Enel Archimede plant in Italy. Photo: Enel

This July the Italian utility Enel unveiled “Archimede”, one of the most important developments in the emerging field of concentrating solar power (CSP). The launch showcases this power plant as the first CSP  plant in the world to use molten salts for heat transfer and storage.

Archimede, a 5 MW plant located in Priolo Gargallo (Sicily). The breakthrough project was co-developed by the utility, Enel, and ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development. The name, “Archimede,” refers to the rows of huge parabolic mirrors used to capture the sun’s rays, recalling the “burning mirrors” that Archimedes is said to have used to set fire to the Roman ships besieging Syracuse during the Punic War of 212 BC.

Energy writer Carlo Ombello writes that while several CSP plants already operate (see graphic above)  in the world, mainly in the US and Spain, they use synthetic oils to capture the Sun’s energy in the form of heat, using mirrors that beam sunlight onto a pipe where pressurized oil heats up. A heat exchanger is then used to boil water and run a conventional steam turbine cycle. Older CSP plants only operate at daytime – when direct sunlight is available.

In its press release, Enel writes that the Archimede plant is “the first in the world to use molten salts as the heat transfer fluid and is also the first in the world to integrate a combined-cycle gas facility and a solar thermal power plant for electricity generation.”

Because molten salts can operate at higher temperatures than oils (up to 550°C instead of 390°C), they increase efficiency and power output of a plant. With the higher-temperature heat storage that is allowed, the plant can also extend its operating hours to a 24-hour day. From an environmental and cost perspective, this news is good. A simplified plant design that does not use avoids the need for oil-to-salts heat exchangers eliminate the safety and environmental concerns of using oils. Molten salts are inexpensive and do not catch on fire like synthetic oils currently that are used in current CSP plants. In addition, the high temperatures of molten salts enable the use of steam turbines at the standard pressure/temperature parameters as used in most common gas-cycle fossil power plants. Translated, this means that conventional power plants can be integrated replaced with this technology without expensive retrofits to the existing assets.

Carlo Rubbia -- Molten salt pioneer. Source: Enel

The concept for using molten salts dates back to 2001. The Italian nuclear physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Carlo Rubbia (left photo), ENEA’s President at the time, started research and development on molten salt technology. One problem encountered in using molten salts is that they freeze pr solidify at around 220°C.

ENEA and Archimede Solar Energy, a private company focusing on receiver pipes, have developed several patents in order to improve the pipes’ ability to absorb heat and maximize the heat transfer to the fluid carrier.

Insiders believe the result of these and several other technological improvements create a state-of-the-art CSP plant at a price 60 million Euros. While the price is high for a 5 MW power plant, energy officials believe this model is scalable for a roll-out there is overwhelming scope for a massive roll-out in sunny regions like Northern Africa, the Middle East, Australia and the United States.

The information is interesting to hear about, especially the pursuit of aneutronic fusion. Where possible, even if the site provides scant detail, links have been added for further information.

Source: TriCities.com

reported by: Deborah McCown

WISE, Va. – Amid discussion of the shortfalls of U.S. energy policy and the nation’s future, the Southwest Virginia Technology Council highlighted five promising technologies Monday during its third annual Energy Technology Summit.

These technologies included thorium, Hydrocoal, fly ash, aneutronic fusion and sunshine advances.

Thorium – is it the fuel of the future?

Like uranium, thorium is an element that can be used to produce energy, said Charles Stevens, who said he recently revived a technology he worked on as a U.S. government subcontractor back in the 1980s.

Unlike uranium, he said, thorium doesn’t generate radioactive waste or encourage proliferation of nuclear weapons.

“It’s sustainable energy, and it represents energy independence for the United States,” he said.

Stevens, CEO of Laser Power Systems, based in Massachusetts, added that the technology uses high-energy lasers to turn water into steam, which then drives a turbine and generator. It works, he said, without the chain reaction of a nuclear reactor.

At the price of $1.85, he said one gram of thorium can produce as much energy as 7,500 gallons of gasoline or 2.2 tons of coal. A thorium-powered car could travel 300,000 miles before refueling.

