Teru Talk Newsletter
Volume II, Issue
43, October 22,
2012
Teru Talk by Michael
Theroux (pronounced
"Terú")
Teru's Trash Talk
Heat is a
terrible thing to waste. I
don't care what sort of
fuel you use to make power
or what you do with that
generated electrical
energy. If you're not using
the thermal energy,
you're throwing away about
half of what you make. You
can make hot air, hot
water, or maybe steam. You
can heat a burrito in
tin-foil on the car engine
manifold (really) while you
drive. You can do the
Refrigerator Magic thing
and use the heat to make
cold. You can dry out wet
stuff, always a favorite of
mine, and you can even make
more electricity, pushing
that left-over heat through
other kinds of generators.
There are entire industries
set up just to develop
Waste Heat projects, but
most of the time project
developers don't think past
the initial Big Deal of
making electricity. Not
using the available heat is
a little like saving the
dollar bills and throwing
away the pocket change.
Have you added that up
lately?
When you
do something that makes
electricity AND uses the
excess heat, that's called
"combined heat and power"
(CHP) and there are more
and more governmental
incentives to encourage
this brand of common sense.
There are plenty of federal
efforts to promote CHP here
in the US, while many
states credit the energy
efficiency that CHP can
accomplish. There is a
well-established, albeit
very complex, Renewable
Heat Incentive program in
the United Kingdom (UK)
that is currently under
refinement, including
expansion of a
Microgeneration scheme for
residential CHP and special
perks for using the heat
from the treatment,
recycling, and energy
generated from
waste.
A common
example globally: manure
digesters make biogas that
runs an engine to power;
the engine jacket and
exhaust heat keep the
digester perking along at
the right temperature for
happy microbes. Granted,
colder parts of the world
seem to figure out how to
use excess heat better than
those of us in less frosty
climes. In Montana this
year, the US Forest Service
is working with communities
to heat and power the first
in a series of hospitals
using wood fuel pellets
made from bug-killed
evergreen trees.
You have
to wonder why more thermal
plants don't take a Baltic
hint and set up steam lines
under the streets to heat
their neighborhoods.
Planning in that kind of
heat use is cheaper than
retrofits when plants, and
cities, are first being
built. When times are tight
enough to warrant holding
onto that excess heat
"change", there usually
aren't enough bucks to
cover the added expense.
Part of the problem is
siting: a Thermal Plant
usually isn't where there's
a close-by need for heating
and cooling. And part of it
is just not really caring
about that loose change to
be saved by coupling the
engines for heat recovery.
Given this global economy,
we're betting that CHP
small change is about to
get a whole lot more
popular.
Hey
Rube!
Look over
those UK shoulders at the
proposed Renewable Heat
Incentive program changes,
and then maybe submit your
own comments. Open programs
like that let the rest of us
see the really good ideas,
the sorta bad ones, and even
the "wish-we-hadn't done
that" examples. Check out
the Montana CHP project and
then dig into other
Federally-assisted waste
heat recovery and use
scenarios and support
programs. See if your own
state or country kicks a bit
of utility fees back to you
for incorporating waste heat
reuse. The CHP tools are
there for all scales of
projects from homes to
hospitals, farms to cities.
Print shirts: "Save the
Heat!"
The
Week's News
Biodico and
Navy Sign Renewable Energy
and Fuel Optimization
Agreement
California based Biodico, Inc
(formerly Biodiesel Industries)
has announced signing a new
agreement with the US Navy for
joint development and
evaluation of renewable energy,
fuels, and products for use on
US Department of Defense (DoD)
facilities.
10/21/2012
German
Environment Ministry
Releases GreenTech Made in
Germany Atlas
3.0
The German Federal Ministry for
the Environment has announced
the release an atlas of German
providers of environmental
technologies called the
“GreenTech made in Germany
3.0", updating earlier versions
in 2007 and 2009.
