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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Bay Area Climate Collaborative and GE Advance the Next Generation of LED Streetlighting

Press release from GE:

31 October 2012
Bay Area Climate Collaborative and GE Advance the Next Generation of LED Streetlighting
 

SAN JOSE, CA., – October 31, 2012 – (NYSE:GE)  The Bay Area Climate Collaborative (BACC) and GE Lighting today announced a project to advance the energy-efficient street-lighting market. The Bay Area Next Generation Streetlight Initiative aims to catalyze the upgrade of over 200,000 municipal streetlights in the region to advanced light-emitting diode (LED) technology.
Through the Bay Area Next Generation Streetlight Initiative, the BACC is developing educational resources and pooling Bay Area-wide interest in LED streetlight conversions with a joint procurement option to secure improved purchase and financing terms on the latest lighting technology. The initiative will serve as a business model that local governments in the Bay Area and beyond can replicate to upgrade streetlights at lower costs while engaging local workforce development. Over five years, the upgrades will deliver up to $50 million in reduced costs for local governments, over 100,000 metrics tons of CO2 avoidance, and many jobs.
GE Lighting will support the BACC’s outreach to local governments on the benefits of LED streetlight technology and development of tools and educational resources that facilitate lighting upgrades. GE also will provide its expertise to inform the resources and strategies for the initiative.
GE has long been at the forefront of next-generation energy-efficientecomagination lighting. The company has invented every major lighting technology, including the world’s first visible LED, which was created 50 years ago this month. GE is currently working with the City of Las Vegas to convert more than 80 percent of the City’s 50,000 streetlights to LED fixtures, which will provide $2.7 million in annual savings. The BACC is a public-private initiative of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, launched by regional civic and business leaders to accelerate the Bay Area clean energy economy through high-impact, market-oriented projects that can be replicated and scaled.
“Roadways are the new frontier of the solid-state lighting revolution,” said Steve Briggs, GE Lighting’s global product general manager. “We’re finding that once community leaders understand the LED value proposition—over 50 percent energy savings and 10-plus years of life for significant maintenance cost savings versus older incumbent technologies—a shift to LED becomes a priority. They get to think and act like a CFO, which constituents love, with the additional good-neighbor and environmental benefits that LED systems deliver.”
“LED lighting has been identified as a top opportunity for excellent financial, community and environmental benefits, and GE has tremendous expertise on efficient lighting solutions,” said Rafael Reyes, executive director of the Bay Area Climate Collaborative. “Through our collaboration, we will help local governments save millions of dollars that can be reinvested to strengthen the regional economy.”
About the Bay Area Climate CollaborativeThe Bay Area Climate Collaborative (BACC) is a public-private initiative accelerating the clean energy economy. Major partners include Bank of America, Pacific Gas & Electric, and local governments representing over 70 percent of the Bay Area population. The BACC is driving electric vehicle, energy efficiency, residential upgrades and distributed renewables innovation. For more information on the BACC, please visit:www.baclimate.org
About GE LightingGE Lighting invents with the vigor of its founder Thomas Edison to develop energy-efficient solutions that change the way people light their world in commercial, industrial, municipal and residential settings. The business employs 16,000 people in more than 100 countries, and sells products under the Reveal® and Energy Smart® consumer brands, and Evolve™, GTx™, Immersion™, Infusion™, Lumination® and Tetra® commercial brands, all trademarks of GE. General Electric (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter to build a world that works better. For more information, visitwww.gelighting.com.

Waste to Biofuels – make sure you reach commercialization

Waste to Biofuels – make sure you reach commercialization

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

GE Empowers Kennedy Renewables to Develop Company’s First Wind Project

Press release:

30 October 2012
GE Empowers Kennedy Renewables to Develop Company’s First Wind Project
 

  • Scotland’s Little Raith Wind Farm is Launch Project for Kennedy Renewables
  • GE Industry Expertise Supports Entrepreneurial Venture and Project Success
  • Nine 2.75-Megawatt Turbines Will Produce Clean Energy for Scotland

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND—October 30, 2012—Next month, Kennedy Renewables’ Little Raith Wind Farm will be fully operational in Fife, Scotland. Little Raith, powered by GE (NYSE: GE) wind turbines, marks the culmination of a new relationship between GE and Kennedy Renewables resulting in an important milestone for Kennedy: the company’s first wind project.

“We couldn’t have done this without GE,” said Brian Kennedy, owner of Kennedy Renewables. “We formed a new company, in a new industry, in a developing wind region. GE’s partnership and commitment to our success truly helped us realize our vision.”

Kennedy Renewables was founded in 2009 by Brian Kennedy, a U.K. entrepreneur most recognized for achieving success in the home improvement and commercial real estate industries. He also is owner of the U.K.’s Sale Sharks Rugby Club. Little Raith is Kennedy Renewables’ first project and in a new industry for Brian Kennedy.

“Brian is an entrepreneur with a dream to develop wind energy,” said Vic Abate, vice president of renewable energy for GE. “It’s been a pleasure developing a relationship with Brian and using the power of GE to help him realize his dream.”

