green purchasing of computers and other high tech
products.
But while green purchasing initiatives are blossoming
in the world's wealthier nations, the question remains
of how to jumpstart a similar movement in the
developing world. Although overall resource use in
these countries is still relatively low compared to
industrial countries, rising consumer demand will make
strengthening local markets for environmentally sound
technologies — from renewable energy to non-chorine
bleached recycled paper — increasingly important.
Mastny says that one way institutions can help spread
green purchasing in developing countries is by using
their own procurements to strengthen local green
markets. By seeking to buy a greater portion of their
goods and services from local green suppliers, leading
international players like the United Nations, the
World Bank, and multinational corporations can not
only stimulate green markets, but also combat mounting
criticism about the environmental impacts of their
activities.
“Green purchasing will never be a magic solution to
the world's rampant resource consumption, but it does
offer tremendous opportunities for lessening the
impacts,“ says Mastny. “And as more and more
institutions realize the benefits of buying green — in
terms of employee health, the environment, and their
own bottom lines — groups that disregard environmental
factors risk being left behind.“
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Message: 5
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 15:18:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Dean Criticizes Bush Environmental Policy
Presidential Candidate Criticizes Bush Environmental
Policy
By RAYMOND PASCUAL
Contributing Writer
Friday, August 1, 2003
SAN FRANCISCO—In a green-themed speech, presidential
candidate and former Vermont governor Howard Dean
deeply criticized the Bush administration's approach
to environmental policy at a San Francisco hotel
Thursday.
"Today, we have a Republican president who seeks to
destroy this consensus and reverse decades of
responsible environmental policy," Dean told a
standing-room-only crowd of press and supporters.
Dean, considered one of the leading Democratic
presidential candidates and the most-storied "no-name"
candidate, tops eight other prominent party candidates
in the most recent California Field Poll.
Throughout his campaign speech, Dean repeatedly
emphasized the Bush administration's ties to big
business as reasons for what he called a poor
"environmental record."
He attacked Interior Deputy Secretary J. Stephen
Griles, a top Bush administration official, for his
repeated meetings with clients from the oil and mining
industries—industries that have lobbied to reduce
environmental restrictions.
"This is a classic case of conflict of interest and
breach of trust and the deputy secretary should
resign," Dean said.
Dean also complained about the deletion of the global
warming phenomena from the Environmental Protection
Agency's Draft Report on the Environment.
"The president doesn't believe global warming exists.
Whether it's uranium from Niger or global warming, the
Bush-Cheney administration is not one to let mere
facts stand in the way of its agenda," he said.
Dean briefly described his environmental strategy as
one that would have environmentally sound energy
policies, preserve open and "livable community" spaces
and restore U.S. world leadership on environmental
issues.
He said the United States ought to sever its reliance
on foreign sources of energy in the interest of
national security.
"The president isn't taking a stand on people stealing
our oil money. It flows through governments in the
Middle East to terrorist organizations who teach their
children to hate the United States," he said.
One of his administrative proposals is to work toward
a fuel efficiency of 40 miles per gallon by the year
2015. Such a proposal is expected to upset auto makers
in states with strong auto industries like Michigan, a
key electoral state.
Another proposal was to fund research for hybrid
gas-electric, hydrogen-powered and fuel cell-powered
vehicles.
"We're the most advanced technological country on the
face of this planet, and yet Japanese vehicles have
surpassed us in fuel efficiency," he said.
Dean also emphasized the need for the United States to
lead the world in addressing global environmental
concerns. He urged the U.S. government to work toward
an acceptable version of the Kyoto Protocol, a set of
world emissions standards the Bush administration
rejected.
"I ordered that emissions in Vermont be reduced to
levels below those required by the Kyoto Protocol,"
Dean said.
Dean's supporters gathered outside of the Union
Square-area hotel nearly an hour before the governor
arrived, holding signs and yelling pro-Dean chants.
"He has a progressive vision of the environment," said
Quinn Casttello, 23, a San Francisco resident. "He is
a complete contrast to the Bush administration, which
is despicable and arrogant."
The first Democratic party primary election will be
held in February 2004. Dean has remained competitive
in key primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire.
=====
¤?°`°?¤?,¸¸,?¤?°`°?¤?¤?°`°?¤?,¸¸,?¤?°`°?¤?
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤?°`°?¤?,¸¸,?¤?°`°?¤?¤?°`°?¤?,¸¸,?¤?°`°?¤?
A personal quest to promote the use of wind energy and hydrogen technology in the Great Lakes area of the United States. The Great Lakes area is in a unique position to become an energy exporting region through these and other renewable energy technologies. *Update 2014: Just do it everywhere - Dan*
Thursday, August 07, 2003
A very graphic illustration of why it is so necessary for us to consider the environment in all our activities, economic and private, and act in concert with nature to the best of our ability. Read on in the Earth Policy Institute's story:
Eco-Economy Update 2003-6 Share with a friend or colleague.
For Immediate Release
Copyright Earth Policy Institute 2003
August 5, 2003
ds.
CHINA LOSING WAR WITH ADVANCING DESERTS
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update26.htm
Lester R. Brown
China is now at war. It is not invading armies that are claiming its
territory, but expanding deserts. Old deserts are advancing and new ones are
forming, like guerrilla forces striking unexpectedly, forcing Beijing to
fight on several fronts. And worse, the growing deserts are gaining
momentum, occupying an ever-larger piece of China's territory each year.
Desert expansion has accelerated with each successive decade since 1950.
China's Environmental Protection Agency reports that the Gobi Desert
expanded by 52,400 square kilometers (20,240 square miles) from 1994 to
1999, an area half the size of Pennsylvania. With the advancing Gobi now
within 150 miles of Beijing, China's leaders are beginning to sense the
gravity of the situation.
Overplowing and overgrazing are converging to create a dust bowl of historic
dimensions. With little vegetation remaining in parts of northern and
western China, the strong winds of late winter and early spring can remove
literally millions of tons of topsoil in a single day--soil that can take
centuries to replace.
For the outside world, it is these dust storms that draw attention to the
deserts that are forming in China. On April 12, 2002, for instance, South
Korea was engulfed by a huge dust storm from China that left people in Seoul
literally gasping for breath. Schools were closed, airline flights were
cancelled, and clinics were overrun with patients having difficulty
breathing. Retail sales fell. Koreans have come to dread the arrival of what
they now call "the fifth season"--the dust storms of late winter and early
spring. Japan also suffers from dust storms originating in China. Although
not as directly exposed as Koreans are, the Japanese complain about the dust
and the brown rain that streaks their windshields and windows.
Each year, residents of eastern Chinese cities such as Beijing and Tianjin
hunker down as the dust storms begin. In addition to having problems with
breathing and the dust that stings the eyes, people are constantly working
to keep dust out of homes and to clean doorways and sidewalks of dust and
sand. Farmers and herders, whose livelihoods are blowing away, are paying an
even heavier price.
A report by a U.S. embassy official in May 2001 after a visit to Xilingol
Prefecture in Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongol) notes that although 97 percent of
the region is officially classified as grasslands, a third of the terrain
now appears to be desert. The report says the prefecture's livestock
population climbed from 2 million as recently as 1977 to 18 million in 2000.
A Chinese scientist doing grassland research in the prefecture says that if
recent desertification trends continue, Xilingol will be uninhabitable in 15
years.
A more recent U.S. embassy report entitled "Desert Mergers and Acquisitions"
says satellite images show two deserts in north-central China expanding and
merging to form a single, larger desert overlapping Inner Mongolia and Gansu
provinces. To the west in Xinjiang Province, two even larger deserts--the
Taklimakan and Kumtag--are also heading for a merger. Highways there are
regularly inundated by sand dunes.
In the deteriorating relationship between the global economy and the earth's
ecosystem, China is on the leading edge. A human population of 1.3 billion
and a livestock population of just over 400 million are weighing heavily on
the land. Huge flocks of sheep and goats in the northwest are stripping the
land of its protective vegetation, creating a dust bowl on a scale not seen
before. Northwestern China is on the verge of a massive ecological meltdown.
While overplowing is now being partly remedied by paying farmers to plant
their grainland in trees, overgrazing continues largely unabated. China's
cattle, sheep, and goat population tripled from 1950 to 2002. The United
States, a country with comparable grazing capacity, has 97 million cattle.
China has 106 million. But for sheep and goats, the figures are 8 million
versus 298 million. Concentrated in the western and northern provinces,
sheep and goats are destroying the land's protective vegetation. The wind
then does the rest, removing the soil and converting productive rangeland
into desert. (See data at
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update26_data.htm)
The fallout from the dust storms is social as well as economic. Millions of
rural Chinese may be uprooted and forced to migrate eastward as the drifting
sand covers their land. Expanding deserts are driving villagers from their
homes in Gansu, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia provinces. An Asian Development
Bank assessment of desertification in Gansu Province reports that 4,000
villages risk being overrun by drifting sands.
The U.S. Dust Bowl of the 1930s forced some 2.5 million "Okies" and other
refugees to leave the land, many of them heading from Oklahoma, Texas, and
Kansas to California. But the dust bowl forming in China is much larger, and
during the 1930s the U.S. population was only 150 million--compared with 1.3
billion in China today. Whereas the U.S. migration was measured in the
millions, China's may eventually measure in the tens of millions. And as a
U.S. embassy report entitled "The Grapes of Wrath in Inner Mongolia" noted,
"unfortunately, China's twenty-first century 'Okies' have no California to
escape to--at least not in China."
Planting marginal cropland in trees helps correct some of the mistakes of
overplowing, but it does not deal with the overgrazing issue. Arresting
desertification may depend more on grass than trees--on both permitting
existing grasses to recover and planting grass in denuded areas.
Beijing is trying to arrest the spread of deserts by encouraging
pastoralists to reduce their flocks of sheep and goats by 40 percent, but in
communities where wealth is measured not in income but in the number of
livestock owned and where most families are living under the poverty line,
such cuts are not easy. Some local governments are requiring stall-feeding
of livestock with forage gathered by hand, hoping that this confinement
measure will permit grasslands to recover.
China is taking some of the right steps to halt the advancing desert, but it
has a long way to go to reduce livestock numbers to a sustainable level. At
this point, there is no plan in place or on the drawing board that will halt
the advancing deserts.
The entire world has a stake in China's winning the war with the advancing
deserts given its economic leadership role. But winning will not be easy. Qu
Geping, the Chairman of the Environment and Resources Committee of the
National People's Congress, estimates that the remediation of land in the
areas where it is technically feasible would cost $28.3 billion. Halting
the advancing deserts will require a massive commitment of financial and
human resources, one that may force the government to make a hard choice:
either build costly proposed south-north water diversion projects or battle
the advancing deserts that are marching eastward and could eventually occupy
Beijing.
# # #
This Update is adapted from Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a
Civilization in Trouble, being published September 10, 2003. Chapters 1 and
11 are online now for free downloading.
http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/index.htm
Additional data and information sources at
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update26_data.htm
or contact jlarsen@earth-policy.org
For reprint permissions contact rjkauffman@earth-policy.org
To receive Eco-Economy Updates by email, go to
http://www.earth-policy.org/Subscribe/index.htm or send email to
majordomo@earth-policy.org with subscribe public as the
message.
To remove your name, send email to public-requests@earth-policy.org with
unsubscribe as the message.
If you enjoy receiving this e-news, please recommend it to a friend or
colleague.
Eco-Economy Update 2003-6 Share with a friend or colleague.
For Immediate Release
Copyright Earth Policy Institute 2003
August 5, 2003
ds.
CHINA LOSING WAR WITH ADVANCING DESERTS
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update26.htm
Lester R. Brown
China is now at war. It is not invading armies that are claiming its
territory, but expanding deserts. Old deserts are advancing and new ones are
forming, like guerrilla forces striking unexpectedly, forcing Beijing to
fight on several fronts. And worse, the growing deserts are gaining
momentum, occupying an ever-larger piece of China's territory each year.
Desert expansion has accelerated with each successive decade since 1950.
China's Environmental Protection Agency reports that the Gobi Desert
expanded by 52,400 square kilometers (20,240 square miles) from 1994 to
1999, an area half the size of Pennsylvania. With the advancing Gobi now
within 150 miles of Beijing, China's leaders are beginning to sense the
gravity of the situation.
Overplowing and overgrazing are converging to create a dust bowl of historic
dimensions. With little vegetation remaining in parts of northern and
western China, the strong winds of late winter and early spring can remove
literally millions of tons of topsoil in a single day--soil that can take
centuries to replace.
For the outside world, it is these dust storms that draw attention to the
deserts that are forming in China. On April 12, 2002, for instance, South
Korea was engulfed by a huge dust storm from China that left people in Seoul
literally gasping for breath. Schools were closed, airline flights were
cancelled, and clinics were overrun with patients having difficulty
breathing. Retail sales fell. Koreans have come to dread the arrival of what
they now call "the fifth season"--the dust storms of late winter and early
spring. Japan also suffers from dust storms originating in China. Although
not as directly exposed as Koreans are, the Japanese complain about the dust
and the brown rain that streaks their windshields and windows.
Each year, residents of eastern Chinese cities such as Beijing and Tianjin
hunker down as the dust storms begin. In addition to having problems with
breathing and the dust that stings the eyes, people are constantly working
to keep dust out of homes and to clean doorways and sidewalks of dust and
sand. Farmers and herders, whose livelihoods are blowing away, are paying an
even heavier price.
A report by a U.S. embassy official in May 2001 after a visit to Xilingol
Prefecture in Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongol) notes that although 97 percent of
the region is officially classified as grasslands, a third of the terrain
now appears to be desert. The report says the prefecture's livestock
population climbed from 2 million as recently as 1977 to 18 million in 2000.
A Chinese scientist doing grassland research in the prefecture says that if
recent desertification trends continue, Xilingol will be uninhabitable in 15
years.
A more recent U.S. embassy report entitled "Desert Mergers and Acquisitions"
says satellite images show two deserts in north-central China expanding and
merging to form a single, larger desert overlapping Inner Mongolia and Gansu
provinces. To the west in Xinjiang Province, two even larger deserts--the
Taklimakan and Kumtag--are also heading for a merger. Highways there are
regularly inundated by sand dunes.
In the deteriorating relationship between the global economy and the earth's
ecosystem, China is on the leading edge. A human population of 1.3 billion
and a livestock population of just over 400 million are weighing heavily on
the land. Huge flocks of sheep and goats in the northwest are stripping the
land of its protective vegetation, creating a dust bowl on a scale not seen
before. Northwestern China is on the verge of a massive ecological meltdown.
While overplowing is now being partly remedied by paying farmers to plant
their grainland in trees, overgrazing continues largely unabated. China's
cattle, sheep, and goat population tripled from 1950 to 2002. The United
States, a country with comparable grazing capacity, has 97 million cattle.
China has 106 million. But for sheep and goats, the figures are 8 million
versus 298 million. Concentrated in the western and northern provinces,
sheep and goats are destroying the land's protective vegetation. The wind
then does the rest, removing the soil and converting productive rangeland
into desert. (See data at
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update26_data.htm)
The fallout from the dust storms is social as well as economic. Millions of
rural Chinese may be uprooted and forced to migrate eastward as the drifting
sand covers their land. Expanding deserts are driving villagers from their
homes in Gansu, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia provinces. An Asian Development
Bank assessment of desertification in Gansu Province reports that 4,000
villages risk being overrun by drifting sands.
