Connecticut Boast Energy Efficient Apartment Towers Is Model For Other States

March 15, 2010

The 32-story apartment building is located in the heart of downtown New Haven, across the street from the New York train and a short walk to Yale University.

New Haven building has a green, irrigated roof and makes use of fuel cells for energy

But these features may not be its biggest draw. The building, with 500 dwellings, is packed with the latest in energy savings innovations, including a pool run by a fuel cell, elevators that generate their own power as they move and an irrigated green roof.

The developers, Becker+Becker, boast it is the most advanced building in Connecticut. And they may be on to something. It has drawn fawning admiration (and a visit) from outgoing Senator Christopher Dodd. HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims paid a call. And New Haven Mayor John DeStefano claims the structure is exactly what Barack Obama means when he says green economy.

Its energy-savings features include a half-acre, green irrigated roof, a total of 400 KW of on-site fuel cells, electric car charging stations, elevators with energy-capture technology, waste-heat recovery, high-efficiency lighting with motion sensors, low-flow fixtures, insulated windows, recycled-stone countertops and thermostats that detect when people are home.

Appliances have Energy Star ratings, and the garage is equipped with both bike racks and a Zipcar sharing program. The building is the first in the state with an LEED platinum rating.

Becker+Becker said Monday it should half the carbon footprint of comparable towers. Energy savings are to be passed on to residents in the form of lower utility bills.

No unit prices were available. But local reports suggest the penthouse will go for a whopping $4,700 a month.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

The Case Against Corn Based Ethanol Keeps Building

March 12, 2010

The case for corn-based ethanol keeps getting murkier.

The Obama Administration tried to stake out a middle ground last month when the EPA softened its threshold for acceptable biofuel. Instead of looking at the indirect impact of growing corn ethanol – i.e. the destruction of forests elsewhere in the world to prepare land for agriculture – the EPA approved the use of ethanol from modern, gas-fired refineries.

However, the evidence against this deliberate caving to the farm lobby keeps building.

This week, an analysis from Purdue University reinforced the EPA’s original stance: that corn-based ethanol is unlikely to reduce global greenhouse gases.

The university looked at ecological evidence and commodity trading data to reach its conclusion. It found that substituting ethanol for gasoline would double greenhouse gas emissions by changing land use in 18 regions of the world.

Chloregy released a second comprehensive analysis that points to ethanol’s failings. It noted that the price for corn rose 105 percent in the past five years aided by a 54-cent-a-gallon tariff on ethanol imported from Brazil, the other big biofuel making country. The tariff shields ethanol from competition, since Brazilian sugar-cane ethanol can be made for half the price of corn.

The high prices give added incentive to farmers around the world to clear land and plant corn. Adding to the ecological is that corn requires large amounts of nitrogen-base fertilizer. The consequence is an increase in the release of nitrous oxide, a more damaging greenhouse gas than CO2.

Presently, more than a third of the nation’s corn harvest goes to making ethanol. This should rise to 50 percent in five years, says the study, released on Thursday.

In a perfect world, this unsustainable trend should be enough to lead the Obama Administration to rethink its policy, the study argues. Unfortunately, the farm lobby won’t permit it. Instead of turning the focus to more ecologically sound second-generation cellulosic ethanol, the corn-based lobby will fight. Let’s hope market forces help turn the tables in the next few years as cellulosic refineries get up and running.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Smart Grid Is More Than Smart Meters: Think Synchronized Phasor

March 12, 2010

Mention smart grid to most energy industry observers and smart meters come to mind. But for many utilities, smart meters are the least of it.

The real challenges to building intelligent networks to monitor and manage electric power lie far from the communications-enabled meters going in at many residences and businesses. Vast new data streams from the electric grid itself and substations scattered across suburbia are poised to overwhelm even the best-prepared utility.

Southern California Edison's Paul De Martini anticipates 10 million devices on his smart grid network in 10 years. "I don't know how to handle the information."

This technology hurdle is creating hesitancy among of the industry’s biggest players. According to a survey sponsored by Microsoft and released Wednesday, more than half of world’s utilities haven’t begun smart-grid projects in their home territories, while only 37 percent have.

