ALTFUELS101 – The 411 on Solar, Wind, Ethanol, GTL and Biomass

Nov. 17, 2008 - PRLog -- Solar

Energy from sunlight is about as close to alchemy as you can get. Sun-drenched Tucson, Arizona, has become the center of the solar R&D universe. According to Tucson’s Solar Alliance, a solar array in an area a fraction of the size of Pima County (where Tucson sits) could supply more electricity than is used by the entire United States. Tucson-based Global Solar is preparing to the throw the switch on the largest array of CIGS solar panels – copper-indium-gallium-selenium panels – planted in a field behind their plant. This test grid should go a long way toward proving the practicality of CIGS thin-film photovoltaic cells, particularly in contrast to more expensive silicon-based cells. The potential for CIGS solar cells has not been lost on the auto industry. Honda has created a subsidiary to produce its own next-generation thin film cells, and Toyota plans to stick solar panels on some models of its popular Prius hybrid car, according to news reports). For a surprising array of solar products for home or business, visit your local solar store.

Wind

As the world is quickly learning, there’s energy in the wind. America’s oil baron T. Boone Pickens is promoting his own plan to wean the U.S. from foreign oil by shifting to wind power and natural gas. He says this would cut oil imports by 38%. Backing Pickens in Washington is the industry lobbying organization, the American Wind Energy Association, which cites a U.S. Department of Energy analysis that confirmed that wind can generate 20% of the nation’s electricity by 2030, while providing benefits that far outweigh the cost.

Wind has been harnessed for centuries, powering sailboats around the world, and driving windmills to grind grain in Europe and pump water on American farms and ranches. Today, homeowners can install wind turbines right in their backyards. One company, Southwest Windpower (a 20-year-old firm that claims to be the world's largest producer of small wind generators), sells a sleek 12-foot residential turbine that plugs right into your home to reduce or eliminate electric bills. Wall Street has taken notice of this incredibly fast-growing industry and is pushing major wind turbine stocks like Vestas Wind Systems (http://www.vestas.com/) and Gamesa, both of Europe.

Ethanol

It used to be exotic, but today ethanol is as well-known as gasoline. As a fuel, it can be used alone or in a gas blend. There are currently some 160 ethanol plants in the U.S., using corn or grains as their raw material. Los Angeles County has approved the nation’s first commercial ethanol plant to use yard trimmings, waste paper and other green waste to generate power. The contractor is BlueFire, a public company that is a leading waste-to-ethanol innovator.

Consumers are discovering they can produce ethanol at home, either by building their own still and feeding it food scraps, old beer and wine, sugar or other biomass, or by purchasing a plug-and-go ethanol-making appliance. Such personal fueling systems are available for about $10,000 from E-Fuel Corporation.

GTL

You may not have heard about GTL fuel yet, but you soon will. It’s Gas-To-Liquid fuel – an essentially non-polluting energy source that can be produced from otherwise unusable and worthless “stranded” natural gas, the type that is normally vented into the air as oil field waste. Coal and biomass can also be used to produce GTL, but they’re still too costly to process. GTL can be used alone as an Ultra Clean Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) fuel, or blended with other fuels for use in all types of engines and vehicles.

GTL produces lower overall emissions and improved engine performance, and it can be used without modifying current diesel engines. Since diesel is the fastest-growing motor fuel worldwide, diversifying the source of diesel away from petroleum products is a major environmental plus.

Audi passenger cars running on GTL synthetic fuel boast 93% reduction in carbon monoxide emissions, 10% reduction in fuel use, 13% reduction in CO2 emissions, and elimination of sulfur dioxide emissions entirely. Shell (http://www.shell.com/)  is currently building the world’s largest GTL plant, set to open around the end of the decade in Qatar.

Biomass

Any living or recently dead biological material that can be used as fuel for industrial production qualifies as “biomass” or “biofuel”. That includes corn and grain grown specifically for ethanol production, as well as biodegradable waste from plants or animals. Legacy Foundation is a fine source of information on biomass fuel briquette production, environmental conservation and income generation. They are currently active in Malawi, Kenya, Peru and Haiti, in addition to the U.S.

Alternative fuels are changing the way we live, and making living more affordable.

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