Tropical Corn a Sweet Deal for Ethanol Production
The ultimate type of corn for ethanol may not come from the corn belt in the Midwest, but rather the tropics. When University of Illinois crop scientist Fred Below began growing tropical maize, he was looking for novel genes for the utilization of nitrogen fertilizer and was hoping to discover information that could be useful to American corn producers. Now, that has all changed.
Early research results show tropical maize, when grown in the Midwest, requires few crop inputs such as nitrogen fertilizer, chiefly because it does not produce any ears. It also is easier for farmers to integrate into their current operations than some other dedicated energy crops because it can easily rotate with corn or soybeans, and farmers can plant, cultivate and harvest it with the same equipment they already have. Finally, tropical maize stalks require less processing than corn grain, corn stover, switchgrass, Miscanthus giganteus and the scores of other plants now studied for biofuel production. The tropical corn produces, straight from the field with no processing, 25 percent or more sugar, mostly sucrose, fructose, and glucose.
“Midwestern-grown tropical maize easily grows 14 or 15 feet tall compared to the 7-1/2 feet height that is average for conventional hybrid corn,” Below said. “It is all in these tall stalks. In our early trials, we are finding that these plants build up to a level of 25% or higher of sugar in their stalks.
This differs from conventional corn and other crops grown for biofuels since starch found in corn grain and the cellulose in switchgrass, corn stover, and other biofuel crops must undergo treatment with enzymes to convert them into sugars that can then ferment into alcohols such as ethanol.
Storing simple sugars also is more cost-effective for the plant, because it takes a lot of energy to make the complex starches, proteins, and oils present in corn grain. This energy savings per plant could result in more total energy per acre with topical maize, since it produces no grain.
Sugarcane used in Brazil to make ethanol is desirable for the same reason—it produces lots of sugar without a high requirement for nitrogen fertilizer, and this sugar can ferment to alcohol without the middle steps required by high-starch and cellulosic crops. But sugarcane cannot grow in the Midwest. The tall stalks of tropical maize are so full of sugar that producers growing it for biofuel production will be able to supply a raw material at least one step closer to fuel than are ears of corn.
“And growing tropical maize doesn’t break the farmers’ rotation. You can grow tropical maize for one year and then go back to conventional corn or soybeans in subsequent years,” Below said. “Miscanthus, on the other hand, is thought to need a three-year growth cycle between initial planting and harvest and then your land is in Miscanthus. To return to planting corn or soybean necessitates removing the Miscanthus rhizomes.”
Thermoelectric Materials are One Key to Energy Savings
Breathing new life into an old idea, MIT Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus and co-workers are developing innovative materials for controlling temperatures that could lead to substantial energy savings by allowing more efficient car engines, photovoltaic cells and electronic devices.
Novel thermoelectric materials have already resulted in a new consumer product, cooling car seats in hot climates. The devices, similar to the more-familiar car seat heaters, provide comfort directly to the individual rather than cooling the entire car, saving on air-conditioning and energy costs.
The research is based on the principle of thermoelectric cooling and heating, which was first discovered in the early 19th century and was advanced into some practical applications in the 1960’s by MIT professor Paul Gray, among others.
Thermoelectric devices are based on the fact that when certain materials are heated, they generate a significant electrical voltage. Conversely, when a voltage is applied to them, they become hotter on one side, and colder on the other. The process works with a variety of materials, and especially well with semiconductors. But it always had one big drawback, it is very inefficient.
The fundamental problem in creating efficient thermoelectric materials is that they need to be very good at conducting electricity, but not heat. That way, one end of the apparatus can get hot while the other remains cold, instead of the material quickly equalizing the temperature. In most materials, electrical and thermal conductivity go hand in hand. So researchers had to find ways of modifying materials to separate the two properties.
The key to making it more practical, Dresselhaus explains, was in creating engineered semiconductor materials in which tiny patterns have been created to alter the materials' behavior. This might include embedding nanoscale particles or wires in a matrix of another material. These nanoscale structures - just a few billionths of a meter across - interfere with the flow of heat, while allowing electricity to flow freely.
