Alternative Energy News v1i4

INDUSTRY CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER 2010VOLUME 1, NO. 4

www .A l t e r n a t i v e En e r g yNewsOn l i n e . c om

Next Issue:New Biomass Projects Developing in New Mexico

MONEY MATTERS SEE PAGE 24

■ Pennsylvania Invests $18 Million to Support Alternative Energy Projects

■ General Compression Awarded DOE Grant

SOLAR SEE PAGE 6

■ Solar Installation to be Built on Roof of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

■ Washington Residents Go Solar

WIND POWER SEE PAGE 17

■ First Wind Constructs Kahuku Wind Project

■ PGE’s Biglow Canyon Wind Farm Begins to Spin Power

BY DANIELLE D’ADAMO For the last 30 years, Ronald McDonald

House Charities of San Diego has pro-

vided families a home-away-from-home

while their children are treated for serious,

often life-threatening illnesses at nearby

hospitals. For 29 years, there were only

12 beds available to offer guests going to

and from the Rady Children’s Hospital

across the street. Today, the nonprofit

organization has a new House with 47 beds

and an 116-kW roof-mount photovoltaic

(PV) solar electric system to help offset

electricity costs.

“The need became so great that we

actually redesigned the House on top of a

parking structure near the children’s

hospital,” explained Bill Lennartz,

President of Ronald McDonald House

Charities of San Diego. “Now we can

properly serve our guests while they

focus on their children and not have to

worry about whether or not the lights

turn on. They may not recognize what’s

powering those lights, but that’s our job,

not theirs.”

New Wind Farm in Coloradothe Second Largest in the State BY DANIELLE D’ADAMO Enbridge, a company operating

the world’s longest crude oil and

liquids transportation system,

recently announced an agree-

ment with RES Americas, a

fully-integrated renewable en-

ergy player in developing, con-

structing and operating services,

to build a 250-MW wind farm.

The Cedar Point Wind Energy

Project, developed by RES

Americas, is located approxi-

mately 80 miles east of Denver.

Enbridge plans to invest

approximately $500 million in

the project and RES Americas

will construct it under a fixed-

price engineering, procurement

and construction (EPC) contract

to Enbridge. The wind farm will

be comprised of 139 Vestas

1.8-MW turbines, making it the

BY DANIELLE D’ADAMOWilliam Shakespeare wrote that,

“There is a tide in the affairs of

men which, taken at the flood

leads on to fortune.” The Bard’s

proposition is being tested

by Natural Currents Energy

Services (NCES), a New York

manufacturer of hydro-turbine

equipment that’s involved in

the development of tidal

power projects along the New

Jersey coastline.

In May 2010, NCES in-

stalled the United States’ first

tidal power generator in New

Jersey at Will’s Hole Marina

at Point Pleasant Beach. The

two 20-kW cross-flow tidal

turbines generate electric

power for both Will’s Hole

Marina and Kingsbridge

Financial Services.

Energy Washes Up On the Jersey Shore

Continued on Page 21

Continued on 0

Continued on Page 18

OTHER ALTERNATIVES

POWER PROFILES: Women in Wind Power

NEW PRODUCTS

SEE PAGE 22 SEE PAGE 25SEE PAGE 21

First Ronald McDonald House Charities in California Goes Solar

EMERGING TECH SEE PAGE 20

■ UTC Power Transit Bus Fuel Cell System Sets Durability Record

■ Marriott Hotels to Become Atlanta’s Greenest

SEE PAGE 26

Photo Credit: Bob Ross, Photographer on behalf ofRonald McDonald House Charities of San Diego

4 Alternative Energy News ■ September 2010

Lee M. Oser

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

Steve Cox

[email protected]

Senior Associate Publisher

Director of Media

and Contributing Writer

Lorrie Baumann

[email protected]

Editorial Director

Danielle D’Adamo

[email protected]

Editor

Carrie Bui

Justyn Dillingham

JoEllen Lowry

Associate Editors

Valerie Wilson

[email protected]

Art Director

Yasmine Brown

[email protected]

Graphic Designer

Selene Pinuelas

[email protected]

Traffic Manager

Renee Meyerhofer

[email protected]

Circulation Manager

Alternative Energy News is published by Oser Communications Group

©Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

BPA Worldwide membership applied for February 11, 2010.

