Energy Storage Opportunities on the Smart Grid

Adapted from John Petersen, Seeking Alpha, by Richard L. Wottrich, Blog Editor

There has been recent rapid growth in the number and size of utility-scale demonstration Energy Storage Projects and a growing body of proof that storage will be a critical enabling technology for the electrical smart grids of the future.

Modern Developed Economies are entering an era where 600 million people in North America and Western Europe can no longer lay claim to the lion's share of global resources because the other 6 billion inhabitants of our planet are subject to rising expectations. Our escalating populations in Emerging Economies will give rise to exponential increases in global demand for everything. Methodologies to avoid armed conflict or catastrophic environmental damage include minimizing waste in all its forms, beginning with energy.

It is an ugly reality that most grid-connected storage applications won't pay under current economic conditions because the spread between the cost of storage and the value of storage remains narrow. That cost-benefit equation is changing rapidly as energy costs rise and renewables are added, but as long as waste is cheaper than storage, waste will prevail.

The most important lesson for Energy Storage Investors is price sensitivity. When total installed costs for energy storage systems are $1,000 per kW or higher, demand for storage is almost insignificant. As installed costs fall into the $600 per kW range, the number of cost-effective utility applications soars.

Energy Storage demonstration systems from Beacon Power (BCON), Altair Nanotechnologies (ALTI) and A123 Systems (AONE) have shown a remarkable ability to respond to regulation signals in microseconds and provide up and down regulation at speeds that traditional systems can't even begin to match. Based on estimates from the PJM Interconnection, one of the independent system operators that manage the U.S. grid, national demand for frequency regulation installations is on the order of 6,000 MW and could be much higher if flywheel and battery systems prove capable of handling longer duration load ramping intervals. The ongoing tests are not conclusive because the new systems have not been in service long enough to establish their useful lives, but the preliminary results are promising.

Other energy storage applications include the use of flow batteries at cellular telephone installations in Africa, to a recently completed 12-year demonstration where Exide Technologies (XIDE) used lead-acid batteries to effectively eliminate the need for diesel fueled backup power on a remote island where the primary power source was renewable. Yet another application utilizes computer analysis of satellite maps to identify new locations in Ireland for pumped hydro, a technology that is commonly believed to have limited potential because most of the desirable locations are already developed.

Energy Storage is the economic equivalent of a dispatchable generating asset. Installed cost and reliability will be the primary drivers of decisions to implement storage solutions. Maintenance and cycle life will be secondary decision drivers. An optimal smart grid configuration will need storage equal to at least 5% of peak system load; and as renewables become prevalent, storage will become increasingly critical to grid stability.

For example, the required annual storage build required in the State of California is estimated at 500 MW per year for the next decade. Of this total, 50 MW would need to be fast storage in the form of flywheels and Li-ion batteries and the 450 MW balance would be 4 to 6 hour storage in the form of pumped hydro, compressed air, flow batteries and advanced lead acid batteries. When the California numbers are scaled up to a national level, they translate to billions in new annual demand for the foreseeable future. When you add in billions in new demand for transportation, it's clear that the sector isn't even close to ready for the near-term demands. To compound the problem, essential raw material supply chains aren't ready either.

Energy storage devices are rapidly evolving from minor components in high-value durable goods to stand-alone end user products. As a result, the cost of energy storage is rocketing from less than 5% of product cost in the case of portable electronics to more than 50% of product cost in the case of an EV like the Tesla roadster. When you get into the utility arena, the storage devices are the end product and represent 100% of the product costs. Since consumers generally have higher payback expectations and shorter investment horizons than utilities, consumer price sensitivity will be very high.

While some of the stock market valuations in the energy storage sector reflect the emerging reality that energy storage is and will remain a highly price sensitive product, others do not. As a result, we have a distorted market dynamic where EnerSys (ENS), the world's largest manufacturer, marketer and distributor of industrial batteries, trades at a 50% discount to a newcomer like A123 Systems (AONE); and Exide Technologies (XIDE), the world's second largest manufacturer of OEM automotive batteries, trades at a 28% discount to a newcomer like Ener1 (HEV). While the valuation disparities might be justified if either of the newcomers had a technology that would displace the established leaders or significantly erode their revenues or margins, that outcome can't be expected in the foreseeable future because the newcomers are focused on far more expensive products for markets that don't even exist yet.

The source of these observations is John Petersen of Seeking Alpha. His recurring simple hypothesis has been that cheap energy storage will beat cool energy storage in the market and that companies that manufacture objectively cheap products will experience far more rapid and sustained stock price growth than companies that are developing objectively expensive products. Over that time, Petersen says that his personal trading account of Active Power (ACPW), Enersys (ENS), Exide Technologies (XIDE), ZBB Energy (ZBB) and Great Western Minerals Group (GWMGF.PK) has gained over 300%.

Petersen believes that every energy storage company that brings a product to market will have more business than it can handle. Nevertheless, he believes that companies that have attained lofty market valuations based on ambitious plans to develop exotic products are likely to trade flat or decline in price while the companies that have less ambitious goals and less expensive products have substantial upside potential.

Petersen’s favorite short-term holding is ZBB Energy (ZBB) because it’s ZESS 50 and ZESS 500 flow battery systems are market ready and carry an attractive mid-range price while its market capitalization of $15.3 million is but a small fraction of the peer group average. His favorite mid- to long-term holding is Axion Power International (AXPW.OB) because its first generation PbC batteries are in production and have been delivered to select end users for testing, the PbC battery promises a cheap solution for a wide variety of mundane energy storage applications and Axion's market capitalization of roughly $80 million is well below the peer group average.

DISCLOSURE: John Petersen is a former director of Axion Power International and has a substantial long position in its stock. He also has small long positions in Active Power, Enersys, Exide Technologies, ZBB Energy and Great Western Minerals Group.

The GDP/Energy Ratio

Carbon Emissions Do Not Exist In a Vacuum

By Richard L. Wottrich, Blog Editor

President Obama’s Carbon Cap-and-Trade Bill passed by the House in June contains a fatal  conceptual flaw. Carbon emissions do not exist in a vacuum. They represent a people’s efforts to survive, thrive and prosper. Hence energy consumption is only relevant when compared to a country’s GDP. In other words, the more efficient a country is in using energy to produce GDP, the less it should be penalized.

The Top-10 GDPs in the world in 2008 (including the EU as a complete unit) accounted for roughly $50 trillion in GDP, an astounding 90% of the world’s production. None of the OPEC and related oil-producing nations are on the list. Commodity sales do not create large GDPs – productive peoples do.

For example the US uses roughly 25% of the world’s energy, but contributes 29% of total GDP – a very efficient GDP/Energy Ratio of 1:.86. China by contrast just passed the US as the biggest pollution emitter in the world, but contributes just 8.8% of total world GDP, a GDP/Energy ratio of 1:5.6, 6 1/2 times worse than the U.S., so clearly China has a far worse GDP/Energy ratio than the US, as one might expect in a newly industrialized country.

China and India argue that their energy consumption is only relevant on a per capita basis. This is an obvious political argument, as their populations are the two largest in the world. To prove the point, neither country would advertise their food production on a per capita basis, as that would be politically embarrassing. The relevant ratio is GDP/Energy.

Introducing a Carbon Cap-and-Trade Tax on US businesses will clearly make the United States less competitive with less efficient countries like China and India. That will cause our 1:.86 GDP/Energy ratio to decrease, the opposite of what we would like to happen, because energy costs are always reduced by scale – less GDP – less scale. The Tax is wrong-headed and counterproductive. The true cost of energy, as always, will drive efficiencies and innovation.

Fine graining even further, one should discount energy consumption by the percentage of goods exported minus the energy cost of shipping them. This is because those goods are sent to countries that do not use energy to produce them; effectively representing an energy credit. The United States is a major exporting country. In 2007 the US exported approximately 11.7% of its GDP. Its true GDP/Energy ratio (adjusted for the energy cost of shipping) would be a net adjustment of about 10%, or a GDP/Energy ratio of 1:.75, a very efficient usage of energy indeed. This credit would clearly improve the GDP/Energy ratios of Germany, China and India for example, as they are major exporters.

We are all on this globe together. Measuring energy consumption in a vacuum is misleading. We must produce to survive, hence our efficiencies of production are the key - the GDP/Energy ratios of each country being the most convenient measure.

