Green Power

Colorado community launches grassroots wind power campaign

Thanks to a local conservation group, Summit County, Colo., residents will have a special opportunity to sign up for wind energy through the end of December. The High Country Conservation Center is sponsoring the "Wind 100 Challenge" in the hopes of signing up 100 Summit County residents for wind energy through Boulder-based Renewable Choice Energy. To kick off the campaign, the group hosted a "Wind Power Happy Hour" at a local brew pub. Customers living alone in an apartment or condo will pay a fee of approximately $5 a month, and families of four living in a house will pay approximately $15 a month. The customer's wind power bill is separate from the utility bill. Carly Wier, executive director of HCCC, said the group chose Renewable Choice Energy because it provides a simple sliding scale for customers. Last year, Renewable Choice Energy assisted in the city of Boulder's Wind 500 challenge, a similar campaign to sign up 500 citizens. By the end of October 2005, 1,150 had signed up for wind power. Source: AWEA Wind Energy Weekly, 9/22/2006.

Consumers Can Fund Wind Farms Through Certificates

Renewable energy advocates are providing consumers with ways to lend their financial support to the cause. Renewable energy certificates, also called "green tags," are being sold across the United States by several companies that produce alternative energy. Some of these companies own wind farms; others own a variety of renewable energy sources. Customers of the Boone Electric Cooperative will soon be able to purchase renewable energy certificates for electricity from the Bluegrass Ridge wind farm in northwest Missouri.

The certificates come in 100 kilowatt-hour blocks, and cost $2 more per block than conventional electricity. Al Lynch, assistant manager of Boone Electric Cooperative, said most members use an average of 1,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month. Replacing all that electricity with wind power would cost an extra $22 per month. "The more people purchase green power, the less coal has to be burned," Lynch said.

The Columbia Water and Light Department plans to buy power from Bluegrass Ridge as it increases its mix of renewable energy, but it has no plans to sell the certificates.

Residents in Columbia -- or elsewhere -- can still purchase the energy certificates from numerous companies that specialize in renewable energy. The Pennsylvania-based New Wind Energy, for example, owns 11 wind farms in six states. The company offers 100 kilowatt-hour blocks of energy for $2.50 per month. Buying the certificate, however, does not necessarily mean the electricity generated by renewable sources will make its way to the purchasing home. It flows instead into the power grid, displacing the same amount of conventional energy.

Paul Copleman of New Wind Energy uses a giant bathtub as a metaphor for the nation's electric grid to explain the process: The bathtub is filled with electricity from many different faucets, with each faucet representing a different source of power. "Every time you turn on a light switch, you drain a little electricity from the tub," he explains. "Although buying wind does not mean that electricity is being directed straight from the windmill to your home, it does mean that more electricity being poured into the grid comes from the emission-free wind farm, rather than a dirtier generation source."

Once a certificate is purchased, New Wind Energy releases the corresponding amount of energy to the grid. According to the American Wind Energy Association, there are benefits and drawbacks to purchasing the so-called "green tags."  One benefit is the flexibility for consumers to support renewable technologies and reduce their impact on global warming -- no matter where the customer lives. The main drawback is that the green tag source may be far from a given customer's home, so the customer is not able to take advantage of some of its localized environmental benefits, such as reduced smog and acid rain pollutants," the association wrote on its Web site. Source: By Katie Barnes, Columbia Missourian, 9/24/2006.

Renewable Energy Technologies

John Deere Lines Up Turbines for 2007

Suzlon Wind Energy Corp. finalized an agreement with John Deere Wind Energy to supply 247 MW in wind turbine capacity, nearly doubling JDWE's capacity from Suzlon turbines. The order, comprising 30 units of the S64 1.25-MW turbine and 100 units of the S88 2.1-MW turbine, will be delivered throughout 2007. The deal is actually a multiyear agreement, said those familiar with the arrangement, although only the details of the 2007 piece of the order have been made public. "We are confident our investment in the U.S., along with our customer-focused approach, has contributed to repeat orders," said Tulsi R. Tanti, chairman and managing director of Suzlon Energy, Ltd. "Suzlon is honored to continue its relationship with John Deere Wind Energy."

Suzlon's relationship with JDWE began in 2003 with its investment in several Minnesota wind power projects, but quickly expanded to Texas and recently Missouri. JDWE's latest order builds upon previous orders, including one for 238 MW of capacity placed in early 2006. With the latest order, John Deere will have a Suzlon wind turbine portfolio exceeding 530 MW in capacity. "John Deere Wind Energy is very pleased that we came to terms with Suzlon and have procured turbines for numerous projects throughout the U.S.," said JDWE Managing Director David Drescher. Pointing to his company's small-project focus, Drescher told Wind Energy Weekly that the turbines are not necessarily earmarked for specific projects. "Our business model aggregates smaller, community wind projects," he said. "It allows us to source supply as we develop projects through next year and the year after." Elaborating on JDWE's philosophy, Drescher added, "We're enabling community wind projects to participate in the expansion of the wind energy opportunity for rural America." Source: AWEA Wind Energy Weekly, 9/22/2006.

Solaria Raises $22 Million in Second Round Financing

Solaria Corp. of Fremont, Calif., recently raised an additional $22 million in financing. The firm's technology platform enables production of two to three times the number of photovoltaic modules from the same amount of silicon material used in conventional modules. The funding included investments from Sigma Partners and NGEN Partners, venture capital firms; Q-Cells AG, a large independent manufacturer of crystalline silicon solar cells; and Moser Baer, an Indian manufacturer of removable optical storage media. "This infusion of capital will help us to achieve Solaria's goal of enabling low-cost, high efficiency PV modules and systems for our customers," said Solaria CEO Suvi Sharma. "We are currently working with select commercialization partners and are on schedule to enter high-volume production in 2007." Contact: Susan DeVico, Solaria, 510-339-1527. Source: EIN Renewable Energy Today, 9/22/2006.