The U.S. Dust Bowl of the 1930s forced some 2.5 million "Okies" and other
refugees to leave the land, many of them heading from Oklahoma, Texas, and
Kansas to California. But the dust bowl forming in China is much larger, and
during the 1930s the U.S. population was only 150 million--compared with 1.3
billion in China today. Whereas the U.S. migration was measured in the
millions, China's may eventually measure in the tens of millions. And as a
U.S. embassy report entitled "The Grapes of Wrath in Inner Mongolia" noted,
"unfortunately, China's twenty-first century 'Okies' have no California to
escape to--at least not in China."
Planting marginal cropland in trees helps correct some of the mistakes of
overplowing, but it does not deal with the overgrazing issue. Arresting
desertification may depend more on grass than trees--on both permitting
existing grasses to recover and planting grass in denuded areas.
Beijing is trying to arrest the spread of deserts by encouraging
pastoralists to reduce their flocks of sheep and goats by 40 percent, but in
communities where wealth is measured not in income but in the number of
livestock owned and where most families are living under the poverty line,
such cuts are not easy. Some local governments are requiring stall-feeding
of livestock with forage gathered by hand, hoping that this confinement
measure will permit grasslands to recover.
China is taking some of the right steps to halt the advancing desert, but it
has a long way to go to reduce livestock numbers to a sustainable level. At
this point, there is no plan in place or on the drawing board that will halt
the advancing deserts.
The entire world has a stake in China's winning the war with the advancing
deserts given its economic leadership role. But winning will not be easy. Qu
Geping, the Chairman of the Environment and Resources Committee of the
National People's Congress, estimates that the remediation of land in the
areas where it is technically feasible would cost $28.3 billion. Halting
the advancing deserts will require a massive commitment of financial and
human resources, one that may force the government to make a hard choice:
either build costly proposed south-north water diversion projects or battle
the advancing deserts that are marching eastward and could eventually occupy
Beijing.
# # #
This Update is adapted from Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a
Civilization in Trouble, being published September 10, 2003. Chapters 1 and
11 are online now for free downloading.
http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/index.htm
Additional data and information sources at
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update26_data.htm
or contact jlarsen@earth-policy.org
For reprint permissions contact rjkauffman@earth-policy.org
To receive Eco-Economy Updates by email, go to
http://www.earth-policy.org/Subscribe/index.htm or send email to
majordomo@earth-policy.org with subscribe public
message.
To remove your name, send email to public-requests@earth-policy.org with
unsubscribe as the message.
If you enjoy receiving this e-news, please recommend it to a friend or
colleague.
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
News from Alt Power Digest on Yahoo Groups:
(That Green Bean comes up with the best stuff...)
Message: 1
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 15:02:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Ed: Wanted: energy policy that works
EDITORIAL Wanted: energy policy that works
Monday, August 4, 2003
SF Chronicle
THIS COUNTRY sorely needs a fresh energy policy, one
that balances conservation with drilling, accepts
science over myth and provides fairness, not political
favors.
The Senate's vote on an energy bill does none of this.
Both parties colluded to pass the buck in a stunt that
lets Republicans and Democrats look good. It's
shameful nonsense, and California's senators, Barbara
Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, sensibly rejected the
move.
Faced with a deadlock, the Senate cut a last-minute
deal: drop the fight over the current bill, dust off
last year's energy bill and toss the whole issue to a
House and Senate negotiating committee, likely
dominated by Republicans. A House energy measure,
leaning heavily on drilling and industry tax breaks,
is already waiting there.
>From here on, don't expect sweet reason and common
sense. Democrats hope they have a major say because
last year's Senate bill was written by their party,
then in the majority. Republicans are rubbing their
hands because they will have the votes at the next
stop and can rewrite the 1,000-page package.
Politics aside, consider what's at stake. SUV mileage
upgrades are long gone from the debate, though fuel
imports remain a central addiction for the economy.
Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is
alive in the House bill, though the Senate may balk.
Other ingredients amount to political deals.
California drivers will be the dubious beneficiaries
of corn-based ethanol, popular in the grain-belt
Midwest but costly at the pump in this state. Mergers
of giant utility-holding companies will be easier
though regulatory checks on pricing won't be
toughened.
To squeeze out more energy, truly bad ideas are in the
works. Hydroelectric dam operators may have a freer
hand to operate, never mind the impacts on fish,
environment or recreation. More nuclear power plants
may be built via loan guarantees pushed by Sen. Pete
Domenici, the Republican chairman of the Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee. He represents New
Mexico, a uranium mining center.
The Senate's energy wish list includes more
electricity from wind and renewable sources, a White
House office on climate change and a roster of which
companies are spewing out greenhouse gases.
These ideas represent science for the future and are
useful measures and inducement for change. But the
House bill has none of the provisions and GOP control
of the final package may cut them out.
A Mideast war, gyrating oil and gas prices and new
technologies all argue for an updated energy policy.
Instead of significant reforms, Washington appears
headed to the customary fixes -- more drilling, tax
breaks and political favors -- that don't work. It's
hardly an energy plan at all.
=====
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Message: 2
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 15:07:03 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Hawaiian Wave-generated electricity tests set
Monday, August 4, 2003
Wave-generated electricity tests set
Kaneohe Marine Base may get power from a buoy system
offshore
By Bruce Dunford
Associated Press
Waters off Kaneohe will be used this fall to see if
those nonstop open-ocean swells that make Hawaii a
surfer's paradise can be tapped for cheap, clean
electricity.
Ocean Power Technologies Inc., of New Jersey, holds a
$9.5 million contract from the Office of Naval
Research to test if the bobbing of subsurface buoys
tethered to the ocean floor can efficiently generate
electricity for Marine Corps Base Hawaii-Kaneohe.
AP PHOTO / OCEAN POWER TECHNOLOGIES VIA U.S. NAVY
The Office of Naval Research has contracted with a New
Jersey firm to test the PowerBuoy wave energy power
converter, shown in a graphic representation at left.
The idea is to reduce the Navy's electricity costs and
dependence on oil at its shoreside bases around the
world, but the technological development would also
have applications for civilian uses.
"Everybody (at OPT) feels ... that we're doing
something that may be important to the world," said
George Taylor, president and chief executive officer
of the 15-person company he helped start in 1994.
Taylor grew up in Australia where he learned to surf
and appreciate the force of the waves curling around
him.
The pilot project's first phase calls for one of the
company's trademarked PowerBuoys to be given a
buoyancy to ride nine to 12 feet below the surface in
100 feet of water nearly a mile off the Kaneohe base's
Hilltop housing area.
As the swell passes, the 40-foot-long,
15-foot-diameter, vertically positioned PowerBuoy
moves up and down on a rigid pole anchored to the
bottom.
The up-and-down movement mechanically creates a flow
of hydraulic fluid to drive an electrical generator
housed in a canister on the ocean floor, said Don
Rochon, spokesman for the Pacific Division of the
Naval Facilities Engineering Command, which is
overseeing the project.
The motor generates direct current in a submerged
cable to an onshore transformer to create an average
20 kilowatts and up to a peak of 50 kilowatts of
alternating current plugged into the base's Hawaiian
Electric Co. grid, enough to serve five to eight
homes, Rochon said.
Several prototypes of the system have been
successfully tested off the New Jersey shore in
Tuckerton since 1998.
Project operators are waiting for lower swells usually
occurring in September to place the subsea electric
cables, after which the PowerBuoy will be deployed,
Rochon said.
The only visible part of the device will be a brightly
colored navigation mast sticking up to warn boaters to
avoid coming too close.
The contract calls for a second device to be deployed
and for a two- to five-year test period to see if the
project will be expanded for permanent use, Rochon
said.
"First, we have to prove the technology," he said.
Hawaii was chosen for the test because on average it
has the highest recorded wave power in the world.
The company said that in its technology, bigger is
better.
If it can develop a 100-megawatt system, the company
said its PowerBuoy technology can lower the cost of
generating electricity to 3 to 4 cents per
kilowatt-hour, slightly cheaper than electricity
generated from fossil fuels and much cheaper than wind
or solar energy systems.
A 1-megawatt system, the goal of the Hawaii project,
would generate power at a cost of 7 to 10 cents per
kilowatt-hour, including maintenance and operating
expenses as well as amortized capital costs of the
equipment, the company said.
A modular system based on an array of the small and
relatively inexpensive buoylike structures would
require low-cost maintenance for a lifetime of 30
years, according to OPT's Web site.
"We believe that this project will position the
company for expansion into the U.S. and the
international commercial marketplace," Taylor said.
To explain the global potential, the company's chief
financial officer, Charles Dunleavy, said waves
passing through a 10-by-10-mile area of ocean create
enough energy to meet the electricity needs of the
entire state of California.
=====
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 3
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 15:10:14 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Hotel Gets 250 kWe + Heat Fuel Cell
FuelCell Energy Completes Fuel Cell Installation at
Starwood's Sheraton Edison Hotel
8/4/03
DANBURY, Conn. &EDISON, N.J., Aug 4, 2003 (BUSINESS
WIRE) --
FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL) and its U.S.
distribution partner, PPL EnergyPlus, a PPL
Corporation (NYSE: PPL) subsidiary, today announced
the installation of a clean and efficient Direct
FuelCell(R) (DFC(R)) power plant for Starwood Hotels
&Resorts, one of the world's largest hotel and leisure
companies.
The dedication ceremony marked the completion of the
installation, commissioning and testing of the DFC300A
power plant, which will provide 250 kilowatts of
electric power as well as heat to the Sheraton Edison
Hotel - Raritan Center in Edison, New Jersey. The
system provides about 25 percent of the hotel's
electricity and hot water.
'We are delighted to be working with Starwood as it
continues its vision and commitment to environmental
leadership with the first of two installations of DFC
power plants at its hotel properties this year,'said
FuelCell Energy Chairman and CEO Jerry D. Leitman.
'This unit represents PPL's fourth successful
installation, demonstrating its role as a premier
provider of ultra clean energy using our highly
efficient DFC power plants.'
'We are thrilled that our first hotel application of
fuel cell system technology has been completed and are
pleased to be working in conjunction with PPL on this
important initiative,'said John Lembo, Director of
Energy for Starwood. 'Having been the recipient of the
ENERGY STAR Partner(R) of the Year Award for the last
two years, Starwood Hotels & Resorts will continue to
adopt and implement environmentally safe and friendly
practices that save energy and protect the
environment. We feel that energy fuel cell technology
will play an important role in reducing harmful
emissions and reduce the hotels'overall energy costs.'
'Until recently, fuel cell energy technology was not
available commercially, and its practical use was very
limited,'said Micheal E. Kroboth, President of PPL
Energy Services Holdings. 'However fuel cells are now
part of a growing range of environmentally friendly
energy solutions that PPL is providing to our
customers. PPL is proud to supply Starwood with an
efficient, reliable on-site fuel cell energy system.'
The DFC300A uses natural gas that will be supplied by
NUI - Elizabethtown Gas of Bedminster, N.J.
The New Jersey Clean Energy Program provided $860,000
in funding to PPL as part of its incentive program to
encourage the use of clean and efficient technology.
PPL has an equity investment in FuelCell Energy and is
a distributor of its DFC products in the United
States. PPL will be installing two other DFC300A power
plants in New Jersey later this year, one at the
Sheraton Parsipanny Hotel and one at Ocean County
College in Toms River. PPL has previously installed
three other DFC300A power plants at end user sites,
including Air Station Cape Cod in Bourne, Mass. and
two at Zoot Enterprises, a credit processing company
in Bozeman, Mont.
Currently, DFC-based fuel cell power plants are
operating at 15 locations throughout the world and
have generated over 12 million kilowatt hours at
customer sites.
About Direct FuelCells
Direct FuelCells efficiently generate clean
electricity at distributed locations near the
customer, including hospitals, schools, universities,
hotels and other commercial and industrial facilities,
as well as in grid support applications for utility
customers. In essence, Direct FuelCells are like
large, continuously operating batteries that generate
electricity as long as fuel, such as natural gas, is
supplied. Since the fuel is not burned, there is no
pollution commonly associated with the combustion of
fossil fuels. Because hydrogen is generated directly
within the fuel cell module from readily available
fuels such as natural gas and wastewater treatment
gas, DFC power plants are ready today and do not
require the creation of a hydrogen infrastructure.
This high-efficiency technology generates more
electric power from less fuel and with less carbon
dioxide emissions than traditional methods using
combustion.
About FuelCellEnergy, Inc.
FuelCell Energy, Inc., based in Danbury, Connecticut,
is a world leader in the development and manufacture
of highly efficient hydrogen fuel cells for clean
electric power generation, currently offering DFC
power plant products ranging in size from 250
kilowatts to 2 megawatts for applications up to 50
megawatts.
The Company has developed commercial distribution
alliances for its carbonate Direct FuelCell technology
with MTU CFC Solutions Gmbh, a company of
DaimlerChrysler AG, in Europe; Marubeni Corporation in
Asia; and Caterpillar, PPL Energy Plus and Chevron
Energy Solutions, in the U.S. FuelCell Energy is
developing Direct FuelCell technology for stationary
power plants with the U.S. Department of Energy
through their Office of Fossil Energy's National
Energy Technology Laboratory. More information is
available at http://www.fuelcellenergy.com.
About PPL Corporation
PPL Corporation, headquartered in Allentown, Pa.,
controls or owns nearly 11,500 megawatts of generating
capacity in the United States, sells energy in key
U.S. markets, and delivers electricity to customers in
Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America.
About Starwood Hotels &Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels &Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT)
is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in
the world, with more than 750 properties in more than
80 countries and 105,000 employees at its owned and
managed properties. With internationally renowned
brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator
and franchisor of hotels and resorts including: St.
Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four
Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood
Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier
developers and operators of high quality vacation
interval ownership resorts.
This press release contains forward-looking
statements, including statements regarding the
Company's plans and expectations regarding the
development and commercialization of its fuel cell
technology. All forward-looking statements are subject
to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected.
Factors that could cause such a difference include,
without limitation, the risk that commercial field
trials of the Company's products will not occur when
anticipated, general risks associated with product
development, manufacturing, changes in the utility
regulatory environment, potential volatility of energy
prices, rapid technological change, and competition,
as well as other risks set forth in the Company's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The forward-looking statements contained herein speak
only as of the date of this press release. The Company
expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
release publicly any updates or revisions to any such
statement to reflect any change in the Company's
expectations or any change in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statement is based.
SOURCE: FuelCell Energy, Inc.
FuelCell Energy, Inc. Steven P. Eschbach, CFA,
203-825-6000 seschbach@fce.com
=====
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
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(That Green Bean comes up with the best stuff...)
Message: 1
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 15:02:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Ed: Wanted: energy policy that works
EDITORIAL Wanted: energy policy that works
Monday, August 4, 2003
SF Chronicle
THIS COUNTRY sorely needs a fresh energy policy, one
that balances conservation with drilling, accepts
science over myth and provides fairness, not political
favors.
The Senate's vote on an energy bill does none of this.
