Alternative Fuels Now

The Atlantic City Convention Center is getting what it says is the country’s largest single-rooftop solar energy system. Comprised of 13,321 photovoltaic panels covering 290,000 square feet, or two thirds of the rooftop, the system will be able to generate 2.36 megawatts. Apparently it is important to their PR to be the biggest, but they’re only the biggest by the tiniest of margins. Toyota Motor Sales in Ontario, CA is constructing a 2.3 MW single-roof system…so I guess the .06 matters…

Pepco Energy Services is installing the panels, and is paying to be able to do so. They will then sell the energy created to the center via a 20-year power purchase agreement. Smart planning by Pepco since such large-scale photovoltaic investments are a tough sell and publicity like this is worth the cost of installation.

This system will provide about 25% of the power needed to run the center, saving about $4.4 million over the course of the agreement. Construction is set to start just before the federal investment tax credit for solar expire – nice to see them hurrying to eek in under the wire.

With big companies going green via purchasing power from alternative sources, power purchase agreements are a great way to get solar power up and running on large scales, without having to deal with the turn-off factor of installation investments. Should the ITC fail to be renewed, power purchase agreements could give all those on-hold projects a legitimate way-ahead.

Did you know it is possible to run your car on water on a totally safe and simple way? This technology has been available for more than 100 years, but many times big oil companies and laboratories have tried to hide and make it seem impossible.

There is one guy that has been over 10 years researching and putting into practice what he has learn in hundreds of manuals, book and reports secretly obtained. He has called this system “water for gas technology”.

The method recommend for powering your car with water will save you cost of fuel and will allow you to make your own low-cost hybrid car that will run on water and gas, saving you huge costs you would have spent using only gas.

In other words, there is a very easy to make - Hydrogen-On-Demand system where you are able to run your car on Hydrogen when you need it.

Please take into account that I am not saying you should build a car from scratch that will run on water. This system I am talking about is about constructing simple devices that will enable your car to run on water as well as gas, at the same time. You don’t have to alter your car make-up or get a new car. The technology I am talking about is very simple to make, and can work with almost any car or truck. It doesn’t matter if the car or truck is diesel or runs on regular gas.

It is a brand name for a family of diesel engines developed by DaimlerChrysler, but BLUETEC [or bluetec] is now also being used by Volkswagen, AG as it, too, begins to market its all new diesel offerings. Why is this important? Because DaimlerChrysler realizes that the world can benefit much more if automakers market common technology instead of going it alone. Will you be one of those motorists to purchase a bluetec powered Volkswagen?

On the eve of the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show, an announcement was made that Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, and Jeep would be jointly using the BLUETEC designation to describe their new diesel engines. Mercedes and Jeep are DaimlerChrysler {DCX} companies while Audi and VW belong to the Volkswagen Group.

The announcement was significant because it meant that a term that was reserved for DCX companies would also be picked up by Volkswagen and used to describe their engines even hough separate, but similar technology went into their respective development. The similarity of all bluetec engines is as follows:

Bluetec engines are highly fuel efficient, clean, and they meet all current US emissions requirements which happen to be some of the toughest in the world.

Bluetec engines incorporate various nitrogen oxide reduction systems to reduce pollution.
Bluetec engines have improved torque and reduce fuel consumption by 20 to 40 percent over comparable gas powered models.

Alternative energy research has led to the development of state of the art alternative energy sources for the home. One of the advantages of using alternative energy is that it is a renewable resource whereas our supply of coal and other fossil fuels is depleting. This advantage of renewable energy and alternative energies has many companies and people looking for different ways to power up.

Sometimes called renewable resources, alternative energy does not need fossil fuel or even the splitting of the atom to be produced. It is called renewable because the sources of it are constantly being produced. It does not cause the pollution that oil and gas cause. This kind of energy is not really new. What is new is that we now categorize these forms of energy as alternative energy.

The forms that alternative energy may take are fuel cells, geothermal energy, wind power, biomass, hydroelectric energy, solar energy and water energy such as wave and tidal energy.

*Fuel cells as a type of alternative energy is usually associated with electric cars, or hybrid cars. Electrochemical devices produce power through a chemical reaction. The primary benefit of fuel cells technology is that power is produced without the production of harmful pollutants. They are still very expensive to produce, however.

*Geothermal energy can be a powerful source of energy. It is ideal for small scale use to heat houses, businesses and small industry. On a larger scale, geothermal plants extract the heat from the earth and use it to create steam to power turbine engines.

Hawaii seems to come up often in the thinking of people aware of peak oil. On one hand, it seems like an ideal place to relocate after peak oil - no need to worry about heating a house; clothing is mostly for protection from the sun; and crops can be grown year around. On the other hand, it produces no fossil fuel itself, and it is at the end of the supply line for both food and fuel. Hawaii’s biggest industry, tourism, is already declining, and with rising fuel costs, can only decline further.

Many of you know that I was recently in Hawaii. After visiting, I thought I might post a few of my thoughts about the situation.

Figure 1: Location of Hawaii - Wikipedia
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When I visited Hawaii, I spent most of my time on the “Big Island” (with more land area than the other islands put together) and Maui (the next island north of the big island). These islands are probably the most agricultural of the Hawaiian Islands. I also visited Oahu, home of Honolulu and most of the population.