Dresselhaus and her MIT collaborators started working on these developments in the 1990s, and soon drew interest from the US Navy because of the potential for making quieter submarines (power generation and air conditioning are some of the noisiest functions on existing subs).
Market Research: Printed and Thin Film Photovoltaics and Batteries
Printed photovoltaics and batteries have reached a technological "tipping point". With demand for power skyrocketing, IDTechEx found that the market for thin film photovoltaics beyond silicon will reach $1 billion in 2012 and $6 billion in 2014.
There are a number of companies involved in using printing, or printing like processes to manufacture batteries and photovoltaics. NanoSolar has announced the building of large scale plants in both the US and Europe to produce photovoltaic cells using a process akin to ink jet printing. It is reel to reel on flexible substrates. This is a so-called CIGS technology, copper indium gallium diselenide, but G24 Innovations in the UK is also using an ink jet type of reel to reel process to make DSSC - dye sensitized solar cells. These also form part of the new generation of photovoltaics beyond yesterday's heavy, rigid, silicon constructions.
Konarka is also a leader in the production of photovoltaic cells on flexible plastic film. Recently, it has also announced some major advances and partnerships, for its organic photovoltaics, yet another post silicon option that has the new advantages of flexibility, light weight, low cost and more. Some of the new generation solar cells even generate electricity from heat when there is no light available.
Power Power, Solicore, Thin Battery Technology, Enfucell and many others are currently using printing processes to manufacture thin flexible batteries and even paper forms part of some of these constructions, improving cost and environmental credentials. Low cost versions are usually carbon zinc (sometimes known as manganese dioxide zinc) and the higher cost, better performance versions are usually based on lithium. Like the photovoltaic companies, many of these companies have recently raised tens of millions of dollars or more to get into mass production.
Clearly, the time is right for printed photovoltaics and batteries and, in some cases, they will even be printed at high speed on top of each other, so energy harvesting can occur where the photovoltaics gathers energy when it can and stores it in the battery for delivery when it is needed. Optimal coupling of different printed components is becoming a focus of attention as all these technologies move firmly into the marketplace. Sometimes both the battery and the photovoltaic cell are transparent, so they can be used on the face of the watch or a window for example and provide smart packaging with no stealing of space needed for promotional and instructional messages and graphics.
Demand for power is skyrocketing - as the world's population continues to expand, the developing world rapidly industrializes and more and more everyday devices, systems and structures go digital. Thin film photovoltaics, using inorganic or organic compounds as active layers, represent the most promising technology for significantly beating the cost of conventional solar amorphous or crystalline silicon electrical systems - both up front cost (including transport and installation cost) and cost per watt.
These technologies have the potential to provide low cost, ac mains solar power by using non-silicon solar cells and low cost plastic substrates. Traditional silicon cell manufacturers have been constrained by the shortage of silicon, high prices of silicon, its weight and fragility and the difficulty of processing it. Despite this, silicon is the dominant semiconductor material used in present day solar cells, with over a 93 percent market share, due mainly to its maturity and huge government subsidies in countries such as Germany, the world's greatest user of solar energy. That situation is now changing.
The benefits of non-silicon photovoltaic materials are many and varied. Some generate electricity at narrow angles of incidence and even with polarized, e.g. reflected light. Beyond silicon, there are a number of technologies being commercialized
Thin film Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) photovoltaics has attracted over one billion dollars of business in 2007 for delivery over the next few years and CIGS photovoltaics has led to the most factories being built and it has attracted the largest number of researchers. However, DSSC has its own combination of benefits and limitations so it will carve out a different, large market.
Organic alternatives to the inorganic compounds in these photovoltaic devices have been the least efficient, but work has continued with them partly because they may eventually be lower in upfront cost and cost of ownership, where space is not a problem. Indeed, some researchers believe that organic efficiencies may eventually match the competition. Very high speed printing of very thin flexible organic layers, wide area but cheaper nonetheless, has been one dream. Conventional solar cells cost $2.3 to generate one watt of electricity compared to $0.1 promised for the latest organic cells. It may take ten years for silicon to reach $1 per peak watt but that is promised far sooner for the alternatives.