Nine advanced technology GE 2.75-megawatt (MW) wind turbines will power Little Raith, generating electricity to power 15,000 U.K. homes. The project marks the debut installation of GE’s 2.75-MW platform in the United Kingdom and offers the flexibility in generator size and overall physical parameters required by permitting in the U.K. and Ireland.

Located 20 miles from Edinburgh, Little Raith will support the European Union target for the U.K. to produce 15 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Additionally, the county of Fife has set a goal of reducing its carbon emissions 25 percent by 2013.

“With Little Raith due to become Fife’s first commercial wind farm and the 2.75-MW units the first to be installed in the U.K., the project could well become a landmark site for Kennedy renewables, GE and the industry as a whole,” said Bruce Allen, construction director for Wind Prospect Ltd.

This year, GE celebrates 10 years in wind energy with 28 gigawatts of installed capacity and 18,500 wind turbines around the world.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

About GE Power & Water
GE Power & Water provides customers with a broad array of power generation, energy delivery and water process technologies to solve their challenges locally. Power & Water works in all areas of the energy industry including renewable resources such as wind and solar; biogas and alternative fuels; and coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy. The business also develops advanced technologies to help solve the world’s most complex challenges related to water availability and quality. Numerous products are qualified under ecomagination, GE’s commitment to providing innovative solutions that maximize resources, drive efficiencies and help make the world work better. Power & Water’s seven business units include Aeroderivative Gas Turbines; Gas Engines; Nuclear Energy; Power Generation Services; Renewable Energy; Thermal Products and Water & Process Technologies. Headquartered in Schenectady, N.Y., Power & Water is GE’s largest industrial business.

Follow GE Power & Water and GE’s renewables business on Twitter@GE_PowerWater and @GErenewables.

GE Introduces an Optimization Solution for Microgrids

Press release from GE:

30 October 2012
GE Introduces an Optimization Solution for Microgrids
 

  • Enables Renewable Energy to be Reliably and Cost-Effectively Integrated into a Microgrid System
  • Optimizes the Cost of Microgrid Energy and Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Balancing the Use of Renewable and Fossil Fuel-Based Energy Resources
  • Provides an Easy-to-Use, Operator Interface Allowing Microgrid System Operators to Effectively Manage Operations and Make Maintenance Decisions Easier

MARKHAM, ONTARIO — Oct. 30, 2012 — GE (NYSE: GE) announces the release of its Multilin™ Microgrid Control System (MCS) designed to help permanently islanded or grid-connected microgrid operators integrate renewable energy resources and fossil fuel-based resources to optimize microgrid operation and minimize energy costs.

“The demand for microgrid technology is increasing with off-the-grid remote communities, military installations, institutions and mining communities all looking at options to reliably maximize their energy use,” said Juan Macias, general manager—Grid Automation for GE’s Digital Energy business. “Using the Multilin Microgrid Control System, microgrid operators can potentially gain up to a 15 percent reduction in fuel costs by intelligently managing their generation assets.”

Installing GE’s MCS helps microgrid operators manage the storage and dispatching of energy resources so that the appropriate resources can be used when it’s most economical. MCS also can help microgrid operators improve their asset utilization by integrating existing power system assets into the microgrid infrastructure improving their return on investment.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) already has seen the benefits of using GE’s Multilin™ Microgrid Control System at Twentynine Palms Marine Base in California (the largest marine base in the country). When the base’s microgrid is fully operational, it will be capable of islanding roughly one third of the base’s total load, while simultaneously meeting the DOD’s criteria for cybersecurity.

For more information on GE’s Multilin™ Microgrid Control System please visit:
http://www.gedigitalenergy.com.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

Follow GE Energy Management and its Digital Energy business on Twitter@GE_EnergyMgmt and @YourSmartGrid.

GE, the GE monogram, Multilin and EnerVista are trademarks of the General Electric Company.

Monday, October 29, 2012

NREL: News Feature - Sun Shines on Old Idea to Make Hydrogen

Back in 1998, when gasoline prices were $1.03 per gallon, John Turner of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) dropped jaws all over the energy world by demonstrating that he could use sunlight to extract hydrogen from water at a remarkable 12.4% efficiency.

Three hundred articles and news reports followed, there were predictions of the next big thing, and then … almost nothing happened.

Energy companies went back to their gasoline and their diesel, or their attempts to extract fuel from biofuels, or to extract hydrogen via algae or coal-powered electricity.

Now, with gasoline at $3.89 per gallon, and still the dominant transportation fuel, there is renewed interest in Turner's work.