New Mexico project would link nation's 3 power grids to move alternative energy farther

By HEATHER CLARK, Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Officials announced an ambitious project in New Mexico on Tuesday that would allow energy to flow more freely across the nation's three massive power grids, breaking down significant barriers to ramping up alternative energy in the United States.

The proposed Tres Amigas SuperStation in Clovis, N.M., would help route energy from isolated wind and solar installations to urban centers and other places that consume the most power.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who served as President Bill Clinton's energy secretary, said the transmission station would be "historic."

"This is going to be the largest power converter in the world, making New Mexico the meeting place for America's electricity needs," he said at a news conference to unveil the project.

The transmission hub would be located across 22 square miles in eastern New Mexico near the Texas border. Clovis was chosen because it is nearest to where the nation's three power grids — called the East, West and Texas interconnections — come closest together.

Tres Amigas would build a triangular pathway of underground superconductor pipelines, combined with AC/DC converters that synchronize the flow of power between the interconnections. The equipment allows electricity to be transferred from grid to grid.

Construction could begin in 2011 or 2012, and the hub could be running in 2013 or 2014, said Phil Harris, chief executive of the Santa Fe-based Tres Amigas.

The pipelines, 3 feet in diameter, contain hair-thin ceramic fibers developed by Devens, Mass.-based American Superconductor and can carry enough electricity to power 2.5 million homes. [The project will use high-temperature superconductor wire developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory, Richardson said.]

"That's how we're going to break the power gridlock in this country," said Greg Yurek, the company's founder and chief executive.

Balance of article: StarTribune.com

India's Suzlon finishes retrofit of wind blades

* Company finishes $100 mln global retrofit
* Says no additional retrofit costs in FY2009-2010
* Sets new benchmarks for blade testing

LOS ANGELES, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Suzlon Energy Ltd (SUZL.BO) said on Monday it had finished a program to retrofit wind power turbine blades that suffered cracking problems, an issue that has weighed on the Indian wind turbine maker's shares.

Suzlon, the No. 5 wind turbine maker globally, launched the $100 million effort last year after some blades on its 2.1 megawatt turbine fleet developed cracks. One blade broke off a turbine in Illinois.

The project "has been a priority effort for us," Andy Cukurs, head of Suzlon's U.S. operations, said in a statement.

While about 180 blades out of 1,251 blades across the fleet showed cracks by the end of the program, the company decided to upgrade the entire fleet.

In addition to the retrofit, the company kicked off a new generation of blades. One of Suzlon's S88 turbines generates enough energy to power about 500 U.S. households.

The company also said it has a new level of blade testing that goes beyond industry standards and does not expect any additional retrofit costs for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. (Reporting by Laura Isensee, editing by Braden Reddall and Andrew Hay).

Smart grid turns off your appliances to cut power use

Boston.com

HONOLULU - A 4-square-mile patch of Maui in the nation’s most fossil-fuel dependent state soon will be home to a new kind of power grid, one that saves energy by turning off household appliances when electricity is expensive and makes better use of wind and solar power.


General Electric Co. recently said it would test its “smart grid’’ technology in the luxury resort community of Wailea, hoping to reduce peak electricity consumption there by 15 percent by 2012.

Planners envision installing a new kind of power meter in homes - a wall-based unit that can monitor how much electricity is being used by various appliances and turn them off when demand for energy is higher, and thus costlier to consume. The project also would upgrade the utility’s computer systems so it can integrate more renewable energy.

There are about 70 smart grid pilots nationwide, including in Miami, Seattle, and Boulder, Colo. But Wailea is one of the only resort communities where the test is being conducted.

“There’s a lot of opportunities for us to improve our knowledge of what’s using power, and making it easier for us to shut off the power when we’re not around,’’ said Bob Gilligan, a GE vice president. “Most consumers aren’t really aware of how much energy they’re using at any time of day.’’

For example, if customers knew what times electricity was most expensive, they could automatically adjust air conditioning and refrigerator temperatures, or they could choose to delay turning on the dishwasher until power demand drops. That would save money for power users. It would also reduce the strain on the grid, allowing the electric utility to absorb more renewable energy from wind turbines and solar panels.

Associated Press

Peak Oil a Moot Point with New Natural Gas Reserves Estimates

Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Vessel

While pundits and oil experts argue the precise point of peak oil production, new methodology in extracting natural gas from shale formations may make the argument academic in the near term – meaning the next 100 years. The United States has led the way in new technologies that afford access to previously unobtainable natural gas trapped in shale formations. Other countries around the world are now learning these technologies and gains in their reserves are sure to follow.

Natural gas, the cleanest of fossil fuels, has seen a 40 percent gain in reserves in the U.S. as a result of these new extraction technologies. Since natural gas emits fewer green house gases than coal or oil, its increase in global production will reduce total emissions. The most conservative estimates are that global energy reserves will increase by 20 percent due to newly accessible natural gas.

A recent study by the IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates consulting group calculated that the recoverable shale gas outside of North America could be equivalent to 211 years’ worth of natural gas consumption in the United States at the present level of demand, and perhaps as much as 690 years. The lower figure would represent a 50 percent increase in the world’s known gas reserves, and the high figure, a 160 percent increase.

Companies leading the way in this sector are Exxon Mobil, Devon Energy, Total, and ConocoPhillips. Early estimates of recoverable European shale gas resources range up to 400 trillion cubic feet, about half of what is estimated to be recoverable in the United States.

“It is obvious to everybody that it has huge potential,” said Oivind Reinertsen, president of StatoilHydro USA and Mexico, a Norwegian company with growing shale interests. “You see a lot of land-grabbing by different companies in Europe, potentially spreading to the Far East, China and India.”

These newly accessible natural gas shale fields, when coupled with the development of huge natural gas finds such as Gorgon in Australia, means that an efficient world market for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) will finally emerge, presenting an energy alternative to oil.

The new supplies from Gorgon and other projects in Australia could lead to a fundamental shift in the way gas is priced throughout the world. As more natural gas travels by free-ranging ships rather than immovable pipelines, traditional regional price differences could begin to erode as big buyers such as China gain more power to negotiate prices by playing competing suppliers against each other.

"We're seeing the first stages of what will ultimately be a more global natural gas market," said Mark Gilman, an analyst with Benchmark Capital in New York. The convergence of these two sources of natural gas from shale and LNG suppliers will alter politics and economies the world over in the next 100 years.

Richard L. Wottrich, Editor

Nanotechnology Used In Biofuel Process To Save Money, Environment

ScienceDaily - Dr. James Palmer, associate professor of chemical engineering at Louisiana Tech University, is collaborating with fellow professors Dr. Yuri Lvov, Dr. Dale Snow, and Dr. Hisham Hegab to capitalize on the environmental and financial benefits of “biofuels” by using nanotechnology to further improve the cellulosic ethanol processes.

Biofuels will play an important part in sustainable fuel and energy production solutions for the future. The country’s appetite for fuel, however, cannot be satisfied with traditional crops such as sugar cane or corn alone. Emerging technologies are allowing cellulosic biomass (wood, grass, stalks, etc.) to also be converted into ethanol.

Cellulosic ethanol does not compete with food production and has the potential to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 86 percent over that of today’s fossil fuels. Current techniques for corn ethanol only reduce greenhouse gases by 19 percent.

The nanotechnology processes developed at Louisiana Tech University can immobilize the expensive enzymes used to convert cellulose to sugars, allowing them to be reused several times over and, thus significantly reducing the overall cost of the process.

Savings estimates range from approximately $32 million for each cellulosic ethanol plant to a total of $7.5 billion if a federally-established goal of 16 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol is achieved. This process can easily be applied in large-scale commercial environments and can immobilize a wide variety or mixture of enzymes for production.

The innovative research taking place at Louisiana Tech, along with an excellent growing season, a strong pulp/paper industry, and one of the nation’s first cellulosic ethanol demonstration plants, has the state of Louisiana well positioned to become a national contributor in cellulosic ethanol.

This technology, along with other important research being conducted to meet future energy needs, will be highlighted at Louisiana Tech’s Energy Systems Conference on November 5 at the Technology Transfer Center in Shreveport.