Net metering makes solar a profitable proposition

A combination of tax incentives and energy-friendly laws is turning ordinary Portland residents and business owners into energy moguls. Take net metering, for example. Net metering allows property owners to install their own energy systems and tie them into the power grid. If they're generating more power than they use, the surplus flows onto the grid. If they need more, it flows the other way and the customer pays -- or is paid -- the net difference between the two. Nearly 90 customers participate in Portland General Electric Co.'s net metering program -- small numbers to be sure, but a big increase since 2001. Prior to that year, there were just three of the utility's 760,000-plus accounts were of the net meter variety.

PacifiCorp, which operates in six states, has 413 net meter accounts -- 301 of which are in Oregon, said spokeswoman Jan Mitchell. Solar power is the energy source of choice for most net metering accounts, according to Bruce Barney, an engineer with PGE. Oregon's net metering law opens the concept to any customer with a system powered by earth-friendly fuels -- a category that includes the sun, wind, water and bio (think biodiesel). Both PGE and PacifiCorp have noticed new interest in net metering. Barney said PGE gets three or four calls for information about net metering each day. "We've seen a steady growth in the last three years," he said. PacifiCorp added 60 new accounts in the first seven months of 2006, Mitchell said.

Net metering is important because it allows customers to use the electrical grid as a kind of battery. That eliminates the need for a bank of batteries, which can add thousands to the cost of building a solar system. Battery-based solar systems are best suited for "off grid" homes and businesses that don't physically tie into the power system.

In Oregon, which has some of the most generous energy subsidies in the country, net metering is especially attractive to commercial customers. Jon Miller, executive director of the Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association, said that thanks to the Energy Trust of Oregon and a mix of tax credits, a commercial power customer can recover the cost through energy savings in as little as three to 10 years. Federal tax credits are worth up to 30 percent of the cost of a commercial installation, with no maximum, he explained. PGE's Barney agreed. He's seen commercial customers install solar systems that pay for themselves in less than four years. Residential users qualify for tax credits as well, but because they are capped, the payback period can take as much as 20 years. Source: By Wendy Culverwell, Portland Business Journal, 9/22/2006.

Power from Not-So-Hot Geothermal

This power system could make it feasible to generate cheap electricity from lukewarm geothermal sources. A large share of the geothermal resources suitable for power generation -- those with temperatures higher than 300 F -- are deep underground, beyond the reach of current technology. Lower-temperature resources, which are common across the United States, are generally used for heating, but could be a bountiful source of power as well, if researchers were able to find an economical way to convert them into electricity. Engineers at the United Technologies Research Center, a unit of United Technologies based in East Hartford, CT, say they have developed a low-cost system that can utilize low-temperature geothermal resources.

The technology could be particularly useful in generating electricity from waste hot water generated at oil and gas wells. The modular, 200-kilowatt power plant from UTRC can convert temperatures as low as 165?F into electricity. The technology is similar to steam engines, except that steam or hot water vaporizes a hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant that drives the turbine. And the refrigerant has a lower boiling point than water. "It's hard to run a steam engine at 165 degrees [Fahrenheit]," says Bruce Biederman, who leads the project at UTRC. "The size of the equipment would be enormous and your turbine would be very poor in efficiency."

The UTRC power plant can be thought of as a reverse cooling system, and the new turbine is essentially a refrigerator compressor running backwards, Biederman says. Instead of using power to create a temperature difference, like a refrigerator does, it converts a temperature difference into electricity. The company is now testing a unit at a remote hot springs resort 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. Biederman expects a commercial power plant to be ready by early next year, after they've tested the reliability of the demonstration system. According to him, the system could utilize the large amount of hot water pumped out of the ground at oil and gas wells. In Texas alone, more than 12 billon barrels of water are produced from wells. Oil companies usually discard the waste water by re-injecting it into the earth; but they could use it to generate electricity. Biederman is planning to set up demonstration projects at oil and gas wells in Texas and Nevada next year.

This reverse cooling concept isn't new; but until now no one has made an efficient turbine at a reasonable cost. UTRC has kept down costs by modifying refrigeration units that its sister company, Carrier Corp., makes, and using its production line in Charlotte, NC. The system's small size also keeps costs down, and makes it more usable, says Maria Richards, who coordinates the geothermal laboratory at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "The fact that it can fit on the back of a flatbed truck and be driven to a well site makes it much more convenient and less expensive," she says. And, as with other renewables, increasing fuel costs are spurring interest in geothermal power units, she adds.

Gwen Holdmann, vice president of new development at the Alaskan hot springs resort where the technology is being tested, says they spent $2.2 million on the UTRC geothermal power plant, and that it should pay for itself in five years. Before the power plant was installed, the resort was burning $1,000 worth of diesel fuel per day to generate electricity, she says. The plant eliminates those costs and the harmful emissions from diesel generators. Right now, geothermal power plants are located mainly in the western United States, where high-temperature steam or hot water appears naturally at the surface. Drilling wells to reach high-temperature resources deep underground can cost millions of dollars, yet still be cost-effective because they're efficient for power generation, Richards says. So far, however, it hasn't been economical to use lower-temperature geothermal resources for power. But existing oil and gas wells, where electricity generated from waste hot water could run the oil pumps, would be the ideal location for the UTRC power modules, Richards says. "They're already drilling wells, the wells are already being used, and they're producing something that is a secondary source of energy." Source: By Prachi Patel-Predd, 9/21/2006.