For more, click the link below:

NREL: News Feature - Sun Shines on Old Idea to Make Hydrogen

Sandia to co-host international workshop on photovoltaics integration


Sandia Labs News Releases

Sandia to co-host international workshop on photovoltaics integration

 Sandia National Laboratories, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and European Distributed Energies Research Laboratories (DERlab) have organized a workshop on utility operating experience with high-penetration levels of solar photovoltaics (PV). The workshop, “Utility Experience with High Penetration PV,” is scheduled Monday, Dec. 3, in Berlin.
The workshop will take place just before the Fifth International Conference on the Integration of Renewable and Distributed Energy Resources (IRED) Dec. 4-6, in Berlin. The bi-annual IRED conference brings together leading international experts in renewable energy and distributed energy resources (DER) for interdisciplinary discussion and collaboration.
Abraham Ellis, Sandia engineer and IRED conference co-chairman, said the workshop and conference are unique because of their multidisciplinary focus.
“Large-scale integration of renewables and DER is a complex issue that requires the attention and engagement of all stakeholders,” said Ellis.
He said the workshop will examine the experiences of utility operations that generate high percentages of electricity from photovoltaics. The session includes discussions of technical challenges, regulations and technological implications of evolving grid codes.
Ellis said the larger conference brings together experts at the forefront of research, demonstration, policy, market and regulatory issues that challenge the integration of distributed and renewable energy resources into the electric grid. Participants will share the successes and challenges related to deployment of smart grid and renewables in the electric power system, as well as technology and research advances that support the notion of resiliency of the electrical grid and energy infrastructure.
“Sharing the technical expertise, best practices and lessons learned from operating distributed systems under high PV penetration is critical to inform the evolution of technology and accelerate the adoption of appropriate standards and best practices,” said Ellis.
Conference participants also will share research and lessons learned, compare policies and programs and collaboratively investigate potential solutions for technical, market and regulatory barriers to high-penetration DER.
Registration or invitation is required to attend the workshop. Please email Lindsey Rogers at EPRI (lirogers@epri.com) for workshop registration. Visit the IRED website for more information and for conference and workshop registration.
The IRED conference was first held in 2004 in Brussels, Belgium. Subsequent conferences were held in Napa Valley, Calif. (2006); Nice, France (2008); and Albuquerque, N.M. (2010).

Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies and economic competitiveness.

Adobe Creative Cloud



Adobe Creative Suite 6 Creative Cloud

Thursday, October 25, 2012

NREL’s Industry Growth Forum Brings Together Energy Innovators

NREL News release:


NREL’s Industry Growth Forum Brings Together Energy Innovators

Event Highlights Clean Energy Technologies and Startup Businesses

Thursday, October 25, 2012

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 25th Industry Growth Forum this week attracted nearly 400 investors, entrepreneurs, scientists and policymakers to Denver.
The two-day forum highlighted clean energy industry technology and business developments. In addition to hearing business case presentations from thirty clean energy companies, including eight Colorado companies, participants participated in a comprehensive agenda of in-depth panel discussions and networking opportunities.
 
"There is a necessity to approach our energy issues differently in the future and this requires high levels of technical and business innovation," said Bill Farris, NREL Associate Laboratory Director for Innovation Partnering and Outreach. "This forum brought together the entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers that are critical to bringing those innovations to the market for transformational change."
 
More than $4 billion has been raised by companies presenting at the Forum since 2003. 
 
Three entrepreneurial companies were singled out from the 30 competitively-selected presenters to win the 2012 Clean Energy Venture Awards. Award winners will receive in-kind commercialization support to help increase their chances of becoming commercially successful.
 
Silver Bullet Water Treatment LLC received the top prize, the Best Venture award. This Colorado company has developed a cost-effective and environmentally responsible water treatment solution for cooling towers. The technology can be used in office buildings, hospitals, data centers and other commercial locations throughout the U.S. Their proprietary, electrochemical water treatment system eliminates microorganisms and scale formation without adding any harmful chemicals.
 
An Outstanding Venture award went to 7AC; this Massachusetts company commercializes a novel membrane-based liquid desiccant HVAC system that provides cooling in summer and heating in winter for commercial buildings.
 
An Outstanding Venture award also went to Carbo Analytics. This Colorado-based company specializes in automated real-time sugar analysis through a microchip with electrochemical detection.
 
NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.
 
For a list of participating companies and sponsors, please visit the Industry Growth Forum online at www.industrygrowthforum.org.
 
###

IBM News room - 2012-10-25 IBM Establishes the Smarter Energy Research Institute to Advance the Utility of the Future - United States

IBM News room - 2012-10-25 IBM Establishes the Smarter Energy Research Institute to Advance the Utility of the Future - United States

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Taking on Scary Basements | Department of Energy

Taking on Scary Basements | Department of Energy

Going live with a smarter electric grid

Press release:


Going live with a smarter electric grid

October 24, 2012 Share This!
Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project begins two-year data collection period
  • Today the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project team will begin a two-year period of collecting energy use data from its 11 participating utilities. The team will evaluate this data at the Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center (shown) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
SEATTLE – A project designed to make the region's and nation's electric grid more reliable and efficient will be showcased today during an event at the University of Washington where students will be able to view how they are using energy in real time.  The UW project is one of 11 projects across five Northwest states that comprise the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project, a public/private demonstration launched in February 2010.
Sponsored by the Department of Energy's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, and co-funded by the participating utilities, the demo is beginning a two-year period of collecting energy use data.
The 11 participating utilities will evaluate the benefits of smart grid technologies locally — in their respective cities — and at the regional level. The project team will look at how a smarter grid can help deliver electricity more efficiently to avoid congestion in the transmission system and how more wind power can be used. The project's data collection and analysis efforts are expected to provide an unprecedented view into how smart grid concepts can provide regional benefits while improving consumer choice and reliability locally.
"The two-way information exchange in the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project allows grid operators to make the existing electric grid more efficient — while also exploring how using other technologies, such as energy storage devices, smart appliances and wind power, can bolster the reliability of our system," said Carl Imhoff, Electricity Infrastructure Market Sector manager at Battelle in Richland. Battelle is leading the demonstration project for the DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.
"The data we'll gather during the next two years will enable us to evaluate the costs and benefits of a smart grid to consumers in all types of utilities in the Pacific Northwest. We'll also evaluate how we can optimize our power system while, at the same time, adding more variable, renewable energy resources such as wind and solar," he said.
The UW's Role
The University of Washington has invested nearly $10 million in the project. Before the project began, the UW had seven meters on campus providing a limited view into the campus' energy use. As Seattle City Light's largest customer, the UW has worked with the utility to install more than 200 smart meters across campus in nearly every building. The meters give energy users real-time information and analysis on energy usage and will improve the UW's understanding of how much energy they are using and how efficiently they are using it. At new residence halls on campus, students will have real-time access to their energy use data by way of in-room energy management devices. Graduate students also will be able to gather and study this data for use in classroom instruction.
"The University of Washington is recognized as a national leader in sustainability within the higher education community," says UW Provost Ana Mari Cauce. "The project provides an exciting opportunity for testing how 21st century technology can reduce energy consumption. Given our students' keen interest in the environment, it is appropriate that much of our research on smart grids will occur within our residence halls and that the initial research will be conducted by students in our Program on the Environment."

Regional knowledge
At the regional level, the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project is testing an innovative concept called "transactive control" through information exchanges connecting the 11 participating utilities, each volunteering to participate in the study with the Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center located at Battelle's facilities in Richland, Wash. There, information about demand for electricity, amount of wind power available and wind forecasts are translated into incentive signals, or prices, which are updated every five minutes and sent to participating utilities. This allows contributors to make local decisions on how their piece of the smart grid project can support local and regional grid needs.
The Battelle-led project team is using the signal to test a variety of smart technologies in different geographies, in different weather, in different situations, to learn the most they can about how the grid can operate most efficiently.
The move to "go-live" with the transactive control signal is the continuation of more than a decade of smart grid research in the Pacific Northwest.
Learning from the past
"Six years ago in a similar project on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state we learned that a small group of consumers using a smart energy signal similar to transactive control could save about 10 percent on their monthly power bill and help their utility reduce peak demand by 15 percent," said Imhoff. "Now, we'll be able to see how a broader set of customers, from different climate and geographic regions, can save energy or money, or both." he said.
During the Olympic Peninsula GridWise® Demonstration Project, 115 consumers were outfitted with smart water heaters and electric dryers that responded to a smart signal and would intermittently turn their heating elements off, anywhere from 20 seconds to two minutes, during times of peak demand on the grid. Researchers found consumers didn't notice because water would remain hot and the barrel of the dryer would continue to spin during these short periods of time. Researchers also found the impact from those smart devices made a difference in the amount of money consumers paid for power each month, and in the amount of energy saved during times of peak demand on the grid. Project participants are now looking to that intermittency used in a broader scale with a diverse set of smart appliances and an even smarter signal.
Building the business case
As a primary partner in the project, the Bonneville Power Administration is leading a regional effort to develop a business case for smart grid — to show which major infrastructure and technology investments will provide the best value to Northwest ratepayers in the long run.
"One of the main goals of this smart grid project is to develop the regional cost/benefit analysis," according to BPA Deputy Director Bill Drummond.  "And that's important because demonstrating that the benefits of smart grid outweigh the costs is crucial for any utility considering moving forward with these investments."
The "go live" event takes place at 10:30 a.m. at Alder Hall Commons, located at 1315 NE Campus Parkway (entrance on NE 40thSt. between Brooklyn Ave. NE and University Way NE). U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, UW Provost Ana Mari Cauce; Bill Drummond, Deputy Director of the Bonneville Power Administration; and Battelle Senior Vice President and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Director Mike Kluse will be on hand for the celebration.
The Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project was co-funded by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding through the DOE, and the project's utility and vendor partners. More information about the project is available atwww.pnwsmartgrid.org.

Project Participants
Battelle leads a strong collaboration that includes the Bonneville Power Administration and the following 11 utility representatives based in the Pacific Northwest:
  • Avista Utilities - Spokane, Wash.
  • Benton PUD - Kennewick, Wash.
  • City of Ellensburg - Ellensburg, Wash.
  • Flathead Electric Cooperative, Inc. - Kalispell, Mont.
  • Idaho Falls Power - Idaho Falls, Idaho
  • Lower Valley Energy - Afton, Wyo.
  • Milton-Freewater City Light & Power - Milton-Freewater, Ore.
  • NorthWestern Energy - Butte, Mont.
  • Peninsula Light Company - Gig Harbor, Wash.
  • Portland General Electric - Portland, Ore.
  • University of Washington/Seattle City Light - Seattle, Wash.
The demonstration also involves a diverse team of technology providers including: Alstom Grid, IBM/Netezza, 3TIER Inc., and Quality Logic Inc. Washington State University and Central Washington University also are directly involved.
Battelle is the world's largest independent research and development organization. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle oversees 22,000 employees in more than 130 locations worldwide. Battelle has managed the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., since the laboratory's inception in 1965.
Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science.  PNNL employs 4,500 staff, has an annual budget of nearly $1 billion, and has been managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by Ohio-based Battelle since the laboratory's inception in 1965.  For more, visit the PNNL's News Center, or follow PNNL on FacebookLinkedIn andTwitter.