Both parties colluded to pass the buck in a stunt that
lets Republicans and Democrats look good. It's
shameful nonsense, and California's senators, Barbara
Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, sensibly rejected the
move.
Faced with a deadlock, the Senate cut a last-minute
deal: drop the fight over the current bill, dust off
last year's energy bill and toss the whole issue to a
House and Senate negotiating committee, likely
dominated by Republicans. A House energy measure,
leaning heavily on drilling and industry tax breaks,
is already waiting there.
>From here on, don't expect sweet reason and common
sense. Democrats hope they have a major say because
last year's Senate bill was written by their party,
then in the majority. Republicans are rubbing their
hands because they will have the votes at the next
stop and can rewrite the 1,000-page package.
Politics aside, consider what's at stake. SUV mileage
upgrades are long gone from the debate, though fuel
imports remain a central addiction for the economy.
Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is
alive in the House bill, though the Senate may balk.
Other ingredients amount to political deals.
California drivers will be the dubious beneficiaries
of corn-based ethanol, popular in the grain-belt
Midwest but costly at the pump in this state. Mergers
of giant utility-holding companies will be easier
though regulatory checks on pricing won't be
toughened.
To squeeze out more energy, truly bad ideas are in the
works. Hydroelectric dam operators may have a freer
hand to operate, never mind the impacts on fish,
environment or recreation. More nuclear power plants
may be built via loan guarantees pushed by Sen. Pete
Domenici, the Republican chairman of the Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee. He represents New
Mexico, a uranium mining center.
The Senate's energy wish list includes more
electricity from wind and renewable sources, a White
House office on climate change and a roster of which
companies are spewing out greenhouse gases.
These ideas represent science for the future and are
useful measures and inducement for change. But the
House bill has none of the provisions and GOP control
of the final package may cut them out.
A Mideast war, gyrating oil and gas prices and new
technologies all argue for an updated energy policy.
Instead of significant reforms, Washington appears
headed to the customary fixes -- more drilling, tax
breaks and political favors -- that don't work. It's
hardly an energy plan at all.
=====
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______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Message: 2
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 15:07:03 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Hawaiian Wave-generated electricity tests set
Monday, August 4, 2003
Wave-generated electricity tests set
Kaneohe Marine Base may get power from a buoy system
offshore
By Bruce Dunford
Associated Press
Waters off Kaneohe will be used this fall to see if
those nonstop open-ocean swells that make Hawaii a
surfer's paradise can be tapped for cheap, clean
electricity.
Ocean Power Technologies Inc., of New Jersey, holds a
$9.5 million contract from the Office of Naval
Research to test if the bobbing of subsurface buoys
tethered to the ocean floor can efficiently generate
electricity for Marine Corps Base Hawaii-Kaneohe.
AP PHOTO / OCEAN POWER TECHNOLOGIES VIA U.S. NAVY
The Office of Naval Research has contracted with a New
Jersey firm to test the PowerBuoy wave energy power
converter, shown in a graphic representation at left.
The idea is to reduce the Navy's electricity costs and
dependence on oil at its shoreside bases around the
world, but the technological development would also
have applications for civilian uses.
"Everybody (at OPT) feels ... that we're doing
something that may be important to the world," said
George Taylor, president and chief executive officer
of the 15-person company he helped start in 1994.
Taylor grew up in Australia where he learned to surf
and appreciate the force of the waves curling around
him.
The pilot project's first phase calls for one of the
company's trademarked PowerBuoys to be given a
buoyancy to ride nine to 12 feet below the surface in
100 feet of water nearly a mile off the Kaneohe base's
Hilltop housing area.
As the swell passes, the 40-foot-long,
15-foot-diameter, vertically positioned PowerBuoy
moves up and down on a rigid pole anchored to the
bottom.
The up-and-down movement mechanically creates a flow
of hydraulic fluid to drive an electrical generator
housed in a canister on the ocean floor, said Don
Rochon, spokesman for the Pacific Division of the
Naval Facilities Engineering Command, which is
overseeing the project.
The motor generates direct current in a submerged
cable to an onshore transformer to create an average
20 kilowatts and up to a peak of 50 kilowatts of
alternating current plugged into the base's Hawaiian
Electric Co. grid, enough to serve five to eight
homes, Rochon said.
Several prototypes of the system have been
successfully tested off the New Jersey shore in
Tuckerton since 1998.
Project operators are waiting for lower swells usually
occurring in September to place the subsea electric
cables, after which the PowerBuoy will be deployed,
Rochon said.
The only visible part of the device will be a brightly
colored navigation mast sticking up to warn boaters to
avoid coming too close.
The contract calls for a second device to be deployed
and for a two- to five-year test period to see if the
project will be expanded for permanent use, Rochon
said.
"First, we have to prove the technology," he said.
Hawaii was chosen for the test because on average it
has the highest recorded wave power in the world.
The company said that in its technology, bigger is
better.
If it can develop a 100-megawatt system, the company
said its PowerBuoy technology can lower the cost of
generating electricity to 3 to 4 cents per
kilowatt-hour, slightly cheaper than electricity
generated from fossil fuels and much cheaper than wind
or solar energy systems.
A 1-megawatt system, the goal of the Hawaii project,
would generate power at a cost of 7 to 10 cents per
kilowatt-hour, including maintenance and operating
expenses as well as amortized capital costs of the
equipment, the company said.
A modular system based on an array of the small and
relatively inexpensive buoylike structures would
require low-cost maintenance for a lifetime of 30
years, according to OPT's Web site.
"We believe that this project will position the
company for expansion into the U.S. and the
international commercial marketplace," Taylor said.
To explain the global potential, the company's chief
financial officer, Charles Dunleavy, said waves
passing through a 10-by-10-mile area of ocean create
enough energy to meet the electricity needs of the
entire state of California.
=====
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
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________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 3
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 15:10:14 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Hotel Gets 250 kWe + Heat Fuel Cell
FuelCell Energy Completes Fuel Cell Installation at
Starwood's Sheraton Edison Hotel
8/4/03
DANBURY, Conn. &EDISON, N.J., Aug 4, 2003 (BUSINESS
WIRE) --
FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL) and its U.S.
distribution partner, PPL EnergyPlus, a PPL
Corporation (NYSE: PPL) subsidiary, today announced
the installation of a clean and efficient Direct
FuelCell(R) (DFC(R)) power plant for Starwood Hotels
&Resorts, one of the world's largest hotel and leisure
companies.
The dedication ceremony marked the completion of the
installation, commissioning and testing of the DFC300A
power plant, which will provide 250 kilowatts of
electric power as well as heat to the Sheraton Edison
Hotel - Raritan Center in Edison, New Jersey. The
system provides about 25 percent of the hotel's
electricity and hot water.
'We are delighted to be working with Starwood as it
continues its vision and commitment to environmental
leadership with the first of two installations of DFC
power plants at its hotel properties this year,'said
FuelCell Energy Chairman and CEO Jerry D. Leitman.
'This unit represents PPL's fourth successful
installation, demonstrating its role as a premier
provider of ultra clean energy using our highly
efficient DFC power plants.'
'We are thrilled that our first hotel application of
fuel cell system technology has been completed and are
pleased to be working in conjunction with PPL on this
important initiative,'said John Lembo, Director of
Energy for Starwood. 'Having been the recipient of the
ENERGY STAR Partner(R) of the Year Award for the last
two years, Starwood Hotels & Resorts will continue to
adopt and implement environmentally safe and friendly
practices that save energy and protect the
environment. We feel that energy fuel cell technology
will play an important role in reducing harmful
emissions and reduce the hotels'overall energy costs.'
'Until recently, fuel cell energy technology was not
available commercially, and its practical use was very
limited,'said Micheal E. Kroboth, President of PPL
Energy Services Holdings. 'However fuel cells are now
part of a growing range of environmentally friendly
energy solutions that PPL is providing to our
customers. PPL is proud to supply Starwood with an
efficient, reliable on-site fuel cell energy system.'
The DFC300A uses natural gas that will be supplied by
NUI - Elizabethtown Gas of Bedminster, N.J.
The New Jersey Clean Energy Program provided $860,000
in funding to PPL as part of its incentive program to
encourage the use of clean and efficient technology.
PPL has an equity investment in FuelCell Energy and is
a distributor of its DFC products in the United
States. PPL will be installing two other DFC300A power
plants in New Jersey later this year, one at the
Sheraton Parsipanny Hotel and one at Ocean County
College in Toms River. PPL has previously installed
three other DFC300A power plants at end user sites,
including Air Station Cape Cod in Bourne, Mass. and
two at Zoot Enterprises, a credit processing company
in Bozeman, Mont.
Currently, DFC-based fuel cell power plants are
operating at 15 locations throughout the world and
have generated over 12 million kilowatt hours at
customer sites.
About Direct FuelCells
Direct FuelCells efficiently generate clean
electricity at distributed locations near the
customer, including hospitals, schools, universities,
hotels and other commercial and industrial facilities,
as well as in grid support applications for utility
customers. In essence, Direct FuelCells are like
large, continuously operating batteries that generate
electricity as long as fuel, such as natural gas, is
supplied. Since the fuel is not burned, there is no
pollution commonly associated with the combustion of
fossil fuels. Because hydrogen is generated directly
within the fuel cell module from readily available
fuels such as natural gas and wastewater treatment
gas, DFC power plants are ready today and do not
require the creation of a hydrogen infrastructure.
This high-efficiency technology generates more
electric power from less fuel and with less carbon
dioxide emissions than traditional methods using
combustion.
About FuelCellEnergy, Inc.
FuelCell Energy, Inc., based in Danbury, Connecticut,
is a world leader in the development and manufacture
of highly efficient hydrogen fuel cells for clean
electric power generation, currently offering DFC
power plant products ranging in size from 250
kilowatts to 2 megawatts for applications up to 50
megawatts.
The Company has developed commercial distribution
alliances for its carbonate Direct FuelCell technology
with MTU CFC Solutions Gmbh, a company of
DaimlerChrysler AG, in Europe; Marubeni Corporation in
Asia; and Caterpillar, PPL Energy Plus and Chevron
Energy Solutions, in the U.S. FuelCell Energy is
developing Direct FuelCell technology for stationary
power plants with the U.S. Department of Energy
through their Office of Fossil Energy's National
Energy Technology Laboratory. More information is
available at http://www.fuelcellenergy.com.
About PPL Corporation
PPL Corporation, headquartered in Allentown, Pa.,
controls or owns nearly 11,500 megawatts of generating
capacity in the United States, sells energy in key
U.S. markets, and delivers electricity to customers in
Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America.
About Starwood Hotels &Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels &Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT)
is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in
the world, with more than 750 properties in more than
80 countries and 105,000 employees at its owned and
managed properties. With internationally renowned
brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator
and franchisor of hotels and resorts including: St.
Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four
Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood
Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier
developers and operators of high quality vacation
interval ownership resorts.
This press release contains forward-looking
statements, including statements regarding the
Company's plans and expectations regarding the
development and commercialization of its fuel cell
technology. All forward-looking statements are subject
to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected.
Factors that could cause such a difference include,
without limitation, the risk that commercial field
trials of the Company's products will not occur when
anticipated, general risks associated with product
development, manufacturing, changes in the utility
regulatory environment, potential volatility of energy
prices, rapid technological change, and competition,
as well as other risks set forth in the Company's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The forward-looking statements contained herein speak
only as of the date of this press release. The Company
expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
release publicly any updates or revisions to any such
statement to reflect any change in the Company's
expectations or any change in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statement is based.
SOURCE: FuelCell Energy, Inc.
FuelCell Energy, Inc. Steven P. Eschbach, CFA,
203-825-6000 seschbach@fce.com
=====
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Tuesday, August 05, 2003
Also from The National Biodiesel Board,
A national biodiesel relay organized by grassroots biodiesel supporters is looking for a few good drivers. The “Biodiesel Now” relay, which takes place August 16 through August 28, is aimed at educating the public about the benefits of biodiesel. A group of volunteers will drive their diesel vehicles, fueled by biodiesel, from the West Coast to the East Coast. They will be stopping along the way to pass out information, talk to media and hand off the "Biodiesel Baton" to the next team.
Teams are in need of relay drivers from Butte, Montana to Madison, Wisconsin; Reno, Nevada to Salt Lake City, Utah; and Miami to Atlanta.
If you would like to know more about the relay, visit www.biodieselnow.com or e-mail Suzanne Sumida or Nate Byrnes.
A national biodiesel relay organized by grassroots biodiesel supporters is looking for a few good drivers. The “Biodiesel Now” relay, which takes place August 16 through August 28, is aimed at educating the public about the benefits of biodiesel. A group of volunteers will drive their diesel vehicles, fueled by biodiesel, from the West Coast to the East Coast. They will be stopping along the way to pass out information, talk to media and hand off the "Biodiesel Baton" to the next team.
Teams are in need of relay drivers from Butte, Montana to Madison, Wisconsin; Reno, Nevada to Salt Lake City, Utah; and Miami to Atlanta.
If you would like to know more about the relay, visit www.biodieselnow.com or e-mail Suzanne Sumida or Nate Byrnes.
From the National Biodiesel Board monthly bulletin:
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) last week presented the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) with the National Energy Leadership Award at its meeting in Washington, D.C.
ISA and its farmer leaders were instrumental in passing groundbreaking state legislation this year. The bill, signed by the governor in June, will exempt biodiesel blends over 10% from state sales tax, which will make it much more cost competitive or even less expensive than petroleum diesel. It also gives a partial sales tax credit on blends below B10.
Rebecca Richardson, director of operations for ISA, and Darryl Brinkmann, a farmer leader from Illinois, accepted the award.
“Illinois farmer leaders, Rebecca, and other staff members have made a momentous difference in the biodiesel industry by pulling out all the stops to get this legislation through,” said Joe Jobe, NBB executive director. “They have created a model for other states to follow while positioning Illinois to be a leading state in both biodiesel use and production.”
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) last week presented the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) with the National Energy Leadership Award at its meeting in Washington, D.C.
ISA and its farmer leaders were instrumental in passing groundbreaking state legislation this year. The bill, signed by the governor in June, will exempt biodiesel blends over 10% from state sales tax, which will make it much more cost competitive or even less expensive than petroleum diesel. It also gives a partial sales tax credit on blends below B10.
Rebecca Richardson, director of operations for ISA, and Darryl Brinkmann, a farmer leader from Illinois, accepted the award.
“Illinois farmer leaders, Rebecca, and other staff members have made a momentous difference in the biodiesel industry by pulling out all the stops to get this legislation through,” said Joe Jobe, NBB executive director. “They have created a model for other states to follow while positioning Illinois to be a leading state in both biodiesel use and production.”
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 15:09:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Wind - 75 Cents per Watt
Less than $1 (Canadian?) per watt.
Josh
Jul. 28, 2003. 07:56 AM
Energy firm to harvest the wind
67 giant turbines proposed for gusty Blue Mountain
$150 million farm expected to supply 32,000 homes
ROBERTA AVERY
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
A Hamilton energy company has been acquiring the wind
energy rights for about 1,800 hectares of land on top
of Blue Mountain in preparation for building a giant
wind farm.
