Green Energy News | February 27, 2000

February 27, 2000 – Vol.4 No.48

ENERGIES... week of February 27, 2000

BIOENERGY INVESTMENT. Good technology can amble along for years in a research and development stage, but full scale commercialization can only take place when real cash investment is made available.

Future Energy Resources Corporation (FERCO) has announced that it has received $16 million to move its biomass gasification process towards production and marketing. The investment came from billionaire philanthropist Ted Turner’s Turner Foundation and others. The U.S. Department of Energy had previously supported the technology with $26.9 million in funding.

The biomass process is the first of its kind to produce electric power from biomass feedstock using an unmodified product gas to power a gas turbine. Feedstocks from forestry, agricultural, and municipal waste are converted to a medium BTU (British Thermal Unit) gas that can replace natural gas often used to fuel gas turbine generators. Process gas could also be used to power vehicles or as a base chemical for synthetic petrochemicals. The process is also a way for municipalities to dispose of waste. Renewable biomass energy is considered greenhouse gas neutral. The process was first developed by the Battelle Memorial Institute in the 1980’s.

MICROTURBINE INVESTMENT. Canadian power company Hydro-Quebec, through its venture capital subsidiary CapiTech, has invested $8 million in Capstone Turbine Corporation - maker of the 30 kW MicroTurbine (tm).

Capstone, too, has announced yet another business partnership - this time with Meidensha Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation. The two Japanese companies will jointly distribute the MicroTurbine for stationary applications, develop combined heat and power technology and include systems integration and maintenance programs with installations. Customers are expected to be electric utility companies. The MicroTurbine, when providing both heat and power, reaches 70-80% thermal efficiency. Visit Capstone at http://www.capstoneturbine.com/ .

INVESTING IN PARTNERSHIP. Both Nissan and Methanex have joined DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen, ARCO, Shell, Texaco, Ballard Power Systems and various government agencies in the California Fuel Cell Partnership - a public-private venture aimed at fuel cell vehicle commercialization. The Partnership plans to have 50 fuel cell powered cars and buses on the road for testing between 2000-2003. Nissan will demonstrate its fuel cell vehicle by 2001. Methanex, a methanol production firm, wants to demonstrate the practical use of the liquid fuel for the vehicles. Visit the Partnership at http://www.drivingthefuture.org/ .

INVESTING IN CLEANER GASOLINE. Phillips Petroleum has broken ground for a semi-commercial facility to demonstrate its proprietary sulfur removal process for gasoline, known as S Zorb. The facility will process 6000 barrels per day of low sulfur gasoline intended to reduce smog producing sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions from vehicles. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ruled that gasoline must contain only 30 parts per million (ppm) sulfur by 2005 to reduce the emissions. Current average levels are 340 ppm. Phillips would like to license S-Zorb to others.

In Edinburgh, Scotland, BP is already offering a low sulfur gasoline (petrol) known as BP Cleaner Unleaded. The U.K. has also mandated a reduction of sulfur by 2005. Visit Z Sorb at http://www.phillips66.com/ .