Energy For Us All

Hydroelectricity supplies Sweden with almost half of its electricity needs.  The country’s oldest hydro plant, the 56-year old Harspranget, generates 475 megawatts of power.

Open the floodgates to the five turbines on the 1.4-kilometer-long dam, and a total of 1,000 cubic meters of water per second falls 107 meters into the turbine blades, causing the enormous axles to rotate at speeds upward of 107 revolutions per minute. These axles power generators, which in turn make electricity.
The biggest turbine/generator aggregate at Harsprånget, “Gerhard” (they all have names), can handle almost 500 cubic meters of water per second, making it the biggest and most powerful turbine/generator in Sweden. It was commissioned in 1980.

The turbine has a diameter of almost 17 meters, and the rotating weight of the axle and rotors combined is more than 1,000 tonnes. The generator’s power output of 475 MW is equal to that of the Ringhals nuclear power station, which is also owned by Vattenfall.

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LLBean’s Data Center in Freeport, Maine was awarded a LEED silver certification.

L.L.Bean’s building process featured regional sourcing of materials, minimized site disturbance and the recycling of 50 percent of all construction waste to meet the LEED requirements. The wood used for the structure’s distinctive New England-style shingles was harvested within a 500-mile radius, using sustainable forestry practices.

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Hill Air Force Base’s 1400 solar panels, unveiled this week, are the largest ground-based solar array system in Utah.

The solar panels currently can generate 220 kilowatts, which can power 25 homes for one year. Hill Air Force Base officials said this is a small step toward energy independence and could also mean a more secure country in the future in the event of terrorism.

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The United States and Chile are joining forces to work on non-conventional renewable energy.

Under the agreement, Chile and the United States will cooperate on high priority energy issues, such as energy efficiency technologies and developing renewable energy sources including ocean, solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels.

The agreement also makes Chile’s new Renewable Energy Center eligible for U.S. Department of Energy technical support.

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Starbucks announced that as of 2010, all new company-operated stores will try to achieve LEED certification.

As new company-operated stores are built and renovated, Seattle-based Starbucks will source materials and employ craftsmen locally, incorporate reused and recycled elements where possible and aim to achieve U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (USGBC-LEED) certification for all new company-operated stores worldwide beginning in 2010. Certification goals for all new stores will run the gamut from Certified to Platinum. Store remodel projects will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis for LEED potential, the company says.

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Dave Nichols, a Connecticut home builder, converted his 1989 Ford F-150 pickup truck to run on biomass.

Nichols says he’s driven it 10,000 miles without gas, including a trip about three months ago when he loaded up the back with about 400 pounds of wood and drove some 600 miles across Connecticut, then to New Hampshire and Boston before returning home. A pound of wood or other material will fuel his truck for 1 to 2 miles, meaning that the truck costs about 8 cents a mile to fuel, compared to roughly 19 cents per mile if it used gasoline at today’s prices.

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The Sears Tower plans to cut energy costs by 80% by using wind and solar energy, as well as using other technologies like green roofs.

Wind turbines will be tested to take advantage of the tower’s height and unique set-back roof areas. Solar hot-water panels will help heat water for the building. Green roofs that can sustain high-altitude conditions, and that will be among the tallest in the world, will be tested to reduce storm water runoff, improve insulation help mitigate the urban heat island effect.

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The Biofuels Research Laboratory opened at Cornell University on June 23rd.

Researchers in the lab, built in an older laboratory which had fallen into disuse, are developing not only fuel production methods, but also enzymes, microorganisms, plant breeds, technology and software

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When biofuel derived from camelina sativa is used as jet fuel, carbon dioxide emissions are cut by 84% over the course of the plant’s life cycle.

David Shonnard, Robbins Chair Professor of Chemical Engineering, analyzed the carbon dioxide emissions of jet fuel made from camelina oil over the course of its life cycle, from planting to tailpipe. “Camelina jet fuel exhibits one of the largest greenhouse gas emission reductions of any agricultural feedstock-derived biofuel I’ve ever seen,” he said. “This is the result of the unique attributes of the crop–its low fertilizer requirements, high oil yield, and the availability of its coproducts, such as meal and biomass, for other uses.”

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The United States government awarded exploratory leases to three companies for offshore wind development.

The leases allow the companies to build meteorological towers between six and 18 miles (10-29 km) offshore to gather data on wind resources, determine the viability of building three wind farms, and conduct environmental impact studies, Salazar said at a news conference.

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