Hawaii varies a lot from place to place

One of the first things one notices is that Hawaii is a mixture of very densely populated areas and areas with virtually no people. This is what a population density map of Hawaii looks like:

Figure 2: Population densities of Hawaii - Wikipedia

The STM3004 Electric Car – say that three times, fast – uses new EV technology and it takes us back, but not to the future.

We see so many sleek, streamlined versions of electric cars that, while they have a lot of personality all on their own, don’t hold much nostalgia. But they do hold useable, practical capabilities like speed and distance on short charges. And there is a reason for slippery looking new EVs…aerodynamics. Streamlining is great for efficiency. So while the STM3004 Electric Car is fun and holds that missing wistfulness and Chicago gangster fantasy, it might not be all that practical. The Chinese-made EV looks – and runs – much like the model it harkens back to. It tops out at 28 miles an hour. And it looks like the ride might be just as bumpy. Additionally, you can only get 50 miles, even after charging a full 7-10 hours.

Yep, fun – fun like an electric golf cart is fun - but not our answer. Perhaps soon we’ll see a useful blend of this kind of spirit and advanced technology.

Via Crave; images from Red Ferret

For the last two years, the renewable energy sector has been fighting to renew the “investment tax credit (ITC).” This little bit of legislation lets companies write-off a portion of money spent on building renewable energy projects. It’s been fairly successful, spurring growth in solar and wind in America.

But now a huge number of renewable energy projects are on hold, because no one knows whether these tax credits are going to be extended. Bills containing the ITC have gone through the House and Senate almost a dozen times in the last few years and every time it’s been denied. SunPower has said that it might leave the American market completely if the ITC is not renewed.

Almost everyone supports the ITC, of course, but no one can figure out how, in our ailing economy, to pay for it. Democrats tried to take subsidies away from oil and gas companies, but the Bush administration threatened to veto any such legislation. And so we’re at a standstill, with gigawatts of new power generation just waiting on the news.

General Electric has entered the game, with their political savvy, and has decided that the ITC, in fact, pays for itself. It’s no surprise that GE wants this passed. They’re the US’s largest producer of wind turbines, and they’ve got some exciting solar technology as well. They say that the taxable revenues generated by these projects, once they go online, more than offset the ITC. And since, without the ITC, they won’t be built, they are in fact revenue positive for the treasury.

Parking in San Francisco , like any major city, is a serious challenge. So challenging that in the midst of circling, and circling, and circling to find a suitable spot, one can have plenty of time to wonder why they have a car at all, especially if that circling comes during high demand times like rush hours and lunch hours. Then, of course, there is the issue of overnight storage, and the issue of finding someone to vouch your parking pass, and the issue of running out of time on your meter…and the issue of parking on a hill when you drive a stick shift…but I digress on that one.

To address the parking beast, San Francisco is launching a $23 million pilot program, SFpark, that will allow it to dip its toes into changing demand for parking during high demand parking periods. The pilot program is funded primarily by the federal government, who is pitching in $18 million and will be helping fund a few more of these projects nationwide.

Solar technology. Love it. But let’s face it: who can carry around solar panels to power up all those everyday devices we carry around? We’ve seen solar beach bags, and out-of-this-world-priced pseudo-briefcases. But now there’s a product that is a bit more stylist, a bit more practical, and a lot cheaper.

Reware’s Juice Bag comes with a universal socket. That’s right, you’re charging as you’re carrying. Reware thin-film solar panels are made up of 52 micro solar cells. The panels are water-proof, military-tested, and create no heat or sound. The moment sunlight hits, you’re making electricity. Right now, the bags have an introductory prices of $299, and they’ll kick up to $399 after, I guess, they catch on. That’s better than the $1500 version by OPTI-Solar, but still pretty pricy, especially for something that is only half-way handy. While the Juice Bag has a padded laptop sleeve that can fit a 17” laptop, it won’t charge a computer. Laptops need a higher consistent charge than these small solar panels can give. A solar charging bag for laptops would be four times as big and chances are even other eco-geeks will laugh at you for carrying such a thing. The bag can charge smaller electronic devices from your GameBoy to your satellite phone, GPS unit and digital camera. It takes about two hours on average to charge up a device. The solar panels run at 12 Volts so the user can plug directly into the bag directly so no battery required. I’m thinking the solar beach bag is cooler.

Ever since I learned about this ridiculously quickly growing plant and its gazillion uses, I wondered why it wasn’t getting utilized as a renewable resource for a whole range of products. It seems that a lot of people also wondered about that, enough to look into using it as biofuel.

Researchers at the University of Toronto and the US Department of Agriculture are taking a close look at kudzu, a native plant of Asia that can grow more than 6.5 feet a week and is nearly impossible to get rid of. The team examined the amount of carbohydrate in the plant – the part that gets turned into ethanol – at different times of year in different parts of the plant. They found the root carries over 2/3 of the carbs by weight, and they estimate kudzu could produce 2.2 to 5.3 tons of carbs per acre. This translates to 270 gallons of ethanol per acre, comparable to the ethanol yield of corn - which isn’t saying much considering corn is on the low end of the energy yield spectrum.