A 2,000-megawatt thorium power plant could fit in a 50,000-square-foot building, he said – less than a third the size of a typical big box retail store – and he believes the technology will be ready to go commercial in 12 to 18 months.

Among his first customers are Third-World countries, which are seeking the technology as a means of generating electricity and clean water without the kind of expensive power infrastructure that’s used in the United States, Stevens said.

For a house, he explained, a thorium power system could cost about the same as a furnace/hot water system – less than $15,000. It would come fueled, potentially cutting heating bills by 80 percent for a typical American homeowner.

Cars, he said, would be priced around $25,000, and could run a million miles.

Another technology discussed was HydroCoal.

“Our business is about taking dirty, inexpensive coal, which is found abundantly all over the world, into clean renewable fuels for billions of people,” said Randy Taylor, co-founder and president of Hydrocoal, which is based in Athens, Ga., but is discussing a possible location in Wise.

“We expect to make that commercial beginning in 2011,” he said.

Thus far, the common method of grinding coal to sand was problematic, he said; his company has solved the problems with gasification by finding a way to grind the coal smaller, to particles 10 microns in diameter.

“It’s a coal tornado,” he said. “Coal swirls around inside and grinds itself.”

He said the smaller particles react faster and at a lower temperature – and, mixed with steam, they burn like natural gas.

Once coal is gasified, he said, it’s easy to clean with existing commercial technologies.

Fly ash – Studying the elements in lunar soil to learn about its use in space, scientists discovered an interesting parallel, said Larry Austin, a merchant banker and former Wall Street lawyer who said billions of dollars worth of precious metals are buried in the fly ash discarded by coal-fired power plants.

Environmentalists have hammered the ash with criticism, particularly after a large quantity of ash, which includes heavy metals, spilled into Tennessee’s Emory River in 2008. Austin said the same metals have made fly ash an unstable building material.

But it costs just $200 a ton to process the ash, and the products of that ton can be sold for $517. The figures are based on outdated prices, before the appearance of China on the world stage sent resource prices skyward, he said.

Austin said the world is throwing away $35 billion a year in precious metals. The Appalachian coalfields could become “the new mecca” for these resources – and manufacturing facilities that use the raw materials – if the ash is processed here. He estimated that as many as 20,000 jobs could be created.

Once the metals are removed, he said, the remaining material is similar to that used in making drywall and other construction materials.

The first step, he said, is a $250,000 study to update the numbers and create a modern business case. A pilot plant, which would process 10 tons a day, would cost $10 million, he said, and a commercial scale plant would be $100 million.

Another take on solving the fusion puzzle could be aneutronic fusion.

George Miley says the nation’s energy future lies in nuclear fusion – a topic that, he acknowledges, nobody mentions when they’re listing the nation’s many energy options.

“Why not? I think people become frustrated; it’s just too far off,” he said. “I don’t think that’s true.”

Scientists have studied the concept since the 1960s, but have not reached an effective way to generate fusion power. Miley believes he may have the solution – but the only way to find out is to test it.

He says the answer could lie in fusing the atoms of hydrogen and boron at a high temperature, high enough to place them in a state beyond a gas called plasma, on a small scale.

“I think it’s obvious that if what I’m saying is done, this is going to revolutionize the power industry,” he said. “If you start something, you’ll become the Silicon Valley of that field. So you have to have the vision to start it, and then you will have it.”

Sunshine advances – Robert Loftur-Thun, a principal at a firm called Sustainability Nexus, said solar power could be generated on the flat, deforested surface-mined mountaintops of Appalachia.

“Taking a mountaintop and converting it so that there could be an economic higher use, I think that would make a lot of economic sense and also provide business opportunities for the coal mining companies in the area,” Loftur-Thun said. “The time has really come. Solar technology is maturing.”

He noted the existence of several technologies, from visually appealing solar panel roof shingles to concentrated solar power plants, which focus sunlight to heat water into steam for generating electricity.

On Monday, he announced the founding of Wise Solar Development LLC, a startup focused on solar energy in rural and small communities. He said harnessing the sun’s potential has a role to play in U.S. energy security and in providing electricity in rural areas.

He said an area the size of a football field, if covered with a solar array, can generate 400 kilowatts of electricity.