The first multibillion dollar sales of all types of printed electronics are photovoltaics. IDTechEx found that the market for thin film photovoltaics beyond silicon will reach at least $1 billion in 2012 after a slow ramp up and grow rapidly after that to $6 billion in 2014. The global solar energy market is expected to reach $34 billion in 2010 and $100 billion in 2050 and most of that latter figure will be achieved by non-silicon photovoltaics. The market for printed batteries will reach $170 million in 2012 and $560 million in 2014.
When we count the number of interested organizations, Europe is the leader in printed and thin film photovoltaic development with a broad platform of R&D institutes, small start-ups and large companies. In particular, energy conscious politicians are driving development through large subsidies of both manufacture and installation. Major political decisions are about to further increase both the awareness and the broad use of photovoltaics in Europe. In Italy, beginning this year, every new house has to use solar energy - thus creating a huge market for all kinds of technologies, photovoltaic as well as solar-thermal.
UPC Wind Pledges $50 Million Toward the Ho`i I Ka Pono Campaign to Buy Molokai Ranch
UPC Wind has pledged $50 million toward Ho‘i I Ka Pono, a campaign led by the Moloka‘i Community Service Council (MCSC) to purchase all of the lands now owned by Molokai Properties Limited, or. Molokai Ranch.
With its predominantly Native Hawaiian population and relatively undeveloped rural environment, Moloka‘i is often called the last truly Hawaiian island. Residents have fought for decades to preserve the island’s culture and environment. Most of the battles have been against offshore owners whose main motive was to maximize profits on real estate sales.
“In addition to showing our support for the Ho‘i I Ka Pono campaign, our pledge underscores our commitment to the people of Moloka‘i and their efforts to determine how their lands will be used in the future,” said Gaynor. “Once the community has regained control of the lands owned by Molokai Ranch, we will work directly with community members to lease a portion of the land to build a 21st century wind farm that will generate clean wind energy for Moloka‘i and O‘ahu.”
In addition to producing clean energy, a wind farm would provide lease revenue to the Moloka‘i community and keep the land rural and accessible for traditional uses such as farming, hunting and cultural practices.
PG&E and Ausra Reach 177 Megawatt Solar Thermal Power Agreement
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has entered into a 177 megawatt solar thermal power purchasing agreement with Ausra, Inc. The project, to be located in central California, is being developed by Ausra.
The plant, to be located in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., is expected to begin generating power in 2010. Ausra has filed its Application for Certification for this plant with the California Energy Commission, which must grant approval before construction begins.
Ausra projects that the power plant will create over 350 skilled jobs on-site during construction, and an additional 100 permanent jobs in the area. The plant will burn no fuel, use minimal water and have no air or water emissions. At 177 megawatts of capacity, the project will use only one square mile of land due to the exceptional area efficiency of Ausra's collector technology.
"This 177-megawatt plant is the first manifestation of Ausra and PG&E's shared vision of competitively priced, large-scale solar electric power,” said Glen Davis, executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Ausra. "We're excited to be partnering with PG&E to deliver clean power at hours of peak demand.”
Ausra's new Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) solar technology utilizes the heat from the sun's rays to create steam. Solar collectors boil water at high temperatures to power steam turbine generators, in much the same way as traditional fossil-fuel power plants, but without use of fuels or emissions.
At the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in September, PG&E and Ausra announced separate commitments to build and purchase 1,000 MW of solar thermal power over the next five years.
The agreement filed today with the California Public Utilities Commission is the latest example of PG&E's commitment to solar thermal technology. PG&E currently has 553 MW of solar thermal power under contract and is seeking regulatory approval of these purchasing agreements.
