Posted by jumperhead on May 2nd, 2008
It’s not all just cowboys and cowboy musicals in Oklahoma, you know. If it were, there’d be more exclamation marks for a start. You know, like this: Oklahoma! But today, Greenbang would like to dedicate that exclamation mark to Oklahoma’s biggest new export: switchgrass!
In the name of biofuels, the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center (OBC) has procured itself 1,000 acres of delicious dirt, which it will cover in switchgrass, making it what the University claims is the biggest single plot of switchgrass growing.
Apparently, the OBC is very much down with concerns over biofuels and food prices, which is why it much prefers a switchgrass crop for generating cellulosic ethanol. The 1,000 acres will also sport a bit of sorghum too.
The point of this massive allotment? A long-term study into what growing switchgrass will do to the environment, as well as testing out new production techniques and critical harvest, collection and
transport methods.
What’s more, the plot will also get its very own biorefinery not 35 miles away, set to be operational by 2010, while any profits from the project will be reinvested into OBC for additional bioenergy and biofuel research.
Here’s what Oklahoma Secretary of Energy David Fleischaker had to say about it:
“Rising food costs recently resulted in a pushback against renewable fuels. However, cellulosic ethanol from sources like switchgrass and sorghum are non-competitive with food sources for animals and humans and remove cellulosic ethanol from this discussion. More so, this dedicated land will allow us to demonstrate the advantages of switchgrass.”
Posted by jumperhead on May 1st, 2008
You can’t open a paper at the moment without reading some piece about feedstock biofuels pushing up the prices of food. It’s enough to put you off your breakfast. Particularly if your breakfast is made of sorghum or corn-based ethanol.
It’s not, however, enough to put some companies off working on biofuels altogether.
Monsanto has announced a partnership with Mendel Biotechnology to work on the development of Mendel’s BioEnergy Seeds & Feedstocks business, with Monsanto helping out with its brains on testing, breeding, and development of grass seeds for biofuels.
The pair have been sitting in a tree, as the playground would have it, for over a decade, tinkering with crops likes soy and canola.
In other biofuels/food prices news, George Bush would like you to know that there’s nothing to see here, please move along now, thank you.
The folks at The Guardian has these gems dropping from the President’s mouth this week:
He said the rise in food prices has been caused by weather, increased demand and energy prices, while only a small part is due to the production of corn-based ethanol.
“And the truth of the matter is, it’s in our national interest that we — our farmers — grow energy, as opposed to us purchasing energy from parts of the world that are unstable or may not like us.”
Posted by jumperhead on May 1st, 2008
When Greenbang first heard that Victorians have opened up more land for geothermal exploration, she wondered who’d been able to time travel back to the 19th century and whether they might want to pass on the message to the Victorians that those flat-fronted trousers and handlebar moustaches are going to look seriously silly one century on.
Not those Victorians, obviously, but those residents of the state Victoria in Australia. The government there has decided to make 19 new areas available for researchers to probe their energy generating potential.
Around 154,000 of ground will be targeted around Wimmera, in the north of the state, and Gippsland, with the state aiming to get 10 percent of its energy from renewable source by 2016.
And there’s more:
Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor said the close proximity of high voltage electricity transmissions lines to potential geothermal energy sources made Victoria extremely attractive for geothermal investment because it reduced infrastructure costs.
The tender process follows 12 permits for geothermal exploration being granted in 2007 to five companies, which have committed to spending a total of $64 million over five years to explore for geothermal energy sources.
Regional geothermal temperature and other geoscience data has also been made available by the Brumby Government to help exploration companies considering applying for permits.
Posted by jumperhead on May 1st, 2008
When VCs go shopping, they really go shopping. Wandering merrily through the racks of renewables companies, VC fund First Reserve has taken a “And I’ll need a pair of earrings to go with this frock” approach to acquisitions: the frock is a fetching Spanish solar number, Gamesa Solar; the earrings, a saucy Italian job: photovoltaic power plant bunch, Ener3.
The price of this shopping spree? A mere bagatelle at €261 million.
The acquisition of both Ener3 and Gamesa Solar will let First Reserve create a “renewable energy group with the ability to deliver solar capacity of up to 400MW in Southern Europe over the next four years”. Ener3 will add another 50MW to that line up this year, says First Reserve.
The shopping doesn’t stop there either: First Reserve has promised to plough €600 million into renewables over the coming four years.
Posted by jumperhead on April 30th, 2008
Thin film firm Xunlight might not win any prizes for spelling (but might be useful in Scrabble) but they know how to win the hearts of VCs and assorted moneymen.
The US solar mob has got itself on the business end of $22 million in Series B financing, led by Trident Capital with existing investors, Emerald Technology Ventures and NGP Energy Technology Partners also joining in.
Xunlight says it will use the investment bonanza “to build commercial manufacturing capacity” for the production of its thin film modules.
In its acceptance speech, Xunlight gave a nod to state of Ohio’s Third Frontier Project, which backed the company in its early life - originally a spinoff of the university of Toledo.
And that’s not all Xunlight has been up to. Along with Dr. Alvin D. Compaan, a physics professor at the University of Toledo, it’s formed Xunlight 26 Solar, which will “develop and commercialise lightweight and flexible solar cells based on cadmium telluride and other II-VI compound semiconductors”.
The state of Ohio has also backed this latest Xunlight venture, dishing out a $997,000 grant under the alternative energy program.