The Power of Wind

Mercury Cafe owner Marilyn Megenity, a self-styled energy activist, drives a biodiesel-fueled car, conserves electricity at her business and voluntarily buys wind power. But by the end of this month, she expects to have something rarely seen in Denver: two power-generating windmills atop her popular downtown restaurant. "I'm very concerned about our nation's energy use, and I want to do something about it," Megenity said. Not yet a trend, not even a fledgling movement, small-scale wind power in urban areas is beginning to grab the attention of a handful of committed energy-efficiency enthusiasts and environmentalists. Last year, 8,400 small wind-powered structures were sold, compared with 4,700 in 2004, according to the American Wind Energy Association

But don't bother if you're simply looking to save money on your electric bill. Urban and suburban corridors in Colorado generally don't have the strong breezes found in rural areas of the state that would make small wind turbines pencil out. Ron Lehr, former chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission who now works for the American Wind Energy Association, said metro Denver wind installations suffer from several potential drawbacks: weak winds, height restrictions, neighborhood opposition, lack of rebates and relatively low electric rates. Xcel Energy's residential electric rate of 8.7 cents per kilowatt-hour is below the national average of 9.8 cents and far lower than some states' averages that hover around 15 cents, where small-scale wind makes more economic sense. The smaller wind generators stand anywhere from 12 to 110 feet high, veritable midgets compared with the 262-foot behemoths at the utility-scale Colorado Green wind farm in southeastern Colorado. They're designed to supply a portion of the power used by a typical home or small business. Yet power costs are expected to continue rising in coming years, leading green activists to hope that they'll eventually gain financial as well as psychic rewards for installing the small systems. Zoning restrictions also can make metro windmills problematic.

Megenity got positive feedback from nearby businesses and neighborhood groups and garnered the necessary approval from Denver's Board of Adjustment for Zoning Appeals. Denver zoning regulations limit the height of wind towers to 60 feet from ground level or 30 feet above the top of a home or building. She said she hopes that her $20,000 investment -- entailing two 12-foot rooftop-mounted windmills plus six solar-electric panels -- will have a five- to 10-year payback. Her contractor, Advanced Energy Systems, is less optimistic, figuring on 25 years before she recovers her costs. "Payback also has to be a factor for me," Megenity said. "I work hard, and I don't have (financial) reserves."  She financed the system by taking out a loan on her central Denver home. Like most of the handful of urban and suburban wind systems in existence, the Mercury Cafe's will be connected to the power grid and designed to make the restaurant's electric meter spin backward if it generates more power than the cafe uses.

Another small turbine is scheduled to go up next month in downtown Golden, a plan by orthodontist Chuck Courtad to create a renewable-energy demonstration project incorporating wind power along with solar electric and solar thermal generators. Courtad's 40-foot-high turbine will generate a maximum of 1.8 kilowatts, enough power to run a small residential central air-conditioning system. Yet the $10,000 windmill's location in central Golden, about 20 miles west of Denver, will not usually yield the 12 mph winds needed to sustain the turbine's maximum output. "Wind speed and payback are not big factors for us," Courtad said. "We just want enough wind to demonstrate this for homeowners and small businesses." Both Courtad's and Megenity's wind systems are manufactured by Flagstaff, Ariz.-based Southwest Windpower. Andrew Kruse, vice president of business development for the firm, said he shares the idealistic enthusiasm shown by his metro Denver customers. But he's cautious about endorsing small-wind installations in relatively low-wind areas such as metro Denver. "We'll be the first ones to tell people if the wind resource doesn't measure up," Kruse said. "But there are a lot of people who want to make the investment because it's something they believe in."  Source: By STEVE RAABE, The Denver Post, 9/23/2006.

'Wind May Generate 30 percent of Power by 2030'

Wind power could generate almost 30 percent of the world's electricity by 2030 and is growing faster than any other clean energy source, a wind business group and environmental lobby Greenpeace said on Wednesday. "At good locations wind can compete with the cost of both coal and gas-fired power," the Global Wind Energy Council and Greenpeace said in the study. The two said that wind, which now accounts for 0.8 percent of the world's electricity supply, was expanding faster than other renewable energies such as solar, geothermal or tidal power in a shift from fossil fuels. "Wind energy could provide as much as 29 percent of the world's electricity needs by 2030, given the political will to promote its large scale development paired with far-reaching energy efficiency measures," the report said.

GWEC says it represents more than 1 500 companies and other groups in more than 50 nations. Corporate members include General Electric, Shell, Vestas and Siemens. Many countries are seeking non-polluting energy sources because of high oil prices and concerns about global warming, widely blamed on burning fossil fuels in power plants, factories and cars. The report, to be released at a conference in Adelaide, Australia, said that wind was the most attractive alternative energy since it was free and available in all nations. Solar power is a non-starter in the Arctic in winter, for instance. Nations now generating most wind power are Germany, Spain, the United States, India and Denmark, it said. The 60-page Global Wind Energy Outlook 2006 said the problem that the wind does not always blow could be overcome by choosing good sites and using back-up sources of power. And it said that turbines' benefits in cutting pollution far outweighed any damaging environmental impact. Some people denounce the turbines as eyesores, for instance.

While the report said that wind could make up 29 percent of electricity by 2030 assuming favorable government policies, the report projected two other scenarios with wind expanding to five or 16 percent of electricity demand by 2030. All the projections are far more optimistic than a forecast that wind will account for 3.5 percent of electricity by 2030 made by the International Energy Agency, which advises rich nations.

