Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:December 17, 2003

*News and Events

Planned 30-Megawatt Wind Power Plant is Nebraska’s Largest
Utah BLM Completes First Geothermal Lease Sale Since 1988
Scientists Decode Genome of Energy-Producing Bacterium
Solar Cell Companies Aim to Cut Costs by Cutting it Thin
Fuel Cell Vehicles Proliferate on Land and Take to Sea
Are Renewables, Efficiency on your Holiday Shopping List?

Editor’s Note: The EERE Network News will be taking the next two weeks

off for the holidays. We’ll return with a New Year’s bundle of energy

news on January 7th. Until then, we wish all our readers a joyous,

renewable, and energy-efficient holiday season! (See this week’s final

news story for some tips on how to achieve that!)

Planned 30-Megawatt Wind Power Plant is Nebraska’s Largest

The Board of Directors for the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) gave its approval last week for the construction of a 30-megawatt wind power plant near Ainsworth, located in the central Nebraska near the South Dakota border. NPPD holds options to lease land for the wind energy facility, which will be the state’s largest. The utility may even expand the installation to 75 megawatts if it succeeds in selling wind power to other utilities. NPPD hopes to sell 10 megawatts of wind power to the Omaha Public Power District and, through wind energy credits, to sell an additional 10 megawatts to the Jacksonville Electric Authority in Jacksonville, Florida. See the press release:
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With wind energy tax credits expiring at the end of this year, developers are currently rushing to complete a number of large wind power installations around the country. For now, though, the nation’s smaller wind power plants are making the news. For instance, the first utility-scale wind installation in Ohio went on-line in November near Bowling Green. The AMP-Ohio/Green Mountain Energy Wind Farm consists of two 1.8-megawatt wind turbines, the largest wind turbines east of the Rockies. In Minnesota, a 13.5-megawatt wind plant consisting of nine 1.5-megawatt wind turbines was dedicated in late October. Called the G. McNeilus Wind Farm, the facility is located near Adams, not far from the Iowa border, about 100 miles south of Minneapolis. The Dairyland Power Cooperative, which serves member cooperatives in five Midwestern states, is buying the power from five of the nine wind turbines. And in Vermont, East Haven Windfarm plans to build four 1.5-megawatt wind turbines in East Haven. The company hopes to eventually expand its 6-megawatt project into a 75-megawatt wind installation. See the announcements from Green Mountain Energy Company, Dairyland Power Cooperative, and East Haven Windfarm at: [sorry this link is no longer available][sorry this link is no longer available]
www.easthavenwindfarm.com

Utah BLM Completes First Geothermal Lease Sale Since 1988

Geothermal energy development in Utah took a step forward last week, as the Utah Bureau of Land Management (BLM) leased nearly 6,600 acres of public land to geothermal energy companies. The leased land is primarily located in Beaver and Millard counties near two existing geothermal plants: the Bonnet Geothermal plant in the Cove Fort-Sulphurdale geothermal area and the Blundell plant in the Roosevelt Hot Springs geothermal area. Recurrent Resources, LLC made the high bid of $9,407 for a 931-acre parcel near its Bonnet Geothermal plant, which it is currently expanding.

In its first lease sale in 25 years, the Utah BLM had offered 18 parcels — totaling more than 33,800 acres — in Beaver, Millard, and Juab counties, located along the southern part of the state’s border with Nevada. The winning bidders will be required to pay rental fees and royalties on any energy produced. The leases will start with a term of 10 years, but if the companies produce geothermal energy on their leased land, the BLM will extend the leases for up to 40 years. See the Utah BLM press release at:
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Scientists Decode Genome of Energy-Producing Bacterium

DOE-funded scientists have decoded and analyzed the genome of a bacterium, “Geobacter Sulfurreducens,” which has the ability to produce electricity from waste matter. In an article published in the December 12th edition of Science magazine, researchers from The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) report that the bacterium has extraordinary capabilities to transport electrons and reduce metal ions (that is, add an electron to them) as part of its energy-generating metabolism. The results could potentially lead to genetically engineered microbes with an enhanced ability to convert waste into energy. See the December 11th press release from TIGR and DOE at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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The new studies follow a 2002 report that the Geobacter bacterium could convert organic matter into electricity. That study — carried out at the University of Massachusetts and published in Science magazine — was reported in the February 22nd, 2002, edition of this newsletter. See the article at: [sorry this link is no longer available]

Solar Cell Companies Aim to Cut Costs by Cutting it Thin

When it comes to solar cells, thin is in, at least for those made from crystalline silicon. The material cost of crystalline silicon is the most expensive part of these solar cells, and a thinner cell uses less material and is, therefore, cheaper. The trick is to find a way to cut paper-thin slivers of silicon without wasting too much time, energy, or material. And about a year ago, Australia’s Origin Energy claimed to have accomplished that trick; last week, Origin took a crucial step forward with that process when it announced it is building a $20 million plant to produce solar modules using its ultra-thin “Sliver” solar cells. Construction of the plant is
now underway in Adelaide, South Australia, and Origin expects the modules to be commercially available in January 2004. The company claims the plant will start production with the capability to produce 5 megawatts of solar modules per year, but can be expanded in the future to as much as 25 megawatts per year. According to Origin, its solar cells are less than 70 microns thick and convert 19.5 percent of the solar energy that hits them into electricity. See the December 8th press release from Origin Energy at:
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Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Germany appear to be nipping at the heels of their Australian counterparts. The Fraunhofer ISE researchers claim to have produced a crystalline-silicon solar cell that is only 37 microns thick — nearly half the thickness of the Origin Energy cells — and achieves a

slightly better solar energy conversion efficiency: 20.2 percent. They have also developed an inexpensive process to attach electrical connections to the cells. However, unlike their Australian competition, the German researchers say that considerable research will be needed before they can economically manufacture the extremely thin silicon wafers. See the December 10th announcement by selecting “Press Releases” on the Fraunhofer ISE Web site at: