The year 2011 may be remembered in clean energy circles as the moment when India became a major player across several industries.

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The 2012 National Biodiesel Conference is underway in Orlando, FL at the Gaylord Palms. I’m living in a Gaylord world after just covering the Cattle Industry Convention at the Gaylord Opryland. I’ve got to come back here for the National Ethanol Conference and go back to Opryland for Commodity Classic. That’s a lot of Gaylord time.

We’re just getting started here. Registration is underway along with a couple of pre-conference sessions. I’ve heard that registration is up significantly this year which is a good sign for the industry. First up tonight is the annual Super Bowl Party. I’ll have photos from that later. In the meantime, I have started collecting photos here: 2012 National Biodiesel Conference Photo Album.

In addition to stories posted here on Domestic Fuel I’m also the Biodiesel Blogger once again for the National Biodiesel Board. So check out both sites throughout the coming days.

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Alliance AutoGas has added five new certified conversion centers in Virginia, Florida, Georgia and Texas to their national network of partners that offer complete programs for America’s fleets to run on clean-burning propane autogas.

Ark Enterprises 2, Braggs Truck Repair, Green Tech Energy Solutions, Grimes Auto Service Inc., and NDMJ Transportation are joining Alliance to provide fleets with EPA-certified autogas vehicle conversions, as well as ongoing service and technical support.

“From Virginia to Texas, these new partners help strengthen Alliance AutoGas as we continue expanding nationwide, helping our nation’s fleets save money and drive clean,” says Stuart Weidie, president of Alliance Autogas and founder of Autogas for America.

Certified Alliance AutoGas conversion centers are equipped to implement both bi-fuel and dedicated propane vehicle conversions using Prins vapor and liquid injection technology. Alliance has the largest privately financed portfolio of autogas vehicle certifications in the U.S., with more than 200 vehicle types eligible for autogas conversions.

Fleets that convert to autogas will save on both fuel and maintenance costs. Because autogas is a cleaner-burning fuel than gasoline, many fleets report reduced maintenance needs for vehicles, like fewer oil changes and an extended engine life. Alliance AutoGas provides leasing and financing options that allow fleets to start saving immediately, with zero up-front cost—including for an on-site autogas station.The new Alliance conversion center partners include:

Ark Enterprises 2 in Churchville, VA; Braggs Truck Repair in Berryville, VA; NDMJ Ltd. Transportation of Tyler, Texas;
Green Tech Energy Solutions in Miami, FL; and Grimes Auto Service of Tifton, GA.

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Algae oil extraction technology developer OriginOil has signed a commercial agreement with algae producer Aquaviridis to work on a multi-phase algae production rollout at a facility in Mexicali, Mexico.

Under the agreement, OriginOil will provide its expertise to help develop growth and harvesting solutions and implement appropriate OriginOil technologies. The Mexico facility is being developed as a potential model for algae sites throughout the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region, with a focus on desert areas of the American Southwest and Mexico.

Minnesota-based Aquaviridis is backed by private sector funding, with plans to immediately scale up from research and development to ten acres of pilot algae production by the middle of this year. Commercial scale production capacity is expected by the second quarter of 2013. Aquaviridis selected the Mexicali Valley as a strategic location due to favorable growing conditions, strong local and governmental support, and available sources of carbon dioxide.

“The Mexicali Valley is a great place to develop an algae industry, given its climate and access to industry research and resources throughout North America,” said OriginOil vice president of marketing Ken Reynolds. “With the U.S. as a neighboring market for high value exports, Mexico is in an excellent position to take the lead in areas such as research and production of algae for nutritional products, animal feed, and oil for biofuels, which would create long-term regional economic growth and job production.”

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For 2007 through 2011, Value Proposition studies revealed that the MISO region realized between $4.3 billion to $5.7 billion in cumulative savings.

The Midwest Independent Service Operator says its annual Value Proposition study shows it provided between $2.2 and $2.7 billion in quantitative benefits for the region in 2011. The regional transmission organization provides the benefits through its ongoing grid reliability and efficiency measures. “This study breaks down and analyzes hard data to show exactly how those savings occur,” says MISO CEO John Bear.

For instance, the study identifies $2.2 to $2.7 billion in economic benefits delivered to the region in 2011 from the following areas:

• Improved reliability ($320 to $479 million)
• Market commitment and dispatch ($426 to $470 million) through dispatch of energy, regulation, and spinning reserves
• Wind integration ($163 to $196 million)
• Compliance ($62 to $93 million)
• Generation investment deferral ($1.4 to $1.7 billion) through footprint diversity, generator availability improvement, and demand response.

New in the 2011 analysis is compliance as a quantitative benefit. In its role as a balancing authority and planning authority, MISO performs many compliance activities that would otherwise fall to its members to complete. These efforts alone save members between $62 million and $93 million per year.

In addition to quantitative benefits, MISO also continues to demonstrate significant qualitative benefits for its wholesale market participants including:

• Price and informational transparency
• Planning coordination
• Seams management

The complete 2011 Value Proposition study, including detailed calculation methods, is available here: www.misoenergy.org.

Windpower Engineering & Development

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The research shows that wind energy technology was far from static over the study period, and estimates that the levelized cost of wind energy is now trending towards an all-time low within fixed wind resource areas.

Briefing materials are available to summarize a recent analysis of onshore wind energy cost trends. The analysis was conducted jointly by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), titled: “Recent Developments in the Levelized Cost of Energy from us Wind Power Projects.”

The briefing presentation summarizing the work is at: http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/reports/wind-energy-costs-2-2012.pdf. (Side note – portions of this work were also presented in a multi-part webinar in December 2011, with audio and video is available at: http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/filter_detail.asp?itemid=3337).

