Green Energy News | June 17, 2001

June 17, 2001 – Vol.6 No.12

ENERGIES... week of June 17, 2001

INVESTING IN HYDROGEN. Last week, General Motors and General Hydrogen announced that they would work together to build a prototype hydrogen fueling infrastructure. This week, Shell Hydrogen reports that it and International Fuel Cells have created new venture - HydrogenSource LLC. - to develop technologies including fuel processors, hydrogen generation systems and hydrogen fueling applications for vehicles. Fueling technologies would be in direct competition with whatever the two Generals concoct.

The 50/50 HydrogenSource partnership will target expected markets for fuel cells used in stationary and vehicular applications. Fuel processors developed would convert gasoline or natural gas into hydrogen and other gases. The fate of those other gases was not mentioned by Shell.

Visit Shell at http://www.shell.com/ ,

HYBRID BUS FLEET GROWS. Advanced Vehicle Systems (AVS) has begun delivery of its new line of 35-foot hybrid buses. The first bus of an 11 bus order, valued at $5 million, for the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) has joined the fleet. Remaining buses will be delivered shortly. Three additional buses have been sold to Silicon Valley Power, the municipal utility of Santa Clara, California.

The low-floor, 35-foot AVS buses seat 31, have standing room for 19, have a top speed of more than 55 miles per hour and have a range of over 250 miles, depending on the fuel. Under the hood the AVS hybrids use a Capstone Microturbine and battery packs, and have two UQM (R) PowerPhase (R) 100 electric propulsion systems per bus. Buses can be configured to run on a variety of fuels including diesel, compressed or liquid natural gas or propane. The buses delivered to CARTA will run on diesel. Visit UQM (formerly Unique Mobility) at http://www.uqm.com/ .

IN THE HEAT OF THE SUN. Expected to save 30-40 percent on energy costs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 86 tons per year, Duke Solar Energy is nearing completion of its Power Roof (tm) solar system installation on the new green headquarters of Cambar Software in Charleston, South Carolina.

Though the basic technology behind Power Roof’s vacuum tube solar collectors is not new, Duke has increased the efficiency and packaged it with other technologies to make a complete solar roofing system.

Power Roof solar collectors incorporate Non-Imaging optics to harness and focus sunlight. The company describes the process as Concentrated Solar Power (CSP). CSP collectors can produce temperatures up to 750 F degrees. In this installation fluids are heated up to 400 degrees, plenty of thermal energy to run a turbine generator to produce up to 12 kilowatts in hot sunny days. In cool months thermal energy from the same CSP system will provide space heating. Power Roof also provides daylighting, is a radiant barrier, an insulating system and can be the roof structure of the building.

Along with the installation of 560 CSP, VAC 2000 collectors, Duke will install a series of its CPC-2000 flat panel solar thermal collectors that will provide all of the domestic hot water needs for the building. In a second phase of the installation, Duke will install more VAC 2000 collectors to provide enough thermal energy for an absorption cooling/air conditioning system.

The green building also has systems to collect and use rain water, light shelves to balance daylighting and a reflective roof to reduce radiant heat gain.

SOLAR DEVELOPMENT. AstroPower has entered into an agreement with US Home to supply at least 500 - possibly up to 1000 - grid-connected solar electric systems for a new community to be built in California. If all 1000 systems are built, Bickford Ranch in Lincoln will be the largest community of single-family, grid-connected solar electric homes in the world.

Buyers of the homes to be built beginning in 2003 will have a choice of AstroPower's packaged SunUPS(tm) systems, which include battery backup for uninterrupted power during outages, or SunLine(tm) systems, which is the same as above but without backup power. Both products are available in a variety of sizes. Visit AstroPower at http://www.astropower.com/ .

WORLD WIND WATCH. Shell also announced it expects to invest between $500 million and $1 billion over the next five years in new energy businesses, particularly solar and wind. Shell plans to build on its joint venture with Siemens on solar energy and will also focus on developing and operating wind farms. Shell is already evaluating wind projects in the UK, the Netherlands, Morocco and the US totaling 400 megawatts.

The company will use its considerable expertise in deal structuring, project management and offshore operations to build its wind energy business. Shell seems fully aware of how their decades of experience in working on the high seas could be used to capitalize on offshore wind power. Visit Shell at http://www.shell.com/ .

Scotland will be home to Vestas Wind Systems new subsidiary, Celtic Wind Technology Ltd. Celtic will be Vestas first production facility in Europe outside of Denmark. Being built on the west coast near Campbeltown, Kintyre, the new plant will be near emerging markets for wind power, on and off shore, in the British Isles. The new venture is expected to create 124 direct jobs, and 44 indirect. Visit Vestas at http://www.vestas.com/ .

The Conhairle nan Eiliean Siar, the local authority of the people of the Western Isles (the Hebrides) - not all that far from the new Celtic Wind production facility - would like to see the Isles designated by the UK government as an Energy Innovation Zone. With a calculated wave generation potential capacity of 13 gigawatts, another 13 gigawatts of onshore wind, as well as unspecified offshore wind potential, the Innovation Zone would be used for research and development of new technologies, along with being the home of wind and ocean energy facilities distributing power to the rest of the British Isles. Visit the proposed Energy Innovation Zone at http://www.cne-siar.gov.uk/energy/index.htm .