Family Guy maze cut into corn field at farm

A farmer in the United States has cut two of the characters from Family Guy, the cult animated comedy, into a maze on his property.

(Editor's Note: US farmer cuts emmissions by replacing video film with corn. Effort allows thousands to see cartoon figures without turning on their TV sets, which reduces electricity consumption. Exercise for childen running through the corn contributes to well being.)

Stewie and Brian form the centrepiece of this year's seven acre "Corn Maize" at Connors Farm in Danvers, Massachusetts.

Bob Connors, the owner of the farm, has even approached Seth MacFarlane in the hope of persuading the Family Guy creator to pay a visit.

Speed Bump: Don’t Bank on the Electric-Car Revolution, Lux Says

Are electric cars the next big thing or the next big flop?

There’s a growing chorus out there arguing that electric vehicles will take off in the near future, not just revolutionizing transportation but bringing an end to the oil age. That rosy forecast for plug-in hybrids and electric cars drove battery maker A123 Systems to a massive stock-market debut last month.

Curb your enthusiasm, says Lux Research in a new report. The next generation of battery-powered vehicles—and that includes hybrids, plug-ins, and all-electric cars—will likely grow over the next decade, but nowhere near as fast as boosters claim.

Even if oil prices hit $200 a barrel by 2020, Lux figures electric cars will make up less than 8% of global new-car sales. If oil stays where it is today, electric cars could make up a mere 3% of the market. With oil at $70 or $140 a barrel, hybrids will likely carry the day. Only with $200 oil will all-electric cars take off.

Lux says its forecasts are “much more modest than the very ambitious expectations being bruited about to justify battery company business plans.” A123 Systems, for example, better place its hopes in the market for storing electricity in the power grid, Lux says.

The automotive battery market will probably be worth between $1 billion and $2 billion a year over the next decade, Lux says. Contrast that with A123’s forecast, via Kearney, of a $21 billion market by 2015. (A123 stopped using Lux for its market forecasts shortly before its initial public offer.)

One other potential worry for battery makers: Global demand for batteries by 2015 could be around 2.8 gigawatt hours. But global supply might reach 6 gigawatt hours by then, making a battery supply glut a “distinct possiblity,” Lux says.

The analysts’ starting point is economics: Hybrids, plug-ins, and electric cars will sell more the more sense they make for consumers. Oil prices are one huge variable, of course; the other is the cost of the batteries, which is the biggest part of the cost of the new cars.

While Lux expects lithium-ion batteries to get cheaper over the next decade, it forecasts only a 30% to 40% decline in battery prices—not quite the steep cost reductions batteries made in consumer electronics.

Though if Lux’s forecasts of a battery glut come true, it seems likely that battery prices would plummet—just as has happened with prices for solar panels over the last year.

Most importantly, Lux argues that consumer appetite for the new cars could be unwound, if oil prices fall in the future or if government support (tax breaks and subsidies) disappears.

That’s a stark contrast to other analysts, such as those at Deutsche Bank, who figure the superior performance of all-electric vehicles will make them hugely popular whatever happens to oil prices.

The Wall Street Journal

Masdar will lead Boeing study into potential of plant-based jet fuel

Gulf News

Chicago: Boeing on Tuesday announced it is joining forces with Honeywell's UOP to commission a study on the sustainability of a leading family of saltwater-based plant candidates in the search for renewable jet fuel.

The study is being commissioned as part of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group consortium.

The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi will lead the study, which will examine the overall potential for sustainable, large-scale production of biofuels made from salicornia bigelovii and saltwater mangroves - plants known as halophytes.

Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and UOP will also participate in the analysis, which will include an assessment of the total carbon lifecycle of biofuels. Halophytes can be highly productive sources of biomass energy. They thrive in arid environments and can be irrigated with sea water, making them suitable for biofuel development.

With improved plant science and agronomy, early testing results indicate that halophytes have the potential to deliver very high yields per unit of land.

"Boeing and the scientific and academic communities are stepping forward to look at the totality of each renewable fuel source that can help us reduce carbon emissions," said Billy Glover, managing director of environmental strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
"By working with MasdarAbu Dhabi Future Energy Company Institute to look at these species in a formal research framework, we will better know if certain types of halophytes meet the carbon reduction and socioeconomic criteria that will allow them to become part of a portfolio of sustainable biofuel solutions for aviation."

The halophyte study will evaluate aquaculture management and practices and land use and energy requirements.

zawya.com

"Russia needs to stop coasting on its income from energy exports and diversify its economy"

Russia aims to be nanotech leader

(Editor's Note: Russia is a fossil fuel oligarchy based upon corruption and intimidation. You cannot buy scientific expertise with either.)

MOSCOW - President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia is thinking big when it comes to nanotechnology.

Medvedev told an international nanotechnology forum that Russia aims to be a world leader in an industry he said has vast potential. He stressed that Russia needs to stop coasting on its income from energy exports and diversify its economy.

Nanotechnology allows scientists to manipulate materials at the molecular level, and nanomaterials have come increasingly into use.

Medvedev cited estimates that nanotechnology could be a $2 billion (euro1.37 billion) to $3 billion industry by 2015.

The Kremlin has set up a state corporation to oversee nanotechnology.

CNBC

Ceramic Fuel Cells opens Germany plant

Australian alternative energy company Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd (CFC) has opened its large-scale fuel cell manufacturing plant in Germany.

CFC is developing solid-oxide fuel cell technology that converts natural gas into electricity and heat through ceramic fuel cells.

The first products to be powered by the company's fuel cells will be small generators for homes and other buildings, and produce as much as two kilowatts of power and also provide heat for hot water and space heating.

"These products will meet the growing need for energy whilst also reducing greenhouse gas emissions," CFC said in a statement on Monday.

CFC chairman Jeff Harding said the opening of the factory in Heinsberg, Germany, was an important milestone because it allowed the company to move from making expensive "hand-built" products to producing semi-automated manufactured fuel cells at a competitive cost.

"We look forward to our Heinsberg plant making fuel cell stacks to go into our clean energy products for Europe, Australia and other global markets," Mr Harding said.

The plant has the capacity to produce 10,000 fuel cell stacks a year and was completed for Euros 9.5 million ($A16 million).

CFC was formed in 1992 by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industry Research Organisation (CSIRO) and a consortium of energy and industrial companies. The company is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and London Stock Exchange. CFC said it chose to locate its manufacturing plant in Germany because the country was one of its most important early markets.

ninemsn money

The Politics of Energy #26 - Oil, gas workers lobby for jobs

by: CHRIS CASTEEL The Oklahoman

WASHINGTON — Battling claims that alternative energy will create millions of so-called green jobs, oil and gas companies have stepped up their efforts to convince lawmakers not to threaten jobs in their industry.

The American Petroleum Institute flew in Hispanic employees from oil and gas companies in 11 states, including Oklahoma, to go to Capitol Hill offices last week and make the case for traditional energy sources.

Cecilia Leonard, a vice president of reservoir engineering for Devon Energy, said she and employees of Anadarko Petroleum, Marathon Oil, Parker Drilling, ConocoPhillips and others met with staff members of Democratic and Republican lawmakers who could have a major impact on the industry.

Leonard said the group talked about regulatory barriers to exploration on federal land and the tax hikes proposed by President Barack Obama aimed at collecting more than $30 billion from the oil and gas industry over 10 years.

Leonard said the higher taxes would mean reduced investment by energy companies and "reduced investments would require a change in our work force."

The employees working Capitol Hill last week, she said, were trying to show that proposals detrimental to the industry would affect "all sectors of the economy, not just CEOs."

As the nation continues to suffer with high unemployment, the intense debate over energy in Washington has been as much about jobs as national security or global warming.

Last week, two Democratic senators who introduced legislation aimed at reducing carbon emissions repeatedly stressed that a shift to alternative energy sources would create jobs of all types.

"The latest economic study predicts up to 1.9 million new jobs in America if we pass our bill," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.

The Obama administration has also been touting clean energy jobs, while downplaying the job losses that could occur in the oil and gas industry because of the proposed tax hikes and the shift away from fossil fuels.

At a Senate committee hearing last month, a Treasury Department official argued that the tax changes proposed by the administration would "have a very small effect on the price of oil and gas, the production of oil and gas and domestic jobs."

