Mesa Power LLP, a company created by T. Boone Pickens, has placed an order with General Electric (GE) to purchase 667, 1.5 megawatt wind turbines for the worlds largest wind farm, capable of generating 1,000 megawatts, nameplate, of electricity, enough to power more than 300,000 average U.S. homes. The order is part of the $2 billion first phase, see previous post, of the Pampa Wind Project planned in the Texas panhandle by Mesa.

Mascoma's single-step cellulose-to-ethanol method, called Consolidated Bioprocessing, or CBP, lowers costs by limiting additives and enzymes used in other biochemical processes.

Growing by an impressive average of 48 percent each year since 2002, PV production has been doubling every two years, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy source.

Included in the new agreements are long term agreements with EDF Energies Nouvelles, Sechilienne-Sidec, RIO Energie GmbH & Co, and KG, a joint venture of the Stadtwerke Mainz AG utility company and the Juwi Group. First Solar and the Juwi Group have also agreed to increase volumes under an existing agreement.

First Solar also announced that its board of directors has approved the construction of an additional manufacturing plant in Malaysia with an annual production nameplate rating of 120 Megawatts, representing an investment of approximately $150 million. The additional production capacity of the new plant is scheduled to come on line in the first half of 2009.

This is evidence that geothermal can supply a significant amount of power and is deserving of backing as a major source of power. See previous posts, here and here, for an assessments of geothermals potential.

Masatami Takimoto, executive vice president in charge of powertrain development, said cost-cutting efforts on the system's motor, battery and inverter were bearing fruit, and the cost structure would improve drastically by the time Toyota reaches its sales goal of one million hybrids annually in 2010 or soon after.

The new order brings Phoenix’s total purchase commitment for Altairnano battery packs to $4,075,000. Altairnano has shipped more than $1,475,000 of its 35 KWh battery packs to Phoenix.

The new system will provide a beneficial use for the thousands of gallons of fats, oils and grease [FOG] that are washed daily from restaurant grills and pans, which is collected by grease hauling companies. At the Rialto facility, a FOG-receiving station will provide an effective disposal alternative to landfills, where FOG is often disposed, creating methane - a greenhouse gas - as it decomposes, releasing it directly into the atmosphere. It also will provide a revenue stream to the city through “tipping fees” paid by grease haulers for each disposal.

This variant of the E-Flex system uses GM's new fifth-generation fuel cell propulsion technology and a lithium-ion battery to provide up to 300 miles (483 km) of petroleum- and emissions-free electric driving. It is plug-in capable, adding up to 20 additional miles (34 km) each time it is charged, further reducing trips to the refueling station.

GM's fifth-generation fuel cell system is half the size of its predecessor, yet it provides the same power and performance. The fourth generation currently powers the Chevrolet Sequel concept vehicle. The Sequel stores 8 kg of hydrogen and delivers a range of 300 miles (483 km). The fuel cell Volt will also deliver 300 miles of range, but with only 4.0 kg of hydrogen (75 miles / kg). Big improvement, but what's the cost?

Telles is now building its first commercial scale plant in Clinton, Iowa. This plant is expected to start up in 2008 and will produce Mirel at an annual rate of 110 million pounds.

Metabolix's founders, Oliver Peoples and Anthony Sinskey, were the first to show that PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates -- the chemical term for a naturally occurring form of polyester ultimately derived from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water through the process of photosynthesis) could be produced by recombinant organisms through work they did at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during the 1980s.

From the press release:

V2G technology allows for the bi-directional sharing of electricity between Electric Vehicles [EVs] and Plug-in Electric Hybrid Vehicles [PHEVs] and the electric power grid. The technology turns each vehicle into a power storage system, increasing power reliability and the amount of renewable energy available to the grid during peak power usage.

The Hydrogen Hybrid package for the Prius includes Quantum's electronic multi-point hydrogen injection system, turbocharger and intercooler, Quantum's compressed hydrogen fuel storage module and hydrogen fuel delivery system, and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards [FMVSS] crash-worthy design and validation.