Greenpeace issued another report with the main solar industry group earlier this month which projected that solar power could rise to generate 2.5 percent of the world's electricity by 2025. The wind report said that modern turbines, whose rotors can be 100 metres in diameter, generated 180 times more electricity for half the cost of turbines built 20 years ago. The report urged governments to set targets for wind energy, to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels or nuclear power and step up the fight against climate change. Source: By IOL, 9/20/2006.

Water whirl: Aussie's powerful patent

It is the telephone call that every inventor dreads, the news that someone else has beaten you to it. And for Melbourne barrister Paul Kouris, who has aspired to harness the generating power of water vortices, it seemed 30 years of dreaming, 10 years of work and more than $350,000 spent on patents and development would all be for nothing. When Kouris's collaborating engineer David Sattler called him last Monday to say he had stumbled on news that a small power project in Austria was successfully generating hydro-electricity from a turbine driven by a water vortex, Kouris saw his life dream heading down the proverbial plug hole.

Indeed the project in the Austrian town of Obergrafendorf had, ever since November last year, been successfully providing enough electricity to the local grid to power 10 households. "I rang my patent attorney and I was just beside myself, I was just panicking," says Kouris, 51. But the good news for Kouris was that his Australian patent application for Kouris Centri Turbine predates that of the Austrian developers by five years, potentially giving him priority over the intellectual property. The bad news for Australia is that the technology could now well be developed in Europe rather than here. Kouris, who has for years been fighting a losing battle against indifference at home, believes the Austrian project goes a long way to vindicating his ideas.

But the scientific mainstream remains largely sceptical that vortices can be used to extract additional energy from a body of water beyond that of the traditional gravity fall of the water. According to traditional physics, using a vortex to drive a turbine would simply take away from the energy derived from the fall of the water. Hydro-electric plants are purposely designed to avoid the formation of vortices. But Kouris's own test results back in 2004 suggested that the combination of a vortex turbine and a traditional gravity-fed water turbine can increase power generation by a staggering 5-25 per cent. The extent to which Kouris's small backyard testing can be scaled up and economically applied remains far from certain. But the potential power gains are enormous as the world is struggling to find environment-friendly substitutes to burning fossil fuels. Ironically, Kouris has been given a short shrift by government, academia and business.

The list of institutions, companies and individuals who dismissed Kouris's ideas is long. None of Victoria's three premier universities -- Melbourne, Monash or LaTrobe -- was interested. Nor were the big hydro-electric players such as Snowy Hydro, Tasmanian Hydro or the alternative energy company Pacific Hydro. As for our business elite, Kouris says his ideas didn't even get past the personal assistants of the likes of Richard Pratt, Dick Smith, Frank Lowy, Lindsay Fox, Kerry Stokes or Gerry Harvey. And from the Prime Minister's office down, Kouris has simply been referred to different departments and different funding assistance programs, none of which he found he could qualify for.

It was back in 1975 during the first oil crisis that Kouris, a philosophy student at Monash University, had what inventors call his Eureka moment. He was in the kitchen of his Melbourne share house doing the washing up, still mulling on the arguments he'd had in the cafe that day with science student friends over alternative power sources. Pulling out the plug, the familiar vortex formed as the water drained out of the sink. "As I was watching it there was this voice in my head saying, 'There is your energy source!"'  But it wasn't until 1996 that he began to seriously pursue the idea, and he was pleasantly surprised to discover he had no serious problems patenting it, first in the US in 1998, and then elsewhere. But that was only the start of his frustrations as he found that no one was prepared to take on the idea and build a pilot plant or inject money into it. The idea of using vortices to generate power isn't new and may well be one of the reasons why Kouris couldn't get anyone to listen to his ideas, which seem to go against standard physics. The law of the conservation of energy states that the total amount of energy in a system is always the same and can't be created or destroyed. But Kouris asserts that the introduction of a vortex can boost the energy output of a body of water by tapping into the energy that comes from the spin of the earth, the so-called "Coriolis" force named after French engineer Gaspard Coriolis who first identified it in 1835. The power potential of the Coriolis force is itself a controversial issue among scientists and typing Coriolis into Google will yield more than 2.5 million hits.

"The view of the physics is very mixed," says energy scientist Harry Schaap, an adviser to the National Generators Forum that represent the country's big power companies. "It is the general belief that if you introduce a vortex you decrease the kinetic energy flow, so you won't end up being any better off." But, he adds, that doesn't mean Kouris's ideas and test results should be dismissed, and he believes it is worth trying to prove them. Frustrated by the lack of interest, Kouris was forced in 2004 to try and demonstrate his theories himself using two water tanks, a pipe and turbine on his rural property in Victoria. His ideas had twigged the interest of Melbourne business advisers William Buck, who introduced Kouris to engineer David Sattler, and the two set about trying to prove the theory with a 4500-litre reservoir. The final results were more than encouraging, if difficult to explain. They found that the vortex turbine could generate 183 watts without reducing the power being generated from the traditional gravity-powered draining of the water. In fact the vortex appeared to improve the flow rate, raising the gravity-driven power from 1022W to 1112W for a total energy increase of 27 per cent. But again, Kouris couldn't get anyone interested in funding a larger pilot plant, and both the Royal Society of Victoria and the Australian Institute of Energy declined to publish articles on Sattler's findings.

