*News and Events
- Kansas Utility Seeks up to 200 Megawatts of Renewable Energy
- Solar Power Companies Reach New Heights in Efficiency
- Honda Fuel Cell Vehicle Passes Cold-Weather Test
- Fuel Cells Help Convert New York City Odors into Electricity
- Company Completes Construction of Wave Energy Converter
*Site News
Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Energy Web Site
*Energy Connections
EIA Releases New Statistics on Alternative-Fueled Vehicles
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First Commercial Wind Power Plant Slated for Arizona
APS, Arizona’s largest electric utility, announced last week that it will partner with Western Wind Energy Corporation, a Canadian company, to build the state’s first commercial wind power plant. The Eastern Arizona Wind Energy Center will be located near the New Mexico border in east-central Arizona, about 5 miles east of St. Johns. The wind energy facility will consist of ten 1.5-megawatt wind turbines for a total generating capacity of 15 megawatts. APS expects construction to begin in September, and the plant should begin producing power before year-end.
APS is pursuing wind power in part to meet the requirements of the state’s Environmental Portfolio Standard, which requires utilities to generate 1.1 percent of their power from renewable energy sources by 2007. In early February, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) completed a review of the standard and voted to continue with that plan. To meet that goal, APS also fired up a 3-megawatt biomass power plant in Eager, Arizona, on February 17th. See the press releases from APS and the ACC.
APS’ new wind and biomass energy power plants will soon be entered in a new database of renewable energy generators in the West, thanks to the combined efforts of the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the Western Governors’ Association (WGA). The Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS) will cover all of the “Western interconnection” electrical grid, which includes 11 Western states, two Canadian provinces, and northern Baja California. WGA and the CEC expect the system to be operating by 2005 and plan to use it to help implement and verify renewable energy requirements throughout the West. See the WREGIS Web site and the WGA press release.
Kansas Utility Seeks up to 200 Megawatts of Renewable Energy
Westar Energy Inc., the largest electric utility in Kansas, announced on February 12th that it is seeking to buy power from new renewable energy power plants totaling as much as 200 megawatts in capacity. Westar wants to buy power from power plants that draw on wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, or hydroelectric energy sources. The utility prefers to buy the power from facilities at least 50 megawatts in capacity. See the Westar announcement.
Solar Power Companies Reach New Heights in Efficiency
The solar power industry produces a wide variety of products, but every manufacturer tends to focus on two important metrics: the cost of the devices and their efficiency at converting sunlight into electricity. Several companies have recently claimed to break barriers in the latter measurement, commonly referred to as conversion efficiency. Most recently, SunPower Corporation announced that its A-300 crystalline silicon solar cell has achieved an efficiency of 21.5 percentthat is, it converts 21.5 percent of the sunlight hitting it into electricity. According to SunPower, that’s a world record for five-inch silicon solar cells, which typically achieve efficiencies of 12 to 15 percent. DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory confirmed the cell’s efficiency. Back in May 2003, the A-300 made news with a conversion efficiency of 20.4 percent. See the SunPower press release.
Compared to crystalline silicon solar cells, thin-film solar cells cost less per square foot but also achieve lower conversion efficiencies. For instance, Global Solar Energy, a manufacturer of thin-film solar modules, produced a solar module in early February that achieves a conversion efficiency of 10.7 percent, which the company claims is a record for a flexible thin-film module built on a production line. Meanwhile, Konarka Technologies, Inc. has produced a flexible thin-film solar cell with a conversion efficiency greater than 7 percent, and the company expects to achieve 10-percent efficiencies in the coming months. The company is still in the startup phase and plans to begin pilot-scale production later this year. See the press releases from Global Solar and Konarka.
While higher conversion efficiencies improve the usefulness of solar power devices, higher-efficiency production processes help to cut costs. Evergreen Solar, Inc. produces crystalline silicon solar cells from ribbons of silicon extracted from molten silicon in a furnace. After showing it could double its production by producing two ribbons of silicon from one furnace about a year ago, the company announced in late January that it had successfully produced four silicon ribbons from one furnace. The company uses a proprietary technique to create the silicon ribbons. See the Evergreen Solar press release.
Honda Motor Company, Ltd. announced last week that its fuel cell vehicle, the Honda FCX, has passed cold-weather tests. Cold-weather performance is a major technical hurdle for fuel cell vehicles, since moisture in the fuel cells can freeze and damage the cell. Honda tested the vehicle on its test track and on public roads in northern Japan. After being parked outside in temperatures as low as 12 degrees Fahrenheit, the vehicle started successfully. The Honda FCX incorporates a fuel cell stack developed by Honda. See the Honda press release.
While the main vehicular application for fuel cells is cars and trucks, researchers are examining a wide range of possible uses. Hydrogenics Corporation, for instance, is launching an initiative to develop fuel-cell drive trains for light off-road vehicles, such as ground-support vehicles at airports. Thinking a bit bigger, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has ordered eight fuel cells from Nuvera Fuel Cells as part of its effort to develop a fuel-cell-powered locomotive. The train would run on 1.2 megawatts of fuel cells. Not big enough for you? How about a fuel-cell-powered warship? The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is investigating fuel cells for a future naval destroyer, starting first with the problem of converting diesel fuel to hydrogen. DOE’s Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory is helping with that issue. DOD is also thinking small: it’s testing out a fuel-cell-powered Segway personal transporter. See the news from Hydrogenics, Nuvera, the ONR, and the DOD Fuel Cell Programs.