10/21/2012
San Juan
County, Washington Considers
Gasification at Solid Waste
Facility
San Juan County, Washington,
closed acceptance of
submissions to its Request for
Proposals for San Juan Island
municipal solid waste (MSW)
services and operations on
October 1, 2012 and has now
posted all documents received
from the two interested
parties.
10/21/2012
LCFS
Considers Roundtable on
Sustainable Biofuels
Benchmark
Studies
The California Air Resources
Board (CARB) Low Carbon Fuel
Standard (LCFS) Sustainability
Workgroup continues to hold
meetings to develop a work plan
of sustainability provisions
for use in implementing the
LCFS regulation.
10/19/2012
Olinda
Landfill Gas-to-Energy
Project Opens with
Ribbon-Cutting
Ceremony
Broadrock Renewables LLC has
announced a ribbon cutting
ceremony today hosted in
partnership with the County of
Orange to inaugurate the new
32.5 MW landfill gas-to-energy
generating facility at the
County’s Olinda Alpha Landfill
in Brea, California.
10/19/2012
European
Commission Gives Stamp of
Approval to UK's Green
Investment
Bank
The European Commission (EC)
has announced approval of the
United Kingdom's (UK) Green
Investment Bank (GIB), finding
the new funding mechanism to be
in line with European Union
"state aid" rules.
10/18/2012
European
Commission Proposes to Limit
Global Land Conversion for
Biofuels
The European Commission (EC)
has released notice of a
proposal intended to reduce the
climate impacts of biofuel
production.
10/17/2012
RTI
International Building
Energy Technology
Development Facility for
Biofuels
North Carolina based RTI
International has announced
start of construction on a
3,000 square ft energy
technology development facility
on the firm's Research Triangle
Park campus.
10/17/2012
Raízen Group
Selects Iogen for Brazilian
Cellulosic Ethanol
Plant
Canadian cellulosic ethanol
developer Iogen Corporation has
announced its selection by
Brazilian sugarcane ethanol
giant Raízen Group as the core
technology for a commercial
scale cellulosic ethanol
production facility, and
committed in initial investment
to develop a commercial
cellulosic ethanol plant in
Brazil.
10/16/2012
Rayonier
Mill Secures PPA with
Florida Public Utilities for
Biomass
Power
Rayonier Performance Fibers,
LLC has reached a 10-year, 22.5
megawatt electric power
purchase agreement (PPA) with
Florida Public Utilities
Company, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Chesapeake
Utilities Corporation.
10/15/2012
US Forest
Service and Montana Hospital
Partner on Bioenergy
Project
The US Forest Service has
announced a partnership with
Mineral Community Hospital in
Superior, Montana to develop
and supply feedstock for a
biomass fueled combined heat
and power (CHP) project at the
hospital.
10/15/2012
LanzaTech to
Convert Petronas' Waste CO2
into Sustainable
Chemicals
New Zealand based LanzaTech has
announced a development and
commercialization agreement
with the Malaysian national oil
company Petronas to produce
sustainable chemicals from
emissions-sourced carbon
dioxide (CO2) and natural gas.
10/15/2012
The Week's Action
Items
Due
12/03/2012: Midwest
Applications for 2013 Clean
Energy
Challenge
The Clean Energy Trust has
announced that it is now
accepting applications for the
2013 Clean Energy Challenge for
researchers, students, and
entrepreneurs headquartered in
the Midwestern United States.
10/17/2012
Due
12/07/2012: Comments to
DECC's Renewable Heat
Incentive
Consultations
The United Kingdom's (UK)
Department of Energy and
Climate Change (DECC) is
seeking comments on revisions
planned for the country's
Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)
launched in March 2011.
10/19/2012
Due
12/28/2012: Comments on
Scotland's Recyclate Quality
Action
Plan
The Scottish Government has
released a consultation paper
on its proposed Recyclate
Quality Action Plan and is
seeking stakeholder comment by
December 28, 2012.
10/16/2012
|