As many skiers know, the top of Blue Mountain is one
of the windiest places in Ontario and with a major
electricity transmission power line crossing the top
of the mountain, it is an ideal location to harvest
wind power, said David Boileau, spokesperson for
Superior Wind Energy Inc.
"There's wind in all four directions,'' said Boileau,
whose northwestern Ontario company Harmony Wind Energy
owns a 49 per cent stake in Hamilton-based Superior
Wind Energy Inc. Brascan Power Inc. owns the remaining
51 per cent.
Following extensive wind-power mapping across the
province, which identified seven areas where the wind
is strong enough to make wind farms viable, Superior
conducted an 18-month test on top of Blue Mountain,
just west of Collingwood.
The average wind speeds on top of Blue Mountain were
measured at 7.5 metres per second compared with a wind
speed average in most other areas of 5.5 metres per
second.
The extra two metres per second means a 250 per cent
increase in electrical power generated.
Reaction to the company's proposal to build a $150
million wind park called Blue Highlands with 67 giant
turbines on top of one of Ontario's prime tourist
attractions has been mixed.
"About 80 per cent are in favour, but there are those
who have expressed concerns about wind turbines in
their viewscape, '' said John Worts, who lives on the
mountain and has been hired as a consultant by
Superior Power.
Worts' mandate is to find landowners interested in
signing 30-year leases for the wind turbines to be
built on their property.
The company is selecting properties that are 20
hectares and larger so that the turbines can be built
away from homes and roads.
Lea McKean and her husband, whose family has owned
property on top of the mountain for five generations,
won't be signing a lease.
"What an imposition on the escarpment — it (the wind
farm) is going to destroy the scenic beauty of the
area so it's not only the landowners whose property
the turbines will be built on who will be affected,''
said McKean.
The proposed turbines will be 85 metres tall and have
40-metre blades.
"That's one-fifth the size of the CN tower and that's
not even counting the blade,'' said McKean.
Those who are moving up to the area to escape city
life should be aware that this will alter the
landscape, said McKean.
"It's said that tourism may profit from wind parks
because they are quite a spectacle to see, but will
people actually want to live with turbines in their
backyard?'' said McKean.
Worts disagrees.
"I've had numerous calls from people asking us to
select their property as a site,'' he said.
People who have property facing out toward Georgian
Bay won't see the turbines and trees will obscure most
of the turbines from anywhere on the top of the
mountain, said Worts.
The turbines won't be visible from the slopes of Blue
Mountain, but will likely be seen on the horizon from
Collingwood, 10 kilometres away, he said.
Superior plans to build turbines in clusters of two to
three on each property and will pay landowners a
royalty estimated to be around $3,000 per year for
each turbine.
The power lines will be buried underground.
After initial public consultation, the company has
scaled back its plan to build 200 turbines and has
moved the wind park back from the brow of the Niagara
Escarpment.
It's estimated the 67 turbines will produce up to 200
megawatts of electricity, enough power to supply
32,000 homes.
Boileau, who built a hydroelectric power plant in
northern Ontario, believes the time for wind power has
come.
"It's no longer experimental,'' he said.
A commitment by Ontario's alternative energy
commissioner, Steve Gilchrist, to add 3,000 megawatts
of renewable energy-generating capacity by 2014 will
be phased in starting in 2006.
That means firms such as Superior, which is also
planning a wind farm near Sault Ste. Marie, will be
able to seek the power purchase agreements they will
need to get financing for wind farm projects, said
Boileau.
Boileau hopes construction will begin next year at
Blue Highlands, but admits there are a lot of
regulatory hoops to jump through.
They include conducting an environmental assessment
and getting planning approval from different levels of
local government.
=====
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All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
From: Green Bean
Subject: Wind - 75 Cents per Watt
Less than $1 (Canadian?) per watt.
Josh
Jul. 28, 2003. 07:56 AM
Energy firm to harvest the wind
67 giant turbines proposed for gusty Blue Mountain
$150 million farm expected to supply 32,000 homes
ROBERTA AVERY
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
A Hamilton energy company has been acquiring the wind
energy rights for about 1,800 hectares of land on top
of Blue Mountain in preparation for building a giant
wind farm.
As many skiers know, the top of Blue Mountain is one
of the windiest places in Ontario and with a major
electricity transmission power line crossing the top
of the mountain, it is an ideal location to harvest
wind power, said David Boileau, spokesperson for
Superior Wind Energy Inc.
"There's wind in all four directions,'' said Boileau,
whose northwestern Ontario company Harmony Wind Energy
owns a 49 per cent stake in Hamilton-based Superior
Wind Energy Inc. Brascan Power Inc. owns the remaining
51 per cent.
Following extensive wind-power mapping across the
province, which identified seven areas where the wind
is strong enough to make wind farms viable, Superior
conducted an 18-month test on top of Blue Mountain,
just west of Collingwood.
The average wind speeds on top of Blue Mountain were
measured at 7.5 metres per second compared with a wind
speed average in most other areas of 5.5 metres per
second.
The extra two metres per second means a 250 per cent
increase in electrical power generated.
Reaction to the company's proposal to build a $150
million wind park called Blue Highlands with 67 giant
turbines on top of one of Ontario's prime tourist
attractions has been mixed.
"About 80 per cent are in favour, but there are those
who have expressed concerns about wind turbines in
their viewscape, '' said John Worts, who lives on the
mountain and has been hired as a consultant by
Superior Power.
Worts' mandate is to find landowners interested in
signing 30-year leases for the wind turbines to be
built on their property.
The company is selecting properties that are 20
hectares and larger so that the turbines can be built
away from homes and roads.
Lea McKean and her husband, whose family has owned
property on top of the mountain for five generations,
won't be signing a lease.
"What an imposition on the escarpment — it (the wind
farm) is going to destroy the scenic beauty of the
area so it's not only the landowners whose property
the turbines will be built on who will be affected,''
said McKean.
The proposed turbines will be 85 metres tall and have
40-metre blades.
"That's one-fifth the size of the CN tower and that's
not even counting the blade,'' said McKean.
Those who are moving up to the area to escape city
life should be aware that this will alter the
landscape, said McKean.
"It's said that tourism may profit from wind parks
because they are quite a spectacle to see, but will
people actually want to live with turbines in their
backyard?'' said McKean.
Worts disagrees.
"I've had numerous calls from people asking us to
select their property as a site,'' he said.
People who have property facing out toward Georgian
Bay won't see the turbines and trees will obscure most
of the turbines from anywhere on the top of the
mountain, said Worts.
The turbines won't be visible from the slopes of Blue
Mountain, but will likely be seen on the horizon from
Collingwood, 10 kilometres away, he said.
Superior plans to build turbines in clusters of two to
three on each property and will pay landowners a
royalty estimated to be around $3,000 per year for
each turbine.
The power lines will be buried underground.
After initial public consultation, the company has
scaled back its plan to build 200 turbines and has
moved the wind park back from the brow of the Niagara
Escarpment.
It's estimated the 67 turbines will produce up to 200
megawatts of electricity, enough power to supply
32,000 homes.
Boileau, who built a hydroelectric power plant in
northern Ontario, believes the time for wind power has
come.
"It's no longer experimental,'' he said.
A commitment by Ontario's alternative energy
commissioner, Steve Gilchrist, to add 3,000 megawatts
of renewable energy-generating capacity by 2014 will
be phased in starting in 2006.
That means firms such as Superior, which is also
planning a wind farm near Sault Ste. Marie, will be
able to seek the power purchase agreements they will
need to get financing for wind farm projects, said
Boileau.
Boileau hopes construction will begin next year at
Blue Highlands, but admits there are a lot of
regulatory hoops to jump through.
They include conducting an environmental assessment
and getting planning approval from different levels of
local government.
=====
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 15:10:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Congress Considers More Wind-Power Rules
Congress Considers More Wind-Power Rules
Fri Jul 25, 6:26 PM ET
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The sudden burst of interest in wind
power, from Cape Cod to the Smoky Mountains, has led
Congress to consider a stricter approval process for
wind farm projects.
The legislation, being drafted by Sen. Edward Kennedy
(news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., in discussions
with Lamar Alexander (news - web sites), R-Tenn.,
would require local or state governments to approve
the projects — tossing a potential roadblock in front
of the $700 million Cape Wind plant planned for
Nantucket Sound.
The Cape Wind Associates project is the first proposed
offshore wind farm in the country, but many others are
on the horizon and members of Congress say there is no
federal regulatory process for approving the gangly
producers of renewable energy.
Spiking up to 420 feet above the water, the wind
turbines are towers topped with three-pronged
helicopter rotors that spin with the wind to generate
power.
Environmentalists praise wind power as clean energy.
But opponents say local communities should have a say
in the projects, which can have a broad impact on the
environment and aesthetics. Lawmakers also want the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (news - web
sites) to have a say in how projects fit into a
region's energy needs.
Lawmakers insist the amendment — which may come up
next week during Senate debate on the energy bill — is
not an attempt to derail the Cape project or any other
specific proposal.
Spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said Kennedy supports
renewable energy. But, she said, "he has significant
concerns about the lack of a regulatory framework,
specifically a process through which local communities
would have a say into the siting of these proposed
projects."
Alexander, who has seen opposition to wind farms in
northeastern Tennessee, heads the Senate energy
subcommittee, and has been working on the wind power
issue. But there is no agreement yet on an amendment.
Limited almost exclusively to California a decade ago,
wind farms started to spread across the country in
1998. By the end of this year, they will be in about
100 locations.
"This is very new, that's why it's controversial,"
said Tom Gray, deputy executive director of the
American Wind Energy Association.
The industry's main concern, he said, is that the
legislation must not send projects — like Cape Wind —
"back to square one." But he agreed that siting
approvals for the wind farms vary widely
state-by-state, and said, "We're open to looking at
ways to handle projects built off shore."
=====
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
From: Green Bean
Subject: Congress Considers More Wind-Power Rules
Congress Considers More Wind-Power Rules
Fri Jul 25, 6:26 PM ET
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The sudden burst of interest in wind
power, from Cape Cod to the Smoky Mountains, has led
Congress to consider a stricter approval process for
wind farm projects.
The legislation, being drafted by Sen. Edward Kennedy
(news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., in discussions
with Lamar Alexander (news - web sites), R-Tenn.,
would require local or state governments to approve
the projects — tossing a potential roadblock in front
of the $700 million Cape Wind plant planned for
Nantucket Sound.
The Cape Wind Associates project is the first proposed
offshore wind farm in the country, but many others are
on the horizon and members of Congress say there is no
federal regulatory process for approving the gangly
producers of renewable energy.
Spiking up to 420 feet above the water, the wind
turbines are towers topped with three-pronged
helicopter rotors that spin with the wind to generate
power.
Environmentalists praise wind power as clean energy.
But opponents say local communities should have a say
in the projects, which can have a broad impact on the
environment and aesthetics. Lawmakers also want the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (news - web
sites) to have a say in how projects fit into a
region's energy needs.
Lawmakers insist the amendment — which may come up
next week during Senate debate on the energy bill — is
not an attempt to derail the Cape project or any other
specific proposal.
Spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said Kennedy supports
renewable energy. But, she said, "he has significant
concerns about the lack of a regulatory framework,
specifically a process through which local communities
would have a say into the siting of these proposed
projects."
Alexander, who has seen opposition to wind farms in
northeastern Tennessee, heads the Senate energy
subcommittee, and has been working on the wind power
issue. But there is no agreement yet on an amendment.
Limited almost exclusively to California a decade ago,
wind farms started to spread across the country in
1998. By the end of this year, they will be in about
100 locations.
"This is very new, that's why it's controversial,"
said Tom Gray, deputy executive director of the
American Wind Energy Association.
The industry's main concern, he said, is that the
legislation must not send projects — like Cape Wind —
"back to square one." But he agreed that siting
approvals for the wind farms vary widely
state-by-state, and said, "We're open to looking at
ways to handle projects built off shore."
=====
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 15:10:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Massive energy bill lumbers to Senate floor
Massive energy bill lumbers to Senate floor this week
By Gail Russell Chaddock
The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON — With 392 possible amendments in the
wings, the Senate this week takes on the biggest
overhaul of energy policy in a decade — and aims to
wrap it up within a matter of days.
It's a huge and highly complex bill, covering
everything from pilot programs for bicycles to the
first incentives for new nuclear-power production in a
quarter-century.
With natural-gas prices soaring, everyone agrees a new
national strategy on energy is needed. But winning
consensus on such a massive bill has never been easy.
The fights over energy are often regional, rather than
partisan. They involve clashes among some of the most
powerful corporate and environmental groups in
Washington. And the process often fails of its own
weight.
Unlike last year's energy bill, which was drafted on
the floor of the Senate and foundered in conference,
this bill is the result of carefully calibrated
back-room negotiations, mainly involving GOP
lawmakers.
The Senate bill includes more than $35.5 billion for
research and development, including $1.7 billion for
nuclear energy, $2 billion for clean coal and $1.8
billion for President Bush's hydrogen fuel-cell
initiative. It authorizes a new natural-gas pipeline
from Alaska and eases permits for oil and gas
exploration. At least $15.5 billion in tax incentives
for energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean coal
and natural gas are expected to be added this week on
the Senate floor.
Early on, Republicans ruled out issues that have been
the most divisive in the past, such as drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But that issue could
come up in final negotiations between the House and
Senate.
New regulations mandating the use of 5 billion gallons
of renewable-fuel additives in gasoline also gave the
bill an early lift. The boost for ethanol is a high
priority for corn-belt Democrats, who are now expected
to support the bill.
Republicans also deliberately backed the bill up
against the August recess, one of the most inflexible
dates on the Senate calendar. Majority Leader Bill
Frist of Tennessee says he will not allow the Senate
to recess without an agreement on energy.
"We simply must diversify our sources of energy, and
we must do so in a way that lessens our dependence on
foreign sources for this energy," he said last week.
Environmental activists say it's a formula for bad
legislation.
"It will be very difficult to vote against an energy
bill. There are lots of things in this bill that most
people don't know about that need to be addressed,"
says Robert Perks, spokesman for the Natural Resources
Defense Council, which opposes the bill.
Environmentalists worry that the Senate bill, as well
as the House bill, which passed last April, are too
heavily weighted toward traditional polluting
industries, and not enough toward renewable fuels,
such as wind, waves, biomass, ethanol, solar and
geothermal power.
Two-thirds of the tax incentives in the House bill
were directed toward oil, coal and nuclear interests,
they note. In addition, new measures to expedite
permits for oil exploration and drilling on public
lands will cut the public out of the process and
increase destruction, they say.
"The Senate should scrap the energy bill and come back
with more 21st-century solutions, especially raising
fuel-economy standards," said Brendan Bell of the
Sierra Club.
Democrats concede they may not have the votes to block
an energy bill this year or even the will to do so.
But they insist the issues are sufficiently complex
and important to warrant more time.
"Our senators have legitimate concerns and need to
have an opportunity to have fair and serious
consideration of their amendments," said Bill Wicker,
a spokesman for the Democrats on the Energy Committee.
=====
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
From: Green Bean
Subject: Massive energy bill lumbers to Senate floor
Massive energy bill lumbers to Senate floor this week
By Gail Russell Chaddock
The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON — With 392 possible amendments in the
wings, the Senate this week takes on the biggest
overhaul of energy policy in a decade — and aims to
wrap it up within a matter of days.