But last year Kouris finally discovered a willing listener in the form of Ballarat University's head of science and engineering, Professor Steve Hall. With a background in the mining industry, Hall knew that the use of vortices had revolutionised the way minerals could be separated in slurry. Hall is now looking to replicate Kouris's work in the laboratory in an attempt to independently prove his theories. The results are likely to be in by the end of the year and, if positive, the university would be encouraged to embark on a larger testing plant -- probably in co-operation with the City of Ballarat, which is promising support for the technology. In the meantime, Kouris and William Buck are putting together a business case based on retrofitting vortex-driven turbines to holding tanks of reservoirs to generate power as water flows out of the tanks. If it can be proved and made economic then it holds out the prospect of vortex turbines being fitted to thousands of such reservoirs and producing power for local use. Kouris and his advisers are looking for an initial investment of $500,000 and have lined up three private potential investors. But at the end of the day, the future of the technology may lie in Europe, where it is already powering light globes. Source: Andrew Trounson, The Australian, 9/23/2006.

Outreach, Education, Reports & Studies

Taking Care of Business

As the Clinton Global Initiative showed us last week, there is no shortage of initiative on the part of the private sector. Among the $7.3 billion in pledges aimed at fighting poverty, global warming, and religious friction were several on the part of companies. Richard Branson, as nearly everyone knows, committed $3 billion from profits of his transportation companies toward investments that address climate change.

And there were others. Wal-mart announced that it would dramatically slash packaging trash. Interface, Inc. Chairman and Founder Ray Anderson outlined the company's plan to become a carbon neutral enterprise by the year 2020. Swiss Re, one of the world's largest reinsurers, committed to facilitate emissions reductions in greenhouse gases by developing a Greenhouse Gas Risk Solutions unit and by offering structured products for emissions trading. It's yet another sign that companies are finding new ways to align their strategic goals with the world's environmental challenges. With a little prodding and encouragement, there's potentially a lot more where that came from. Source: Joel Makower, Executive Editor, GREENBUZZ for September 25, 2006.

DMEA Conference Helps Consumers Plug Into the Sun and Wind

Higher costs for natural gas, propane and electricity are motivating many energy consumers in Colorado to explore renewable energy options. Delta-Montrose Electric Association presented a seminar Thursday, Oct. 5, 2006, to provide its members an overview of renewable energy technologies that are becoming increasingly economical such as small-scale wind turbines and a variety of solar energy technologies. These renewable energy options are applicable for both homes and businesses. "We're pleased to make available a number of local and regional experts that can address the questions that more and more of our members are asking," said Paul Bony, DMEA's Manager of Marketing and Member Services.

Topics addressed at the seminar included passive solar design, solar hot water, PhotoVoltaic panels to generate electricity, small wind turbines for homes, ranches or other businesses, and the Colorado Office of Energy Management's wind anemometer loan program that provides property owners the opportunity to measure commercial wind resources on their land. Incentives promoting renewable energy systems were also discussed, such as DMEA's "Net Metering" policy that enables members with renewable energy systems to "spin their meters backwards" and new federal tax credits that became available to both home and business owners this year.

Later in October, DMEA will present other seminars, "Home Energy Savings 101" on October 10 in Montrose with a repeat seminar on Oct. 11 in Paonia. On Thursday, Oct. 12, at DMEA's Montrose office, the Governor's Office of Energy Management presents energy saving design and retrofit options for schools and commercial building. On Friday, October 13,  DMEA hosts a seminar presented by USDA Rural Development on grant and loan opportunities in renewable energy and energy efficiency for ag operations and other rural businesses. Persons interested in any of these events should call DMEA at 970-249-4572 for more details. Contact: Tom Polikalas, 970-240-1245. Source: Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA), 9/25/2006.

NHA H2U Student Design Contest -- 2007-2008 Contest Update

Over the past few months, the staff of the National Hydrogen Association has been working hard to develop the 2006-2007 H2U Student Design Contest. A lot of great ideas were brought forth as we worked to select a location for this year's competition, develop guidelines, and secure sponsorship to guarantee that this year's contest would be the best we have conducted to date. As a result of these efforts, we are pleased to announce that we have secured total sponsorship for the H2U Student Design Contest! Our title sponsor, the South Carolina Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance is working with NHA staff to come to a final agreement on the preferred theme. Several intriguing ideas already have been identified. In order to provide participants with the ability to develop the greatest quality product possible, and to do so within an appropriate timeframe, the sponsors and NHA staff have decided to announce the theme and specific contest details beginning in January 2007. We will release general information regarding the contest, short of the full set of guidelines, between now and then.

For 2007-08, we will provide all the necessary information a semester early (this coming winter) so that professors are better able to incorporate the contest into the curricula for the fall semester, if they choose. We're hoping the 2007-08 H2U Contest will provide an attractive option for those who want to engage in senior or independent projects. This way, teams can receive academic credit in addition to the other benefits a competition like this offers students. So get ready for a far more exciting contest than ever before, and with enough time to prepare!  Please ask your friends, classmates, club members, fellow faculty and others to visit to join the H2U mailing list and ensure you receive the most up-to-date information on the H2U Student Design Contest. Source: National Hydrogen Association, 9/27/2006.

Fall/Winter 2006 Webinar and Workshop Schedule Announced

Get a better understanding of the issues and opportunities renewable energy presents to electric cooperatives and public power utilities. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, DOE's Wind Powering America and GeoPowering the West programs Bonneville Power Administration and Western Area Power Administration are sponsoring a series of educational events on renewable energy applications and opportunities. Check the schedule and register for events by contacting Debbie Rock, Western Area Power Administration, 720-962-7271.