Posted by jumperhead on April 30th, 2008
If Greenbang was to ask you what your favourite oxymoron is, what would you say? Sporting personality? Drink responsibly? Well, Greenbang’s would have to be US Army Intelligence. She doesn’t immediately think of trigger-happy cannon fodder as being able to solve hard-rated sudokos, nor being able to pick up a copy of A Brief History of Time< and get past page three.
Nonetheless, US Army Intelligence has made the smart move of buying 50KW wind power plant for its HQ in Fort Huachuca in Arizona. Mass Megawatts Wind Power will supply the goods.
The wind power plant, which also goes by the catchy name of Multiaxis Turbosystem, will be built using Mass Megawatts’ newly developed augmenter technology which it claims put it on a price par with coal and gas powered electricity.
US Army Intelligence HQ’s wind farm is part of the US Army’s first steps into using renewable energies to power its war machine and achieving energy independence. There is a ready market if the project is successful, with the US mainland alone hosting more than 50 Army installations.
Greenbang wonders if this will put the wind up its enemies.
Posted by jumperhead on April 29th, 2008
Greenbang must have been having a quick snooze when Rolls Royce was talking up its latest renewables investment this month. It’s still an interesting deal - not to mention a chance to fall back on some lazy ‘it’s the Rolls Royce of energy deals!’ puns - so Greenbang feels obliged to share it with you today.
Rolls has decided to take a 23.5 percent stake in TGL (or Tidal Generation Limited), a privately owned tidal energy firm, which it reckons will tie up nicely with its own efforts in the world of water energy. It’s not the first time Rolls has put its hand in its pocket for TGL: it’s already invested £1.5 million and some technical help in the company.
And it’s not alone: the UK government has also contributed some cash to help fund development.
So just what is it developing? A 500kW and 1MW demonstration model of its wave power electricity system, designed to operate in deep water - between 35 and 100 metres deep - without bothering shipping or wildlife. So now you know.
Posted by jumperhead on April 28th, 2008
As Greenbang understands it, in the heady days of the 70s and 80s, Brazilian farming was chiefly dependent on the likes of the A Team and McGuyver to keep the wheels of agriculture turning. If such TV programmes are to be believed, without the likes of Richard Dean Andersen and Mr T, gangsters with questionable moustaches would have taken over long ago.
Luckily, Brazilian feedstock growers don’t need soldiers of fortune any more - they have BP instead.
The oil giant has has taken a 50 percent stake in Tropical BioEnergia, a biofuels joint venture between Santelisa Vale and Maeda Group which makes ethanol from what it calls sustainable feedstocks. Currently, Tropical BioEnergia is already builiding one 435 million litres a year refinery, and aims to have another up and running before too. The cost for the twosome? A mere $1 billion.
BP will pay around $59.8 million for the stake in the company and will put in more capital in the future.
And according to BP, the future of ethanol is sweet:
The joint venture will focus on potential sugarcane production and the manufacturing and marketing of conventional ethanol, including the associated agricultural assets and cogeneration plants. Sugarcane is the most efficient source of biofuel currently available. Sugarcane lends itself to further improvement through the use of advanced biofuels technology and will therefore be a compelling source of renewable fuel for the foreseeable future. It provides a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of up to 80 per cent.
Posted by jumperhead on April 25th, 2008
Samsung has mostly been making headlines this week for the departure of its CEO, who left after accusations of tax evasion. But while the suits get on with some reorganisation and presumably some finger pointing for good measure, Greenbang will turn its attention to what’s being developed in Samsung’s lab.
Not a scandal proof-board, alas, but a water powered hydrogen fuel cell for Samsung’s mobile phones.
According to the folks at Samsung, the fuel cell’s a bit of a doozy as it just need H2O rather than the usual methanol.
It can also put out three watts of electricity - enough to keep your mobile on the go for 10 hours or so - and it could be on the market from 2010. Hurrah!
Bit of a downside thought - in its current iteration, you’d need to swap the hydrogen cartridge every five days. But - yes, there’s a but - in future, Samsung will make batteries that don’t need all this fiddly swapping nonsense - you’ll just have to put in some water every now and again.
Posted by jumperhead on April 25th, 2008
As Greenbang mentioned the other day, the Scottish government has pulled the plug on a proposed wind farm on the Hebridean Isle of Lewis. However, those plucky islanders have just yoinked another green energy ace from their sleeve in the form of npower renewables and Wavegen submitting plans to build a wave power station off the coast of Lewis.
The scheme — the Siadar Wave Energy Project — would see npower and Wavegen team up to become the first project to operate under the Scottish government’s Marine Supply Obligation. For those of you sitting at the back of the class, that’s the initiative the Scottish government has created to encourage the development of the first generation of wave energy power stations.
If their plans come to fruition, the station in Siadar Bay would generate 4MW of electricity - enough to power 1,500 homes on Lewis and neighbouring Harris.
Construction work could start in 2009 if the Scottish government give the project the thumbs up.
The plan, which would involve building a breakwater to house the Wavegen turbines, is a first generation design. If all goes well, the companies want to use the Siadar project as a showcase for wave power, paving the way for large scale wave farms around the UK.
Says Wavegen CEO Matthew Seed:
“This project builds on the reliable technology proven at the Limpet plant on Islay, grid connected since 2000, and to be installed in Ente Vasco de la Energia’s Mutriku project, in the Basque Country, Spain. Wavegen has identified further UK locations for this type of plant, and we will be working with npower renewables to start making wave energy a real contributor to government renewable energy targets.”