It's a huge and highly complex bill, covering
everything from pilot programs for bicycles to the
first incentives for new nuclear-power production in a
quarter-century.
With natural-gas prices soaring, everyone agrees a new
national strategy on energy is needed. But winning
consensus on such a massive bill has never been easy.
The fights over energy are often regional, rather than
partisan. They involve clashes among some of the most
powerful corporate and environmental groups in
Washington. And the process often fails of its own
weight.
Unlike last year's energy bill, which was drafted on
the floor of the Senate and foundered in conference,
this bill is the result of carefully calibrated
back-room negotiations, mainly involving GOP
lawmakers.
The Senate bill includes more than $35.5 billion for
research and development, including $1.7 billion for
nuclear energy, $2 billion for clean coal and $1.8
billion for President Bush's hydrogen fuel-cell
initiative. It authorizes a new natural-gas pipeline
from Alaska and eases permits for oil and gas
exploration. At least $15.5 billion in tax incentives
for energy efficiency, renewable energy, clean coal
and natural gas are expected to be added this week on
the Senate floor.
Early on, Republicans ruled out issues that have been
the most divisive in the past, such as drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But that issue could
come up in final negotiations between the House and
Senate.
New regulations mandating the use of 5 billion gallons
of renewable-fuel additives in gasoline also gave the
bill an early lift. The boost for ethanol is a high
priority for corn-belt Democrats, who are now expected
to support the bill.
Republicans also deliberately backed the bill up
against the August recess, one of the most inflexible
dates on the Senate calendar. Majority Leader Bill
Frist of Tennessee says he will not allow the Senate
to recess without an agreement on energy.
"We simply must diversify our sources of energy, and
we must do so in a way that lessens our dependence on
foreign sources for this energy," he said last week.
Environmental activists say it's a formula for bad
legislation.
"It will be very difficult to vote against an energy
bill. There are lots of things in this bill that most
people don't know about that need to be addressed,"
says Robert Perks, spokesman for the Natural Resources
Defense Council, which opposes the bill.
Environmentalists worry that the Senate bill, as well
as the House bill, which passed last April, are too
heavily weighted toward traditional polluting
industries, and not enough toward renewable fuels,
such as wind, waves, biomass, ethanol, solar and
geothermal power.
Two-thirds of the tax incentives in the House bill
were directed toward oil, coal and nuclear interests,
they note. In addition, new measures to expedite
permits for oil exploration and drilling on public
lands will cut the public out of the process and
increase destruction, they say.
"The Senate should scrap the energy bill and come back
with more 21st-century solutions, especially raising
fuel-economy standards," said Brendan Bell of the
Sierra Club.
Democrats concede they may not have the votes to block
an energy bill this year or even the will to do so.
But they insist the issues are sufficiently complex
and important to warrant more time.
"Our senators have legitimate concerns and need to
have an opportunity to have fair and serious
consideration of their amendments," said Bill Wicker,
a spokesman for the Democrats on the Energy Committee.
=====
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
Several interesting posts on Alt Power Digest today:
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 15:11:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Turning trash into power
Saturday, Jul 26, 2003
Turning trash into power
With the flip of a switch, the dream of turning
garbage into electricity became a reality in Burnaby
Thursday.
But the dream was more costly than originally thought
after a provincial tax break aimed at encouraging
investment actually added $1 million to the price tag
because it was a public - and not private - venture.
Thursday, the Greater Vancouver Regional District
brought online a new turbo generator at its
Waste-to-Energy Facility, formerly known as the
Burnaby incinerator. The turbo generator will use
steam produced by burning garbage to generate enough
electricity to power 15,000 homes.
"Turning waste to energy is an exciting concept," said
Pitt Meadows Mayor Don MacLean, chair of the GVRD's
solid waste management committee.
"And the concept of looking at garbage as a commodity
to be used, rather than discarded, reflects this
region's innovative thinking."
The incinerator, operating since 1988, burns 250,000
tonnes of garbage each year, which is roughly 20 per
cent of the trash generated in the region.
Until now, the steam produced by incineration was sold
to Norampac, a paper-recycling mill next to the
incinerator, but a downturn in the paper industry cut
Norampac's need for steam.
Rather than waste the excess steam, the region will
use it to generate electricity for sale to B.C. Hydro,
earning between $5 million and $6 million annually.
That revenue will offset the region's solid waste
management costs.
Greenhouse emissions will also be cut by up to 59,000
tonnes per year by reducing the region's reliance on
dirtier energy sources, helping Canada meet its Kyoto
Accord commitments.
Yet for all its benefits, the project is costing
Greater Vancouver homeowners more money than
originally thought simply because it was initiated by
the regional district, not a private company.
In July 2001, the B.C. government exempted companies
buying or leasing machinery used for manufacturing
from paying provincial sales
=====
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 15:11:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Turning trash into power
Saturday, Jul 26, 2003
Turning trash into power
With the flip of a switch, the dream of turning
garbage into electricity became a reality in Burnaby
Thursday.
But the dream was more costly than originally thought
after a provincial tax break aimed at encouraging
investment actually added $1 million to the price tag
because it was a public - and not private - venture.
Thursday, the Greater Vancouver Regional District
brought online a new turbo generator at its
Waste-to-Energy Facility, formerly known as the
Burnaby incinerator. The turbo generator will use
steam produced by burning garbage to generate enough
electricity to power 15,000 homes.
"Turning waste to energy is an exciting concept," said
Pitt Meadows Mayor Don MacLean, chair of the GVRD's
solid waste management committee.
"And the concept of looking at garbage as a commodity
to be used, rather than discarded, reflects this
region's innovative thinking."
The incinerator, operating since 1988, burns 250,000
tonnes of garbage each year, which is roughly 20 per
cent of the trash generated in the region.
Until now, the steam produced by incineration was sold
to Norampac, a paper-recycling mill next to the
incinerator, but a downturn in the paper industry cut
Norampac's need for steam.
Rather than waste the excess steam, the region will
use it to generate electricity for sale to B.C. Hydro,
earning between $5 million and $6 million annually.
That revenue will offset the region's solid waste
management costs.
Greenhouse emissions will also be cut by up to 59,000
tonnes per year by reducing the region's reliance on
dirtier energy sources, helping Canada meet its Kyoto
Accord commitments.
Yet for all its benefits, the project is costing
Greater Vancouver homeowners more money than
originally thought simply because it was initiated by
the regional district, not a private company.
In July 2001, the B.C. government exempted companies
buying or leasing machinery used for manufacturing
from paying provincial sales
=====
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
Saturday, July 26, 2003
Great Lakes alternative fuel news: Indiana Becomes Home to Nation’s First Fuel Terminal Offering Biodiesel(.pdf format)
Friday, July 25, 2003
From Wired News,
"Veggie Fuels Feed Bottom Line By James Bernard Frost
02:00 AM Jul. 25, 2003 PT
When Joshua Tickell drove his Veggie Van across the country in 1997, fueling it with used vegetable oil he obtained at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Long John Silver's and other fast food chains owned by PepsiCo, he received a great deal of lighthearted attention from the mainstream media for the van's deep-fried fumes. Although the media thought it was funny, Tickell was serious.
Six years later, with the Department of Energy's 2003 Annual Energy Reportshowing that more than two-thirds of known oil reserves lie in the troubled Middle East, the laughter seems hollow.
A curious blend of consumers -- from clean-air activists to school districts to the U.S. military (PDF) -- are now running their diesel engines off either straight vegetable oil, known as SVO, or vegetable oil that has been converted to diesel fuel, or biodiesel. The results, they're finding, make more than just environmental sense.
Steve Smith, a Berkeley, California, resident who drives a 1982 Mercedes 300-GD SUV, has converted his car's diesel engine to run off SVO using a conversion kit made by German-based Elsbett. "With some mechanical experience, it took me a weekend and a few weekday nights to install," Smith said.
Smith collects free fuel, up to 35 gallons of used corn oil a week, from a local Indian restaurant. "My engine runs off of samosas and pakoras," he jokes.
Smith pre-filters the oil with a "sock" that he obtains from the SVO-supplier Greasel.
"I've also added a VorMax filter (an advanced fuel filtration system that removes contaminants), so I don't have to change the fuel filter every week."
Pawl Katan, an SVO advocate from Prescott, Arizona, who has helped modify four Mercedes diesels to run on SVO, notes that the deal is good for both vehicle owners and restaurateurs. "It costs (my local restaurant) about $1 a gallon to have their used fryer oil picked up. I save them money."
Fears of engine clogging, void warranties and the price of commercial conversion kits (both the Elsbett and Greasel systems run about $800) keeps all but the most savvy from modifying their vehicles to run off of straight vegetable oil. Even Craig Reese, co-owner of Neoteric, a Canadian-based company that is building prototype SVO conversion kits to compete with Elsbett and Greasel, notes, "I had a professional mechanic install the Elsbett kit (in my first SVO vehicle.)"
Because of this, most interest in bio-based fuels has revolved around biodiesel.
Maria "Mark" Alovera, publisher of the Biodiesel Homebrewers Guide, makes "home brew" from a chemical reaction involving lye and methanol. "It costs me about 45 cents a gallon to produce," Alovera said.
It's not just enthusiasts, though, who are turning to biodiesel as a viable alternative fuel. Big business is involved as well.
Jenna Higgins, Director of Communications for the National Biodiesel Board, points out that commercial biodiesel production has tripled between 2001 and 2002 (from 5 million to 15 million gallons). "Proctor & Gamble, West Central Soy and World Energy are all NBB member suppliers."
"Over 300 fleets are running on some grade of biodiesel."
Greg Piraino, an engineer with Applied Engineering in Phoenix, has worked with the Deer Valley School District to run their buses on B20 (20 percent biodiesel, 80 percent diesel). The buses have logged over 10 million miles.
"It's an impressive figure," Piraino said, "They have 165 buses that have been running off of biodiesel for four years."
Blue Sun Biodiesel, located in Fort Collins, Colorado, recently received a $1,000,000 grant from the Department of Energy to research varieties of canola in an attempt to increase oil yield in the crop. Although soybean oil has been the primary source of commercial U.S. biodiesel, canola oil is used widely in German biodiesel production, and is considered the superior crop.
John Long, founder of Blue Sun, spoke to the farming industry's interest in biodiesel. "(Farmers are interested in this because) canola is a short-cycle crop, with a four-month growing cycle. They can grow winter wheat and then canola in the same year, reducing fallow crop time, and thus increasing income," Long said. "Our (company’s) values are three-fold: U.S. energy independence; sustainable, rural economic development; and clean air."
Long's comments on farmers bring up an important point that biodiesel activists like Joshua Tickell, who is currently fundraising for his film, Fields of Fuel, have been trying to make for years. This isn't just about global warming concerns; it's also about the bottom line.
"Biodiesel is in its infancy. As biodiesel (use) grows, the price will drop," Tickell said. "Meanwhile petroleum is only getting more expensive. Sooner or later, the price curves will cross."
And when they do, we'll all drive a bit more hungrily."
From me:
This industry stands to be a huge boost for Midwestern farmers in and around the Great Lakes region. It would be of great benefit to all of us here in the area if we had local companies manufacturing retrofits, local companies collecting and filtering these fuels, local gas stations operating biodiesel pumps, etc. Another excellent way to bring economic activity back home, reduce monies going to hostile regions, and reduce the amount of carbon pumped from underground sequestration, namely in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas. We need to bring it home!
"Veggie Fuels Feed Bottom Line By James Bernard Frost
02:00 AM Jul. 25, 2003 PT
When Joshua Tickell drove his Veggie Van across the country in 1997, fueling it with used vegetable oil he obtained at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Long John Silver's and other fast food chains owned by PepsiCo, he received a great deal of lighthearted attention from the mainstream media for the van's deep-fried fumes. Although the media thought it was funny, Tickell was serious.
Six years later, with the Department of Energy's 2003 Annual Energy Reportshowing that more than two-thirds of known oil reserves lie in the troubled Middle East, the laughter seems hollow.
A curious blend of consumers -- from clean-air activists to school districts to the U.S. military (PDF) -- are now running their diesel engines off either straight vegetable oil, known as SVO, or vegetable oil that has been converted to diesel fuel, or biodiesel. The results, they're finding, make more than just environmental sense.
Steve Smith, a Berkeley, California, resident who drives a 1982 Mercedes 300-GD SUV, has converted his car's diesel engine to run off SVO using a conversion kit made by German-based Elsbett. "With some mechanical experience, it took me a weekend and a few weekday nights to install," Smith said.
Smith collects free fuel, up to 35 gallons of used corn oil a week, from a local Indian restaurant. "My engine runs off of samosas and pakoras," he jokes.
Smith pre-filters the oil with a "sock" that he obtains from the SVO-supplier Greasel.
"I've also added a VorMax filter (an advanced fuel filtration system that removes contaminants), so I don't have to change the fuel filter every week."
Pawl Katan, an SVO advocate from Prescott, Arizona, who has helped modify four Mercedes diesels to run on SVO, notes that the deal is good for both vehicle owners and restaurateurs. "It costs (my local restaurant) about $1 a gallon to have their used fryer oil picked up. I save them money."
Fears of engine clogging, void warranties and the price of commercial conversion kits (both the Elsbett and Greasel systems run about $800) keeps all but the most savvy from modifying their vehicles to run off of straight vegetable oil. Even Craig Reese, co-owner of Neoteric, a Canadian-based company that is building prototype SVO conversion kits to compete with Elsbett and Greasel, notes, "I had a professional mechanic install the Elsbett kit (in my first SVO vehicle.)"
Because of this, most interest in bio-based fuels has revolved around biodiesel.
Maria "Mark" Alovera, publisher of the Biodiesel Homebrewers Guide, makes "home brew" from a chemical reaction involving lye and methanol. "It costs me about 45 cents a gallon to produce," Alovera said.
It's not just enthusiasts, though, who are turning to biodiesel as a viable alternative fuel. Big business is involved as well.
Jenna Higgins, Director of Communications for the National Biodiesel Board, points out that commercial biodiesel production has tripled between 2001 and 2002 (from 5 million to 15 million gallons). "Proctor & Gamble, West Central Soy and World Energy are all NBB member suppliers."
"Over 300 fleets are running on some grade of biodiesel."
Greg Piraino, an engineer with Applied Engineering in Phoenix, has worked with the Deer Valley School District to run their buses on B20 (20 percent biodiesel, 80 percent diesel). The buses have logged over 10 million miles.
"It's an impressive figure," Piraino said, "They have 165 buses that have been running off of biodiesel for four years."
Blue Sun Biodiesel, located in Fort Collins, Colorado, recently received a $1,000,000 grant from the Department of Energy to research varieties of canola in an attempt to increase oil yield in the crop. Although soybean oil has been the primary source of commercial U.S. biodiesel, canola oil is used widely in German biodiesel production, and is considered the superior crop.
John Long, founder of Blue Sun, spoke to the farming industry's interest in biodiesel. "(Farmers are interested in this because) canola is a short-cycle crop, with a four-month growing cycle. They can grow winter wheat and then canola in the same year, reducing fallow crop time, and thus increasing income," Long said. "Our (company’s) values are three-fold: U.S. energy independence; sustainable, rural economic development; and clean air."