The Eleventh National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference ? December 3-6, 2006, San Francisco, CA

The National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference is the preeminent conference for communicating directly with leading renewable energy and green power industry stakeholders. Hear from national and regional experts on important topics such as: Lessons Learned from Leading Renewable Energy and Green Power Providers, Renewable Energy and Carbon Markets, The Role of Regulators & Policy Makers in Shaping Green Power Markets, Communicating the Value of Renewable Energy to Consumers, The Solar Revolution: Marketing On-Site, Generation & Attributes, the Sixth National Green Power Leadership Awards banquet will be held at the conference. Source: Green Power Marketing Monthly Update ? August 2006, 9/27/2006.

State Activities, Marketing & Market Research

Md. Firm to Build $60M Solar Farm in Colorado

SunEdison LLC agreed last week to build a $60 million solar electric farm in Colorado for Xcel Energy. The project is due to go online before the end of next year. SunEdison is a Maryland-based company that designs, installs and finances solar photovoltaic systems for large commercial customers. The solar panel farm will be Colorado's largest, capable of powering more than 2,600 homes along the Front Range and other parts of the state. Xcel spokesman Tom Henley said SunEdison was chosen as the Xcel's contractor for the project after becoming the nation's largest commercial photovoltaic systems provider last month when it acquired Team Solar Inc., a Californian PV installer. Xcel must install 18 megawatts of solar power in Colorado through 2010 in order to comply with renewable energy standards approved in 2004's Amendment 37. Amendment 37 requires energy companies to generate 10 percent of the state's electricity from solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, small hydroelectricity or hydrogen fuel cells by 2015, with an interim 3 percent requirement by 2007. Source: E&E Publishing, Greenwire, 9/25/2006.

New Wind Power Project Officially Opened in Alberta

Canada NewsWire Acciona Wind Energy Canada Inc., Enbridge Inc., and Suncor Energy Products Inc. today celebrated the opening of their newest joint venture wind power project in Alberta, a $60 million (All figures are in Canadian dollars), 30-megawatt facility located 20 kilometres southwest of Taber. The facility consists of 20 1.5-megawatt turbines. It is expected to generate enough clean electricity to power approximately 14,000 Alberta homes and displace the equivalent of at least 88,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Power generated from the facility is expected to be available to the grid in late October 2006. In the meantime, the companies will focus on safely commissioning each turbine and completing the 20 kilometre transmission line. Once in full service, Acciona will operate the wind farm. Wind power is the fastest growing source of electricity in the world and the companies are working toward being leaders in Canadian wind power -- a clean and renewable energy source that does not produce any air pollution, and has minimal impact on the environment. Benefits to the local community also extend to the economy. The project began in September 2005, creating employment for approximately 160 local people during the construction phase.

Members of Alberta's Legislative Assembly, Leonard Mitzel for Cypress-Medicine Hat and Paul Hinman for Cardston-Taber-Warner joined company executives and guests to officially mark the completion of the facility known as the Chin Chute Wind Power Project, named after the Chin Lakes and Chin Coulee. Suncor Energy's Executive Vice President of Natural Gas & Renewable Energy Dave Byler said, "Today Suncor embarks on its third wind farm. We remain committed to bringing to market renewable energy that is economically viable and produces minimal effect on the environment. This is an exciting milestone for Suncor, and for Alberta."

The project companies have applied for funding under the Canadian government's Wind Power Production Incentive, which supports wind power development in Canada. The companies also announced a joint $30,000 gift to the Municipal District of Taber in recognition of their support for the wind power project. The money will go toward the MD's park enhancement fundraising effort, specifically towards a new amphitheatre, stage area, lighting structure and sound/projection booth.

Acciona, Enbridge and Suncor own the 30-megawatt Magrath Wind Power Project in southern Alberta, which was commissioned in 2004 and is now operated by Acciona. Enbridge and Suncor also own the 11-megawatt SunBridge project near Gull Lake, Saskatchewan, which Enbridge operates. Acciona Wind Energy Canada Inc., is a subsidiary of ACCIONA Energ?a, the world leader in the renewables sector. In wind power, it has implemented over 4,000 MW in 152 windparks in 9 countries, of which 2,825 MW are participated in by the company. It has three biomass plants and 59 MW in small hydro power plants. In the field of solar energy it has installed 18 MW of photovoltaic power and 19 MW of thermal power, and is currently constructing ? in the United States ? the biggest solar thermal electric power plant to be built in the world in the last 15 years. It manufactures 1,500 KW turbines using in-house technology in two plants in Spain and one in China, and produces quality homologated biodiesel. It belongs to the ACCIONA Group, one of the main Spanish and international corporations in the development and management of infrastructures, services and renewable energies, with over 30,000 employees and activities in around twenty countries.

This news release contains forward-looking statements identified by words such as "expected" and "proposed," which is based on Suncor's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions made in light of its experiences and the risks, uncertainties and other factors related to its business. Actual events could differ materially as a result of changes to Suncor's plans and the impact of events, risks and uncertainties discussed in Suncor's current annual information form, annual and quarterly reports to shareholders and other documents filed with regulatory authorities. Source: Suncor Energy Inc., Suncor Energy Products Inc., Acciona Energia, Enbridge Inc., 9/22/2006.

Alternative Fuel Plants Eye Portland

Thirteen companies are vying to build biodiesel plants on three prime sites in Portland. If projects come to fruition at all three locations, Oregon could become the nation's leader in the production of biodiesel. The sites, all along the Columbia River, could each host a plant capable of producing between 30 million and 60 million gallons of biodiesel annually, said Pam Neal, a senior project coordinator for the Portland Development Commission. None of the prospective companies have filed plans with state agencies and the PDC is not releasing the names of the interested parties.