In explanation, 63 percent of firms in North America say their information technology isn’t up to task. About 44 percent of companies in Asia Pacific and Europe agree.

The difficulties are compounded for energy generators and distributors in California and the western U.S., which are facing a massive rollout of smart-grid synchronized phasors. The western U.S. is leading the world in the installation of these electric-grid monitoring devices, and utility executives haven’t yet figured out how to make sense of the vast increase in instantaneous information they will receive.

“Synchro phasors” will stream information about power supplies into central data centers every 30th of a second. Today’s sensors provide information from the grid every 4 seconds.

Southern California Edison is one utility flummoxed by the challenge. The company is allocating $1.5 billion to build a smart grid and anticipates its synchro-phasor rollout will be the largest of any utility in the U.S.

“We’re trying to plan ahead,” says Paul De Martini, vice president of advanced technology. But “I don’t know how to handle the information.” By 2020, De Martini anticipates 10 million devices will be on his network, only 5 million of which will be meters.

The company isn’t alone. In two to three years, utilities from Washington to Arizona and Colorado will begin collecting this same stream of information, says Jim Detmers, vice president of operations, at California ISO, the agency in charge of running California’s electric transmission gird. “We’re up to the limits of the machines in place today.”

Despite the coming IT challenge, one thing is for sure. When companies such as Southern California Edison figure it out how to manage the smart grid, their solution will be “the template for how it could be rolled out across the country,” says Detmers. In the meantime, executives will be smart to cross their fingers.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Utilities Remain Paralyzed On Grid Storage Decisions

March 11, 2010

Grid storage is universally thought of as a good idea. But utilities don’t yet have a clue which technologies to choose and where to deploy them.

"We all agree it's a good idea," says Paul De Martini of Southern California Edison. But "we're at 50,000 feet."

The uncertainty could delay the spread of renewable energy, particular solar and wind energy, as executives evaluate options and wait for clear winners in the market. Both solar and wind create intermittent power streams making the ability to store energy for when the sun goes down or the wind stops blowing critical.

This dilemma is apparent to Paul De Martini, vice president of advanced technology at Southern California Edison, who spoke Wednesday afternoon at Stanford University.

“We’re at 50,000 feet” in terms of understanding the market, says De Martini. “We all agree it’s a good idea.” But the utility doesn’t know how much storage it needs and whether it should deploy it near homes, near transmission facilities or somewhere between.

De Martini says he has identified 40 different storage technologies that are under development. They range from lithium ion batteries, to uphill water pumps, flywheels and ice storage.

In discussions with the companies, it is difficult for Southern California Edison to describe exactly what its needs are, he said. And “there’s not a really good set of requirements out in the industry.”

Some say the short-term answer is all of the above. “We need to be thinking about storage in every form,” says Jim Detmers, vice president of operations, at California ISO, which runs the state’s electric transmission gird. “We don’t want to limit ourselves to just one type.”

And yet that will likely delay implementation and cost more, since more development money will need to be spent. In an address last week, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said his favorite is a technology that pumps water uphill, only to let it flow down again and spin turbines when the sun stops shining. Perhaps a high profile test project is in order.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Clean Tech Stimulus Money Creates 2,700 New Energy Projects So Far

March 11, 2010

The Energy Department has so far spent only a fraction of the $111 billion it earmarked for clean-tech development, but already 2,700 energy and conversation projects have resulted, a study find.

Only a small fraction of the Energy Department money has so far been spent.

The study is among the first independent assessment of the impact of the green-energy stimulus funds, which have drawn criticism for not providing a significant boost to the economy.

It shows the money is laying the groundwork for an expansion that will continue in 2010 and coming years. So far, the Department of Energy has spent only $2.4 billion of the funds. Another $50 billion have been allocated and is in the process of being distributed.

The study, by Onvia, finds that smart grid projects have been among the quickest to kick off, with efforts underway in Texas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio.

The clean-tech spending is anticipated to create 100,000 new jobs, with most – 60,000 – taking root in the southeast. The highest paid positions will be in New England.

The projects include not just smart grid development but energy efficiency initiatives, renewable energy construction and transmission line upgrades, Onvia says.

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Smart Windows Are A High Tech Growth Area As The Energy Department Places Its Bet

March 10, 2010

Tinted windows may seem a trivial after-thought to traditional building construction. But the business opportunity in coming years is anything but dull.