Long's comments on farmers bring up an important point that biodiesel activists like Joshua Tickell, who is currently fundraising for his film, Fields of Fuel, have been trying to make for years. This isn't just about global warming concerns; it's also about the bottom line.
"Biodiesel is in its infancy. As biodiesel (use) grows, the price will drop," Tickell said. "Meanwhile petroleum is only getting more expensive. Sooner or later, the price curves will cross."
And when they do, we'll all drive a bit more hungrily."
From me:
This industry stands to be a huge boost for Midwestern farmers in and around the Great Lakes region. It would be of great benefit to all of us here in the area if we had local companies manufacturing retrofits, local companies collecting and filtering these fuels, local gas stations operating biodiesel pumps, etc. Another excellent way to bring economic activity back home, reduce monies going to hostile regions, and reduce the amount of carbon pumped from underground sequestration, namely in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas. We need to bring it home!
From Alt Power Digest:
"New Bulb May Power Electronics
Mon Jul 21, 1:32 PM ET
Mike Martin , sci.NewsFactor.com
A new type of tungsten filament -- the world's most
widely used light source -- may emit enough energy to
power electric cars, generators, and consumer
electronics, say researchers at Sandia National
Laboratories.
Normal light bulbs have little effect on photovoltaic
cells, which change light at certain wavelengths into
electricity. The new filament -- a lattice fabricated
with an internal crystalline pattern -- emits enough
energy at the same wavelengths to power small engines
and other electronic devices, claims Sandia physicist
Shawn Lin."
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
Hmmm....are we seeing the early stages of the emergence of optical energy transmission systems? Will we be replacing utilty lines with fiber optic cables? Will you be able to plug your optical transmitter in at the wall and focus it on the power receiver cells of your boom box 100 feet away from the outlet? Will you be able to run fiber optic cabling from the fuell cell operated light bulb under the hood down to the four wheel motors instead of copper wires? Stay tuned....
"New Bulb May Power Electronics
Mon Jul 21, 1:32 PM ET
Mike Martin , sci.NewsFactor.com
A new type of tungsten filament -- the world's most
widely used light source -- may emit enough energy to
power electric cars, generators, and consumer
electronics, say researchers at Sandia National
Laboratories.
Normal light bulbs have little effect on photovoltaic
cells, which change light at certain wavelengths into
electricity. The new filament -- a lattice fabricated
with an internal crystalline pattern -- emits enough
energy at the same wavelengths to power small engines
and other electronic devices, claims Sandia physicist
Shawn Lin."
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
Hmmm....are we seeing the early stages of the emergence of optical energy transmission systems? Will we be replacing utilty lines with fiber optic cables? Will you be able to plug your optical transmitter in at the wall and focus it on the power receiver cells of your boom box 100 feet away from the outlet? Will you be able to run fiber optic cabling from the fuell cell operated light bulb under the hood down to the four wheel motors instead of copper wires? Stay tuned....
Another from Wired News, the debate over hydrogen vehicles continues. The latest from the Naysayers' camp: Fuel Efficiency Trumps Fuel Cells - (Personally I have a hard time buying it, but all sides deserve an equal voice. After all, blogging is not running for office at this blog.)
From Wired News, a story about some of the early effects of Global Warming and the battle to save Venice, Italy from a combination of rising oceans and sinking land. For centuries, St. Mark's Square has been slowly slipping closer to Atlantis. Here's how a massive system of floodgates could turn the tide...The Lost City of Venice
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Interesting goings on in sustainable energy theory:
How the International Sustainable Energy Organization (ISEO) can solve
the crucially important energy issue, ailing since the Rio Summit and Kyoto
How the International Sustainable Energy Organization (ISEO) can solve
the crucially important energy issue, ailing since the Rio Summit and Kyoto
Hey, if any engineers read this, could you guys look at an idea I have and tell me if it would be of any assistance to the fledgling OTEC movements? What if you built your floating OTEC plant such that it collected sea water from a huge shallow concrete bowl painted black to increase the water temperature differential between collected surface water and deep cold water? Wouldn't such a move allow a wider area of viability on the oceans for OTEC technology as you could either draft shallower for cool water, collect greater energy if you went to the same depths for cold water as a non solar-boosted OTEC, or operate in colder northern waters than is currently feasible with bare OTEC technology?
Another from ENN, it seems there's serious happenings in the Asian connection. They're coming up with a "new" way to desalinize sea water and produce energy. I've got one acronym for these guys: OTEC! Anyway, read all about the latest Russian / Chinese environmental shennanigans in: Russia and China may build floating nuclear plants
From Alt Power Digest on Yahoo Groups:
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 14:43:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Hydrogen car near, energy firm says
Jul. 23, 2003. 07:31 AM
Hydrogen car near, energy firm says
Stuart Energy sells filling station
Firm's technology `bridge to fuel cell'
TYLER HAMILTON
TECHNOLOGY REPORTER
Consumers won't have to wait 10 or 20 years before
hydrogen-powered cars make it to the local dealership,
says the chief executive of Stuart Energy Systems
Corp., a leading supplier of hydrogen fuelling
stations.
Jon Slangerup said internal combustion car engines
that run on hydrogen gas, similar to vehicles powered
by natural gas, could see "mass commercialization"
within two years, at least a decade sooner than
hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles that companies such as
Burnaby, B.C.-based Ballard Power Systems Inc. are
helping to develop.
"The fuel cell, indeed, is the ultimate in the ideal
future state," said Slangerup. "But instead of waiting
15 or 20 years for that to be perfected, we now have
internal combustion engines running on hydrogen for
stationary and mobile applications."
Slangerup said Mississauga-based Stuart Energy will
detail at its annual meeting in September the progress
being made with internal combustion car engines that
run on non-polluting hydrogen gas. He said a related
announcement will be made at that time, but would not
elaborate.
The company has a partnership with Ford Motor Co.,
which is testing both fuel cells and traditional
internal combustion engines that can be powered by
hydrogen. The latter is being produced at Ford's
manufacturing facilities in Windsor, potentially a
permanent home for the product, said Slangerup.
Ford's Model U vehicle contains an electric drive and
a hydrogen internal combustion engine that could be
replaced by a fuel cell when that technology is ready.
In both scenarios, a hydrogen-fuelling infrastructure
will be needed to keep the vehicles going — and that's
where Stuart Energy enters the picture.
Within two years, the company expects to have a
hydrogen fuelling system for the home — called a
personal energy station — that's about the size of a
large residential air conditioner, said Slangerup.
This energy station, along with storage containers,
would initially cost less than $20,000 and would be
capable of fuelling two hydrogen-powered cars each day
and providing back-up or primary electricity to the
home, depending on whether solar panels are used to
charge the system.
"We're working with the largest home builder in the
United States right now, which is absolutely wild
about the idea of offering a total green solution,
including solar panels, to their customers and
incorporating (the cost of the system) into the
mortgage," said Slangerup.
"This is going to be a big market for us."
The energy station takes in water from a standard
garden hose and converts it into hydrogen and oxygen
through a process called electrolysis. The hydrogen is
either used right away as a power source or stored in
a carbon-fibre tank for later use, such as filling up
your car. Pure oxygen is released as the only
by-product.
One criticism of any hydrogen production process,
including electrolysis, is that it consumes power,
typically through the burning of fossil fuels, to
create the hydrogen fuel. So while the end product may
have zero emissions, the process to create it doesn't.
Slangerup said that the ability to store hydrogen
offers flexibility in creating it. Renewable and clean
energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro and
geothermal, are one option. The other option is to use
energy from the traditional power grid during off-peak
times and store the hydrogen for later use.
To walk the talk, Stuart Energy buys six-month blocks
of wind power from an Ontario wind farm to power its
85,000 square foot Mississauga facility, which employs
160 people. Another 50 employees work out of
Belgium-based Vandenborre Technologies, which was
acquired by Stuart Energy earlier this year for $10
million.
The personal energy station concept is gaining
momentum. Stuart Energy signed a co-development deal
last month with the hydrogen division of oil giant
Royal Dutch/Shell Group, which gets the non-exclusive
right to act as an agent of the technology.
"Why would they want to do that? What's in it for
them?" asked Slangerup rhetorically. "They see the
future as a highly distributed system of hydrogen
generators."
He said it may take 50 years before gasoline-powered
cars go the way of the dodo, but as the price of gas
and other oil products go up, hydrogen and the
infrastructure to provide it will gain momentum.
In that future, hydrogen will be produced in the home
and sold at fuelling stations along the highway,
creating a more decentralized infrastructure that
literally changes the balance of power.
Internal combustion engines that run on hydrogen will
get us to that reality faster, laying the foundation
for fuel-cell cars when they're ready for the mass
market, added Slangerup. "We call it the bridge to the
future of fuel cell."
For example, the Ford Focus fuel-cell car being
showcased across North America cost more than $1
million to build. Modifying the fuel injectors and
fuel-management system of an internal combustion
vehicle that uses natural gas so it can run on
clean-burning hydrogen costs less than $1,000.
"The fuel-cell guys love the idea of internal
combustion engines because it gets hydrogen out there,
it gets the infrastructure in place, and when the fuel
cells come along, you're not dealing with any big
disruption."
=====
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 14:43:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Hydrogen car near, energy firm says
Jul. 23, 2003. 07:31 AM
Hydrogen car near, energy firm says
Stuart Energy sells filling station
Firm's technology `bridge to fuel cell'
TYLER HAMILTON
TECHNOLOGY REPORTER
Consumers won't have to wait 10 or 20 years before
hydrogen-powered cars make it to the local dealership,
says the chief executive of Stuart Energy Systems
Corp., a leading supplier of hydrogen fuelling
stations.
Jon Slangerup said internal combustion car engines
that run on hydrogen gas, similar to vehicles powered
by natural gas, could see "mass commercialization"
within two years, at least a decade sooner than
hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles that companies such as
Burnaby, B.C.-based Ballard Power Systems Inc. are
helping to develop.
"The fuel cell, indeed, is the ultimate in the ideal
future state," said Slangerup. "But instead of waiting
15 or 20 years for that to be perfected, we now have
internal combustion engines running on hydrogen for
stationary and mobile applications."
Slangerup said Mississauga-based Stuart Energy will
detail at its annual meeting in September the progress
being made with internal combustion car engines that
run on non-polluting hydrogen gas. He said a related
announcement will be made at that time, but would not
elaborate.
The company has a partnership with Ford Motor Co.,
which is testing both fuel cells and traditional
internal combustion engines that can be powered by
hydrogen. The latter is being produced at Ford's
manufacturing facilities in Windsor, potentially a
permanent home for the product, said Slangerup.
Ford's Model U vehicle contains an electric drive and
a hydrogen internal combustion engine that could be
replaced by a fuel cell when that technology is ready.
In both scenarios, a hydrogen-fuelling infrastructure
will be needed to keep the vehicles going — and that's
where Stuart Energy enters the picture.
Within two years, the company expects to have a
hydrogen fuelling system for the home — called a
personal energy station — that's about the size of a
large residential air conditioner, said Slangerup.
This energy station, along with storage containers,
would initially cost less than $20,000 and would be
capable of fuelling two hydrogen-powered cars each day
and providing back-up or primary electricity to the
home, depending on whether solar panels are used to
charge the system.
"We're working with the largest home builder in the
United States right now, which is absolutely wild
about the idea of offering a total green solution,
including solar panels, to their customers and
incorporating (the cost of the system) into the
mortgage," said Slangerup.
"This is going to be a big market for us."
The energy station takes in water from a standard
garden hose and converts it into hydrogen and oxygen
through a process called electrolysis. The hydrogen is
either used right away as a power source or stored in
a carbon-fibre tank for later use, such as filling up
your car. Pure oxygen is released as the only
by-product.
One criticism of any hydrogen production process,
including electrolysis, is that it consumes power,
typically through the burning of fossil fuels, to
create the hydrogen fuel. So while the end product may
have zero emissions, the process to create it doesn't.
Slangerup said that the ability to store hydrogen
offers flexibility in creating it. Renewable and clean
energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro and
geothermal, are one option. The other option is to use
energy from the traditional power grid during off-peak
times and store the hydrogen for later use.
To walk the talk, Stuart Energy buys six-month blocks
of wind power from an Ontario wind farm to power its
85,000 square foot Mississauga facility, which employs
160 people. Another 50 employees work out of
Belgium-based Vandenborre Technologies, which was
acquired by Stuart Energy earlier this year for $10
million.
The personal energy station concept is gaining
momentum. Stuart Energy signed a co-development deal
last month with the hydrogen division of oil giant
Royal Dutch/Shell Group, which gets the non-exclusive
right to act as an agent of the technology.
"Why would they want to do that? What's in it for
them?" asked Slangerup rhetorically. "They see the
future as a highly distributed system of hydrogen
generators."
He said it may take 50 years before gasoline-powered
cars go the way of the dodo, but as the price of gas
and other oil products go up, hydrogen and the
infrastructure to provide it will gain momentum.
In that future, hydrogen will be produced in the home
and sold at fuelling stations along the highway,
creating a more decentralized infrastructure that
literally changes the balance of power.
Internal combustion engines that run on hydrogen will
get us to that reality faster, laying the foundation
for fuel-cell cars when they're ready for the mass
market, added Slangerup. "We call it the bridge to the
future of fuel cell."
For example, the Ford Focus fuel-cell car being
showcased across North America cost more than $1
million to build. Modifying the fuel injectors and
fuel-management system of an internal combustion
vehicle that uses natural gas so it can run on
clean-burning hydrogen costs less than $1,000.
"The fuel-cell guys love the idea of internal
combustion engines because it gets hydrogen out there,
it gets the infrastructure in place, and when the fuel
cells come along, you're not dealing with any big
disruption."
=====
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
All-Energy News and Discussion
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/All-Energy
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø
From ENN, an article on how tobacco farmers are "kicking" the habit without sacrificing their financial security, and all while benefitting sustainable farming concerns and the environment. I know there was a large tobaco growing area in and around Edgerton, Wisconsin, just north of my home town. Maybe this will give some of the farmers up that way some ideas.
Leading in...
"From the outside, this looks like any other barn tucked into a sleepy mountain hollow of Stickleyville, Virginia in the Appalachians. Rows of tobacco plants skewered on wooden poles hang like dry-cleaning from the rafters while all around the hillsides explode with autumn colors, which mirror the tints of lemon, orange and mahogany in the cured tobacco.
But inside this barn a revolution is brewing. Among the unlikely pioneers is Sam Askins, a 54-year-old farmer, whose family has been raising tobacco in nearby Russell County since 1786. “Growing ’bacco is a bad habit,” Askins says with a chuckle as he adjusts his bright orange hunting cap. “So I quit.”"
Read more in: Ex-tobacco farmers kick the habit and go organic
Leading in...
"From the outside, this looks like any other barn tucked into a sleepy mountain hollow of Stickleyville, Virginia in the Appalachians. Rows of tobacco plants skewered on wooden poles hang like dry-cleaning from the rafters while all around the hillsides explode with autumn colors, which mirror the tints of lemon, orange and mahogany in the cured tobacco.
