Friday, February 25, 2011

Using Solar Power to Extract Oil

Source: NYTimes


A California company has begun using solar power to squeeze oil out of an old oil field, flooding the underground rock with steam that comes from the sun’s heat instead of from burning natural gas.


The technique was tried in the 1980s by the Atlantic Richfield Company, but GlassPoint Solar, of Fremont, Calif., which cut the ribbon on a pilot project Thursday, says its plant is the only one of its kind now operating. Other companies have discussed such projects.


The process is cheaper than using natural gas, even at today’s depressed prices for that fuel, and trims the carbon footprint of the gasoline, according to GlassPoint. The pilot plant, completed in January in Kern County, is very modest, occupying less than an acre and producing only about a million B.T.U.’s per hour. But the company says it could quickly be replicated on a larger scale and could eventually displace 80 percent of the natural gas used to produce a barrel of oil.


GlassPoint said that at a full-size plant, its technology could produce steam at a cost of $3 per million B.T.U., compared with a market price of gas today of around $4 per million B.T.U.


Whether GlassPoint can get that far remains unclear. The company has no track record in the oil industry and has had three different business strategies in less than two years. Formerly known as CleanBoard, GlassPoint changed its name in October 2009 when it abandoned plans to use a solar-powered factory to make gypsum-based wallboard and said it would work with other wallboard manufacturers. Last year, it refocused its business yet again on using solar power to extract oil.


Rod MacGregor, GlassPoint’s chairman, said that burning natural gas to make steam for oil recovery was the largest single use of natural gas in California. About 40 percent of California’s oil is produced through such “enhanced oil recovery,” and the steam can account for as much as two-thirds of the production cost of such oil, according to GlassPoint.


The amount of steam needed to produce a barrel of oil varies according to the age of the field, but two million B.T.U. per barrel is typical.


Several companies use curved mirrors to focus the sun’s light to make steam, but on Thursday, GlassPoint unveiled a radically different design, one it says could also be used to make steam for electricity production.


In existing steam-electric solar plants with curved mirrors, the mirrors sit on heavy, rigid frames so that they will not be deformed by wind and can survive storms.


GlassPoint has built a greenhouse and suspended extremely lightweight mirrors from the skeleton of the building. The greenhouse is kept at higher air pressure than the outside environment, so no dust can come in, reducing the problem of cleaning the mirrors. A robot crawls across the glass roof to wash it. The wash water is collected for reuse, an important point since many old oil fields are in deserts.


A different solar energy company, BrightSource Energy, is building a solar steam system at a Chevron oil field project in Coalinga, Calif. It is supposed to go into service in the second half of this year.


Using solar power for oil recovery makes moot one of solar’s most difficult characteristics, its intermittency, according to John O’Donnell, vice president of GlassPoint. “You’re heating a cubic mile of rock,’’ he said. “It doesn’t matter if you heat it up a little higher in the day.’’


In the pilot project, the greenhouse is too far from the wellhead to send the steam by pipeline, so it is preheating the water, which will then be boiled by natural gas, reducing natural gas use but not as much as in a mature production facility.


Another advantage, according to Mr. MacGregor, is that the well is not fussy about steam quality, in contrast to a steam turbine that makes electricity, which demands constant temperature and pressure. “If there are hot water droplets in the steam stream, the rock won’t care, but a turbine certainly would,’’ he said.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Did You Know - Shading Issues With Solar Panels

Did you know that shadows can dramatically decrease the efficiency of your solar panel array?



For example, take our recent 20kW project in Dawsonville. The rooftop where the panels were installed had 3 standard sized vents along the edge of the building.









These vents cast shawdows on the panels during various times of the day as we rotate the sun.







At one point, we actually measured the effect of the shadows on the nearby panels. Dramatically, these shadowy panels had 80% lower efficiencies! 80%! And a panel that is operating at suboptimum efficiency is not producing full power, thus losing it's owner money!


We immediately modified these vents to no longer cast shadows on the panels.





The takeaway from this post is to carefully consider the environment surrounding your current (or future) solar array. If your house is surrounded by trees they will likely cast shadows on your panels and decrease the efficiency.


We are in no way advocating cutting down trees, instead we are encouraging you to let us help you carefully plan and position your solar panels for maximum power output efficiency and maximum return on investment.

Exxon Announces Lack Of Oil, Sun Smirks

Source: WSJ

HOUSTON—Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, is struggling to find more oil.

In its closely watched annual financial report released Tuesday, the company said that for every 100 barrels it has pumped out of the earth over the past decade, it has replaced only 95.


It's a conundrum shared by most of the other large Western oil-producing companies, which are finding most accessible oil fields were tapped long ago, while promising new regions are proving technologically and politically challenging.

Although this is scary news to hear about a decreasing supply of oil, this is where solar energy from the sun really shines (pun intended).


There is a limitless supply of sunlight that can be used to power everything from your home and the appliances inside to your (electric) car and the power you use to charge it in your own garage.

Please visit our new solar website to learn more about our vision for your future.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Dept. Of Energy Wants Cut In Fossil Fuel Research

Source: AJC


The current administration will propose making a big cut to fossil fuel research and closing two facilities. Energy Secretary Steven Chu outlined those cuts, as well as a big increase for clean energy, in a blog post Friday.


