A light turns on for alternative energy

Bloom Energy has launched a new energy server with patented solid-oxide fuel-cell technology that can generate 100 kW, enough to power one small office building or 100 average U.S. homes. The Bloom Energy Server makes it possible to generate electricity locally, rather than purchasing it from a utility company.

The company says a server costs from $700,000 to $800,000, not including fuel, and that it will generate electricity for eight to nine cents per kilowatt hour. Proponents hope that the servers will someday provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy around the world. To date, A-list customers include Google, eBay, FedEx, Coca-Cola, Cox Enterprises and Wal-Mart.

Not for everyone . . . yet

In a NewsFactor.com article, Bloom Energy CEO Dr KR Sridhar said the company is “dedicated to making clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone in the world.” Right now, however,  it would take much more than a payday loan – more, even, than the combined amount of the maximum number of payday loans allowed by law — to get your hands on a Bloom Energy Server. The much-hyped launch of the energy server probably was not attended by many everyday people in need of a cash advance, but high-profile types like California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and venture capitalist John Doerr were there.

One hundred percent cleaner than traditional methods

According to the NewsFactor.com article, the Bloom Energy Server contains thousands of ceramic fuel cells that generate electricity using an electrochemical process rather than the traditional combustion method. When the Bloom Energy Server cells are powered by biogas or some other renewable fuel source, the electrical generation process is 100 percent cleaner than traditional coal-fired electrical generation. When powered with fossil fuels, the Bloom Energy Server is about 67 percent cleaner than traditional methods.

I seem to remember that it was in high school that we learned the principles of electricity and how to make it. It’s all based on moving parts, like waves in the sea, a windmill, or any kind of continuous movement. The solar energy guys went a different route and they use heat from the sun to make steam which drives a turbine. And then there are photovoltaic’s, those little solar cells that drive a calculator or a watch. There are a few other very esoteric systems as well, none of them really viable and none of them competitive with the price of energy in normal times.

Alternative energy

The sums of money invested in the development of alternative energy are astronomical, frightening in fact. And, as is the case with the supply of all utilities such as gas or water, the infrastructure is expensive.

Look at this idea

Along comes an Israeli energy start-up. It takes a couple of Payday Loans for start-up financing and does nothing less than generate electricity from the rush-hour traffic racing along the highways. Remember how you hate that traffic every day of your life? Well, in this new idea you are just going to love it!

Who’s Innowattech?

Innowattech, an energy company affiliated with Israel’s Technion Institute of Technology, said special generators placed under roads, railways and airport runways can harvest enough energy from passing vehicles to mass-produce electricity.

The generators contain material that produces electricity when mechanical force is applied, such as the pressure from a passing car’s tires.

Piezoelectricity

The process is known as piezoelectricity and has been used for years on a smaller scale, including barbecue lighters and a dance club where the pounding feet of dancers light the floor. The CEO of Innowattech says the company’s technology will be the largest application of piezoelectrics to date, with a single half-mile lane of highway providing enough electricity to power about 40 houses. “We can produce electricity anywhere there is a busy road, using energy that normally goes to waste,” said the CEO.

The first pilot program would begin in the coming months on a 90 foot strip of highway outside Tel Aviv and similar projects could start internationally in 2010.

Of course there are problems

Problems could arise in the implementation and the coordination needed to bury the generators over vast amounts of highways and train tracks. Another hurdle will be finding a way to package the generators so they are effective when buried in the road. The company has already developed a casing that acts like asphalt. The generators are then put in the road in 11 inch squares during scheduled maintenance.

The drivers won’t feel anything. Asphalt is elastic and the pressure of each tire that passes is picked up by the generator, which is buried about an inch below the road’s surface.

Maintenance

The piezoelectric material lasts for at least 30 years, which is longer than most roads and the generators can also be placed in the sleepers, or cross ties, of rail tracks to harvest the energy of trains.

The energy generated is transferred to storage systems that are set up along the road at about every 500 yards. The power can then be fed into a main grid, or even used to charge batteries as part of a future electric car infrastructure.

How come I never thought of this?

Part of Obama’s costly Stimulus Plan involves alternative energy generating which should create jobs as well. At a time when many of us are in desperate need of a payday loan, a plan comes to light that just might work. Within a handful of days before getting sworn in, President-elect Barack Obama visited Ohio, making an appearance at the Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co., a manufacturer of parts for wind turbines which generate electricity. In proposing his humongous economic stimulus plan, he has said, “It’s not too late to change course – but only if we take dramatic action as soon as possible . . . The first job of my administration is to put people back to work and get our economy moving again.”

The plan in hand is quite enormous indeed. . .

We’re talking about an $825+ billion stimulus package, representing around $275 billion in tax cuts over the next two years as well as $550 billion in federal spending to make this plan work to kick-start our critical economy. In pitching this whole idea, our 44th president explained that it is required to create long-lasting, well-paying employment positions in many fields such as alternative energy, and help out industrial states that have been hit hard by the failing economy, like Ohio, immediately and for a long time to come.

To some, his idea seems to make sense. . .

In speaking on the subject of creating jobs for the American people, he said, “We’re not looking to create just any kind of jobs here. . .  We’re looking to create good jobs that pay well and won’t be shipped overseas. Jobs that don’t just put people to work in the short term, but position our economy to be on the cutting edge in the long term.” Well said. And really, that’s all we want, right? Imagine a time where we can be comfortable enough to not have the need to take out a life-saving payday loan. That’s what we definitely could use right about now, wouldn’t you agree?

Is this all just a wind-blown idea?

Other energy related proposals will include $20+ billion in tax cuts for promoting the development of alternatives for fossil fuels, and quite a few billion more for making buildings and homes, such as federal buildings, modest-income homes and public housing, more energy efficient. Of course, such an enormous plan won’t only focus on this one angle to stimulate the economy. Besides energy, this plan is also to focus quite heavily on health care, education and highway construction which will create many jobs as well.

His call to action has a tone of urgency in his voice

True enough, Obama has a phenomenally huge mess to clean up when it comes to our economy. He hit the nail right on the head when he said, “The need for us to act is now. It’s never been more urgent”. I cannot think of any other time in history when a U.S. President ever walked into the job with an inordinately overwhelming amount of things that needs to be done. From his very first day in the office, he’ll be handed the reins to a country in one of the worst crisis situations in a good long while. In light of the reality of our country’s situation, Barack Obama also said, “Recovery won’t happen overnight, and it’s likely that, even with these measures, things will get worse before they get better.” As for myself, I’d better apply for a payday loan.