The market for next generation tint-on-demand, or smart, glass is estimated at more than $3 billion. However, high costs are likely to mute annual growth until mid decade or beyond.

Tinted windows will become a $3 billion market, but costs will restrain growth until mid decade. Sage Electrochromics is preparing with a new plant.

This delay isn’t keeping suppliers from preparing for an explosive market.

Next generation tinted windows are nothing like the colored glass many people envision. These windows use sophisticated technologies – similar to ones used to make computer chips and flat-panel displays – to steer away unwanted solar heat while letting in sun light for illumination.

Estimates are that cooling costs can be cut by 25 percent and winter heating bill reduced when windows are programmed to let more heat pass. Lighting costs can drop 60 percent.

The windows are coated with electrochromic glazing, in some cases based on ceramics, that absorb infrared radiation. Some require small doses of electricity to work.

Companies such as RavenBrick, Rockwell Scientific and Gentex have the market in their sites. Last week, the Energy Department weighed in, offering a $72 million loan guarantee to competitor Sage Electrochromics of Faribault, MN. The company will use the money to build a $110 million high volume manufacturing plant next to its headquarters.

Construction is to begin this summer with production to begin at the end of 2011.

“We find ourselves in a good market environment,” says CEO John Van Dine, who has been selling limited quantities of his glass since 2003.

He says his SageGlass, which sells for $35 to $50 a square foot, is more economical for building designers than the alternative of installing larger cooling systems, exterior sunshades and interior blinds. But it isn’t yet slam-dunk cheaper.

The goal now will be to lower production costs – and watch revenue that came in at less than $10 million last year multiply.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Energy Department Steps Up Its Interest In Ocean Energy

March 10, 2010

The Department of Energy signaled its intent to increase funding for projects designed to generate energy from ocean tides and waves.

Energy officials in a press release said that they would begin accepting applications for funding by March 31. They did not set a target for issuing grants or tax credits.

The department is looking for early stage and commerical projects as the country plays catch up to Europe and Canada

Ocean energy is an area of power generation that has largely been overlooked. Instead the department has favored renewable generation from solar and wind as well as conversation projects built around smart grids and green-building innovations.

In 2008, before the Obama Administration took over, the DOE dolled out several million dollars to companies such as Lockheed Martin for ocean projects. Another 11 million or so followed in 2009 for research but some product testing.

The department is now focused on technology development and deployment, and not just from waves and tides but river currents and stable, cool ocean temperatures. These projects can range from early stage invention to “proof-of-concept and commercial-scale operation,” according to energy officials.

The country has a certain amount of catch-up to play. Europe – particularly the United Kingdom – and Canada already have projects underway. Without question, the DOE money will provide a boost.

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A123 Betting Bigger Than Expected On Electric Cars

March 9, 2010

A123 Systems can hardly be called the “Netscape” of the lithium ion battery market.

The company’s stock launched last September with an impressive 50 percent first day gain. It has since retreated to $16.75, a more modest 24 percent above its offering price of $13.50.

The company plans to expand its lithium ion battery factories another 54 percent.

This swoon isn’t due to a lack of ambition. In fact, A123 is betting bigger than most analysts know on the battery market, which it expects will benefit from a flood of affordable electric cars in the next two years here and in China.

The company gave the clearest indication of its intent on Tuesday when it unveiled aggressive plans to expand its factories another 54 percent. Just two months ago, the manufacturer said it would more than double the size of the plants by the second half of 2010.

“Our customers are demanding it,” says CEO David Vieau. “As we see the forecasts (from customers)…we’re going to put the capacity in place.”

The 560 MW hours of capacity the company will have at the end of the project will be capable of making batteries for almost 500,000 hybrid electric cars or 37,000 plug-in electrics. Some of this capacity will be devoted to making storage batteries for wind and solar power plants, so not that many cars need to sell.

But it nevertheless is an ambitious approach to an automobile market just now getting underway.

A123, which received a $249 million grant from the Department of Energy to help fund the growth, says its goal is to become a billion dollar company. (Revenue was $91 million in 2009.)

