Energy Shorts
Stockpiling wind key to reliability
The major drawback to wind power has always been reliability. The Dec. 23 Omaha World Herald reported that a group of Iowa investors is studying whether it's feasible to stockpile wind-generated compressed air to use on calm days. The Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities believes a site east of Fort Dodge has the necessary elements to make such a project work—wind, storage and transmission.
Before building the $225 million electric-generating plant, the Ankeny-based association will conduct extensive seismic tests on an underground aquifer the plant would use to store compressed air. Feasibility studies should be finished by mid-2003.
Palo Alto recognized for solar promotion
The Solar Electric Power Association recognized California's City of Palo Alto Utilities for its solar community development at SEPA's UPEx '02 Photovoltaic Experience Conference in Austin, Texas in November.
CPAU's PV Partners program combines incentive programs, educational workshops and tours to foster a supportive environment for the adoption of photovoltaic systems. CPAU has installed 53 customer-owned systems for a total of 189 kilowatts-AC. That represents more than one-tenth of 1 percent of the city's peak demand of 184 MW.
CPAU takes an active role in facilitating photovoltaic use. It was one of the first municipal utilities to offer incentives for customer-owned photovoltaic systems. CPAU worked with the city's building department to lower PV permitting fees by 90 percent, and offers training courses for building inspectors on photovoltaics.
DOE shares North American energy efficiency report
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Canadian Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal and Mexican Energy Secretary Ernesto Martens issued the North American Energy Efficiency Standards and Labeling report on Dec. 17. The report highlights that Mexico's recent adoption of new standards for energy efficiency has allowed the three countries to agree on minimum efficiency requirements and test procedures for refrigerators, freezers, electric motors and window air-conditioners. The agreement before the end of the first quarter of 2003 and should strengthen the market for high-efficiency products in North America.
Accident leads to possible PV breakthrough
The recent accidental discovery about the electronic properties of indium nitride could lead to solar cells' use of the sun's entire radiation spectrum, according to a Dec. 4 Electricity Daily article.
Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory discovered that the band-gap energy of indium nitride is lower than they expected, so the material will be able to capture low-frequency red or near-infrared light, unlike present solar cells. This will increase the total energy captured per unit of cell.
LBNL researchers' familiarity with the indium, gallium and nitrogen used in light emitting diodes leads them to believe that cells made of those components could potentially convert the full spectrum of sunlight—from the near-infrared to the far-ultraviolet—into electricity. They believe the material could be used to create inexpensive two-layer solar cells with a sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 50 percent. The best existing solar cell achieves a conversion efficiency of about 33 percent.
Renewables had mixed success in '01
The Energy Information Administration reported mixed success of renewable energy sources in 2001. Although EIA's Renewable Energy Annual 2001 reported shipments of photovoltaic cells and modules rose 11 percent to nearly 98,000 peak KW in the year, PV exports suffered the first decrease in more than a decade.
Total renewable energy consumption dropped to the lowest level in more than 12 years. This included a 23-percent drop in hydro generation caused by the 2000-2001 Pacific Northwest drought. As a result, U.S. renewable energy consumption declined to less than 6 percent in 2001. Biomass became the most important source of renewable energy—over hydropower—for the first time since 1992.