The "fly-in" to Washington of Hispanic employees was the third such effort this year as the industry tries to make its case on Capitol Hill. In July, the American Petroleum Institute flew in African-American employees and, in June, it was women.

"This is an educational and an outreach effort as we put a real face on the industry," API president and CEO Jack Gerard said. "We want our policymakers to meet the hard-working employees of our industry and come away with a better understanding of who we are and what we do to bring Americans the energy they need now and in the future."

The trade association has also taken out ads in the media warning about job losses that could occur from tax increases. "The administration ignores the potential loss of tens of thousands of new, well-paying jobs that would otherwise be created from increased domestic oil and natural gas development," Larry Nichols, Devon's chief executive and the current chairman of API, said at a recent Senate hearing.

But the administration contends that, rather than ignoring the potential jobs in the oil and gas industry, it is deliberately shifting tax "subsidies" away from the industry and focusing on weaning the country off fossil fuels.

"My administration is deeply committed to passing a bill that creates new American jobs and the clean energy incentives that foster innovation," Obama said last week in praising the introduction of the Senate bill to reduce greenhouse gases.

ccasteel@opubco.com

"Is that your ice on fire, or are you just happy to see me? - China to Tap Combustible Ice

Xining (China), Oct 3 (Xinhua) China will drill holes in the frozen tundra region to extract combustible ice as an alternative energy source, officials said.

Combustible ice is a kind of natural gas hydrate found in the tundra region in northwest China.

“We do not need to drill very deep to get the flammable frozen compound from tundra here in Muli prefecture in Qinghai province,” said Wen Huaijun, chief engineer of the project.

He said the team under the China National Administration of Coal Geology is carrying out research to make sure the exploitation of the frozen natural gas does not cause environmental problems.

The frozen compound is regarded as a potential source of alternative energy to coal and oil. One cubic metre of combustible ice can release 164 cubic metres of natural gas.

The land resources ministry said Friday the potential reserve of the natural gas hydrate in the tundra region is estimated 35 billion tonnes of oil equivalent.

China announced the first discovery of combustible ice under the bed of the South China Sea in May 2007.

Wen said the environmental threats from the use of the compound are enormous, as it releases carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.

“The plateau (Tundra) region is very sensitive to environmental changes. The biological conditions here are vulnerable.

“Combustible ice usually exists under the seabed or tundra areas (two mediums having the strong pressure and low temperature necessary to its stability). It can be lit up like solid ethanol, which is why it has the name ‘combustible ice’,” he said.

Wen said the project has been carried out in Muli Prefecture, 4,100 metres above the sea level, since 2004.

“It will still take time and a huge amount of research to realise the dream of exploiting the resource, while ensuring the (safety of the) environment,” he said.

Wang Jianbin, deputy director of the Qinghai Bureau of Land Resources, said at present the focus is to ascertain the locations of the deposits, and carry out a feasibility study to extract the resource.

Gas-rich ice is super source of fuel: Canadian experts

Thaindian News

Study Shows More Corn for Biofuels Would Hurt Water

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - More of the fertilizers and pesticides used to grow corn would find their way into nearby water sources if ethanol demands lead to planting more acres in corn, according to a Purdue University study.

The study of Indiana water sources found that those near fields that practice continuous-corn rotations had higher levels of nitrogen, fungicides and phosphorous than corn-soybean rotations. Results of the study by Indrajeet Chaubey, an associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, and Bernard Engel, a professor and head of agricultural and biological engineering, were published in the early online version of The Journal of Environmental Engineering.

"When you move from corn-soybean rotations to continuous corn, the sediment losses will be much greater," Chaubey said. "Increased sediment losses allow more fungicide and phosphorous to get into the water because they move with sediment."

Nitrogen and fungicides are more heavily used in corn crops than soybeans, increasing the amounts found in the soil of continuous-corn fields. Sediment losses become more prevalent because tilling is often required in continuous-corn fields, whereas corn-soybean rotations can more easily be no-till fields, Engel said.

"The common practice is there is a lot of tillage to put corn back on top of corn," Engel said. "Any time we see changes in the landscape, there is a potential to see changes in water quality."

Chaubey said there was no significant change in the amount of atrazine detected in water near fields that changed to continuous-corn rotations. The commonly used pesticide sticks to plant material and degrades in sunlight, keeping it from reaching water through runoff or sediment.

U.S. Department of Agriculture data has shown that corn acreage has increased with the demand for ethanol, with 93 million acres in 2007, an increase of 12.1 million acres that year.

"As we look forward here, if corn stover is going to be a preferred bio-feedstock, we would see more corn acreage being planted," Engel said. "We need to know how that will affect water quality."

U.S. News & World Report

The Politics of Energy #25 - U.S. Homeowners Get Easy Money From Green Renovations

Commentary by John F. Wasik - Bloomberg -- Can you profit from being an eco- investor?

There are really only two ways of doing it now. You can buy a risky sector fund or stock and hold on to it for dear life over the next few years. Or you can invest in your home.

Of the two, I prefer a home investment because the incentives have never been better and there’s no market risk. All the green funds got creamed last year.

Yet it’s unlikely your broker will tell you about the multiple tax breaks available through state and federal governments. Nor will he mention that eco-improvements will lower your cost of living.

If you do this right, not only will you be cutting your energy costs and greenhouse gases, but you can realize immediate savings in energy costs. Solar panels, for example, will save you money every year and have a steady rate of return that’s almost guaranteed, depending on the state incentives.

As part of the U.S. stimulus plan, also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, there are a raft of generous tax breaks for everything from replacing doors to installing geothermal heating systems.

Whether you are contemplating a complete makeover or just replacing a furnace, you have until the end of next year to put in service a number of improvements to qualify for the federal tax credits.

What You Can Do

Fixing up your home has never made so much economic sense. Uncle Sam is subsidizing lots of green remodeling this year.

The Treasury will give you a tax credit of 30 percent of the cost (a maximum of $1,500) for energy-efficient windows, doors, insulation, conventional heating/cooling systems, water heaters and biomass stoves.

As with any tax break, only certain types of improvements qualify, although this is the most generous range of incentives in recent memory. See www.energystar.gov/taxcredits for specifics. Even if you rent or own a condo, apartment or co-op, you can save on energy costs by buying Energy Star appliances.

Even better credits are available on geothermal heat pumps, solar panels/heaters, small wind energy systems and fuel cells. There’s no limit on the 30 percent write-off for these items through 2016.

So if you purchase a $20,000 solar-electric system, you can get federal credit for $6,000 that will knock the price down to $14,000. And that’s before state tax breaks apply, so this is not your final price.

Although state programs vary, there are additional incentives for installation and actual purchase of the clean power you generate.

Figuring a Payback

When doing the numbers on your home-improvement project, you will need to see what your state is offering you to go green and make a few assumptions.

Let’s say you want to install a 5,000-kilowatt solar electric system on a full-sun, south-facing roof in New Jersey, which has a generous alternative energy program. The retail price is $38,000, but after a state rebate of $8,750 and $8,775 federal credit, your net price is $20,475.

Since the state will compensate you for the solar power you generate, you will receive renewable energy credits once you produce at least 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity.
According to a payback analysis at www.thesolarcenter.com, you will receive $2,750 in annual state energy credits while paring about $1,000 in electricity costs for a saving of $3,845.

Know Your Energy

If power rates drop, then the payback will be less generous. One reasonable prediction, though, is that climate- change legislation will penalize fossil-fuel power producers and force their rates higher, so it also pays to know if your electricity is generated by nuclear, coal, gas or hydroelectric.

Another consideration is the cost of solar equipment, which has been dropping, so that may also shorten your payback time.

No matter which course you choose, I’m generally optimistic about the future of investing in what I call eco-tech, a category that includes clean power, energy efficiency, green buildings, biofuels and nanotechnology.

As the nation’s largest venture-capital entity, the Obama administration has provided more than $37 billion in seed money for numerous projects in alternative energy, clean fuels and electric vehicles through the stimulus plan. That means the cost of these products will come down as they are mass-produced.

Few would dispute that eco-tech will gain even more traction as the United Nations Climate Conference convenes in December and carbon-trading exchanges are established.

No matter which eco-technologies win out, one concept won’t change: If you have a chance to reduce your living costs, why not do it now?

Global climate-change solutions will require time, capital and mass political acceptance. Paybacks on your home improvements will materialize at a much less glacial pace.