Key to this achievement will be strong car sales, which Vieau says appears to be so solid he is rushing to bring all the new capacity online by the end of the year or early next year. “We feel very comfortable with it.”

Perhaps he has a point. On Tuesday Nissan seemed to confirm the enthusiasm, saying it had 56,000 advanced orders for its electric Leaf. Perhaps the ramp of electric cars might not be so slow.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Evidence Of Global Warming Strengthens, Say Energy Secretary Chu

March 9, 2010

Evidence of global warming continues to accumulate, says Energy Secretary Steven Chu, with dire warnings for those who ignore it.

"This is the smoking gun," says Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

New research reinforces the claim that human activities are behind the build up of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, Chu said during an address at Stanford University.

“This is the smoking gun,” he said. “The carbon in the atmosphere is due to humans.”

The new research examines the types of carbon in the atmosphere and compares the ratio of carbon-14, a rare form of carbon created in the upper atmosphere, to carbon-12, formed by the burning of fossil fuels. It offers unequivocal proof, he said

Chu warned that the dangers of business as usual could be considerable. During the last ice age, average global temperatures were 6 degrees Celsius cooler than today. And yet much of Europe and North America lay under sheets of ice.

If the world continues unimpeded to burn fossil fuels, temperatures could rise 3 to 6 degrees Celsius. “Six degrees represent a profound change,” he said.

To many, the dangers of climate change seem remote because changing temperatures are difficult to measure over a span of 20 to 30 years. In recent years, for instance, temperatures seem to have reached a plateau.

But scientists looking at a 150-year period observe a rise and steeper rises will come, Chu said. The impact of the increasing CO2 “won’t be fully felt for 100 years…cause the oceans have to warm up.”

The way to fight this rise, many experts say, is to limit the use of fossil fuels by putting a price on carbon. “We will live in a carbon constrained world,” Chu agreed. It may take five years to arrive; it may take 10. “It is coming,” he said.

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Steven Chu’s Top Green Technologies (Hint: No Thin Film)

March 9, 2010

Energy Secretary Steven Chu is the first to admit the nation faces a clean-energy technology gap.

"We don't have all the technolgy we need to reduce carbon by 80 percent by mid century," says Energy Secretary Steven Chu

“We don’t have all the technology we need to reduce carbon by 80 percent by mid century,” Chu said Monday. “We need better technology.”

Advancing the state of green tech is the reason he invested $80 billion of Recovery Act funds in clean-tech research, product development and generating capacity. The nation needs to prepare itself for the green economy of the 21st Century at a time when countries, such as China, are pouring in lots of money of their own.

We are falling behind in the clean-tech race,” he said during an address at Stanford University.

And yet, all is not bad news. During his address, Chu listed several technologies where the U.S. is making progress and which could have a powerful impact in the decades to come. They include:

*Utility-scale energy storage,  an important addition to the energy grid as more renewable power comes from sometimes on, sometimes off wind and solar. The best way to achieve store energy is by pumping water up a hill, says Chu. When the power is needed, water is released, driving turbines. The energy loss: just 25 percent, far better than batteries, he says.

*Offshore wind has a great deal of untapped potential, adds Chu. But maintaining turbines is difficult in a marine environment due to storms and salt water.

One encouraging step is Clipper Windpower’s work on a massive 10 MW offshore wind turbine, says Chu.

*In the solar market, the cost of solar cells has dropped by a factor of 10. But it isn’t low enough for panels to be competitive without government subsidies. That could rapidly change, says Chu. Module costs are about $2 a watt, but will drop to less than $1 by the end of the year.

The drop will help rooftop solar compete. Rooftop systems still cost $4 a watt to install, with the panels accounting for half of the bill. At $1.50 cents installed, solar becomes cost efficient without subsidies, he says.

Chu says it is not clear whether low cost thin-film cells will outsell the polysilicon cells that make up the majority of today’s market. Polysilicon cells keep making gains with efficiency.

*The transportation sector is the toughest to achieve energy improvements. Lithium ion batteries don’t have near the energy density of gasoline or diesel. Fortunately, electric motors are highly efficient.

One breath of fresh air may come from aluminum batteries, says Chu. Aluminum could help cut battery costs by a factor of 10. Suddenly all the energy required by a building could be stored in a battery the size of a room.

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