Executive and editorial offices located at: 1877 N. Kolb Rd., Tucson, AZ 85715

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11 50125 Florence, Italy T 055.657.5629, F 055.657.5631

Welcome to the September issue of Alternative Energy News! In this issue you will find intriguing articles on the latest industry

news in solar, wind and other alternatives. Our cover stories feature the first Ronald McDonald House Charities of California to

install solar panels, a report on recent advancements in tidal energy projects on the New Jersey coastline, and a new Colorado wind

farm that will be the second largest in the state.

We also highlight emerging technologies, including the latest generation transit bus fuel cell system, continued development of

high-performance, energy-efficient retrofit window film technology, and two newly constructed hotels that will be among the

greenest hotels in the state of Georgia. In addition to our products page, we have special editorial on DuPont, which recently re-

leased a new high-performance seals product for PV crystalline silicon and thin film manufacturing.

Our “Power Profiles” this month focus on two women who are leaders in the wind industry. As our country continues to move

towards a clean energy economy, we are proud to highlight women who are making great strides in renewable energy. In this

issue, we recognize Lisa Daniels, Executive Director of Windustry, and Trudy Forsyth, Senior Mechanical Engineer II for the

National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

We are also excited to announce a new addition to the publication starting in our October issue. “Policy Perspectives” will be a

monthly column by Jack Jacobs, Managing Partner at Cleantech Law Partners, who will provide insights into current legislative

issues facing the renewable energy industry. As Founder of the law firm, Jacobs specializes in the unique legal and policy needs

of renewable energy and cleantech companies.

As we go to press for October, we will be preparing for two upcoming solar shows. METALCON will feature workshops in

construction techniques for marrying metal roofs to solar panels. Solar Power International (SPI) will host more than 1,000

exhibitors of solar-related products and services.

Beer lovers take note. In addition to showing its latest PV, solar thermal and mounting systems at SPI, Schuco USA will host a

special Oktoberfest party.

Lee M. Oser

Publisher

www .A l t e r n a t i v e En e r g yNewsOn l i n e . c om

Gearing up for Upcoming Solar Shows

FROM THE PUBLISHER


SOLAR POWER

View of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan roof where the 200-kilowatt PV system will be installed.

Detroit Edison has partnered with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM)

to build a 200-kilowatt, $1 million photovoltaic system on the roof of BCBSM’s

four-story parking structure. The solar array will cover 31,000 square feet of

the 42,000-square-foot roof in downtown Detroit, and provide BCBSM and the

utility’s customers with renewable energy during the 20-year agreement.

7Alternative Energy News ■ September 2010

SOLAR POWER

Detroit Edison has partnered with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) to

build a 200-kW, $1 million photovoltaic system on the roof of BCBSM’s four-story

parking structure. The solar array will cover 31,000 square feet of the 42,000-square-

foot roof in downtown Detroit, and provide BCBSM and the utility’s customers with renew-

able energy during the 20-year agreement.

The proposed solar installation for BCBSM is part of Detroit Edison’s SolarCurrents

program that calls for PV systems to be installed on customer rooftops or property over the

next five years in order to generate 15 MW of electricity throughout southeast Michigan. The

purpose of SolarCurrents is to encourage the development of new green energy projects by

providing financial incentives to non-residential customers interested in solar energy systems,

according to Scott Simons, Spokesman for DTE Energy. BCBSM will be among the first

organizations in the state to participate.

“There are two aspects to the SolarCurrents program,” he continued. “One is for residential

and small business customers who own their own solar installations, while the other is for

large businesses and institutional nonprofits.”

Since the solar energy systems will be owned, installed, operated and maintained by

Detroit Edison, BCBSM and other customers that participate will get an annual credit on their

energy bill, as well as a one-time, upfront construction payment to cover any inconvenience

during installation.

Ray Warner, Director, Facilities and Support Services for BCBSM added that the solar

installation is one of a series of green projects at BCBSM’s downtown Detroit campus. In

2006, BCBSM installed a green roof on another parking structure. With almost 40,000 square

feet of roof space available, the structure has an environmentally-friendly design with features

including rain water recycling and a 1/10th mile-long roof walking path.

“We have a significant social initiative in this state,” Warner said of BCBSM. “By providing

the property for this solar system, it offers a good test platform in an urban environment for

technology that might be used for renewable energy in the future. Especially during the peak

periods, utilities struggle to meet power demands. We are proud to work with Detroit Energy

in this solar pilot program to help offset those demands.”