(John F. Wasik, author of “The Audacity of Help: Obama’s Economic Plan and the Remaking of America,” is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: John F. Wasik in Chicago at jwasik@bloomberg.net

Makers of Ethanol Ponder Alternative

By RUSSELL GOLD - The Wall Street Journal

Some ethanol makers, battered by unpredictable profit margins and criticism that production of the corn-based fuel drives up food prices, are being presented with a way out: making biobutanol.

Biofuels entrepreneurs are hoping to snap up idled and financially distressed ethanol plants and convert them to make biobutanol, another plant-based fuel that can be blended into gasoline or used to make plastic products such as water bottles.

Denver-based Gevo Inc., a privately held biofuels start-up, is expected to say Wednesday that it is lining up financing to acquire and retrofit as many as five ethanol plants to produce biobutanol. The company hopes to purchase or partner with plants with capacity to make at least 200 million gallons a year. At going rates for ethanol plants, the total cost of the plants could exceed $125 million, according to industry experts.

Gevo, backed by renewable-energy investors such as Khosla Ventures and the French global energy giant Total SA, says it has successfully retrofitted its first plant, a demonstration project in Missouri, to show it can quickly and cost-effectively convert existing ethanol plants.

Many ethanol makers landed in bankruptcy-court proceedings last year when corn prices rose and gasoline prices dropped.

"We provide a practical way to get into products that have a whole lot more options than ethanol," said Gevo Chief Executive Patrick Gruber.

Gevo isn't alone. Butamax, a joint venture of BP PLC and DuPont Co., is building its first biobutanol facility in Hull, England, and expects to expand production by retrofitting existing ethanol facilities in the U.S., says a BP spokesman.

Made from corn, wheat and a variety of inedible crops, biobutanol is a versatile fuel. It can be blended into gasoline at higher concentrations than the more common corn-based ethanol. It can be mixed into existing petrochemical infrastructure, unlike ethanol, which can't be moved by pipeline. Also unlike ethanol, biobutanol can be converted into a feedstock for the chemical and plastics industries and used to make flat-screen television sets or water bottles.

Adding to its allure, biobutanol is expected to qualify as an option for satisfying large federal-government biofuels mandates, creating an immediate market for the fuel.

"Think of it as a smart biorefinery," says Hans Blaschek, director of the Center for Advanced Bioenergy Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "You are able to utilize more feedstocks and make different products. It's like having a portfolio of stocks versus having a single stock."

Still, there are hurdles. Per bushel of corn, biobutanol yields are lower than ethanol, driving up costs, although Mr. Gruber says biobutanol is likely to be competitive with oil as a plastics-industry ingredient as long as the price of oil is above $45 a barrel. Crude oil closed at $66.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.

But biobutanol production on an industrial scale is only now being tried, so many assumptions remain untested. "Biobutanol holds significant promise as a next-generation fuel, but at this point there isn't commercial-scale production and it remains to be seen which feedstock and which process will be economically viable," says Todd Alexander, a partner with law firm Chadbourne & Parke LLP, who has handled biofuels financing deals.

Cobalt Biofuels, a biofuels start-up based in the San Francisco Bay area, doesn't plan to buy existing ethanol facilities, which by location will likely rely on crops from nearby farms. This link to agricultural prices is what got ethanol in trouble, says Cobalt Chief Financial Officer Steven Shevick. The company is focused on turning trees and other woody biomass into biobutanol.

Write to Russell Gold at russell.gold@wsj.com

First solar energy unit in Egypt to operate in 2010

Egypt's Minister of Electricity Hassan Younes has said that the country's first solar power station will operate at full capacity in 2010, Reuters has reported. The new station, which will have a 140 megawatts capacity, is part of a larger facility that also includes three non-solar units and is expected to generate 2,900 megawatts once it comes onstream, he said.

AMEinfo.com

China leads way for solar energy

By Andrew S. Ross

Next month, Santa Clara's Applied Materials Inc. is scheduled to open a giant solar energy R&D center. The company is investing up to $300 million in the facility. It will not be situated in California, nor in the United States, but in Xian, China. Because China's where the action is.

"If the U.S. doesn't get serious, China's going to own this industry," said Applied Materials spokesman David Miller. He points to the Manhattan Project-like push for alternative energy adopted by Chinese officials, which includes up to $60 billion annually in government investment. And here? "Here, we're way behind," said Miller. "We're still messing around with energy bills. We need to get serious, to get capital spending flowing, to get the government truly behind it, to get focused."

Miller and his company are not simply blowing smoke. In as little as two years, analysts predict, China will be the world's biggest consumer of solar energy. By 2013, its clean tech market could amount to $1 trillion annually, according to a report earlier this month from the China Greentech Initiative, a consortium of U.S. and Chinese companies that includes Cisco Systems and the Silicon Valley VC firm VantagePoint Venture Partners, which specializes in clean tech investments.

Neither is Applied Materials alone in its views. I've heard them similarly expressed by numerous Bay Area executives and investors with business ties to China. "They get that these are the industries of the 21st century," says VantagePoint managing partner Alan Salzman, whose Bay Area clean tech investments include Tesla Motors, BrightSource Energy and Solazyme. "The level of support for green tech there is breathtaking. It exceeds anything done here on a state or federal level."

As if any more wake-up calls were needed, two other VantagePoint Venture Partners' portfolio companies, Santa Clara's Miasolé, which produces advanced, thin-film solar panels, and Sunnyvale's Bridgelux, developer of energy-efficient LED lighting, are reluctantly considering locating their manufacturing facilities outside the United States.

"From a global competitiveness perspective, we're just not there," said Salzman.

Balance of article: SFGate.com

China's Wind Farms Come With a Catch: Coal Plants

(Editor's Note: As has often been pointed out in this blog, intermittent alternative energy sources require smart grids to manage power when the sun doesn't shine, the wind doesn't blow, and the waves go slack. The more alternative energy you utilize, the more sophisticated your grid has to be.)

SHANGHAI—China's ambition to create "green cities" powered by huge wind farms comes with a dirty little secret: Dozens of new coal-fired power plants need to be installed as well.

Part of the reason is that wind power depends on, well, the wind. To safeguard against blackouts when conditions are too calm, officials have turned to coal-fired power as a backup.

China wants renewable energy like wind to meet 15% of its energy needs by 2020, double its share in 2005, as it seeks to rein in emissions that have made its cities among the smoggiest on Earth. But experts say the country's transmission network currently can't absorb the rate of growth in renewable-energy output. Last year, as much as 30% of wind-power capacity wasn't connected to the grid. As a result, more coal is being burned in existing plants, and new thermal capacity is being built to cover this shortfall in renewable energy.

In addition, officials want enough new coal-fired capacity in reserve so that they can meet demand whenever the wind doesn't blow. This is important because wind is less reliable as an energy source than coal, which fuels two-thirds of China's electricity output. Wind energy ultimately depends on wind strength and direction, unlike coal, which can be stockpiled at generators in advance.

Further complicating matters is poor connectivity between regional transmission networks, which makes it hard for China to move surplus power in one part of the country to cover shortfalls elsewhere.

China may not be alone in having to ramp up thermal power capacity as it develops wind farms. Any country with a combination of rapidly growing energy demand, an old and inflexible grid, an existing reliance on coal for power, and ambitious renewable energy-expansion plans will likely have a similar dilemma. What marks China out as different is the amount of new coal-fired capacity that needs to be added.

The China Greentech Initiative, a group made up of more than 80 mostly large Western companies and organizations with interests in the environmental sector, said in a report earlier this month, "China's increased focus on renewable energy exerts yet greater demands on China's electric power infrastructure. Power generation based on renewable energy sources ... necessitates greater use of intermittent generation management and storage."

"China will need to add a substantial amount of coal-fired power capacity by 2020 in line with its expanding economy, and the idea is to bring some of the capacity earlier than necessary in order to facilitate the wind-power transmission," said Shi Pengfei, vice president of the Chinese Wind Power Association.

Largely due to its reliance on coal, China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in absolute terms. Last year, the country accounted for more than 85% of global growth in coal demand, according to BP PLC's statistical review of world energy.