Chu says that the budget would cut the Office of Fossil Energy by 45 percent, or $418 million. The budget would also save $70 million by reducing funding for the hydrogen technology program in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.


The administration would end operations at the Tevatron facility at Fermi National Laboratory, saving $35 million, and close the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, saving $10.3 million dollars.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Wired Up! 83% of Americans support incentives for using solar.





A new Gallup poll shows strong support for more renewable energy incentives.

Guest Blogger Daniel J. Weiss is CAPAF’s Director of Climate Strategy.

Congressional advocates of suspending the Clean Air Act to block the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring reductions in carbon dioxide pollution either don’t know or don’t care that the public overwhelmingly opposes their efforts. What’s worse is that they pretend that the public is on their side just because their big oil and other special interest pals are egging them on to stop EPA from protecting our families’ health.

Take Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), the new Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In December he co-wrote an article with the head of Americans for Prosperity, an organization funded by the Koch Brothers who own Koch Industries – a major polluter. The article falsely claimed that “We think the American consumer would prefer” that EPA not establish carbon pollution safeguards. This claim is disproven by recent public opinion research.

ORC International – the pollster for CNN – conducted a nationwide poll for the Natural Resources Defense Council. It found overwhelming support for more – not fewer – EPA safeguards.

This ORC International survey … conducted among a national probability sample of 1,007 adults… [The] survey was completed during the period January 27-30, 2011. The margin of error …is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Americans want the EPA to do more, not less. Almost two thirds of Americans (63 percent) say “the EPA needs to do more to hold polluters accountable and protect the air and water,” versus under a third (29 percent) who think the EPA already “does too much and places too many costly restrictions on businesses and individuals.” Well under than half of Republicans (44 percent), less than a third of Independents (29 percent) and under a fifth of Democrats (16 percent) think the EPA is going too far today.

Americans do not want Congress to kill the EPA’s anti-pollution updates. Only 18 percent of Americans – including fewer than a third of Republicans (32 percent) — believe that “Congress should block the EPA from updating pollution safeguards,” after being told: “Some members of Congress are proposing to block the Environmental Protection Agency from updating safeguards to protect our health from dangerous air pollution, saying they will cost businesses too much money.” More than three out of four Americans (77 percent) — including 61 percent of Republicans – say “Congress (should) let the EPA do its job.”

The latest USA Today/Gallup poll found that creating incentives to invest in solar and other forms of alternative energy is the top priority of Americans.

Of eight actions Congress could take this year, Americans most favor an energy bill that provides incentives for using alternative energy (83%), an overhaul of the federal tax code (76%), and speeding up withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan (72%).

Of the eight proposals, the alternative energy bill and tax code overhaul ideas show the greatest bipartisan agreement, with 74% or more of each party group favoring these.

With Republicans in control of the House of Representatives and Democrats in control of the Senate, it would appear the proposals with the best chances of passing are those that generate strong bipartisan support. That is clearly the case for a bill that would provide incentives for increased use of alternative energy.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Solar panels being tested across Georgia

Source: Associated Press




AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Georgia Power Co. is testing solar panels at seven locations around the state to see how well they work under different climate conditions.

The panels are being tested in Augusta, Rome, Valdosta, Macon, Columbus, Savannah and Conley.

Georgia Power says that each panel, under optimum conditions and full sun, can generate about 200 watts of electricity.

Company spokeswoman Carol Boatright says the 18-month trial is a joint effort with the Electric Power Research Institute. She says that among the test locations, some have high humidity or salty air, while mountainous areas have cleaner air but colder temperatures and more freezing.

Nice job, Georgia Power! We knew you were testing panels on the roof of your building downtown, but this news brings a big smile! Pat yourself on the back for some well-spent research! Now spread the word about solar and let your customers know they can sell their solar energy back to you! And be paid a premium for it!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Say Hello To T5 Lighting And Lower Lighting Bills!



T5 Lighting Retrofit Solutions

Increase your light while reducing your total lighting energy consumption by over 50%.

Benefits:
• Retrofit leaves current fixture in place, no need to buy new fixtures.
• No disposal of existing ballast, they are bypassed and abandoned in place.
• No need to shut down large areas to replace fixtures.
• No disturbance of ceiling and potential for release of contaminants into the air.
• 5 Year warranty on retrofit adapter (ballast).
• Financing as low as 3% available for loans up to $70k.
• Lowest Mercury content of all Fluorescents.






Easy installation directions are included. Simply remove your old T12 or T8 bulbs, disconnect the old ballasts, and then reconnect the wires direct to the fluorescent housing end wires.

De-lamping: If your fixtures are 4 light fixtures, you simply remove the (4) current T8 or T12 inefficient bulbs and replace them with (2) T5 bulb/adapters. The T5 bulb installs into the adapter which has its own extremely efficient built-in ballast. Then the adapter with bulb is installed into the existing fixture just as you have installed the current inefficient bulbs you are currently burning.

Let us do a free analysis of your current lighting and provide you with a written proposal that will show you the astonishing savings in your electrical utility cost including your tax incentives, rebates available and your estimated ROl. Learn more at our website.