>Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2001 12:39:02 -0500 >Subject: ENERGIES... week of 4/22/01 >From: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >X-Priority: 3 >To: undisclosed-recipients:; > >ENERGIES... week of April 22, 2001, (Special Earth Day Edition) > > SOLAR EXPANSION. Working towards its objective to expand its solar >energy business, BP has announced it will build a new 20 megawatt per >annum module assembly plant in Lower Saxony, Germany. The $12 million >facility, when operational late in 2002, will employ over 100. BP stated >two years ago that it intended to increase annual sales of solar >equipment from $200 million per year to $1 billion in a decade. Visit BP >Solar at http://www.bpsolar.com/ . > > GREENHOUSE GAS TO WORK. Little talked about greenhouse gas - methane >- will be used in Japan to fuel a 250 kilowatt Ballard fuel cell. At >the Nishimachi Sewage Treatment Plant in Tomakomai, methane from an >anaerobic digester will be processed to extract hydrogen with reforming >technology ordinarily used for natural gas. Hydrogen will then fuel the >Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The fuel cell was delivered to >EBARA Corporation which has a joint venture with Ballard, > Utilizing methane from sewage treatment plants as fuel for fuel >cells creates a new energy source, eliminates some methane emissions, >but still releases a some carbon dioxide in the reforming process. >However, given a choice of gases to release into the air, carbon dioxide >- the less potent greenhouse gas - would be preferable to methane. Visit >Ballard at http://www.ballard.com/ . > > THE POWER PACKED OCEANS. The oceans are a harsh and sometimes >dangerous environment to work in. Yet offshore oil companies operate in >this environment with relatively few mishaps. With their expertise >harnessing energy from the oceans themselves - not from what lies >beneath the ocean floor - could move forward at a brisker pace. All the >while, technologies used to tap the power of oceans continue to be >developed. > Sperboy, a 15-foot diameter floating oscillating water column wave >generator from Embley Energy Limited is now being tested in the UK. As >waves pass by Sperboy, water rises or drops through tubes that extend 40 >feet below the surface. Rushing air above the tubes passes through >turbines that are connected to a generator to make electricity. This >technology keeps mechanical and electrical equipment above the water >line for easy access and away from sea life and corrosive salt water. > Using flowing currents is another ocean energy possibility. Helical >turbines - looking somewhat like an egg beater - could be dropped into >any moving current from a mountain stream to the Gulf Stream, according >to inventor Alexander Gorlov and company GCK Technology. One prototype >is being tested in the Amazon, another small unit in a tidal pond in >Maine, and GCK has been approached by the South Korean government to >build an 80 megawatt system. The turbine's efficiency of 35 percent has >been confirmed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and >Technology. An open river - no damming necessary - hydropower system >should cost around $400-600 per kilowatt. > A must read on ocean energy is in Science News at >http://www.sciencenews.org/ (search their archives for the April 14, >2001 edition.) For Gorlov's turbines search the web using Gorlov Helical >Turbine for a number of articles. > > FLYWHEEL ENERGY STORAGE. The intermittent power supply from >renewables such as wind and solar could benefit from the use of energy >storage systems - energy saved for later use. But energy storage is >generally expensive. Eventually the economics of mass production could >bring down the cost per unit of flywheel storage systems for use with >wind or solar. For now, flywheel companies are seeking lucrative >markets outside renewable energy storage to build sales with the hope of >future cost reduction. > Active Power, which is marketing flywheels as back-up power to the >telecommunications industry as well as small business and residential >customers, is now testing a fully integrated >flywheel/motor-generator/turbine. The prototype continuous power system >(CPS) with turbine off, flywheel spinning should provide 6 kilowatts for >a minimum of 8 hours. Turbine on, CPS would supply power as long as fuel >is delivered. > Beacon Power is also seeking customers in telecommunications with a >2 kilowatt flywheel. To expand its market potential, it has a 6 kilowatt >prototype in development. > Because of their high rotational speed operation, extreme care must >be used in flywheel manufacture to prevent catastrophic mechanical >failure. The preciseness of the manufacturing process, adds to the cost >of these devices. Visit Active Power at http://www.activepower.com/ and >Beacon power at http://www.beaconpower.com/ . > > FUEL CELL ENERGY STORAGE. Another possibility in energy storage is a >regenerative hydrogen fuel cell. When power is available hydrogen can be >produced from water through electrolysis and stored. When power is not >available hydrogen, is fed into the fuel cell to provide electricity. > Proton Energy Systems is developing its UNIGEN (tm) system that can >store up to 70 kilowatt hours of electricity in the form of compressed >hydrogen. Like the flywheel companies Proton is pursuing markets in >telecommunications. > Stuart Energy System's fuel appliances makes hydrogen on the spot >and has been demonstrating the technology with the California Fuel Cell >Partnership. Since the appliance requires a power connection - from >renewable sources or otherwise - it too could also make hydrogen for >storage and later use. Visit Proton at http://www.protonenergy.com/ and >Stuart at http://www.stuartenergy.com/ . > > YOUR FUEL CELL EXPERIMENT. The most inexpensive fuel cells on the >market are available on the Internet, at well known retailers in the >U.S. (like Walmart, CompUSA) and soon will be available elsewhere. >Though designed to power or recharge cell phones and personal digital >assistants, the zinc-air technology is basically the same as that used >to power vehicles. > Electric Fuel offers a variety of zinc-air battery-substitute >products for cell phones along with its Instant Power (tm) cell phone >charger. Instant Power Charger is small portable generator with >electricity coming from a replaceable, sacrificial, zinc anode >cartridge. At about $20, and $10 for replacement cartridges, >experimenters, inventors and mad scientists could afford to test this >technology for other applications. (The company doesn't mention this >notion.) > Another firm in the zinc-air arena is AER Energy Resources which is >also pursuing the cell phone market with its prototype 4V04 battery. >When the zinc anode is activated on exposure to air, oxidation of the >anode will continue unless the air supply is shut off. Heat, humidity, >even carbon dioxide effects the performance of the battery. AER solves >the problem with a proprietary air control device known as Diffusion Air >Manager. With Electric Fuel's Instant Power Charger, the company asks >that users remove the anode and put it in an air-tight pouch. > Zinc-air technology is known for its long run time, which should >seem appealing to electric vehicle developers. Some EV batteries now in >use have siblings working daily to power laptop computers, cell phones, >etc. Visit Electric Fuel at http://www.electric-fuel.com/ and AER at >http://www.aern.com/ . > > Visit Green Energy News on the Web at http://www.nrglink.com/ . For >free ENERGIES subscription contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright >Green Energy News Inc. 4/28/01 vol.6 no.4
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