“U.S. companies are getting squeezed out of the big Chinese wind-power market even as Dallas investors are bringing Chinese firms here via a big wind farm in Texas, according to a new industry report.

““They’ve used every measure you could possibly think of to enhance production of renewable energy equipment in China,” said report author Alan Wolff of the trade law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP.

“U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk won a pledge from the Chinese last fall to drop rules giving preference to Chinese makers of wind-power equipment. But Kirk’s office hasn’t seen any evidence that the pledge has been carried out, said spokeswoman Carol Guthrie.

“Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers are entering the U.S. wind market under a joint venture led by Dallas investor Cappy McGarr.

“McGarr’s U.S. Renewable Energy Group, with Cielo Wind Power LP of Austin and China’s Shenyang Power Group, is planning a $1.5 billion, 600-megawatt wind farm on 36,000 acres in West Texas.

“Dewey & LeBoeuf’s report on China’s renewable energy equipment market was done for a U.S. industry group, the National Foreign Trade Council, where concern about China’s market restrictions and treatment of foreign firms is growing.”

Colorado Carbon Fund Advisory Committee Meeting

The Colorado Carbon Fund’s Advisory Committee meets Monday, March 1 from 2-4 pm at the GEO office.

The Agenda includes:

• An update on Colorado Carbon Fund marketing and plans for 2010.
• An introduction to Ben Vitale, the new president of The Climate Trust, our partners in managing the Fund and finding high quality projects.
• An Executive Session review of proposals received during the RFP for solar hot water systems. This portion of the meeting will be closed to the public.

If you’d like to listen in by webinar, please register online.

To attend in person, please contact
Susan Innis

Don’t miss this opportunity to network and share resources and best practices with industry leaders and experts, and your peers.
For more information visit:
www.awea.org/events/supplychain4

Mark Edwards, PhD

For those wanting more information on algae and its low-carbon potential as an alternative fuel source, take a visit to Oilgae , a blog focused on this subject.

Some might even want information on how to grow their own. Below are clips from today’s post:

“Cultivation of Algae in Photobioreactor”

“Algae can also be grown in a photobioreactor (PBR). A PBR is a bioreactor which incorporates some type of light source. Virtually any translucent container could be called a PBR, however the term is more commonly used to define a closed system, as opposed to an open tank or pond.

“It allows more species to be grown, it allows the species that are being grown to stay dominant, and it extends the growing season, only slightly if unheated, and if heated it can produce year round. Because PBR systems are closed, all essential nutrients must be introduced into the system to allow algae to grow and be cultivated.

“A PBR can be operated in “batch mode”, but it is also possible to introduce a continuous stream of sterilized water containing nutrients, air, and carbon dioxide. As the algae grows, excess culture overflows and is harvested.”

The entire article is available at at the Oilgae blog. I happened on this site on the recommendation of a friend who is attempting to link me with Mark Edwards, PhD, professor at the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness at Arizona State University, and author of “Green Algae Strategy: End Oil Imports And Engineer Sustainable Food And Fuel.”

I am glad to have visited and think it is important for many of us to learn more about this alternative, sharing our discoveries with plenty of others.

]]> http://ourgreenstreetsblog.com/wordpress/2010/01/make-a-visit-to-oilgae/feed/ 0 http://ourgreenstreetsblog.com/wordpress/2009/12/john-tuttles-wind-power-machine-sans-propellers/ http://ourgreenstreetsblog.com/wordpress/2009/12/john-tuttles-wind-power-machine-sans-propellers/#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:48:12 +0000 grmeyers http://ourgreenstreetsblog.com/wordpress/?p=802

Windpipe developer, John Tuttle Photo: http://windpipenews.com

The dramatic vista of noisy wind farms featuring towers that go the length of a football field will soon change, if John R. Tuttle has any say about the matter. “We’re nearing the end of that road,” says this engineer and inventor, who has multiple patents pending for his direct conversion wind-to-electricity system known as the Windpipe.

The most remarkable detail about this simple mechanism is that has no visible moving parts – only a hollow pipe with a configured nozzle that draws wind down its length, then converting it to electricity. The Windpipe requires no propellers, turbines, or rotating machinery. And unlike numerous propeller-driven towers, does not stop generating electricity when the wind velocity reaches higher than 55 miles per hour.