The new BCBSM PV system is expected to generate an equivalent amount of power that

would be consumed by roughly 40 homes in a year. BCBSM hopes it will produce about 20

percent of the base power for its Lafayette campus. Currently, the PV system is in the final

design stages and will be completed in the next few months. Installation will begin shortly

after and the system should be operational by next spring. AEN

Solar Installation to be Built on Roof of Blue Cross Blue Shieldof Michigan BY DANIELLE D’ADAMO

10 Alternative Energy News ■ Septemer 2010

SOLAR POWER

There are currently five other Ronald Mc-

Donald Houses across the country using

solar energy, but Ronald McDonald House

Charities of San Diego is the first House in

California to do so. The PV solar electric sys-

tem is expected to produce an average of

147,846 kilowatt hours (kW/h) per year, an

environmental offset that is equivalent to

limiting the release of 151,420 pounds of

carbon dioxide each year.

The new solar installation is also part of

the House’s pursuit of LEED certification.

The 47-bedroom House was built accord-

ing to strict green building standards,

using a combination of high-efficiency

mechanical systems and lighting design; it

uses 17.5 percent less energy than a typical

building in California. Even materials used

to create the building contained high

amounts of recycled content, and the

building also provides recycling collection

stations to guests and employees.

“Building a green building is simply the

right thing to do,” Lennartz said. “I can’t

imagine someone building anything in

today’s market that doesn’t meet the

minimum level of LEED certification. A

major part of meeting that goal for us was

to incorporate solar power and work

with the best and brightest companies in

the business to help us achieve that goal.”

While all businesses aim to stay within

budget, this is especially true for nonprof-

its, and Ronald McDonald House had

some initial trouble securing financing for

the solar installation. Talks of constructing

the system began in early 2009 with

HelioPower, a solar power engineering and

installation firm, but there was a four

month delay in order to secure financing.

This also wasn’t a typical power purchase

agreement. The PV system was for a

smaller installation and roof space was

very limited.

“We were more than equipped to do the

installation and eager to help such a great

organization,” said Steve LoRusso, Vice

President of Commercial Sales for

HelioPower. “It was simply a matter of

marrying the right resources for financing

the project and finding the key players

on the supply side to offer any kind of

financial discount in order to make this

a reality.”

Those key players included Canadian

Solar Inc., a manufacturer of solar mod-

ules, and PV Powered Inc., a manufacturer

of utility-interactive inverters for renew-

able energy markets. Canadian Solar pro-

vided 518 solar modules, which consisted

of their top-ranking CS6P-220P polycrys-

talline modules, and PV Powered supplied

the 100-kW inverter for the system. In the

end, HelioPower, Canadian Solar and PV

Powered all donated price reductions to

benefit the charity, and Ronald McDonald

House was able to put some cash forward

as well.

“When you see organizations like

Ronald McDonald House, you imagine

they are the first ones to understand how

important it is to adhere to a budget,” said

Mike Miskovsky, U.S. General Manager

for Canadian Solar. “Solar projects like

this demonstrate that you can have a sus-

tainable business and building, and have it

work. They can hold onto capital and

spend it on their core business. The solar

industry spends a lot of time obsessing

about numbers, but we forget that the

really important numbers are the clients

affected by our numbers.”

“HelioPower worked very hard to put

this solar installation package together for

Ronald McDonald House and we were de-

lighted to be involved,” said Jim Coleman,

Southwest Regional Sales Manager for

PV Powered. “This was a unique project

for PV Powered because although we have

participated in other small charity events,

those events normally deal with education.

This was special in that we saw the

families and children firsthand at the

one-year celebration who really benefit

from the partnership.”

July marked the one-year anniversary of

the House’s new 47-bedroom and PV solar

system. Guests at the event listened to

clients of the Ronald McDonald House

offer their gratitude to have a solar electric

installation system that offsets their elec-

trical needs while they visit their children

in the hospital. Now, Ronald McDonald

House Charities of San Diego expects

to serve more than 20,000 families this

year alone. AEN

RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE (Continued from Page 1)

Albertsons and SunEdison Activate Solar Power Plants at Three San Diego Area StoresSolar power systems financed and will bemonitored and maintained by SunEdison.

Albertsons, a SUPERVALU INC. company,

and SunEdison, North America’s largest solar

energy services provider and a subsidiary of

MEMC Electronic Materials, announced the ac-

tivation of rooftop solar power systems at three

Albertsons grocery stores in Carlsbad, Ocean-

side and Alpine, Calif. The solar installations

were constructed by channel partner REC Solar.

SunEdison financed the solar power plants

and will monitor and maintain the systems that

will produce more than 12 million kilowatt

hours (kWh) of energy over the next 20 years.