UK’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary New Fleet of Tankers to Use GE Drive Technology for Energy Efficient Hybrid Propulsion

Press release:

24 October 2012
UK’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary New Fleet of Tankers to Use GE Drive Technology for Energy Efficient Hybrid Propulsion
 

  • GE’s Electrical Propulsion Drive Train Selected for Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s New Fleet of Support Tankers
  • Order Highlights How GE’s Technology is Helping to Drive the Global Naval Sector

PARIS—October 24, 2012—With the global naval sector looking to deploy more energy efficient vessels, GE’s Power Conversion business (NYSE: GE) is supplying its electrical propulsion drive train technology for the U.K. Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s (RFA) new fleet of Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) tankers.

When completed, the four, 37,000-ton MARS tankers will be the United Kingdom’s next-generation class of large, fast-fleet tankers that will deliver fuel and fresh water to Royal Navy vessels around the world. GE’s drive train will be installed as a key part of the ships’ hybrid propulsion configuration that is inherently more fuel efficient than conventional propulsion. The next-generation MARS tankers are scheduled to enter service beginning in 2016.

The RFA is replacing its existing, single-hulled tankers to meet International Maritime Organization pollution regulations as well as more stringent European Commission environmental regulations. An amendment to MARPOL regulations (the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973 and together with the Protocol of 1978) requires tankers to be double-hulled.

Hybrid propulsion systems combine electrical and mechanical propulsion technology to turn the ship’s propeller throughout its operating range of speeds. When the ship operates at moderate and low speeds, the propeller shaft is turned using GE’s electric motor and variable speed drive controller system. Meanwhile, at high speeds the diesel engine or gas turbine is connected directly to the propeller through a gearbox.

This hybrid configuration is an exceptionally versatile solution and is particularly suited to the fluctuating operational scenarios encountered by naval warships and auxiliary vessels. Using an electric propulsion motor powered by the ship’s generating sets to run the propeller saves fuel, reduces emissions and reduces maintenance costs of the main engines, since the generating sets are running to meet other electrical needs on the ship.

”Our electrical drive train technology will offer the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s new fleet of MARS tankers a highly energy efficient, flexible and integrated power and propulsion system available to direct power as needed in support of their crucial military operations around the world,” said Paul English, marine vertical leader for GE’s Power Conversion business.

GE is supplying its electric drive systems to Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. in the Republic of Korea (DSME), which was awarded the contract for four MARS tankers by the U.K Ministry of Defence in March, 2012.

With the system design, engineering and project administration plus substantial elements of the propulsion system’s manufacturing being led by Power Conversion in the U.K., this contract will contribute to the safeguarding of the company’s 1,500 jobs across the country including its Rugby and Glasgow sites.

GE will begin delivering its systems for the first MARS tanker in the fourth quarter of 2014 and is scheduled to finish supplying equipment for the fourth MARS tanker by the second quarter of 2016.

The MARS tanker contract reflects a growing trend among the world’s leading navies to use GE’s electric propulsion technology. Other orders include the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates, Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and Type 45 destroyers, the U.S. Navy’s Zumwalt destroyers and the French Navy’s Mistral class.

GE acquired Power Conversion (then known as Converteam) in September 2011. GE’s Power Conversion business applies the science and systems of power conversion to help drive the electric transformation of the world’s energy infrastructure. Designing and delivering advanced motor, drive and control technologies that evolve today’s industrial processes for a cleaner, more productive future, it serves specialized sectors such as energy, marine, industry and all related services. To learn more, please visit:www.ge-energy.com/electrifyingchange.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

Follow GE’s Energy Management business on Twitter @GE_EnergyMgmt.

Gleaning Clues on Sunny Days From the Clouds

The following is an excerpt from an article in:


The New York Times
Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Gleaning Clues on Sunny Days From the Clouds

By DAVID FERRIS

CARLOS F. COIMBRA knew from the outset that he would have to crack the code of clouds. As an engineering professor new to the University of California’s campus in Merced, he led a successful drive to get 15 percent of the school’s power from an array of solar panels.

But clouds, wandering and capricious, had foiled his efforts on two occasions by casting sudden shadows, forcing the school to rely on conventional power instead. To neutralize the clouds, he would have to track them.

So Professor Coimbra, a Brazilian-born expert in fluid mechanics with a flair for computer modeling, tried a new kind of forecast. The campus would make better use of sun power if he could figure out exactly when a puffy drifter would arrive overhead. He wrote a computer algorithm to project how clouds move and change shape as they move across the sky — one of the most complex and chaotic phenomena on earth, influenced by an endless set of variables.

Now, six years later, Professor Coimbra, 44, and his collaborator, Jan P. Kleissl, 37, have created a forecasting engine that they say is 20 to 40 percent more accurate than the model in common use. Weather, energy and power grid experts said that the innovation could accelerate the adoption of renewable energy, save billions of dollars in energy costs and help turn cloud-watching from an idle pastime into a vital and profitable part of the weather forecast.