Contemporary wind towers in operation Photo: National Center for Renewable Energy

If all components involved in redrafting part of this wind energy infrastructure come into place, the landscape of the wind-to-energy business may go through a dramatic transformation.  It stands to reason why this mechanism has generated such interest. As such, Mr. Tuttle and his team have attracted attention from some leading venture capital firms – unnamed here for reasons of due diligence.

Unlike the traditional vertical tower that features three blades, Tuttle’s system is horizontal. To visualize, each component – virtually a long box containing a long, hollow tube – measures eight feet by eight feet square and runs a length of 40 feet. The size is similar to that of a shipping container, a practical detail when the systems is installed at a remote location.

“Our concept is that you can build that array on site,” says Tuttle. The array he mentions can be constructed in a stackable fashion, one container on top of another, and laterally, as well.

When first-phase funding is in place to build the first demonstration Windpipe system, Tuttle believes it will probably be constructed at the Golden, CO-based National Center for Renewable Energy test farm.

Tuttle is mum on exactly how a windpipe works, other than to state the pipe converts vibrations into electrical energy, adding the unequivocal formula, “energy is equal to velocity cubed.” There is a certain promise behind this formula, especially when the invention has almost no moving parts.

Windpipe vs. GE turine comparison Source: John R. Tuttle

In the December 3 issue of Nature, Gert Jan Kramer and Martin Haigh point to this reality in their article, “No quick switch to low-carbon energy.”

In the first of two pieces on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, the two writers analyze historic growth in energy systems in explaining why deploying alternative technologies will be a long haul that could span multiple decades.

Below is a summary of their content, plus highlights of facts all should consider.

* There are physical limits to the rate at which new technologies can be deployed * Governments need to design policies targeted at specific technologies to accelerate deployment
* More action is required on demand side to increase efficiency and curtail consumption.”
“To combat climate change, the world’s entire energy system needs a major overhaul before the middle of the century. But can we build new energy supplies that quickly? …… Because the scale of the energy system is so huge, it takes time to build the human and industrial capacity to achieve substantial deployment.”

Source: Nature.com

As Jan Kramer and Haigh clearly show, time is not our ally in this case.

“There have been high-profile proposals to ‘repower’ the world in a decade, loosely based on the way innovative consumer goods such as mobile phones or iPods conquer their markets. Unlike with consumer goods, we believe that there are robust empirical ‘laws’ that limit the build rate of new and existing energy technologies and thereby the potential to deliver much of the hoped-for transformation by 2050. To accelerate deployment, policy-makers need to tailor their policies to specific technologies in ways that recognize the stage of development.”

The two writers then produce an eye-opening historical perspective concerning how long it actually takes for changes of this magnitude to occur.

“In the twentieth century, it took 30 years for energy technologies that were available in principle to grow exponentially and become widely available. This reaching ‘materiality’ can be defined as delivering about 1% of the world’s energy mix. After that, the growth becomes linear until the technology captures its final market share. This pattern is remarkably consistent across energy technologies and the two growth phases can be seen as the ‘laws of energy deployment.’ Policy-makers concerned about carbon dioxide emissions will want to accelerate the first phase, making energy technologies ‘material’ within one decade instead of three. But we see two fundamental reasons why the exponential growth in the early, pre-material phase will be hard to beat.”

This article is worth reading, especially when seeing how ill-understood is the reality of emitting too much carbon dioxide. We hope the negotiating table has been well-sprinkled with some of these reality salts. Worldwide commitments by those attending, including President Obama, need to be taking place now, not two or three decades from this time.

BioLyle's two-DVD set is available for $39.95

Lyle Rudensey, in Seattle, was kind enough to send a copy of his two-DVD set, “BioLyle’s Biodiesel Workshop,” for us to review. For anybody interested in knowing about biodiesel, whether as a hobby or part of a cooperative effort, watching this video set is a great way to get started. But be prepared to spend some time with it, as the running length tallies up to 224 minutes.

I am happy to add that the viewer’s time will be well-spent. Lyle Rudensey takes viewers into the classroom for an in-depth lesson concerning everything from the chemistry to the tools required for manufacture, then into his garage for a ’seeing-is-believing’ demonstration that covers all of the steps involved, from collection and filtering, to titration, processing, storing, and cleaning.