But inside this barn a revolution is brewing. Among the unlikely pioneers is Sam Askins, a 54-year-old farmer, whose family has been raising tobacco in nearby Russell County since 1786. “Growing ’bacco is a bad habit,” Askins says with a chuckle as he adjusts his bright orange hunting cap. “So I quit.”"
Read more in: Ex-tobacco farmers kick the habit and go organic
From ENS, The United States is pursuing fossil fuel imports from Russia. Good for Russian finances, but my personal opinion is, bad for the environment. Read more in: U.S. Works Toward Securing Russian Oil Resources.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
Also from Alt Power Digest:
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 15:09:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Company Turning Garbage Into Oil?
Company Seeks Fortune Turning Garbage Into Oil
Sun Jul 20, 4:20 PM ET
By Francesca Segre
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Finally, a possible use for
old tires and turkey bones.
A privately held company run by a former candy
salesman is working on turning everyday garbage into
oil that can be used to heat homes and turned into
fuel to power car engines.
Changing World Technologies has built a pilot plant in
a Philadelphia Navy Yard warehouse that uses a process
called thermal depolymerization to mimic and speed up
the natural process for making oil.
The West Hempstead, New York-based company has already
turned personal computers, old tires and even turkey
bones and feathers into oil, Chief Executive Brian
Appel said.
"We are supercharging that process and doing in
minutes what the earth would naturally do over
hundreds of thousands of years," Appel said.
Changing World Technologies said the advantages of
making oil from garbage is that it controls waste
while also reducing dependence on foreign oil and
slowing global warming (news - web sites).
But not everyone is convinced.
"(The process) sounds like an interesting chemical
innovation but unless you can prove who can use the
oil and how, its market value is not clear," said
Sarah Emerson, managing director of Energy Security
Analysis Inc., an independent energy research firm.
Instead of waiting for nature to take its course --
that is for decomposing plants and animals to be
mashed, pressured and heated by sliding tectonic
plates -- Changing World Technologies uses a shredding
and grinding machine.
GRINDING OUT OIL
The machine loudly grinds the waste into a slurry
mixture, which is then fed through an intense heating
and pressuring process that separates out oil. The oil
is then refined.
Proof the process works on a larger scale will come
when the company opens its first plant later this
year, Appel said.
Changing World Technologies has created a joint
venture with ConAgra Foods Inc., the second largest
U.S. food maker, to build a plant in Missouri near
ConAgra's ButterBall turkey factory.
The plant is designed to process 200 tons of turkey
bones and feathers daily into various products
including more than 500 barrels of oil, Changing World
Technologies said.
But critics question the technology's ability to move
from small scale production to a large facility.
"It might work in the lab, but when you put it on a
larger scale it becomes a daunting task," said Fadel
Gheit, an oil analyst at Fahnestock & Co. and a former
engineer.
"It is uneconomic and it's not feasible," he said.
Predicting critics will be proven wrong, Appel, who
was once a sales representative for Russell Stover
Candies and worked in business development for
Ticketmaster, estimates Changing World Technologies
will be able to produce oil at a cost of $15 a barrel.
That's about half the wholesale price for a barrel of
oil. In a few years, the cost will drop to $10 --
which is about what Appel said mid-sized exploration
and production companies spend -- and then down to $6
to $8 per barrel.
Changing World Technologies said it is not the first
to convert organic and other products into oil. But
others have failed because the process was too
expensive to operate or consumed too much energy.
The government and private industry are betting that
the garbage-into-oil process could revolutionize the
energy industry. The U.S. Department of Energy (news -
web sites) and the Environmental Protection Agency
(news - web sites) have given Changing World
Technologies $21 million in grants.
The company raised another $50 million from investors
including Howard Buffet, the son of Warren Buffet, and
James Woolsey, former director of the Central
Intelligence Agency (news - web sites).
But Fahnestock's Gheit remains unconvinced. "Having
this technology next to a slaughterhouse this is
something else, this is a garbage disposal business it
has nothing to do with energy."
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 15:09:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Company Turning Garbage Into Oil?
Company Seeks Fortune Turning Garbage Into Oil
Sun Jul 20, 4:20 PM ET
By Francesca Segre
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Finally, a possible use for
old tires and turkey bones.
A privately held company run by a former candy
salesman is working on turning everyday garbage into
oil that can be used to heat homes and turned into
fuel to power car engines.
Changing World Technologies has built a pilot plant in
a Philadelphia Navy Yard warehouse that uses a process
called thermal depolymerization to mimic and speed up
the natural process for making oil.
The West Hempstead, New York-based company has already
turned personal computers, old tires and even turkey
bones and feathers into oil, Chief Executive Brian
Appel said.
"We are supercharging that process and doing in
minutes what the earth would naturally do over
hundreds of thousands of years," Appel said.
Changing World Technologies said the advantages of
making oil from garbage is that it controls waste
while also reducing dependence on foreign oil and
slowing global warming (news - web sites).
But not everyone is convinced.
"(The process) sounds like an interesting chemical
innovation but unless you can prove who can use the
oil and how, its market value is not clear," said
Sarah Emerson, managing director of Energy Security
Analysis Inc., an independent energy research firm.
Instead of waiting for nature to take its course --
that is for decomposing plants and animals to be
mashed, pressured and heated by sliding tectonic
plates -- Changing World Technologies uses a shredding
and grinding machine.
GRINDING OUT OIL
The machine loudly grinds the waste into a slurry
mixture, which is then fed through an intense heating
and pressuring process that separates out oil. The oil
is then refined.
Proof the process works on a larger scale will come
when the company opens its first plant later this
year, Appel said.
Changing World Technologies has created a joint
venture with ConAgra Foods Inc., the second largest
U.S. food maker, to build a plant in Missouri near
ConAgra's ButterBall turkey factory.
The plant is designed to process 200 tons of turkey
bones and feathers daily into various products
including more than 500 barrels of oil, Changing World
Technologies said.
But critics question the technology's ability to move
from small scale production to a large facility.
"It might work in the lab, but when you put it on a
larger scale it becomes a daunting task," said Fadel
Gheit, an oil analyst at Fahnestock & Co. and a former
engineer.
"It is uneconomic and it's not feasible," he said.
Predicting critics will be proven wrong, Appel, who
was once a sales representative for Russell Stover
Candies and worked in business development for
Ticketmaster, estimates Changing World Technologies
will be able to produce oil at a cost of $15 a barrel.
That's about half the wholesale price for a barrel of
oil. In a few years, the cost will drop to $10 --
which is about what Appel said mid-sized exploration
and production companies spend -- and then down to $6
to $8 per barrel.
Changing World Technologies said it is not the first
to convert organic and other products into oil. But
others have failed because the process was too
expensive to operate or consumed too much energy.
The government and private industry are betting that
the garbage-into-oil process could revolutionize the
energy industry. The U.S. Department of Energy (news -
web sites) and the Environmental Protection Agency
(news - web sites) have given Changing World
Technologies $21 million in grants.
The company raised another $50 million from investors
including Howard Buffet, the son of Warren Buffet, and
James Woolsey, former director of the Central
Intelligence Agency (news - web sites).
But Fahnestock's Gheit remains unconvinced. "Having
this technology next to a slaughterhouse this is
something else, this is a garbage disposal business it
has nothing to do with energy."
From the Yahoo group Alt Power Digest:
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 15:06:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Grad student measures wind power
Newsmaker / Grad student measures wind power as source
of energy for SRU campus
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
By Alisha Hipwell
Heath Gamache has come to understand better than most
the troubling effects of electrical power production,
from acid rain to greenhouse gas emissions
So the Prospect man, who's pursuing a master's degree
in sustainable systems at Slippery Rock University of
Pennsylvania spends a lot of time asking how humans
can have a comfortable life with less environmental impact.
The answer, my friend -- as Bob Dylan would put it --
might be blowing in the wind.
Gamache, 31, is gathering data on the feasibility of
using wind, a clean power source, to generate
electricity for parts of the Slippery Rock campus. He
recently installed a 100-feet meteorological tower
near the university's football stadium to measure wind
velocity for a year.
"For me one of the crux issues for the United States
right now is energy -- energy security, energy
independence and all the environmental damage and
pollution that comes from getting energy the way we do
right now," said Gamache.
If he finds average wind speeds of at least 10 mph
over the 12-month period, a wind turbine could be installed to produce electricity for Harmony House,
located at the university's Robert A. McCoskey Center
for Sustainable Systems Education and Research.
Wind speeds in the 15 to 25 mph range would be
sufficient for a wind farm that could supply power for
the whole region.
Gamache said the university campus is one of the
highest points in Butler County, so he expects to get
good results on wind readings.
"My guess is we could make a fairly large dent in
power usage," he said.
The tower has two anemometers to measure wind speed
and a vane to track its direction. The data is logged
onto microchips and is downloaded onto a laptop
computer for analysis.
Gamache grew up in Northfield, Mass., in the Berkshire
mountains region. His parents introduced him to
hiking, camping and other outdoor activities, and
those early experiences made a lasting impression.
"I am like many other people in the field in that, as
a child, I had the opportunity to be in a place where
the wonder and beauty of nature was shared with me by
someone I cared about -- in my case my parents," he
said.
As he grew older, Gamache's love of the outdoors,
coupled with his Christian faith, grew into a deep
desire to understand and protect the natural world.
"For me, personally, it went beyond just wanting to be
in nature and enjoy the outdoors for recreation to
wanting to understand it more from a scientific
perspective but even more so, in my case, from a
stewardship perspective," he said.
Still, it took Gamache time to find his niche. He
earned a degree in corporate communications from
Ithaca College in New York and briefly worked in the
advertising and graphic design field.
"I didn't like the atmosphere. I'd rather be outdoors
communicating one on one," he said.
So Gamache got out of the field and worked as a
program director for a camp in Iowa, but that job
didn't get to the heart of what he loved: teaching
others about the environment.
So when he saw a posting for the position of assistant
director of environmental education for Camp
Lutherlyn, he jumped at the opportunity. He took the
position in 1997 and moved into the Connoquenessing
Township camp's self-sustaining straw bale house,
Terra Dei Homestead. The name is Latin for "God's
earth."
Gamache is at ease at Terra Dei, where modern
convenience and environmental sensitivity have made a
happy marriage.
Freshly harvested mint leaves hang drying from a
picnic pavilion roof at the homestead. A laptop
computer sits on the kitchen table, near a brand new
refrigerator full of vegetables grown in the organic garden.
"It's a modern lifestyle that makes more sense,"
Gamache said.
Gamache would like to see his research -- the
homestead has a wind tower much like the one at the
university -- help Slippery Rock and other
Pennsylvania universities move to the forefront of
wind energy education.
"When planning for the future, you have to plan big,"
he said. "It would be fantastic if five to 10 years
down the road we could see a wind farm that would
power SRU, the whole town."
That might not be so far-fetched. According to the
American Wind Energy Association in Washington, D.C.,
wind energy is the world's fastest-growing energy
source.
Pennsylvania is well down the list of windiest states,
but "we've still got plenty of wind energy to tap
into," Gamache said.
The windmills in Somerset County, visible from the
Pennsylvania Turnpike, produce 2.4 million
kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. That's enough to
power about 240 average homes.
Steven Doherty, an assistant professor and coordinator
in the university's sustainable systems program, said
the cost of electricity generated by wind is dropping
faster than electricity produced by conventional means.
Figure in the cost of environmental damage such as
acid rain caused by conventional generation and,
Doherty said, "it's clear wind is already pretty
competitive." But it's hard for consumers to see that,
because the costs of environmental damage don't show
up on their electric bills.
The wind study isn't Gamache's only environmental
project. At Camp Lutherlyn, Gamache is overseeing work
on a passive treatment system that will revitalize
Semiconon Run, a creek at the camp that is
contaminated with mine drainage.
The camp's director of environmental education, Todd
Garcia-Bish, credited Gamache with writing the grant
that secured funding for the project.
After Gamache finishes his graduate program in 2004,
he would like to take his knowledge of alternative
power sources to other areas of the country
"I'd like to take these ideas and technologies to
developing areas of the United States or abroad to
places desperately in need of energy sources where
they haven't already made disastrous energy choices," he said.
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 15:06:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: Green Bean
Subject: Grad student measures wind power
Newsmaker / Grad student measures wind power as source
of energy for SRU campus
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
By Alisha Hipwell
Heath Gamache has come to understand better than most
the troubling effects of electrical power production,
from acid rain to greenhouse gas emissions
So the Prospect man, who's pursuing a master's degree
in sustainable systems at Slippery Rock University of
Pennsylvania spends a lot of time asking how humans
can have a comfortable life with less environmental impact.
The answer, my friend -- as Bob Dylan would put it --
might be blowing in the wind.
Gamache, 31, is gathering data on the feasibility of
using wind, a clean power source, to generate
electricity for parts of the Slippery Rock campus. He
recently installed a 100-feet meteorological tower
near the university's football stadium to measure wind
velocity for a year.
"For me one of the crux issues for the United States
right now is energy -- energy security, energy
independence and all the environmental damage and
pollution that comes from getting energy the way we do
right now," said Gamache.
If he finds average wind speeds of at least 10 mph
over the 12-month period, a wind turbine could be installed to produce electricity for Harmony House,
located at the university's Robert A. McCoskey Center
for Sustainable Systems Education and Research.
Wind speeds in the 15 to 25 mph range would be
sufficient for a wind farm that could supply power for
the whole region.
Gamache said the university campus is one of the
highest points in Butler County, so he expects to get
good results on wind readings.
"My guess is we could make a fairly large dent in
power usage," he said.
The tower has two anemometers to measure wind speed
and a vane to track its direction. The data is logged
onto microchips and is downloaded onto a laptop
computer for analysis.
Gamache grew up in Northfield, Mass., in the Berkshire
mountains region. His parents introduced him to
hiking, camping and other outdoor activities, and
those early experiences made a lasting impression.
"I am like many other people in the field in that, as
a child, I had the opportunity to be in a place where
the wonder and beauty of nature was shared with me by
someone I cared about -- in my case my parents," he
said.
As he grew older, Gamache's love of the outdoors,
coupled with his Christian faith, grew into a deep
desire to understand and protect the natural world.
"For me, personally, it went beyond just wanting to be
in nature and enjoy the outdoors for recreation to
wanting to understand it more from a scientific
perspective but even more so, in my case, from a
stewardship perspective," he said.
Still, it took Gamache time to find his niche. He
earned a degree in corporate communications from
Ithaca College in New York and briefly worked in the
advertising and graphic design field.
"I didn't like the atmosphere. I'd rather be outdoors
communicating one on one," he said.
So Gamache got out of the field and worked as a
program director for a camp in Iowa, but that job
didn't get to the heart of what he loved: teaching
others about the environment.
So when he saw a posting for the position of assistant
director of environmental education for Camp
Lutherlyn, he jumped at the opportunity. He took the
position in 1997 and moved into the Connoquenessing
Township camp's self-sustaining straw bale house,
Terra Dei Homestead. The name is Latin for "God's
earth."
Gamache is at ease at Terra Dei, where modern
convenience and environmental sensitivity have made a
happy marriage.
Freshly harvested mint leaves hang drying from a
picnic pavilion roof at the homestead. A laptop
computer sits on the kitchen table, near a brand new
refrigerator full of vegetables grown in the organic garden.