Facing pressure from abroad over the pace of China's emissions growth, President Hu Jintao used a speech to the United Nations last Tuesday to stress his country's commitment to tackling climate change. He said China will lower energy intensity as the country grows, while raising output of renewable energy and nuclear power. China aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by a "notable margin" by 2020, Mr. Hu said, without setting a concrete cap.

The city of Jiuquan, in the flat and arid northwestern province of Gansu, shows the complexities that crop up when implementing such plans. The city is meant to showcase the strides China is making in renewable energy. Wind turbines with a combined capacity of 12.7 gigawatts are due to be installed there by 2015—more than the country's present nuclear-power capacity.

But the Jiuquan government wants to build 9.2 gigawatts of new coal-fired generating capacity as well, for use when the winds aren't favorable. That's equivalent to the entire generating capacity of Hungary.

Construction of these thermal power plants is pending approval by Beijing, an official with the Energy Department under the Jiuquan Development and Reform Bureau said Tuesday.

The heavy reliance on coal-fired power plants to add to the power supply from large wind farms in order to meet minimum power demand is essential to grid safety, said Mr. Shi of the Chinese Wind Power Association.

To be sure, any kilowatt hour of wind power consumed by end users ultimately replaces a kilowatt hour of electricity generated by other, possibly dirty, sources such as coal, and the huge power supply expected from the new wind farms represents a major stride in China's clean energy push.

In addition to Jiuquan, there are plans for six other wind farms in China with a capacity of more than 10 gigawatts each, mostly in sparsely populated inland regions such as wind-swept Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.

Several gigawatts of new thermal power capacity will need to be built at these sites as well, Mr. Shi said.

China has plenty of windswept plains and sun-baked deserts like the Gobi which can host turbines or solar panels, but these are often far from cities and existing infrastructure for shipping power. Sebastian Meyer, director of research and advisory services with clean-energy consultancy Azure International, says China needs a more modern and flexible grid if it wants to raise the share of renewable power in its energy mix.

So-called smart-grid technology aims to modernize the power sector by overlaying digital communications onto the grid, enabling utilities to manage supply more efficiently and compensate for any variance. But while the U.S. and many countries in Europe are lining up spending to exploit the technology, China is lagging behind.

State Grid Corp., China's monopoly power distributor in all but five provinces, says it wants to build a nationwide "strong smart grid." But while it is investing heavily in grid improvements, its immediate focus is the construction of ultrahigh-voltage lines linking China's coal production and hydropower centers in inland areas to the densely populated east.

A single such line can carry up to 6.4 gigawatts of power, which makes it even more important that generation at its starting point is stable and reliable.

—Jing Yang, The Wall Street Journal

The Politics of Energy #24 - Going green is their Maine thing, though the guests might not notice

By Hilary Nangle, Boston Globe Correspondent

Green is the latest buzzword and accommodations nationwide are rushing to cash in. That has resulted in “green washing,’’ or creating the illusion of environmental virtue without the substance. Check into one of these Maine properties to sample the real thing.

Maple Hill Farm B&B Inn and Conference Center, Hallowell This renovated 1906 farmhouse, set on 130 acres laced with trails and next to an 800-acre wildlife preserve, was green long before it became a household word.

Co-owner Scott Cowger served in the Maine Legislature and chaired the Natural Resources Committees of both its House and Senate. “It’s important to me that we leave this world a better place,’’ he says. “I put my money where my mouth is. We’ve made major investments in going green.’’

The inn, Maine’s first certified Environmental Leader green lodging, produces its own energy using 202 evacuated tube collectors, 126 photovoltaic panels, and a wind turbine. It has a combined solar hot water and electric system that generates enough power to reduce CO2 emission by more than 40,000 pounds annually. “Some days we get all of our power from solar and wind, but typically, it’s about 50 percent overall. We do get most of our domestic hot water from solar,’’ Cowger says.

Now he is tackling lighting. “We have a lot of fixtures where we can’t use compact fluorescents. We want to switch to LED, but it’s a major expense. The LED bulbs cost $50 each, but they’re very efficient and last a long time. I’m trying to convince the state to offer rebate programs.’’

Cowger sees a more enlightened consumer these days, one who inquires about green policies. “Hanging up and reusing a towel is no longer enough,’’ he says.

Inn by the Sea, Cape Elizabeth “We started down a green path eight years ago by ripping out all the exotic plants and replacing them with indigenous ones that require less water and chemicals,’’ says spokesperson Rauni Kew. “The next thing we did was change out 850 incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescents, LED, and solar lights, and then we were on our way.’’

The beachfront inn, which says it is the first in Maine to heat with biofuel and the first in New England to have dual-flush toilets, also has solar panels, and when it added a spa last year during a multimillion-dollar renovation, the green initiatives continued. During treatments, “guests are wrapped in bamboo towels, and we use natural products,’’ Kew says.

Five acres are dedicated to a wildlife habitat, including a certified butterfly way station. “We created fun and whimsical programs for kids and adults, such as how to plant for wildlife for adults, and bug’s-life summer programs for kids, in which they dress like bugs and learn about ecosystems from a bug’s viewpoint.’’
DragonFlye Inn, Brooklin Joe Moore guarantees guests that, “to the greatest practical extent, every product that is not actively reused at DragonFlye Inn will be either organically grown, manufactured with sustainable practices, or some combination of both.’’

That has resulted in some innovative ideas. He originally planned to replace the slate roof with a faux slate one made from recycled automotive tires, but the cost was nearly quadruple an asphalt roof. “That really was a disappointment,’’ Moore says. “It would have been not only good for the environment, but also aesthetically more pleasing. But to do so, we would have had to forgo other projects for economic necessity.’’

Moore has proceeded with other green initiatives. Last year, he insulated the 1874 Victorian using shredded blue jeans. “You can blow it into walls and attic space just like you would a normal blow-in insulation.’’

Now he’s constructing a solar energy system. And he has turned his green efforts into a neighborhood project. He collects plastic grocery bags from neighbors to use as trash-bin liners in guest rooms. “We’ve also built a recycling station in our parking lot for glass, plastic, and aluminum for all our neighbors. We give the glass bottles to the school for its fund-raising.’’ 

Oceanside Meadows, Prospect Harbor The property, which comprises two 19th-century farmhouses operating as bed-and-breakfasts on 200 mostly undeveloped acres on the Schoodic Peninsula, stretches from a saltwater marsh, through forests and meadows, by a brackish pond, to a rare sand beach framed by grassy dunes and craggy ledges. It’s a spectacular piece of real estate that owners Ben Walter and Sonja Sundaram aim to preserve.

Their grand plan is to preserve the land in as natural a state as possible and provide access unimpeded by development. “We want people to commune with nature,’’ Sundaram says. They’ve cut trails and created detailed guides illustrating the property’s habitats and ecosystems. All guests receive laminated copies of these to use during their stay. As one noted: “These guides are amazing; the info is real science, not pandering.’’

The inn’s renovated, 125-seat barn is home to The Innstitute for Arts and Sciences. Programs have included lectures by astronomer Alan Hale (co-discoverer of the comet Hale-Bopp) and ornithologist David Wingate, astronomy programs, and concerts ranging from Opera Maine to Paul Sullivan.

Sundaram maintains organic gardens, which she forages each morning for herbs and edible flowers to use in elaborate breakfasts hearty enough to fuel guests for a day of environmental explorations.
Three Pines Bed & Breakfast, Hancock This oceanfront organic farm and bed-and-breakfast is completely off the power grid. The 40-acre property on the east side of Hancock Point fronts on Sullivan Harbor, just below the Reversing Falls. Owners Ed and Karen Curtis have completed a conservation easement through the Frenchman Bay Conservancy to protect it from development.

“My husband had taken an interest in solar in the late 1970s, and when we were ready to make a change from our engineer lives, he wanted to put that interest into practice,’’ Karen says.

Ed did all the planning to make the house as energy efficient as possible. The design is passive solar; photovoltaics provide electricity; appliances are primarily propane-powered; satellite technology operates the TV and Internet systems; a masonry heater provides warmth in winter.

For the Curtises, it’s not just about being green, but also about sustainable living. They raise rare breed sheep for wool and chickens for eggs; grow organic vegetables, berries, and grapes; maintain a 40-tree orchard; and recently began keeping bees. They also make cheese, yogurt, soap, cider, jams and jellies, and maple syrup.

