Stay Ahead of the Blackouts with Fuel Cells

Lost our power yesterday.  Not for long.  A few minutes...but it seems to be happening more often now. Two, three times a week.  Consider Ferndale, who lost their power this summer for more than a week.  Had to drive Woodward Avenue at rush hour with no stoplights.  And for Ferndale residents, that was the least of it.  Looks more and more like the health of the power grid is suffering from "natural causes."

Back in August of 2003, about 45 million of us across eight states lost our power for a couple of days or more.  All because a tree fell on a power line somewhere in Ohio. Carnegie Mellon University research shows we're still suffering around 12 blackouts a year that each time affect at least 50,000 folks like you and me.

And that brings me back to one of my favorite topics, distributed generation. also known as onsite generation or decentralized generation.  Need to include microgrids as well.  A microgrid has a number of distributed generation sources and loads, and usually is connected to the macrogrid.

The Federal Government, especially the military, likes the idea of microgrids.  Should someone decide to attack our national infrastructure in a big way, microgrids can form functional islands that maintain the flow of power.  They can keep essential services up and running.  Sort of like the Internet.  When a section of the net stops working, the data packets switch to an alternate route and get to their ultimate destination without any noticeable delay.  That's an advantage of decentralization.

But decentralization requires multiple power sources rather than a few centralized generators.  You know, like all those computers and servers on the Internet that initiate and disperse data packets.  The problem is finding power sources that can be sprinkled around the landscape inexpensively and cleanly.  Well, here's a gadget on my Bellwethers' list that seems to fill the bill.

Bloom Energy Servers, AKA Bloom Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, produce "clean, reliable, affordable electricity at a customer's site."  The cells convert heat into electricity through a clean electro-chemical process rather than grungy combustion.

A cell is nothing more than a specially formulated ceramic plate that acts as an electrolyte, sandwiched between an anode and a cathode, both of which are thin ink coatings on the plate.  When heat from natural gas or biogas is applied to the anode coating, a chemical process produces electrical current.  It's similar to a battery.

According to the Bloom marketing site...

They are like batteries except they are always on.

Each Bloom Energy Server provides 100kW of power, enough to meet the baseload needs of 100 average homes or a small office building... day and night, in roughly the footprint of a standard parking space. For more power simply add more energy servers. 

Bloom Energy is a Distributed Generation solution that is clean and reliable and affordable all at the same time. Bloom's Energy Servers can produce clean energy 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, generating more electrons than intermittent solutions, and delivering faster payback and greater environmental benefits for the customer.

So the next time the lights go out and you're groping around in the dark for a flashlight, think about a clean, quiet generator in your neighborhood, powered by solid oxide fuel cells. Might be a good way to stay ahead of the blackouts.

Michigan, Land of Abundant Waters, for Now

Say what you want about Michigan, but it is benign.  Think about it.  Our only poisonous snake is a less than deadly rattler.  Not many pernicious insects to speak of, well maybe some Black Widow spiders in the wood piles.  But, perhaps the most benign thing about Michigan is its climate, particularly of late.

Sure we've had some warm days in July and some cold ones last winter, but compared to the other parts of the continent, no complaints.  Look at the rest of the country.  Floods, hurricanes, droughts, you name it.

Drought definitely doesn’t top of our list of climate hazards.  Michigan is surrounded with water, fresh water.  In fact we're surrounded with a little over 20% of the world's fresh surface water.  That's undoubtedly a factor that moderates our climate here and ensures its benign constancy.

The Lakes themselves contain 6 quadrillion gallons.  That would cover North America, South America and Africa with a foot of water.  But don't think for a minute the water around us is limitless.  Marc Smith, a policy analyst with the National Wildlife Federation’s regional office in Ann Arbor puts it this way.

We live in a very water-rich area and it’s easy for folks to look at this vast resource and think there’s no way we can deplete it, we don’t have to worry about conservation. That would be a terrible mistake.

Three states and Canada suck vast amounts of water from the Lakes every day for agriculture, industry, drinking and who knows what else.  But so far, we haven't drained them dry.  So far, but...

But with world population growing exponentially and droughts looming here and there more often, the demand for fresh water continues to explode.  And who is it that's sitting on a preponderance of that water?  Why yes, that’s right.  It's us.  And who do you think will be among the first to fill their buckets at our well?

Start a few decades ago when large segments of our own population and that of the surrounding Midwest fled the declining “rust belt” for the warmer climes of the Southwest. The National Academy of Sciences studies conclude that explosive population growth then and in prior years has pushed the Southwest's relatively meager water supply to unsustainable levels of use.  A New York Times article states that…

The region's population grew from 2.1 million to more than 50 million during the 20th century. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that, by 2030, the Southwest will be home to more than 67 million people. Within 50 to 100 years, the current population could double.

After they’ve drained their neighboring states dry, where do you suppose they’ll turn for fresh water.  And they’re not the only ones.

Will Graf, a geographer in the University of South Carolina’s College of Arts and Sciences sums it up…

It turns out that the Southeast has a relatively small margin of water surplus for the future…The water resource picture in the Southeast is becoming similar to that of the Southwest, where water disputes have long been a prominent part of policy and resource management.

Who would have guessed that instead of Arizona vs. California, we may have South Carolina vs. Georgia? The looming issue of providing enough water for Atlanta and the possibility of reaching to the Savannah River for water for Atlanta is an example of the coming debates over our region’s water.

So neither the Southwest nor the Southeast apparently has enough water to fill their needs.  And here we are, blissfully enjoying our benign State with its abundant waters.