“I can’t tell you what’s going to happen at 4:23 p.m. on a Sunday,” said Professor Coimbra, whose forecasts extend to seven days but with decreasing accuracy. “But I can tell you what will happen between noon and 6 today.“

Potential cost savings are drawing the interest of companies that build and operate solar-power plants, as well as utilities and grid operators. Each bets a bottom dollar on when the sun will come out tomorrow. A fine-tuned forecast makes it easier for utilities and grid operators to use the sporadic power of sun and wind when they are available, giving renewable energy a reliability close to that of a fossil-fuel or nuclear power plant.

Furthermore, it could help utilities predict exactly when homeowners will turn on their air-conditioners in the summer, which could reduce the power grid’s need for backup power plants.

As it saves money in energy markets, the technology could also shake up the world of weather forecasting by providing greater resolution. Such data could give airports a firmer window of when storms will arrive and leave, resulting in fewer flight delays.

It could tell farmers when to expect the first frost, or when a rainstorm will hit, reducing the need to pump water for irrigation. A precise prediction could guide the maneuvers of forest firefighters, project the path of bioterror attack or pinpoint the path of a tornado.

For more, visit www.nytimes.com.

Weighing Butanol as an Alternative to Ethanol

The following is an excerpt from an article in:


The New York Times
Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Weighing Butanol as an Alternative to Ethanol

By HENRY FOUNTAIN

NEARLY a decade after the adoption of federal renewable fuel standards led to a sharp increase in production of ethanol, some producers in the Corn Belt are considering making a different fuel. The fuel, butyl alcohol, or butanol, is worth more to refiners because it has more energy than ethanol, is easier to handle and more of it can be blended into each gallon of gasoline. But producing it will require costly retrofitting of ethanol plants, and plant capacity will be reduced.

Several companies are leading the push for butanol, including Gevo of Englewood, Colo., and Butamax Advanced Biofuels, a joint venture of BP and DuPont based in Wilmington, Del. They have developed ways to make butanol the same way ethanol is made, through yeast-based fermentation and then distillation.

“There are few if any new biofuel molecules that can be made from an existing ethanol plant,” said Paul Beckwith, chief executive of Butamax. “The beauty of what we’re offering is, it’s so similar.”

New butanol-specific plants could also be built, he said, including ones that, like cellulosic ethanol plants, use switch grass or other nonfood raw materials rather than corn.

Butamax is producing butanol at a demonstration plant in Hull, England. And in the United States, it has organized an alliance of ethanol producers who are considering making the shift. The idea, Mr. Beckwith said, is to convert many plants simultaneously, beginning in 2013.

For more, visit www.nytimes.com.

As U.S. Aid to Clean Energy Dwindles, Pondering What Could Come

The following is an excerpt from an article in:


The New York Times
Wednesday, October 24, 2012

As U.S. Aid to Clean Energy Dwindles, Pondering What Could Come

By JOHN BRODER

WASHINGTON — PRESIDENT OBAMA’S 2009 stimulus package included the largest single piece of energy legislation in American history, a $90 billion money pile for energy projects from the mundane to the exotic.

In less than three years, it financed construction of solar and wind farms, doubling renewable electricity generation. It paid for the installation of 13 million “smart” electrical meters, a start to modernizing the country’s electrical grid. It paid to weatherize a million homes, saving low-income families an average of $400 a year on their utility bills. It provided a spark for the domestic electric vehicle industry, financing construction of more than two dozen advanced battery factories. And it provided the seed money for what may emerge as a new industry in America: the production of liquid fuel from bacteria and other microorganisms.

The spending package provided billions for high-speed rail and mass transit, for job training and for carbon capture demonstration projects. But the stimulus money is almost all gone, leaving many of these projects without a government benefactor and making them orphans in a competitive marketplace dominated by the deep-pocketed fossil fuel industries.

What happens now?

The Obama administration’s clean energy venture has been contentious from the start, generating enormous debate over the role of government generally and over the financing of energy technology and innovation specifically.

Republicans have made an issue of Solyndra, the California solar panel maker that declared bankruptcy after receiving a stimulus-backed $528 million loan guarantee. Similar opprobrium has greeted the bankruptcy filing last week of A123 Systems, a maker of batteries for electric cars that got $132 million of a $249 million stimulus grant. Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee, and his running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan, have used such failures as case studies in what they call government overreach, crony capitalism and the distortion of free markets.

“I had a friend who said you don’t just pick the winners and losers,” Mr. Romney said in his first debate with President Obama. “You pick the losers.”

The administration’s defense has been that successes have far outnumbered failures in the clean energy loan program and that even failures can provide knowledge that will pay off down the road. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize winner in physics, has said: “We’re swinging for the fences. We’re going to strike out a lot, but we’ll hit a few grand slams.”

Mr. Romney has made clear his distaste for government subsidies for alternative energy and for government acting as a venture capitalist for individual clean energy companies. He has said he would eliminate the production tax credit for wind turbine makers, for example, and would apply much stricter standards to the Energy Department’s loan guarantee program, if not do away with it entirely, even though it was created under the George W. Bush administration with bipartisan support.