“We get people drawn to various aspects of our project here,’’ Karen says. “Some have no idea we’re off the grid, they’re coming strictly for location. Some are very interested in the farming aspects. Some come because we’re vegetarians. Some people never even know we’re off the grid, if the subject doesn’t come up. Unless they happen to ask, it’s completely transparent.’’

Maine Huts and Trails, Carrabassett Valley This system is the ultimate in green. Getting to the full-service, bordering-on-hiker-luxury huts, requires hiking or mountain biking in summer, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing in winter.

Two huts, one at Poplar Stream Falls and the other on the shores of Flagstaff Lake, have been completed. Fund-raising is underway for the third, which will be sited on the north shore of the Dead River, about a mile below Grand Falls. Although off the power grid, they have electricity and heat, and the restrooms have hot showers, motion-sensor-operated lighting, and composting toilets.

Power is produced by means of hydro, a wood boiler, solar panels, and a woodstove. It’s a sophisticated system backed up by a propane generator. At times during the year, the Poplar Falls hut actually produces as much as 55 percent more power than it can use, says Alex Frankel, a seasonal worker. “We have to dump it, because there’s no way of storing it.’’

Hilary Nangle can be reached at hilary@hilarynangle.com

Five-year-mission solar stratocruiser prototype is a go

$155m 'Vulture II' robosunbird gets off drawing board

By Lewis Page - Posted in Science - The Register

The famous Pentagon tech wildcards at DARPA have announced plans to move forward with a flying, full-size prototype "Vulture" strato-wingship able to cruise the upper atmosphere for 5 years without landing.
 
The Vulture programme got underway last year with three competing industry teams carrying out development work on their different concepts. In essence all the designs offered vast, feather-light - yet strong - electrically propelled aircraft able to charge up onboard energy-storage systems using solar power. During the hours of darkness, the ships would rely entirely on stored juice to hold station regardless of powerful stratospheric winds, and to power their payload systems - probably military comms/surveillance kit.

The original phase one effort was intended to deliver nothing more than design studies. Now, however, DARPA has issued a statement saying that it expects to proceed with "Vulture II" next month. This is to involve "manufacturing and flight test of a full scale platform to demonstrate... critical function and capability of all elements of the Vulture II program."

The tech-head agency expects this to be done within a budget of "$155m total". The winning contractor will almost certainly be one of the three consortia which worked on the initial Vulture I design studies.

We here on the Reg stratocruiser desk will be cheering for the innovative "Z-wing" triad ship from Aurora Flight Sciences, BAE Systems and partners. This would see three wing sections take off independently and dock together 17 miles up. The resulting Z-wing would be able to cunningly tilt parts of itself in flight so as to align its solar cells with a sun low on the horizon, as it would be much of the time when flying at high northern or southern latitudes in winter.

Frankly though, any day a $155m deal is awarded for someone to build a five-year upper-atmos wingship is a pretty good day for the stratocruiser desk, so we won't complain whoever gets the job.

But it'll be a big job. At the moment the sunbird flight record is just two nights, held by the Qinetiq "Zephyr", and even that was achieved with the midsummer sun passing almost directly overhead the flight test area. Still, if the Vulture II doesn't work, perhaps DARPA's $400m solar-powered blimp - flight demonstrator now building - will do better.

The Politics of Energy #23 - Oxy oil discovery could spark new interest in California's energy potential

The biggest find in the state in 35 years, somewhere in Kern County, could herald new exploration in California and the U.S., experts say. But some worry it could lead to a false sense of security.

(Editor's Note: California still ranks fourth in the nation behind the combined federal offshore drilling sites and Texas and Alaska. But you have to ask the question, "What oil company would want to do business in California?")
 
By Ronald D. White

A few years ago, Occidental Petroleum Corp. executive Stephen I. Chazen sounded like a cryptologist out of a Dan Brown novel as he told investors that an oil bonanza awaited any outfit that could "crack the code" of California's seismically fractured underground.

Occidental's engineers may have done it.

The Westwood company revealed in July that it had found the equivalent of 150 million to 250 million barrels of oil and natural gas in an undisclosed part of Kern County using techniques that the oil company's executives would rather not talk about. It was California's biggest find in 35 years.

Some experts say it could herald a period of new exploration in California and the U.S.

"Certainly this kind of success will send other people back to California to rethink the geology and rethink the theories of the area," said Daniel Yergin, chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the oil industry "The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power."

Joe Hahn knows firsthand the significance of finding that much crude in California.

A former oil reservoir engineer for Arco, now owned by oil giant BP, Hahn said that exploration in the state has been rife with failures and false leads.
"We had considerable acreage that turned out to be good as goat pasture," said Hahn, now a professor at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management. "It's very rare to have a find of this size" this late in California's oil-production history.

Despite steady declines in petroleum output to about 214.5 million barrels last year from about 394 million barrels at the 1985 peak, California still ranks fourth in the nation behind the combined federal offshore drilling sites and Texas and Alaska.

Bruce Bullock, executive director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said there has been renewed interest in many old oil regions long believed to have given up most or all of their crude.

"We're seeing quite a bit of activity," Bullock said. "A: They think they can find more oil; B: They think they can get it out of the ground."

Over the last decade, Occidental has been actively acquiring leases and drilling rights in California as most other big oil companies have been selling out. But Occidental executives weren't the only people who thought that California might have a surprising amount of oil left to exploit.

The U.S. Geological Survey travels the country to assess petroleum reserves and the potential for new discoveries. In 2003 and again in 2007, its geologists said that it was likely that an additional 4 billion barrels "may be added to reserves in existing oil fields."

As Occidental's Chazen put it, "We had a small amount of production in California, historically, but we made a commitment to explore in the state. Even so, it has taken us the better part of 10 years to get where we are now."

Occidental executives have kept secret both the location of the discovery and the methods used to find the new oil and natural gas field.

"The way we found it is obviously proprietary," said Chazen, the company president, who was a vice president when he tantalized investors about code cracking in 2001. "Other people might own acreage nearby that we will want to acquire."

Chazen wasn't above dropping hints about the holdings, which were painstakingly amassed over several years.

"Most of the land was not held by individuals. Most was held by some kind of corporation or institution, some by the federal government. This wasn't a redwood forest. If you had the water for it, you might be raising cotton, at best, on it. Some of it we owned. We have the oil rights to 1 million acres there," Chazen said.

In the company's latest earnings call with analysts and investors, Chazen said that the oil find "is most similar to deep-water discovery," later adding, "There is no good analogy that we can come up with that looks like this field anywhere in the Lower 48" states.

As soon as the discovery was announced, the race was on to figure out the location of Occidental's find. A few real estate agents turned into amateur sleuths, worried about the possibility that the oil might be next to some new client's home.

Residents were asked whether they had seen or heard any unusual activity. Analysts pored over geologist reports for what was formerly known as the Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve and another naval preserve east of that site. Every drilling permit Occidental obtained since 2008 was reviewed. Taft City Council officials were even surprised to find people reading the minutes of their meetings, because the town (population 7,626) sits in an area virtually surrounded by established oil fields.

Doug Leggate, an oil analyst with investment firm Howard Weil Inc., thinks he may have figured it out.

Occidental has mainly been drilling in Elk Hills, where it owns an 80% stake, and two nearby oil fields -- Asphalto and Buena Vista -- where it had acquired drilling rights, Leggate said. The most intriguing possibility, he said, was that Occidental found a rare instance in which seismic activity had shoved oil-rich strata a mile or two deeper than in nearby fields, which hid the oil from previous drillers.

"In our view, Oxy's declared discovery may only scratch the surface of the ultimate potential of its acreage in the San Joaquin basin," Leggate said. "We suggest the resource potential could reasonably exceed 1 billion barrels."

In 1998, the company paid nearly $3.7 billion for its stake in the Elk Hills field, a patch of low and dusty hills that gently rise above the surrounding farmland. The only things keeping the oil pumps company are scrubby plants, anthills and the occasional tarantula and rattlesnake. The consensus among analysts was that Occidental had spent a huge sum for a field past its prime.

"We analysts were laughing at them, and right after they bought it, oil prices crashed," recalled Fadel Gheit, senior energy analyst for Oppenheimer & Co. But Occidental wound up increasing output. "That oil field is printing money for Occidental," he said. Not everyone sees Occidental's discovery as positive.