That is enough energy to power more than 1,100

average U.S. homes for one year. The environ-

mental attributes associated with the systems

will offset more than 13 million pounds of

carbon dioxide over the initial 20 years of

operation—the equivalent of taking 1,300

cars off the road for the same period.

“We are delighted to align with SunEdison for

the activation of these solar sites that required

no upfront capital costs for Albertsons,” said

Rick Crandall, Director of Environmental

Stewardship for Albertsons Southern California

Division. “The sites will allow us to continue

making progress on our cost-saving measures

and to support the use of clean energy as an al-

ternative to the grid.”

“Our activation with SuperValu is the latest

example of SunEdison’s continued commit-

ment to provide solar solutions that require no

upfront costs, provide immediate energy

savings and offer fully managed solar power

services for commercial customers,” said

Jaime A. Smith, Vice President of North

American Sales for SunEdison.

Under the Solar Power Purchase Agreement

(SPPA) with SunEdison, SuperValu will

purchase the energy produced to offset their

demand from the grid for 20 years. The solar

power plants are the first activated between

SuperValu and SunEdison. SunEdison worked

closely with channel partner REC Solar, which

has completed more than 35 commercial solar

systems for national and local retailers, totaling

16 MW in the past 24 months. SuperValu and

SunEdison are investigating future deployment

opportunities in other regions of the U.S. AEN

SunEdison/Albertsons solar photovoltaic power plant installation in Oceanside, Calif. Photo courtesy of SunEdison

Washington, D.C. Residents Go SolarFamily Enlists Astrum Solar to Install LargestResidential Solar Panel System in D.C.

In an effort to become energy independ-

ent and ultimately carbon neutral, Wash-

ington, D.C. residents Shelley Cohen and

Mike Gala are installing the District’s

largest residential solar panel system. The

11.96-kW system was installed in July by

Md.-based Astrum Solar. The 52 solar

panels will generate 13,754 kW-hours of

electricity a year, meeting between 75-85

percent of the home’s electricity use. The

environmental benefits from this solar

project are equivalent to planting 250 trees

annually or recycling 100 tons of waste

more than 30 years.

“Our family is committed to living a green

urban lifestyle and to reducing our carbon

footprint,” said Shelley Cohen. “Our project

benefited from a partnership with the D.C.

government, and we encourage others to take

advantage of the incentives being offered by

the District.”

Cohen and Gala have used their respective

expertise in architecture and environmental

project development to green their urban

dwellings since they married in 2001. Their

latest project is to restore and green an old

home, with the newest addition being the

installation of a renewable energy system.

Outside of Washington, D.C., Astrum

Solar is helping residents of Maryland,

New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia

become independent from fossil fuels.

The company has installed hundreds of solar

systems and is on pace to complete 500

installations in 2010.

“Astrum Solar is committed to bringing

clean energy solutions to residents through-

out the Eastern United States,” said Astrum

Solar President Vadim Polikov, Ph.D. “We

are thrilled to be working with Ms. Cohen

and Mr. Gala to help them achieve their goal

of a zero carbon footprint.”

In addition to Astrum Solar, partners on this

project include Ameresco Inc. who provided

the solar panels and the District of Columbia

Department of the Environment. AEN


SOLAR POWER

Solyndra Selected to Provide 16.2 MW of PV Systems to Southern California Edison

Solyndra Inc., a manufacturer of innova-

tive cylindrical solar photovoltaic (PV)

systems for commercial and industrial

rooftops, announced it has been awarded 20-

year power purchase agreements to supply

Southern California Edison with renewable

electricity from 16.2 megawatts (MW) of

rooftop photovoltaic solar systems on 18

rooftops. The agreements were awarded to

Solyndra’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Photon

Solar LLC.

“Southern California Edison is demon-

strating tremendous leadership in the appli-

cation of distributed solar electricity to serve

its customers and address the state’s renew-

able energy goals, and we are pleased to be

selected as a part of this industry leading

utility-scale rooftop power generation pro-

gram,” said Corby Whitaker, Solyndra’s

Vice President of North America Sales.

“Rooftop solar takes advantage of unutilized

space to generate energy right where it is

needed, eliminating the need for costly

transmission lines and extensive environ-

mental impact testing and permitting.”

“We believe the Southern California Edi-

son solar rooftop project will ultimately be

held out as an example for the rest of the

world, demonstrating the benefits of dis-

tributed rooftop power generation in

achieving broader renewable generation

goals,” said Marc Ulrich, SCE Vice Presi-

dent of Renewables and Alternative Power.

“We are pleased to be working with Solyn-

dra on this project. We are also pleased that

Solyndra designs and manufactures their

panels in California, which means this

project is maintaining and creating jobs in

our state and throughout the country.”