The LBNL-NREL work analyzes wind energy costs in three time periods: projects installed 2002 to 2003, projects installed 2009 to 2010, and projects based on current wind turbine pricing and to be installed in ~2012-2013. The research shows that wind energy technology was far from static over this period, and estimates that the levelized cost of wind energy is now trending towards an all-time low within fixed wind resource areas. Key findings include:

• When only accounting for capital cost and capacity-factor trends, the levelized cost of wind energy based on current turbine pricing is estimated at 5 to 26% below the previous low in 2002-2003, depending on the quality of the wind resource. When also considering plausible assumptions for O&M, financing, and turbine reliability trends, levelized cost reductions are estimated at 24 to 39% since 2002-2003.
• These trends have been driven primarily by sizable improvements in capacity factors within individual wind resource classes due to hub height and rotor diameter scaling, and by the drop in wind turbine prices over the last 2 years. Longer-term improvements in O&M, reliability, and financing are also playing a role, though trends in these factors are less certain. Technology advancement and learning clearly still apply to onshore wind-energy technology.
• The levelized cost of wind energy increased significantly between 2002-2003 and 2009-2010 due to turbine price and project cost increases that were not fully offset by performance improvements. Turbine prices have since declined, while performance improvements have continued, yielding a substantial predicted decline in the levelized cost of wind energy.
• The levelized cost of wind energy in the best wind resource sites is approaching about $0.03/kWh (with available federal tax incentives). Due to improvements in low wind-speed technology, the gap between the cost of wind energy in low and high wind speed areas has narrowed considerably, opening new areas of the United States for potential development.
• The amount of land area in the United States that can support 35%+ project-level capacity factors has increased by 130 to 270% since 2002-2003 due to improvements in turbine technology. The amount of land area that can support wind projects with costs of under $0.05/kWh (with federal tax incentives) has increased by almost 50% over the same time period.
• Despite recent advancements, at least three factors may intervene to raise the levelized cost of wind energy for purchasers:

• The potential for increased pricing if demand for wind turbines begins to catch up with available supply, or if other exogenous influences are triggered (e.g., higher commodities and/or labor costs)
• The potential continued trend towards lower wind speed sites as a result of transmission and siting restrictions, and
• The potential loss of federal tax incentives for wind energy after 2012, which currently reduce the cost of wind energy for purchasers by nearly  $0.03/kWh.

LBNL
RHWiser@lbl.gov

National Renewable Energy Laboratory
eric.lantz@nrel.gov

Windpower Engineering & Development

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The SEL-734B Three-Phase Monitor and Capacitor Bank Control automates and monitors three-phase banks, combined with T&B’s selection of VerSaVac one and three-phase vacuum switches for pole-top capacitors, and VBM distribution vacuum switches.

Voltage regulation and volt ampere reactive (VAR) compensation wield the most influence over the efficiency of a power distribution system, according to Sergio Arellano, product line manager with Thomas & Betts. “The fastest way to improve the efficiency of power distribution is to install switched capacitor banks with smart electronic controls. It also provides the quickest return of investment of all possible methods.”

Among the new capacitor bank controls offered by this collaboration is the SEL-734B Three-Phase Monitor and Capacitor Bank Control, which is used to automate and monitor three-phase banks, combined with T&B’s selection of VerSaVac (VSV) one and three-phase vacuum switches for pole-top capacitors, and VBM distribution vacuum switches. Capacitor bank upgrade kits are also available for applying the capacitor bank control system to existing fixed-capacitor banks.

The new capacitor-bank control includes a power-quality monitoring, control, and reporting functions, and can be combined with metering accuracy measurements. Its plug-and-play pole mount enclosure provides weather-protected space to mount network radios, power supplies and encrypting transceivers. The capacitor-bank controls also include SEL standard software tools, a 10-year product warranty on SEL products, and technical support.

 Thomas & Betts Corp.

www.tnb.com

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
www.selinc.com

Windpower Engineering & Development

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Manufacturer of permanent magnet rotating equipment Danotek Motion Technologies will be speaking at MAGNETICS 2012, a forum on magnetic applications, technologies, and materials. This 8th annual event will take place March 13-14, 2012 in Orlando, Florida. This two-day conference is focused on the economic developments and technical advancements in the magnetics markets.

The line-up of speakers includes Danotek Motion Technologies’ CTO, Dan Saban who will be giving a presentation titled, “Cost Effective Drivetrains for Multi-Megawatt Wind Turbines with Medium-Speed Permanent Magnet Generators” on Tuesday, March 13th at 9:25 a.m. This presentation will offer attendees an understanding of the drive-train system design trade-offs for a lowest cost of energy wind energy generation system. Attend this session to understand how magnet costs drive the optimal system solution including distinguishing between market-driven factors and physics-based constraints. Read more…. about his presentation here.

“Magnetics 2012 is a once-a-year opportunity for professionals involved in magnetics technologies to learn the latest advancements in magnetic applications, technology and materials as well as global issues of supply, demand and pricing of magnetic materials,” said Heather Krier, conference program manager and editor of Magnetics Business & Technology magazine.

Windpower Engineering & Development

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After a few months of thinking, I came to the conclusion that there is no choice but to oppose the construction of the Northern Gateway pipeline. There are many worthy arguments on either side of this issue, from the economy to First Nations rights, and from the preservation of the BC coastline to the reality of oil consumption here and abroad. My argument, presented in the Mark, is entirely about climate:

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Take a look at the two areas above. The top one represents Cape Wind, about which we’ve posted several times.

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