Fuel Cells Help Convert New York City Odors into Electricity
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced last week that the city has completed installation of eight 200-kilowatt fuel cells at four of the city’s wastewater treatment plants. The fuel cells are fueled with the biogas produced in anaerobic digesters at the treatment plants. That biogas?a combination of methane and carbon dioxide?is not only a greenhouse gas, but is also a source of noxious odors. DOE provided partial funding for the fuel cell installations. See the mayor’s press release.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University hope to simplify the process of generating power from wastewater, using a fuel cell based on microbes. In Penn State’s microbial fuel cell, the wastewater is passed between the terminals of the fuel cell. As naturally occurring bacteria in the water oxidize the waste, they also pass electrons to the anode of the fuel cell, producing an electrical current. So far, the researchers have generated between 10 and 50 milliwatts of power per square meter of electrode while removing about 78 percent of the organic matter in the wastewater. See the Penn State press release.
While New York uses anaerobic digesters to process its wastewater, a growing number of dairy farms are using the same technology to convert manure into biogas, which can then be used to power a motor-generator set to produce electricity. Microgy Cogeneration Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Environmental Power Corporation, has recently racked up five orders to install its digester systems at dairy farms in Wisconsin. The digesters are being installed as part of an agreement between Microgy and the Dairyland Power Cooperative. Microgy is also exploring the feasibility of installing up to 4 megawatts of generating capacity at two farms operated by the Gallo Cattle Company in California. See the Microgy press releases.
Company Completes Construction of Wave Energy Converter
March is here, spring is coming soon, and that means one thing for sure: new wave energy projects are on their way. As the winter storm season draws to a close on the European seas, wave energy entrepreneurs are growing anxious to launch new trials of their prototype devices. This year’s first new entry is the Pelamis Wave Energy Converter, a project of Scotland’s Ocean Power Delivery Limited (OPD). The full-scale prototype is a cylindrical structure about 130 yards long and about 11.5 feet in diameter. The device will be moored perpendicular to oncoming waves, and hinges along its length will allow the segments to move up and down as waves pass. As each hinge pivots up and down, it pumps high-pressure oil, which is used to drive a generator to produce power. The prototype includes three 250-kilowatt generators along its length, for a total generating capacity of 750 kilowatts. OPD expects to begin sea trials of the Pelamis this month. See the OPD news announcement and the company’s description of the Pelamis.
The United Kingdom is serious about commercializing its wave energy resources: the South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA) is providing about than $934,000 (500,000 Pounds) for a study on the viability of a “Wave Hub,” an offshore power link for wave energy generators. The Wave Hub will consist of an underwater cable connected to the U.K. power grid and running about nine miles out to sea. See the RDA announcement.
Meanwhile, work has continued on a prototype Danish machine called the Wave Dragon, a moored device that channels waves into a reservoir, then produces power by running the seawater through turbines as it returns to the
sea. The device is now fitted with six 2.5-kilowatt turbines (that’s 15 kilowatts total) and is feeding power to the local power grid in Denmark. See the news announcement on the Wave Dragon Web site.
All this wave energy news should provide plenty to discuss at the Wave and Tidal Technology Symposium (WATTS) 2004, which starts March 16th in London, England. Information about WATTS 2004 is available on the Renewable Power Association Web site.
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Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Energy Web Site
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is mainly focused on low-income housing, but as this Web site explains, its programs are also addressing energy efficiency. By increasing the energy efficiency of housing for low-income families, HUD reduces their annual housing costs, eases their disproportionate burden of energy costs, improves utility management, and expands the nation’s use of renewable energy resources. The Web site currently includes information about combined heat and power installations at two multifamily housing units, located in Connecticut and New Jersey. See the HUD Energy Web site.
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EIA Releases New Statistics on Alternative-Fueled Vehicles
DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued its newest compilation of statistics on the use of alternative fuels and alternative-fuel vehicles last week. According to EIA, the alternative fuels used in 2002 were equivalent to nearly 170 billion gallons of gasoline, and the estimated alternative-fuel use for this year will be equal to more than 177 billion gallons of gasoline. The EIA estimates that some 4.5 million vehicles on U.S. roads in 2002 were capable of being fueled with alternative fuels (mainly E85, an ethanol-rich mixture of ethanol and gasoline), but unfortunately, less than 500,000 were actually fueled with something other than gasoline blends or diesel fuel. The EIA projects that more than 547,000 U.S. vehicles will be fueled with alternative fuels this year. See the EIA’s “Alternative to Traditional Transportation Fuels 2003 – Estimated Data.”
EIA’s report follows a recent decision by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to extend fuel-economy credits for the sale of alternative-fueled vehicles through Model Year 2008. The credits allow carmakers to increase their fuel economy requirements by up to 0.9 miles per gallon through the sale of alternative-fueled vehicles. See the NHTSA press release.
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| Kevin Eber is the Editor of EREE Network News, a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). |
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