Some worry that the find and a more recent discovery by BP of a giant oil field deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico will provide a false sense of security. Christopher Steiner, author of the book "$20 per Gallon," said that complacency set in after the Alaskan and North Sea discoveries flooded the market with oil, slowing the momentum toward better fuel efficiency and alternative energy development.

Others view Occidental's discovery as a sign that the U.S. is far from running out of new sources of oil. Every time people start to think that things are over," Yergin said, "technology opens up new horizons and new ways of understanding what is underground."

ron.white@latimes.com

Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times

Thirsty? The Moon is Humanity's Canteen. We'll Need It

Andrea Thompson
Senior Writer - Space.com

Since man first touched the moon and brought pieces of it back to Earth, scientists have thought that the lunar surface was bone dry. But new observations from three different spacecraft have put this notion to rest with what has been called "unambiguous evidence" of water across the surface of the moon.

The new findings, detailed in the Sept. 25 issue of the journal Science, come in the wake of further evidence of lunar polar water ice by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and just weeks before the planned lunar impact of NASA's LCROSS satellite, which will hit one of the permanently shadowed craters at the moon's south pole in hope of churning up evidence of water ice deposits in the debris field.

The moon remains drier than any desert on Earth, but the water is said to exist on the moon in very small quantities. One ton of the top layer of the lunar surface would hold about 32 ounces of water, researchers said.

"If the water molecules are as mobile as we think they are — even a fraction of them — they provide a mechanism for getting water to those permanently shadowed craters," said planetary geologist Carle Pieters of Brown University in Rhode Island, who led one of the three studies in Science on the lunar find, in a statement. "This opens a whole new avenue [of lunar research], but we have to understand the physics of it to utilize it."

Finding water on the moon would be a boon to possible future lunar bases, acting as a potential source of drinking water and fuel.

Apollo turns up dry

When Apollo astronauts returned from the moon 40 years ago, they brought back several samples of lunar rocks.

The moon rocks were analyzed for signs of water bound to minerals present in the rocks; while trace amounts of water were detected, these were assumed to be contamination from Earth, because the containers the rocks came back in had leaked.

"The isotopes of oxygen that exist on the moon are the same as those that exist on Earth, so it was difficult if not impossible to tell the difference between water from the moon and water from Earth," said Larry Taylor of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who is a member of one of the NASA-built instrument teams for India's Chandrayaan-1 satellite and has studied the moon since the Apollo missions.

While scientists continued to suspect that water ice deposits could be found in the coldest spots of south pole craters that never saw sunlight, the consensus became that the rest of the moon was bone dry.

But new observations of the lunar surface made with Chandrayaan-1, NASA's Cassini spacecraft, and NASA's Deep Impact probe, are calling that consensus into question, with multiple detections of the spectral signal of either water or the hydroxyl group (an oxygen and hydrogen chemically bonded).

Three spacecraft

Chandrayaan-1, India's first-ever moon probe, was aimed at mapping the lunar surface and determining its mineral composition (the orbiter's mission ended 14 months prematurely in August after an abrupt malfunction). While the probe was still active, its NASA-built Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) detected wavelengths of light reflected off the surface that indicated the chemical bond between hydrogen and oxygen — the telltale sign of either water or hydroxyl.

Because M3 can only penetrate the top few millimeters of lunar regolith, the newly observed water seems to be at or near the lunar surface. M3's observations also showed that the water signal got stronger toward the polar regions. Pieters is the lead investigator for the M3 instrument on Chandrayaan-1.

Cassini, which passed by the moon in 1999 on its way to Saturn, provides confirmation of this signal with its own slightly stronger detection of the water/hydroxyl signal. The water would have to be absorbed or trapped in the glass and minerals at the lunar surface, wrote Roger Clark of the U.S. Geological Survey in the study detailing Cassini's findings.

The Cassini data shows a global distribution of the water signal, though it also appears stronger near the poles (and low in the lunar maria).

Finally, the Deep Impact spacecraft, as part of its extended EPOXI mission and at the request of the M3 team, made infrared detections of water and hydroxyl as part of a calibration exercise during several close approaches of the Earth-Moon system en route to its planned flyby of comet 103P/Hartley 2 in November 2010.

Deep Impact detected the signal at all latitudes above 10 degrees N, though once again, the poles showed the strongest signals. With its multiple passes, Deep Impact was able to observe the same regions at different times of the lunar day. At noon, when the sun's rays were strongest, the water feature was lowest, while in the morning, the feature was stronger.

"The Deep Impact observations of the Moon not only unequivocally confirm the presence of [water/hydroxyl] on the lunar surface, but also reveal that the entire lunar surface is hydrated during at least some portion of the lunar day," the authors wrote in their study.

The findings of all three spacecraft "provide unambiguous evidence for the presence of hydroxyl or water," said Paul Lacey of the University of Hawaii in an opinion essay accompanying the three studies. Lacey was not involved in any of the missions. The new data "prompt a critical reexamination of the notion that the moon is dry. It is not," Lacey wrote.

Where the water comes from

Combined, the findings show that not only is the moon hydrated, the process that makes it so is a dynamic one that is driven by the daily changes in solar radiation hitting any given spot on the surface.The sun might also have something to do with how the water got there.

There are potentially two types of water on the moon: that brought from outside sources, such as water-bearing comets striking the surface, or that that originates on the moon.

This second, endogenic, source is thought to possibly come from the interaction of the solar wind with moon rocks and soils.

The rocks and regolith that make up the lunar surface are about 45 percent oxygen (combined with other elements as mostly silicate minerals). The solar wind — the constant stream of charged particles emitted by the sun — are mostly protons, or positively charged hydrogen atoms.

If the charged hydrogens, which are traveling at one-third the speed of light, hit the lunar surface with enough force, they break apart oxygen bonds in soil materials, Taylor, the M3 team member suspects. Where free oxygen and hydrogen exist, there is a high chance that trace amounts of water will form.

The various study researchers also suggest that the daily dehydration and rehydration of the trace water across the surface could lead to the migration of hydroxyl and hydrogen towards the poles where it can accumulate in the cold traps of the permanently shadowed regions.

Boing! Elastic Energy-Storage Systems Could Challenge Li-ion Batteries

By Mike Spinelli - Popular Science

MIT Researchers say carbon nanotubes could provide a more durable, reliable energy-storage alternative to traditional batteries. And best of all, no leakage to speak of.

Carbon Nanotube Springs Could Provide Reliable, Long-Term Energy Storage, MIT Researchers Say : Powering an electric SUV of the future? MIT researchers say carbon nanotubes, tube-shaped molecules of pure carbon, could one day provide reliable, robust long-term energy storage. As much energy storage, pound for pound, as a lithium-ion battery, only with little chance of leaking energy and a potentially infinite charge-recharge cycle. MIT


It's one of the simplest energy-storage devices known to man: The spring. Think of how a jack-in-the-box keeps hold of the mechanical energy it takes to compress that clown into the box, releasing it only when the weasel song reaches its climax. And that energy storage is a long-term proposition. The clown could likely sit, poised in that box in grandma's attic for 100 years, until some joker comes along, cranks the handle and, POP! Now imagine millions of carbon nanotubes -- tube-shaped molecules of pure carbon -- all storing as much energy, pound-for-pound as a comparable lithium-ion battery, then releasing that energy to give power to a lunar rover, a silent leaf blower or even a car.

That's the subject of two papers on the findings of Carol Livermore, associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. As part of the research, Livermore presents a theoretical electric power source, which stores energy in a carbon nanotube spring, to study the potential for generating electricity from the stored mechanical energy.

Such springs can deliver the stored energy as an intense, quick burst, or slowly and steadily over a long period — imagine a mousetrap vs. a windup clock, for example. And unlike batteries, stored energy in such springs wouldn't leak off over time. Also, Livermore says, they should be able to charge and recharge many times without a loss of performance, though more testing is still needed to make sure. Of course, converting mechanical energy to electricity will cause some of the energy to dissipate through friction and other processes that produce heat. Such is physics.

Of course, many hurdles to a usable CNT energy system still need to be vaulted, like the ability to produce highly concentrated bundles of nanotubes. So don't expect to pick up the dry cleaning in a nanotube-powered SUV for many, many years to come.

MIT Article