On the Utah Biodiesel Supply website, Graydon Blair writes that Rudensey “has taught literally hundreds of people how to make their own Biodiesel through his hands-on Biodiesel workshops in the Seattle, WA area. His relaxed teaching style combined with his incredible knowledge of the Biodiesel production process makes for an incredible experience that students come away from raving about. Not only does he make the whole process incredibly easy to learn, but you’ll come away knowing so much more about why Biodiesel works, why anyone can make it, and how you can get started on a budget!“

Lyle Rudensey showing biodiesel manufacture in his garage Source: http://biolyle.com

Rudensey has been making all of his own fuel for his car and home heating stove since 2003. His experience and expertise show quite well.

I add here his passion for this work has a contagious effect. I don’t even own a diesel vehicle, but found myself ready to get one after watching his videos, just so I could fill the tank with biodiesel and drive down the road without stinking up the neighborhood.

For those interested in this set of DVDs, they can be purchased at these locations: http://biolyle.com, Utah Biodiesel Supply, and the Green Streets Outlet. The price is $39.95, plus shipping.

Other comprehensive video information about biodiesel can be found at the Utah Biodiesel Supply website.

Graydon Blair, Utah Biodiesel founder, visually samples biodiesel Photo: Utah Bio

Graydon Blair, the owner of this biodiesel concern, Utah Biodiesel Supply, is one of the first in line to say the fuel alternative in which he specializes is not going to answer all the world’s fuel challenges.But it will address some.

Plus, watching and hearing a vehicle smoothly roll down the highway on a tank full of used fryer oil is a sight to behold, and one that’s considerably less smelly than petroleum-based diesel. Her then, is good reason for shouting to the rest of the world know this is one alternative fuel source very much worth considering.

Here are some of the reasons Blair has posted on his comprehensive website:

First, economy:

“Biodiesel can be produced by individuals on a small scale relatively inexpensively when compared to Petrodiesel. Figures range anywhere from $0.40 a gallon to about $1.25 a gallon depending on the cost of materials required to make it. With prices that low, most people are able to save hundreds of dollars on their fuel bills. In some cases it even goes into the thousands of dollars. With savings like that, most people are able to recoup their initial investment on the equipment needed to make biodiesel within a matter of months.”

Second, the product is renewable:

“Biodiesel has been touted far and wide for it’s renewable properties. Instead of making a fuel from a finite resource such as crude oil, Biodiesel can be produced from renewable resources such as organic oils, fats, and tallows. This means that it can be made from things that can be regrown, reproduced, and reused. So, if you need more, you can just grow another crop of seeds for the oil.”

Burning biodiesel and glycerin Photo: Utah Biodiesel Supply

Even more important, there’s our environment:

“When Biodiesel is used to power diesel engines, the emissions at the tailpipe are significantly reduced. Studies by the US National Renewable Energy Lab indicate drops in several key area’s that help the environment. Carbon Dioxide, Hydrocarbons, and Particulate Matter (the black smoke from diesels) all are significantly reduced when Biodiesel is used. When used in older diesel engines such as indirect combustion diesels, the results are astounding. We personally saw a reduction in our tailpipe emissions of nearly 90%. It’s one of the many reasons we exist. We were incredibly impressed by our results. It also has a positive energy balance. Click here to read more!”

The list continues, all solid reasons, from supporting farmers to reducing our dependence on crude oil. Blair sells products around the world. His customers include middle-aged tree huggers, hobbyists, and commercial firms that have found a way to run a small fleet of company trucks on on biodiesel. Bottom line, says Blair, diesel vehicles running biodiesel may run 10 to 12 percent less efficiently than standard diesel fuel but they can reduce hydrocarbons by 60 percent, CO2 by 80 percent, and particulates by 90 percent.

“We believe that when you compare Biodiesel to all of the other alternatives out there, it just makes sense,” says Blair.

Over the next few months, we will be featuring more on biodiesel, including a review of a DVD set on the subject of biodiesel, “BioLyle’s Biodiesel Workshop.” In the meantime,  visit the Utah Biodiesel website, and enjoy.