If each site is built to its capacity, Portland alone would be producing 180 million gallons of biodiesel annually. That's roughly double what Texas, the nation's leader in the production of biodiesel, expects to produce this year. The plants would cost roughly $1 million to build for every million gallons of biodiesel produced annually, meaning as much as $180 million could be spent on construction. Each plant could employ as many as 30 people, Neal said. The big question, however, is whether Oregonians will need 180 million gallons of biodiesel anytime soon. This year, Oregonians are only expected to consume 2 million gallons of the fuel.

Yet the projects come at a time state and local government around the country are beefing up their requirements for renewable fuels. Presuming he wins re-election, Gov. Ted Kulongoski will ask the Legislature next year to pass a law mandating that 25 percent of the state's energy needs be met by renewable power by the year 2025. Oregonians used approximately 600 million gallons of diesel in 2004, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Presuming the governor's initiative passes and it applies to biodiesel, the state would have a need for at least 150 million gallons of biodiesel annually within 20 years. And that doesn't include demand from other locales. Then there's the issue of keeping pace with current government mandates that will only make biodiesel more popular. Ten percent of the vehicles used by state agencies must use biodiesel by 2007. By 2010, 25 percent must use biodiesel. The Oregon Department of Transportation already uses biodiesel in all of its vehicles in Portland and Salem. At the local level, Portland passed an ordinance in July requiring all diesel sold to fuel vendors by 2007 contain 5 percent biodiesel. That should create a market for another 4 million gallons annually, said Tomas Endicott, a founder of Portland-based SeQuential Biofuels, the state's only commercial producer of biodiesel, which has its production facility in Salem.

Endicott's company makes 1 million gallons of fuel annually and would like to expand its capacity to 3 million gallons next year. In its four years in business, SeQuential's business has doubled every year, Endicott said. That mirrors national patterns. While only 25 million gallons of biodiesel were consumed in 2004, more than 75 million gallons were pumped into trucks in 2005. This year, projections put national consumption at 150 million gallons. Despite the big numbers, PDC officials say it's not a sure thing that all three sites will be developed.

The three potential sites include the former Linnton plywood mill. The others are known as the "Time Oil" site at 10350 N. Time Oil Road and the "Arkema Site" at 6400 N.W. Front Ave. None of the properties are on the market, but the PDC has agreed to facilitate discussions with the property owners.

Portland isn't the only place in Oregon with big plans for biofuels facilities. While no companies have filed siting applications for building facilities in Portland with Oregon's Department of Energy, four applications are in the works outside of the metro area for ethanol plants. Similar to biodiesel, ethanol fuels are made by mixing organic products -- in this case starch or sugar -- with petroleum-based fuel to make a cleaner-burning, and more-renewable, energy source. They include a $192 million plant near Clatskanie being built by Clatskanie-based Cascade Grain Products LLC that will produce 100 million gallons of ethanol annually. New York-based Greenstock Resources LLC and Fruitland, Idaho-based Treasure Valley Renewable Resources LLC have plans to build 30-million-gallon-per-year ethanol facilities in Port of Morrow and Ontario, respectively. The Port of Morrow Industrial Park is also the proposed site for a 42-million gallon ethanol plant by the Portland-based Pacific Ethanol Inc. The Pendleton Grain Growers also has plans to produce biodiesel, according to the Department of Energy. No details were available at press time. Source: By Matthew Kish, Portland Business Journal Staff Writer, 9/22/2006.

Biofuels Seen as Pivotal in State's Energy Independence

Scott Christiansen believes plans to build the first fully integrated biorefinery in Maine could be announced within a year. Similar in concept to an oil refinery, it would turn waste wood into liquid fuel along with high-value chemicals. Unlike oil refineries, however, the biorefinery would use a product grown in Maine to provide jobs here. It is an idea that is economically, technologically and environmentally feasible right now, said Christiansen, executive director of the Fractionation Development Center in Rumford. That is, it is viable so long as the price of oil stays high.

The idea that biomass and biofuels are poised to play a much larger role in powering Maine's homes and economy was a recurring theme at the first annual Biomass and Biofuels Conference at the Bangor Ramada Inn. Speakers said scientific advances are pushing technologies that convert wood or corn to liquid fuels closer to commercial reality, although progress toward the goal of large-scale production remains dependent on high oil prices.

Organized by the Maine Association of Conservation Districts, the conference attracted a wide group of speakers from public and private sectors, including Beth Nagusky, director of the Maine Office of Energy Independence and Security, as well as farmers and lumber company owners. Attendance was so high that Ramada Inn workers repeatedly were forced to bring chairs into conference rooms when all available seats were taken. Bill Bell, of the Maine Association of Conservation Districts, was clearly pleased with the turnout.

Thursday, Bell said organizers weren't sure whether 20 or 120 people would show up when they began sending out e-mails publicizing the event -- 94 people were at Thursday's luncheon. He said there is a growing realization about the need to develop renewable energy resources.

While there was plenty of optimism about the potential of biofuels to warm homes, power cars and generate electricity, that hopeful view was tempered by the fact that new technologies that can transform wood into a wide array of energy forms remain commercially unproven. Barriers to commercial-scale implementation of the new technologies include the unpredictability of wood and oil prices. Christiansen said a plant that turns wood into biofuels may cost between $150-$200 million. Investors in such a project, however, would not be able to predict costs over even three years because there is no futures market for wood -- unlike oil or coal. Volatile oil and gas prices also increase the risk for investors -- if oil and gas prices drop, the alternatives produced from wood or corn would be less competitive. Less threatened by a drop in oil prices are more traditional uses of biomass, including the use of wood waste to generate electricity and corn or wood chip furnaces to heat homes and schools.