"It's a modern lifestyle that makes more sense,"
Gamache said.
Gamache would like to see his research -- the
homestead has a wind tower much like the one at the
university -- help Slippery Rock and other
Pennsylvania universities move to the forefront of
wind energy education.
"When planning for the future, you have to plan big,"
he said. "It would be fantastic if five to 10 years
down the road we could see a wind farm that would
power SRU, the whole town."
That might not be so far-fetched. According to the
American Wind Energy Association in Washington, D.C.,
wind energy is the world's fastest-growing energy
source.
Pennsylvania is well down the list of windiest states,
but "we've still got plenty of wind energy to tap
into," Gamache said.
The windmills in Somerset County, visible from the
Pennsylvania Turnpike, produce 2.4 million
kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. That's enough to
power about 240 average homes.
Steven Doherty, an assistant professor and coordinator
in the university's sustainable systems program, said
the cost of electricity generated by wind is dropping
faster than electricity produced by conventional means.
Figure in the cost of environmental damage such as
acid rain caused by conventional generation and,
Doherty said, "it's clear wind is already pretty
competitive." But it's hard for consumers to see that,
because the costs of environmental damage don't show
up on their electric bills.
The wind study isn't Gamache's only environmental
project. At Camp Lutherlyn, Gamache is overseeing work
on a passive treatment system that will revitalize
Semiconon Run, a creek at the camp that is
contaminated with mine drainage.
The camp's director of environmental education, Todd
Garcia-Bish, credited Gamache with writing the grant
that secured funding for the project.
After Gamache finishes his graduate program in 2004,
he would like to take his knowledge of alternative
power sources to other areas of the country
"I'd like to take these ideas and technologies to
developing areas of the United States or abroad to
places desperately in need of energy sources where
they haven't already made disastrous energy choices," he said.
Saturday, July 19, 2003
From ENN,
From American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Thursday, July 17, 2003
A new report, by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), examines the use of energy efficiency as a Clean Air Act compliance tool in the emissions trading system that emerged from the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. ACEEE concluded that as Congress currently contemplates action on multi-pollutant legislation, it should include energy efficiency as a compliance option. If not, Americans will pay needlessly high costs for cleaner air... Read more in: Clearer Skies with Energy Efficiency
From American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Thursday, July 17, 2003
A new report, by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), examines the use of energy efficiency as a Clean Air Act compliance tool in the emissions trading system that emerged from the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. ACEEE concluded that as Congress currently contemplates action on multi-pollutant legislation, it should include energy efficiency as a compliance option. If not, Americans will pay needlessly high costs for cleaner air... Read more in: Clearer Skies with Energy Efficiency
Just in off Alt Power Digest:
Environment groups slam Ontario energy sources
By ALLISON LAWLOR
Globe and Mail Update
Ontario's electricity woes will only get worse if
aging nuclear and coal plants are not phased out and
replaced with efficiency programs and renewable
energy, a new report by a coalition of leading
environmental groups.
The province, already struggling to produce enough
power, will lose about 35 per cent of its electricity
supply over the next 16 years as the province's
nuclear-power plants reach the end of their lifespans,
says the report released Thursday by the group
Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout.
Ontario, already struggling to produce enough power,
is then presented with the option of spending billions
to replace the plants or embarking on aggressive
conservation and efficiency programs, says the report
released Thursday.
"Ontario faces even more Pickering fiascos over the
next decade if the right decisions aren't made now,"
Ralph Torrie, the report's author, said in a news
release.
Mr. Torrie was referring to the restart of the
Pickering A station, located outside of Toronto, which
is more than $1-billion over budget and three years
behind schedule.
"The sun is setting on nuclear power in Canada. We can
have a sustainable energy future by phasing out
nuclear and coal, and phasing in efficiency and
renewable energy."
Astronomical costs and poor performance of Ontario's
nuclear reactors have been at the heart of Ontario's
electricity problems, the report says. Eight of
Ontario's 20 reactors were "laid up" between 1995 and
1998, and attempts to restart them have met with
lengthy delays and massive cost overruns, the report
says.
In addition, Canada's other nuclear reactors — the
Gentilly-2 in Quebec and New Brunswick's Point Lepreau
— face similar problems by the decade's end. The
study shows out how Quebec and New Brunswick could
also phase out their nuclear and coal plants, reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent from
electricity production in New Brunswick and eliminate
them altogether in Québec.
Ontario could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by
75 per cent from electricity production by 2020
through a program that phases out both coal and
nuclear plants, the report says.
"What we need is a long-term plan," Shawn-Patrick
Stensil, national co-ordinator for the Campaign for
Nuclear Phaseout, told globeandmail.com. The plan
would mean investing more in renewable energy instead
of throwing more money at nuclear power.
Mr. Stensil said the Ontario government has made
several disastrous policy moves when it comes to
electricity. Among them, he pointed out the recent
change that considers nuclear power plants as green
energy so they can take advantage of tax breaks.
Earlier this month, the Ontario government announced
what was called the most ambitious alternative-energy
plan in the country.
The program is modelled after those adopted by many
European countries and American states, including
Texas and California, where power producers who create
pollution-free energy are guaranteed a share of the
electricity market.
Ontario plans to reserve about 8 per cent of its
market for these new suppliers, both to help slake its
burgeoning demand for electricity and to fight air
pollution.
Under the plan, the government will buy 1 per cent of
the province's current electricity needs from newly
constructed alternative-energy sources, starting in
2006.
The province will then purchase an additional 1 per
cent during each of the eight years of the program,
leading to the construction of about 3,000 megawatts
of new electrical capacity, about the same as a large
nuclear-power plant, by 2015.
Mr. Stensil said the Ontario government's actions so
far haven't been strong enough.
"Anything they have done is superficial," he said.
With a report from Canadian Press
Environment groups slam Ontario energy sources
By ALLISON LAWLOR
Globe and Mail Update
Ontario's electricity woes will only get worse if
aging nuclear and coal plants are not phased out and
replaced with efficiency programs and renewable
energy, a new report by a coalition of leading
environmental groups.
The province, already struggling to produce enough
power, will lose about 35 per cent of its electricity
supply over the next 16 years as the province's
nuclear-power plants reach the end of their lifespans,
says the report released Thursday by the group
Campaign for Nuclear Phaseout.
Ontario, already struggling to produce enough power,
is then presented with the option of spending billions
to replace the plants or embarking on aggressive
conservation and efficiency programs, says the report
released Thursday.
"Ontario faces even more Pickering fiascos over the
next decade if the right decisions aren't made now,"
Ralph Torrie, the report's author, said in a news
release.
Mr. Torrie was referring to the restart of the
Pickering A station, located outside of Toronto, which
is more than $1-billion over budget and three years
behind schedule.
"The sun is setting on nuclear power in Canada. We can
have a sustainable energy future by phasing out
nuclear and coal, and phasing in efficiency and
renewable energy."
Astronomical costs and poor performance of Ontario's
nuclear reactors have been at the heart of Ontario's
electricity problems, the report says. Eight of
Ontario's 20 reactors were "laid up" between 1995 and
1998, and attempts to restart them have met with
lengthy delays and massive cost overruns, the report
says.
In addition, Canada's other nuclear reactors — the
Gentilly-2 in Quebec and New Brunswick's Point Lepreau
— face similar problems by the decade's end. The
study shows out how Quebec and New Brunswick could
also phase out their nuclear and coal plants, reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent from
electricity production in New Brunswick and eliminate
them altogether in Québec.
Ontario could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by
75 per cent from electricity production by 2020
through a program that phases out both coal and
nuclear plants, the report says.
"What we need is a long-term plan," Shawn-Patrick
Stensil, national co-ordinator for the Campaign for
Nuclear Phaseout, told globeandmail.com. The plan
would mean investing more in renewable energy instead
of throwing more money at nuclear power.
Mr. Stensil said the Ontario government has made
several disastrous policy moves when it comes to
electricity. Among them, he pointed out the recent
change that considers nuclear power plants as green
energy so they can take advantage of tax breaks.
Earlier this month, the Ontario government announced
what was called the most ambitious alternative-energy
plan in the country.
The program is modelled after those adopted by many
European countries and American states, including
Texas and California, where power producers who create
pollution-free energy are guaranteed a share of the
electricity market.
Ontario plans to reserve about 8 per cent of its
market for these new suppliers, both to help slake its
burgeoning demand for electricity and to fight air
pollution.
Under the plan, the government will buy 1 per cent of
the province's current electricity needs from newly
constructed alternative-energy sources, starting in
2006.
The province will then purchase an additional 1 per
cent during each of the eight years of the program,
leading to the construction of about 3,000 megawatts
of new electrical capacity, about the same as a large
nuclear-power plant, by 2015.
Mr. Stensil said the Ontario government's actions so
far haven't been strong enough.
"Anything they have done is superficial," he said.
With a report from Canadian Press
Friday, July 18, 2003
Point and counterpoint in response to an Alt Power Digest Yahoo group message...
1. I think utilizing (and improving to handle it) the nation's existing natural gas delivery infrastructure for a faster entry into a hydrogen energy economy is a great idea. The piping will have to be replaced with materials not susceptible to hydrogenization, but the right of way and initial plumbing and technology is mostly there. Gas appliances can also be adapted by simply re-jetting the burners, which would open up a manufacturing niche for retrofit kits. Existing vehicles could be retrofitted to either directly burn hydrogen in their existing engines or with a fuel cell / sterling engine generator / high output electric motor combo designed to accomodate existing models and bolt right into them and onto the existing transmission housing. All this activity could result in gains in domestic economic volume and jobs. Having both options would satisfy the collector car market's "original equipment" leanings.
>1. Consider the problem with hydrogen-powered cars. The
>Honda FCX can travel 350 km before it needs more
>hydrogen, but no regular gasoline station can
>currently deal with that. (Researchers at Britain's
>University of Warwick, however, are working on a
>program called "Hydrofueler" to develop technology to
>connect gas stations to the normal natural-gas supply
>to fuel hydrogen-powered vehicles.)
2. No matter how safe the USAGE of nuclear power becomes, it will never overcome the devastating problem of nuclear waste disposal in my personal opinion. Far, far better to devote the surface area to wind, solar, geothermal, ocean tide, wave, and thermal differential systems and eventually put up solar sattelites. Keep the nuclear reactions on the Sun. After all, all energy sources other than geothermal are nuclear derived through a stellar reactor off the planet, with the POSSIBLE exception of geothermal. (Thank goodness, "off the planet.") Let the nuclear crowd comfort themselves with that knowledge and let's stick to no radioactrive waste production increases, shall we?
>2. Grant admits there are problems, but suggests that
>those with fossil fuels (and wind- and solar-derived
>electricity, which would require vast areas of land)
>are bigger.
>
>"I believe that a resurgence of nuclear power is
>necessary for the continuing industrialization of
>world society with minimal environmental impact and
>eco-invasion, one in which hydrogen will supplant
>fossil fuels."
3. Actually, in the USA, where shift work often accompanies long commute distances, a vehicle has become a necessity. I spend five days a week commuting over 40 miles one way to and from my place of employment and praying there aren't any traffic jams due to my employer being the most prodigious clock watcher in my life. Since my hours are very inconvenient to local mass transportation schedules, such that I would have to suffer three hours to get there and three to get home to work eight, mass transit is a very poor option unless it becomes available 24 hours / 7-days on a half-hourly schedule. Personal vehicles are a necessity. However, were there a hydrogen conversion kit that could match the functionality of my vehicle's current power plant at a price I could afford and available fuel, I would spend up to an additional hour to get the fuel and gladly install it.
I wonder the feasiblity of laying permanent magnets under our roadways and having the vehicle power plant run an electromagnet built into the body of the vehicle and run on a fuel cell coupled to a Sterling cycle engine and secondary generator to propel the vehicle? The roadways are under construction so often any more that the delays produced by the installation work would seem routine.
>3. In 1964, the Canadian communications scholar Marshall
>McLuhan wrote, "The car has become an article of dress
>without which we feel uncertain, unclad and incomplete
>in the urban compound."
Dan
1. I think utilizing (and improving to handle it) the nation's existing natural gas delivery infrastructure for a faster entry into a hydrogen energy economy is a great idea. The piping will have to be replaced with materials not susceptible to hydrogenization, but the right of way and initial plumbing and technology is mostly there. Gas appliances can also be adapted by simply re-jetting the burners, which would open up a manufacturing niche for retrofit kits. Existing vehicles could be retrofitted to either directly burn hydrogen in their existing engines or with a fuel cell / sterling engine generator / high output electric motor combo designed to accomodate existing models and bolt right into them and onto the existing transmission housing. All this activity could result in gains in domestic economic volume and jobs. Having both options would satisfy the collector car market's "original equipment" leanings.
>1. Consider the problem with hydrogen-powered cars. The
>Honda FCX can travel 350 km before it needs more
>hydrogen, but no regular gasoline station can
>currently deal with that. (Researchers at Britain's
>University of Warwick, however, are working on a
>program called "Hydrofueler" to develop technology to
>connect gas stations to the normal natural-gas supply
>to fuel hydrogen-powered vehicles.)
2. No matter how safe the USAGE of nuclear power becomes, it will never overcome the devastating problem of nuclear waste disposal in my personal opinion. Far, far better to devote the surface area to wind, solar, geothermal, ocean tide, wave, and thermal differential systems and eventually put up solar sattelites. Keep the nuclear reactions on the Sun. After all, all energy sources other than geothermal are nuclear derived through a stellar reactor off the planet, with the POSSIBLE exception of geothermal. (Thank goodness, "off the planet.") Let the nuclear crowd comfort themselves with that knowledge and let's stick to no radioactrive waste production increases, shall we?
>2. Grant admits there are problems, but suggests that
>those with fossil fuels (and wind- and solar-derived
>electricity, which would require vast areas of land)
>are bigger.
>
>"I believe that a resurgence of nuclear power is
>necessary for the continuing industrialization of
>world society with minimal environmental impact and
>eco-invasion, one in which hydrogen will supplant
>fossil fuels."
3. Actually, in the USA, where shift work often accompanies long commute distances, a vehicle has become a necessity. I spend five days a week commuting over 40 miles one way to and from my place of employment and praying there aren't any traffic jams due to my employer being the most prodigious clock watcher in my life. Since my hours are very inconvenient to local mass transportation schedules, such that I would have to suffer three hours to get there and three to get home to work eight, mass transit is a very poor option unless it becomes available 24 hours / 7-days on a half-hourly schedule. Personal vehicles are a necessity. However, were there a hydrogen conversion kit that could match the functionality of my vehicle's current power plant at a price I could afford and available fuel, I would spend up to an additional hour to get the fuel and gladly install it.
I wonder the feasiblity of laying permanent magnets under our roadways and having the vehicle power plant run an electromagnet built into the body of the vehicle and run on a fuel cell coupled to a Sterling cycle engine and secondary generator to propel the vehicle? The roadways are under construction so often any more that the delays produced by the installation work would seem routine.
>3. In 1964, the Canadian communications scholar Marshall
>McLuhan wrote, "The car has become an article of dress
>without which we feel uncertain, unclad and incomplete
>in the urban compound."
Dan
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