For how long, I wonder.

A Stirling Solution to Detroit's Electrical Problems

When the electrical power grid was first devised, it was Direct Current or DC based.  Supply voltage was limited.  So was the distance between the generator and the user.  As Alternating Current or AC grids began to be used, electricity could be transmitted over greater distances.  Economies of scale in generation increased power output of the generation units.  These factors led to the huge transmission and distribution grids and gigantic generation plants we have today.

But today's power grids have aged.  Reliability is becoming an issue.  The long distance generating plants of today also are an environmental concern.  We're seeing need for a less intrusive electrical backup system.  This need has drawn our attention back to those early, more localized micro-grids.

When the generating equipment is placed at or near the users' site we call it distributed generation.  Distributed generation can provide power to an onsite user or feed a wider distribution grid.

Distributed generation technologies can be gasoline engines, fuel cells and photovoltaic systems.  But there's one technology that's been around since the 19th Century that's a natural for distributed generation.  It's called the Stirling Engine.  The Stirling is an external heat engine that drives an internal piston much like an internal combustion engine does.  But the Stirling has no internal combustion.  That means heat is applied to the outside of the engine.  When the gases inside heat up, they drive the piston.

So?  So that means this engine runs on virtually any combustable fuel, not gasoline.  You can build a bonfire under the thing and the piston will start moving.  When the piston moves, it turns a shaft.  When the shaft turns, it drives an electrical generator.  The generator produces electrical current for one, or a dozen nearby users.

So?  So this engine can use bio-fuels or even geothermal or solar heat to generate electricity.  It's moderate cost and fuel versatility makes it perfect for distributed generation.  It can provide power for a single family dwelling or an entire village.  Unused power even can be fed onto the main power grid to produce additional revenue.

So?  So Detroit's having problems with the grid and public lighting.  Maybe a few of these Stirling generators salted around the city would provide a dependable backup for local residents.  Ultimately, the entire Metro area could have a distributed generation backup system in place.  As inclement weather strips through the urban landscape, carrying with it much of the main grid's infrastructure, the secondary system springs to life in minutes.

And you know what?  Detroit has a major supplier of these Stirling Engine generators right next door.  An outfit called Stirling Biopower is headquartered in Ann Arbor.  They've been developing these distributed generation systems for decades.  They even offer a solar powered system.

Interested?  Here's a link to their site.  http://www.stirlingbiopower.com/STIRLING/BASSE.swf

The Stirling Engine is a technology that was invented by a Scotsman, Robert Stirling in 1816.  Now, here in the 21st Century, it's becoming a leading edge technology.

Detroit, from Mass Production to 3D Customization

Detroit was once the mecca of mass production manufacturing.  It was a boon for us because it was labor intensive and gave many Detroiters gainful and lucrative employment.  It was a boon, that is until cheaper labor in other parts of the world lured away the jobs and processes.  Now those citadels of mass production around the city are in ruins and attract photographers by the scores.

But now there's a new technology quietly creeping up on us that makes mass production manufacturing as archaic as the buggy whip.  It is 3D printing, AKA additive manufacturing.  This method, an offspring of the digital age, can literally build anything one layer at a time to exact tolerances.  Yes anything, from a musical instrument to auto parts.  And it's as inexpensive to create one piece as it is to create many.  No need anymore for the economies of scale that were essential to mass manufacturing.  An article in The Economist explains how it works.

First you call up a blueprint on your computer screen and tinker with its shape and colour where necessary. Then you press print. A machine nearby whirrs into life and builds up the object gradually, either by depositing material from a nozzle, or by selectively solidifying a thin layer of plastic or metal dust using tiny drops of glue or a tightly focused beam. Products are thus built up by progressively adding material, one layer at a time: hence the technology’s other name, additive manufacturing. Eventually the object in question—a spare part for your car, a lampshade, a violin—pops out. The beauty of the technology is that it does not need to happen in a factory. Small items can be made by a machine like a desktop printer, in the corner of an office, a shop or even a house; big items—bicycle frames, panels for cars, aircraft parts—need a larger machine, and a bit more space.

What strikes me is that 3D printing as it evolves will permit us here in Detroit to provide for some of our own needs without total reliance upon the global corporations who have taken their labor business elsewhere.

3D printing has now improved to the point that it is starting to be used to produce the finished items themselves (see article). It is already competitive with plastic injection-moulding for runs of around 1,000 items, and this figure will rise as the technology matures. And because each item is created individually, rather than from a single mould, each can be made slightly differently at almost no extra cost. Mass production could, in short, give way to mass customisation for all kinds of products, from shoes to spectacles to kitchenware.

 If you can design something on a computer, you can 3D it.  How's that for an impetus for innovation.  You need a single item?  Build it.  More people ask for it?  "Print" some more.  Engineers and designers are already collaborating on open-source products, much like computer programmers have been doing for years.

A technological change so profound will reset the economics of manufacturing. Some believe it will decentralise the business completely, reversing the urbanisation that accompanies industrialisation. There will be no need for factories, goes the logic, when every village has a fabricator that can produce items when needed.

Detroit was once the fabricator of products such as stoves and automobiles for the entire world.  With the rapidly developing technology of 3D printing, we should have no problem providing ourselves with what we need.

Folding Electric Bicycle from VW

Here's a nice folding electric bicycle VW is hyping that fits easily into your trunk.  Extend your cruising distance upon your arrival by car.

Throw this on the front of a bus or carry it onboard a train.  Save a few bucks on gasoline.