Quenten Clark, superintendent of School Administrative District 58 in Kingfield, said a year ago he would have thought burning corn was "crazy." This winter, however, the SAD 58 bus garage will be heated with a corn furnace and Clark said he would like to convert one of his schools to a similar system. A proponent of wood and corn furnaces in schools and public buildings, Clark wants the state to allow the use of the revolving renovation fund ? which schools can use for relatively minor facility improvements -- to convert Maine schools to wood heat. With heat from wood-chip furnaces less than a third the price of oil, Clark believes the idea makes economic sense on several levels. Not only is biomass a cheaper form of energy, but the wood chips or corn used to heat schools could be produced locally, keeping taxpayer money in the community rather than sending it overseas. And once the systems prove themselves to be efficient and reliable in Maine schools, Clark said, the idea will spread. The superintendent said there is a hunger for alternatives to oil. Clark said he often receives calls from his fellow superintendents about corn or wood furnaces. Often the conversation starts off on a lighthearted note, said Clark, but he said there is always a serious question behind the jokes. "Is this really going to work?" he said. "They just want to know. They want an alternative." Source: By ALAN CROWELL, Staff Writer, Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc., 9/23/2006.

Energy initiative hits utilities

Voters have a voice in the state's energy future when they cast their ballots in the Nov. 7 general election. Initiative 937 would require the state's 17 largest utilities to invest in all cost-effective energy-conservation projects at their disposal and obtain 15 percent of their electricity from new renewable energy resources, including wind and solar, by 2020. Supporters insist the goals can be achieved without taking a big bite out of ratepayer pocketbooks, while building on a regional legacy of clean hydropower and energy independence.

"We have a choice of charting a path toward a cleaner energy future," said initiative backer K.C. Golden, a former state energy policy director and policy director for Climate Solutions. Critics fear passage would drive up energy customers' costs from $185 million to $370 million a year and create an artificial economy around new energy resources. "We're not opposed to renewable resources," said Michael Early, executive director of the Industrial Customers of Northwest Utilities, a Portland-based trade association. "But mandates tend to increase costs."

Initiative supporters said the measure would save energy and money through conservation that is cheaper than building new power plants and through investments in renewables that already are or soon will be cheaper than conventional coal, gas and nuclear power plants. In its review of the initiative's fiscal impact, the state Office of Financial Management said there are too many variables that go into electric utility costs and revenues to answer the ratepayer questions conclusively. The measure does cap costs by saying a utility need not spend more than 4 percent of its annual retail revenue on renewable resources. The Yes on I-937 campaign qualified for the ballot by gathering 337,804 signatures in support of the citizens measure after the state Legislature failed seven years in a row to pass comparable legislation. Backers, who have amassed nearly $1 million to support the campaign, include the American Lung Association, League of Women Voters, Washington chapter of Republicans for Environmental Protection, and Washington State Labor Council. The No on I-937 group has received contributions of about $82,000, according to the last state Public Disclosure Commission report. Opponents include the Association of Washington Business, the Western Pulp and Paper Workers Association, and the Columbia Snake River Irrigators Association.

Puget Sound Energy, which serves Thurston County electric customers, has been investing in wind power projects of late and expects about 5 percent of its energy supply will be green power by the end of the year. The corporate goal is 10 percent environmentally friendly energy resources by 2010. The state's largest utility estimates that power from its two wind farms will cost about $170 million less in the next 20 years than from the next-cheapest source. The initiative, if it passes, applies to utilities with 25,000 or more customers. So, Shelton-based Mason County Public Utility District No. 3, with 31,000 customers, also would have to meet the requirements, if it passes. Currently the utility gets 1 percent or less of its power supply from wind power, utility spokesman Joel Myer said.

Neither utility serving South Sound has taken a position on the initiative, although the Washington Public Utility Districts Association supports it. Statewide, renewable energy resources account for about 2 percent of the energy supply, initiative backers say. "Wind is the resource that has cracked the barrier," Golden said. "It's the lowest-cost new energy source." There's real doubt wind can produce enough electricity to reach I-937's mandate, said Don Brunell, president of the Association of Washington Business. Wind turbine costs are on the rise, and there is an 18-month delay in the delivery of the turbines from manufacturers, Brunell said. And wind power is intermittent -- sometimes it's there, and sometimes it isn't, which makes it a less-reliable resource, Early said. Initiative supporters disagree, citing studies that suggest there are more than four times the wind and solar resources available in the Northwest to meet the 15 percent standard. "Adding wind to a base of hydropower is the perfect fit," Golden said. Promising new technologies, including advances in solar power technology and tidal and wave power, could be ready by 2020 to meet some of the supply needs, Golden said. Clean energy also offers public health benefits, American Lung Association spokesman Nick Federici said. Fossil fuels burned for energy pollute the air and are associated with major health problems ranging from asthma to lung cancer, he said. "This region has some of the cleanest power resources and cleanest air in the nation," Golden said. "This initiative is about continuing that tradition." Source: By John Dodge, The Olympian, 9/22/2006.

Doyle to Announce Renewable Energy Investment

Governor Jim Doyle is set to announce a plan Monday to invest $80 million in state funds to encourage the use of renewable energy. The Governor says the state money will help leverage an additional $370 million in private investment and puts the state at the forefront of the national movement to find alternative sources of fuel.

Doyle says he would ask for the money in his next budget if he wins re-election in November over challenger Mark Green. A Green spokesman says Green voted to provide tax credits for those buying hybrid vehicles and helped create tax incentives for energy efficient home improvements. Source: WEAU News, 9/25/2006.