For more, visit www.nytimes.com.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

U.S. Wind Industry Continues to Expand | Department of Energy

U.S. Wind Industry Continues to Expand | Department of Energy

Boeing-COMAC Technology Center Announces First Biofuel Research Project

Press release:


- Hangzhou Energy Engineering & Technology will find ways to convert waste cooking oil for use as jet fuel
BEIJING, Oct. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A newly formed technology center created by Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) has announced that Hangzhou Energy Engineering & Technology, Co., Ltd., (HEET) will conduct the center's first research project.
HEET, a company with experience developing alternative energy technologies, will focus on ways to convert discarded cooking oil into a component of sustainable aviation biofuel at the Boeing-COMAC Aviation Energy Conservation and Emissions Reductions Technology Center.
The project aims to identify contaminants in waste cooking oil, which often is described in China as "gutter oil," and processes that may treat and clean it for use as jet fuel. The focus of the project for the first year will be to demonstrate the feasibility of achieving significant cost reduction in converting gutter oils and other waste oils into jet fuel through improvement of conversion efficiency and associated technology.
The Boeing-COMAC technology center is working with China-based universities and research institutions to expand knowledge in areas such as sustainable aviation biofuels and air traffic management that improve commercial aviation's efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
Funded by both companies, the center opened in August at COMAC's new Beijing Aeronautical Science and Technology Research Institute (BASTRI).
"As one of the member organizations of COMAC, BASTRI was built for carrying out civil aviation industry research and we aim at expanding knowledge in sustainable aviation biofuels and carbon emissions reduction," said Qin Fuguang, president of BASTRI, COMAC. "China is the world's fastest growing aviation market and the biggest consumer of cooking oil. There's great potential for converting the waste cooking oil into sustainable aviation fuel. It's a good opportunity for Boeing, HEET and COMAC to work together and make efforts to protect the environment." 
"HEET is a strong partner for the Boeing-COMAC technology center's 'gutter oil' research project," said Dong Yang Wu, vice president of Boeing Research & Technology - China. "We are excited about opportunities to partner with leading research capabilities in China to accelerate the global push for renewable jet fuels and support commercial aviation's growth while reducing its environmental footprint."
Waste cooking oil shows potential as a feedstock for sustainable aviation biofuel production and an alternative to petroleum-based fuel because China annually consumes approximately 29 million tons of cooking oil, while its aviation system uses 20 million tons of jet fuel. Finding more efficient ways to convert "gutter oil" into jet fuel could increase regional biofuel supplies and improve biofuel's affordability, enhancing the potential for commercial use.
About COMAC
The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) is a state-owned company, which is formed with the approval of the State Council and jointly invested by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council, Shanghai Guosheng (Group) Co., Ltd., Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China Aluminum Corporation (CHINALCO), Baosteel Group, and Sinochem Group. COMAC was held on May 11th, 2008. COMAC is headquartered in Shanghai. Mr Jin Zhuanglong serves as Chairman of the Board, and Mr He Dongfeng as President.
COMAC functions as the main vehicle in implementing large passenger aircraft programs in China. It is also mandated with the overall planning of developing trunk liner and regional jet programs and realizing the industrialization of civil aircraft in China. COMAC is engaged in the research, manufacture and flight tests of civil aircraft and related businesses such as marketing, servicing, leasing and operations of civil aircraft. The company has seven  member organizations: Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute (SADRI), Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (SAMC), Shanghai Aircraft Customer Service Co., Ltd., Beijing Aeronautical Science and Technology Research Institute (BASTRI), COMAC  Fight Test Centre (CFTC), Shanghai Aviation Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd. (SAIGC) and Shanghai Commercial Aircraft Magazine Co., Ltd.
COMAC adopts a "major manufacturer-suppliers" model, focusing on aircraft design, final assembly and manufacture of aircraft, marketing and customer service, and acquisition of certification. COMAC adheres to the principle of "developing with Chinese characteristics and representing the technical progress" and makes self-reliant advancement in the process of marketing, integration, localization and globalization. The company endeavors to manufacture large passenger aircraft that are safe, economical, comfortable and environmentally friendly. COMAC is determined to independently build large Chinese passenger aircraft that will soon be soaring through the blue skies. 
About Boeing
Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems. A top U.S. exporter, the company supports airlines and U.S. and allied government customers in 150 countries. Boeing products and tailored services include commercial and military aircraft, satellites, weapons, electronic and defense systems, launch systems, advanced information and communication systems, and performance-based logistics and training. For more information about Boeing please visit www.boeing.com.
In 2012, Boeing celebrates the 40th anniversary of its partnership with China's aviation industry. Boeing is the single largest purchaser of made-in-China aviation parts, committing hundreds of millions of dollars annually to dozens of suppliers. Today, some 6,000 Boeing airplanes fly throughout the world with integrated China-built parts and assemblies.
About Hangzhou Energy Engineering & Technology Co., Ltd.
Hangzhou Energy Engineering & Technology Co., Ltd. is a leading energy technology company that specializes in developing alternative and green energy technology. It is dedicated to Research & Development and commercialization of technologies that will help save energy and protect environment.   HEET is located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. 