Schott Solar Inaugurates Thin-Film Production Plant in Jena
Schott has inaugurated industrial mass production of thin-film solar modules in Jena by its subsidiary, Schott Solar. By investing a total of 75 million euros towards a state-of-the art manufacturing facility with a module capacity of 33 megawatts per year, Schott will be creating an additional 180 jobs at its Jena site.
Schott Solar produces ASI thin-film modules based on amorphous silicon (ASI) under nearly fully-automated, clean room conditions. This process calls for amorphous silicon to be vapor deposited onto a thin pane of glass. Each day, more than 1,000 framed standard modules 130 by 110 cm in size will be manufactured for roof-top PV systems and ground- mounted PV systems. In addition, Schott Solar also manufactures raw modules in various sizes for customers that provide customized photovoltaic solutions for integration in buildings.
“Thin-film technology effectively saves raw materials, because it requires far less silicon,” said Prof. Udo Ungeheuer, Chairman of the Board of Management of Schott. “Furthermore, as a result of the great flexibility with respect to shape and design, thin-film modules are perfectly suited for integration in buildings. They offer architects interesting possibilities to create glazing applications for windows, roofs and facades in conjunction with environmentally-friendly power generation,” he notes.
NREL Breaks Ground on State-of-the-Art "Green" Building Facility
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel Bodman recently participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for a highly efficient and “green” Research Support Facility, and announced two major renewable power projects at the Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
NREL’s new Research Support Facility promises to be one of the most “green” buildings ever constructed; the new Renewable Fuel Heating Plant will use biomass to cut NREL’s future natural gas use by 75 percent, and the Mesa Top PV Project – a new five-acre photovoltaic array, and one of the largest solar power systems in Colorado – will help power the lab’s main campus.
These projects underscore NREL’s role in advancing DOE’s Transformational Energy Action Management (TEAM) Initiative, a Department-wide effort to maximize energy efficiency and renewable energy generation across the DOE complex.TEAM Initiative puts DOE on an aggressive footing toward meeting and possibly exceeding President Bush’s executive over to reduce energy use across the federal government.
NREL’s 210,000 square-foot Research Support Facility is designed to be a model for sustainable, high-performance design, and will provide DOE-owned work space for administrative staff who currently occupy leased space. It will make substantial use of daylighting, dramatically reducing energy use and providing a pleasant and productive working environment. The RSF has been designed to achieve a LEED Platinum designation.
NREL’s Renewable Fuel Heating Plant will provide heat to the RSF and other research buildings on the Laboratory’s South Table Mountain campus by using biomass such as wood chips from forest thinning along Colorado’s Front Range. This plant will be constructed adjacent to the existing Field Test Laboratory Building, and operate in conjunction with an existing natural gas-fueled boiler system. It is expected to be completed in May 2008. The Renewable Fuels Heating Plant will use an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) with a third party provider, Ameresco Energy Services Co. Under the ESPC, Ameresco will pay for construction of the project and be repaid with NREL’s energy cost savings.
The Mesa Top PV Project will be located near the NREL Solar Radiation Research Laboratory, and will produce an estimated 750 kW of clean, renewable electric power from solar energy that will be used on site. This five-acre span of solar panels is expected to be completed in May 2008, the installation could provide up to seven percent of the electricity NREL uses.
This project uses several agreements involving DOE’s Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) and Golden Field Office, SunEdison, and Xcel Energy. Under these agreements, SunEdison will develop the solar energy system, and in turn, receive federal tax credits, along with revenues from both the sale of electricity to DOE and Xcel Energy's purchase of the Renewable Energy Credits associated with the generation. DOE will purchase that power on behalf of NREL at a price equal to what it currently pays for electricity from Xcel Energy.
The Renewable Fuel Heating Plant and the Mesa Top PV Project are the latest in a long line of measures DOE has undertaken to lessen overall energy use, increase use of renewably energy, and confront climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Both projects are notable for their use of innovative and increasingly popular private financing and contracting mechanisms that can provide more clean energy, more quickly, while minimizing federal capital expenditures and delivering long-term financial savings for the government and taxpayers. |