The eleven vehicles in this shipment were equipped with an extended range package, which was engineered by Quantum to provide additional hydrogen storage capacity and a resulting 30 percent increase in vehicle driving range between refueling.

For phase 1 of the Madrid expansion, BP Solar is aiming to expand its annual cell capacity from 55 MW to around 300 MW. The Bangalore expansion could add another 300 MW to BP Solar's total capacity.

The station, funded in part by the United States Department of Energy [DOE], is to demonstrate a tri-generating green energy system capable of providing low-cost hydrogen, electric power and heat from one integrated unit.

The new system will combine FuelCell Energy’s Direct FuelCell® [DFC®] power plants with Air Products’ advanced gas separation technologies. The DFC system produces electric power and heat for cogeneration, as well as hydrogen for industrial applications and fuel cell vehicles. The system is designed to produce more than 250 kilowatts (kW) of green power and over 135 kilograms (about 300 pounds) of hydrogen per day.

The order significantly expands Windtec’s business with Sinovel. Since 2005, Sinovel has ordered electrical components from Windtec for 785 wind energy systems rated at 1.5 megawatts [MW].

The first MOU is with Babcock and Wilcox Company, a unit of McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) to pursue the viability of retrofitting power plants with oxy-coal combustion (oxycombustion) to existing power plants to reduce CO2 and other emissions. Under the terms of the MOU the companies will assess the application of oxy-coal combustion as a retrofit to an existing AEP plant, and work toward the development of the first oxy-coal commercial validation project in the United States.

The second MOU is with the French company Alstom to bring Alstom’s chilled ammonia process for CO2 capture to full commercial scale of up to 200 MW by 2011. The technology has the great advantage versus other technologies of being fully applicable not only for new power plants, but also for the retrofit of existing coal-fired power plants.

“When the project is complete we will have a silent, non-polluting 1.9 megawatt power plant on what is currently open roof space and parking areas, and a great hedge against future energy cost increases,” said Mike Splinter, president and CEO of Applied Materials. “As we pursue our strategy to significantly drive down the overall solar cost-per-watt we feel it is important to lead through example and that installations of this size will help lower consumer cost and spur overall market growth.”

The report is extremely comprehensive and in my view very objective and should play an important role in determining government policy regarding coal fired power plants.

They are especially critical of the government picking a technology "winner." Although IGCC is the lowest cost solution at the present they contend that super critical pulverized coal plants or oxycombustion plants could be competitive and deserve more funding. They also conclude that a significant reduction of carbon emissions is possible only when a significant price is placed on CO2 emissions.

AES privately purchased 895,523 treasury shares of Altair common stock at $3.35 per share. The purchased shares represent approximately 1.5% of Altair’s outstanding common shares. AES Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in the generation and distribution of electric power.

inside greentech had a good summary of Altairnano's latest activities. There is a particularly good interview with Altairnano's CEO Alan Gotcher in which he explains how technology from such a small company could produce such a revolutionary product. Thats for you to read, but one item was this:

As part of the cost-shared agreements, the industry-led teams will contribute more than 50 percent of the funding for these projects for a total value of up to $357 million over three years. These cooperative agreements, to be negotiated, will be the first made available as part of President Bush’s Solar America Initiative [SAI], a component of his Advanced Energy Initiative [AEI], announced in his 2006 State of the Union Address.

These projects enable the projected expansion of the annual U.S. manufacturing capacity of PV systems from 240 MW in 2005 to as much as 2,850 MW by 2010, representing more than a ten-fold increase. Such capacity would also put the U.S. industry on track to reduce the cost of electricity produced by PV from current levels of $0.18-$0.23 per kWh to $0.05 - $0.10 per kWh by 2015 – a price that is competitive in markets nationwide.

Teams Selected For Negotiations Under the Solar America Initiative