Some neighborhoods don’t take a shine to solar power - KansasCity.com

Some neighborhoods don’t take a shine to solar power - KansasCity.com

Monday, October 22, 2012

Energy Datapalooza: Unleashing the Power of Open Data to Advance our Energy Future | Department of Energy

Energy Datapalooza: Unleashing the Power of Open Data to Advance our Energy Future | Department of Energy

Energy Efficiency Tricks to Stop Your Energy Bill from Haunting You | Department of Energy

Energy Efficiency Tricks to Stop Your Energy Bill from Haunting You | Department of Energy

Survey Recognizes IBM as Greenest Company in U.S.

Press release:


Survey Recognizes IBM as Greenest Company in U.S.

Company continues its commitment to environmental sustainability and efficient IT infrastructure
ARMONK, N.Y. - 22 Oct 2012: IBM (NYSE: IBM) has been recognized for the second consecutive year as the greenest company in the U.S., according to the Newsweek 2012 Green Rankings survey, released today. A panel of independent judges ranked major companies based on numerous criteria, including their environmental impact, environmental management and sustainability disclosure. The survey is regarded as one of the most comprehensive analyses of environmental leadership, and IBM was one of 500 large U.S. organizations evaluated.
The report notes that IBM'S Smarter Planet products and services help clients measure and reduce their resource consumption while saving money. It points to a system developed at the company's Zurich Research Lab, where water that cools a supercomputer is used to warm nearby buildings.
"Environmental sustainability benefits our clients, our company and the planet, and we are constantly striving for continual improvement,” said Wayne Balta, IBM's Vice President of Corporate Environmental Affairs and Product Safety. “We are grateful for this recognition as it reflects the long term commitment of IBM and its people to environmental leadership throughout the company's global business operations."

Friday, October 19, 2012

Berkeley Lab: Breaks Ground on New Solar Energy Facility

Press release:


Berkeley, Calif., Oct. 19, 2012—Efforts to find alternative fuels from sunlight will be getting some needed help soon as Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) broke ground on its latest research facility, the Solar Energy Research Center (SERC). The three-story structure will be nearly 40,000 sq. ft. in size and will house approximately 75 people.
The $54 million project is slated to be completed in late 2014.
An illustration of Berkeley Lab's Solar Energy Research Center (SERC).
An illustration of Berkeley Lab's Solar Energy Research Center. (Image: SmithGroup Architects)
SERC will house research laboratories and offices of theJoint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), devoted to fundamental research and technology development of a solar fuel generator. These will include methods for synthesizing new light absorbing materials, catalysts for fuel generation, separation membranes, and assembly methods to build a complete integrated system. The goal is to develop prototype artificial photosystems capable of robustly producing a fuel from sunlight ten times more efficient than current crops, only using non-arable land.
Digging in at the ceremonial SERC groundbreaking event were (l-r): Berkeley Lab Director Paul Alivisatos, CPUC President Michael Peevey, Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, Berkeley Lab JCAP Director Heinz Frei, and Nat Simons from the Simons Foundation.
Digging in at the ceremonial SERC groundbreaking event were (l-r): Berkeley Lab Director Paul Alivisatos, CPUC President Michael Peevey, Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, Berkeley Lab JCAP Director Heinz Frei, and Nat Simons from the Simons Foundation.
“JCAP will allow us to develop the science and technology needed to create future transportation fuels from sunlight,” says Berkeley Lab Director Paul Alivisatos. “Our country has a real need for alternatives to the fuels we use now and we’re confident our JCAP scientists will find some of those alternatives for us.”
JCAP is a partnership between Berkeley Lab and Caltech as major partners, with about equal effort at both the SERC building and the Caltech site. Caltech is the JCAP lead under director Nate Lewis, with SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory as a key partner.
With JCAP’s goal of creating an artificial photosynthesis technology, the new SERC building will integrate under one roof fundamental discovery research with technology development. “Shoulder to shoulder interaction between scientists discovering new components and engineers developing prototypes is the key for accelerating the pace towards a solar fuel technology,” says Berkeley Lab’s JCAP director, Heinz Frei.
Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and JCAP staff from a wide range of science and engineering fields reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the quest for an artificial photosystem. “The building will provide a unique educational environment for raising the next generation of scientists in renewable energy,” adds Frei.
Illustration of Berkeley Lab's Solar Energy Research Center (SERC)
Illustration of Berkeley Lab's Solar Energy Research Center (SERC). (Image: SmithGroup Architects)
Consistent with the research agenda of SERC, the building will have a targeted goal of being LEED Silver rated, with a focus on energy efficiency by incorporating renewable or recyclable materials to the maximum extent possible, along with a “green” roof.
While the Berkeley Lab SERC facility will be located on the Lab’s hillside campus, it will also house researchers from UC Berkeley.
“SERC gives researchers from both Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley a chance to work side-by-side on the pressing energy problems we’re faced with,” says Alivisatos. “We’re grateful for the University of California’s support, along with funding provided by the Simons Foundation, the Sea Change Foundation, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the State of California.”
The SERC building was designed by the SmithGroup of San Francisco and is being constructed by McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., also of San Francisco.
# # #
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world’s most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab’s scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. For more, visit http://www.lbl.gov.