Renewable energy
powers White Mountain's dream of freedom from grid
by
Kevon Storie
|
White Mountain Peak (left) overlooks
WMRS's Barcroft Plateau Observatory at 13,200 feet above
sea level. The proposed renewable energy system would provide
off-grid electricity for the remote facility.
|
High
in the mountains above the Owens Valley, near Bishop, Calif.,
the White Mountain Research Station
is laying the groundwork for an experiment that may turn the
facility into a "renewable energy Mecca."
Scientists
and graduate students at the University of California's multi-campus
research unit study everything from the earth to the heavens.
The laboratories, equipment, housing and conference facilities
consume an average of 50 to 80 kW daily and have a peak capacity
of 150 kW. That electricity is currently delivered to Barcroft
and Crooked Creek, the most remote facilities, over 15 miles
of 50-year-old power line and 20-year-old buried cable that
are well past their replacement date, said Michael
Morrison, WMRS station manager.
"We've
looked at renewable energy systems off and on over the decades,
but the technology has only recently become truly efficient
and cost-effective," he said. "Now that the power lines have
to be replaced, it's even more so."
Experts endorse renewable energy demonstration
project
So Morrison
and hydrogen energy advocate Rick
Masters invited state energy officials and experts from
the renewable energy field to a two-day retreat last summer.
Through his work with the California
Hydrogen Business Council, Masters had become personally
acquainted with the visionaries who could help create the world's
first renewable remote utility system at White Mountain.
"The
idea of replacing our antiquated power system by using the University
of California's resources to create an environmentally pristine
energy system…and get Power Lines out of the ancient Bristlecone
pine forest holds tremendous appeal," said Masters. "We felt
that getting support for such an idea was mainly a matter of
bringing attention to it."
By that
standard, the conference was a complete success. The scientists,
business, academic and government leaders in attendance pledged
their support for a proposal to turn WMRS into a stand-alone
integrated renewable power site. Tom Koppel
(linkto:sidebar) wrote an article on the retreat and the proposal
that appeared in Refocus,
the international renewable energy magazine.
Morrison
is submitting the proposal to the California
Energy Commission to fund a feasibility study. "Ultimately,
our goal is to take two of our facilities, Barcroft and Crooked
Creek, off the grid entirely," explained Morrison. "That's a
big reason why CEC and other programs are so interested in the
project."
The Vermont-based
Northern Power Systems,
and Stuart Energy Systems,
which makes electrolyzers and hydrogen fueling stations, have
agreed to perform the study at below cost. "A thorough study
is an essential part of the process," Morrison insisted. "We
want to look at all the options before we go equipment shopping."
System
to be shaped by feasibility study
So far
the shopping list includes a 100- to 150-kW wind turbine and
a photovoltaic array with a similar capacity. Surplus energy
will electrolyze water to produce hydrogen, which will power
a stationary fuel cell and, potentially, a hydrogen internal
combustion engine as a back-up generator. Later, the hydrogen
can be used to power vehicles for transportation up and down
the mountain.
"With
wind and solar, you need some kind of back up, but most auxiliary
systems rely on non-renewable fuel and create pollution," said
Masters. "When you look at available storage technologies, hydrogen
is the only logical choice for what we are trying to accomplish."
The feasibility
study will determine how much energy the turbine and PV array
must generate to power the facility as well as the electrolyzer.
Questions about storage capacity, the size of the electrolyzer
and the fuel cell, and turbine siting also need to be answered
before the project can move forward.
Completed
project will save WMRS thousands
Based
on the positive response from the hydrogen energy retreat, Morrison
believes that the feasibility study will receive funding and
be completed by the end of 2003. With proposals to Federal agencies
and private foundations in the works to fund equipment purchases
and installation, WMRS could begin building the system early
in 2004 and testing it the following year. "If all goes well,
we could be off the grid by the end of 2005," he predicted,
obviously relishing the prospect.
The projected
cost for the integrated system is about $2 million, a bargain
compared to the $5 million to $7 million it would cost WMRS
to replace the utility line. "And we would still have to pay
for the electricity," Morrison added.
WMRS
also stands to save $10,000 to $20,000 on power line maintenance
and another estimated $10,000 annually in damages and down time
caused by power outages. Then there is the potential revenue
that would come with being a renewable energy showcase. As Masters
put it in his address to attendees at the retreat, "White Mountain...could
become a key element in a global strategy that...opens the door
to a new age of prosperity."