Unlike traditional flat plate solar mod-

ules, the Solyndra product was designed to

be ideally suited for large commercial and

industrial rooftops. The Solyndra product

can be cost-effectively installed on rooftops

that require a distributed load of less than 3

lbs. per square foot, which is very typical

of “big box” retail, warehouse and other

light industrial roofs, which are not de-

signed to support significant additional

rooftop weight. Solyndra’s panels are com-

posed of unique cylindrical modules that

allow wind to pass through, which elimi-

nates the need for heavy brackets, weights

and roof surface penetrations that are com-

mon with traditional solar modules. When

installed in conjunction with white “cool

roofs”, the Solyndra solution combines both

power generation and the energy efficiency

benefits of a reflective roof surface while

preserving the integrity of the roof surface.

In addition, a valuable benefit of the Solyn-

dra solution is that the system can be easily

moved in the case of re-roofing, building

retrofit or ownership change, particularly

important to many real estate owners that

wish to receive the cash flow benefits of

hosting a solar system without encumber-

ing the sale of the property in the future.

Photon Solar LLC intends to complete

construction of the 18 rooftop systems

comprising the 16.2-MW project during

2011. Construction of these PV systems is

subject to California Public Utility Com-

mission approval, financing of the project,

certain permitting and other customary

closing conditions. AEN

New Plant to Use Concentrating Solar Power and Molten Salt TechnologyeSolar Inc. and its project team member,

Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation

Group Inc. (B&W PGG) have been selected

to receive up to $10.8 million in funding from

the U.S. Department of Energy to design,

build and test a modular, baseload molten salt

power plant using concentrated solar power

(CSP). B&W PGG is a subsidiary of The

Babcock & Wilcox Company.

B&W PGG’s scope includes a single,

full-scale modular molten salt receiver

specially designed to fit with eSolar’s

technology, molten salt to steam heat

exchangers, and a hot/cold molten salt

storage system. The program’s goal is to

achieve the lowest levelized electricity

cost of any utility-scale CSP plant.

The plant uses a field of mirrors to focus

solar energy on a tower-mounted receiver.

Molten salt is used to transfer the heat energy

concentrated on the receiver to a steam

generator, which produces steam used to gen-

erate electricity. Molten salt can also be

stored for later use during periods when the

sun’s energy is not available, allowing the

plant to generate power up to 18 hours a day.

“We’re excited about the U.S. govern-

ment’s support for eSolar and B&W PGG’s

development of this important and innova-

tive technology,” said B&W PGG Presi-

dent and Chief Operating Officer Richard

L. Killion. “Concentrating solar power and

molten salt technology have the potential

to play a major role in meeting the nation’s

energy needs in a cost-effective, environ-

mentally friendly way.”

“eSolar is honored to be placed in the

company of industry leaders that are working

to advance CSP’s market-readiness,” said

eSolar CEO John Van Scoter. “Together with

B&W PGG, we will accelerate the research

and development of economic storage solu-

tions for CSP critical to the industry’s next

stage of growth.”

B&W PGG’s approach to the plant’s

design will reduce the cost of deploying

a full-scale molten salt power plant by

allowing plant components to be built in a

factory and shipped fully assembled to

the plant site and by simplifying the plant

permitting process.

The project is expected to take approxi-

mately 2 1/2 years to design, build and test. AEN

Rosendin Electric Breaks Ground on $50 Million Antelope Valley Union High School District Solar ProjectLatest Contract Win is the Largest SchoolSolar Project in California and Milestone forRosendin Electric.

Rosendin Electric, the nation’s largest pri-

vate electrical contractor and a 100 percent

employee-owned company, will break on a

new photovoltaic power installation project

for the Antelope Valley Union High School

District. This 9.4-megawatt (MW) installa-

tion spans ten schools and is the largest

school solar project undertaken in California

to date. It also makes Rosendin Electric one

of the largest installers of sustainable solar

power systems in the western United States.

The Rosendin Electric Solar Division has

been contracted to support engineering for the

$50 million Antelope Valley UHSD solar proj-

ect, as well as assuming full responsibility for

procurement and construction. Rosendin Elec-

tric will work with PsomasFMG of Los Ange-

les, the project and asset manager for the

installation, and with GCL Solar, a subsidiary

of GCL-Poly Energy, which recently signed a

solar project agreement with PsomasFMG to

purchase the Antelope Valley UHSD project.

One of the key factors that contributed to

Rosendin Electric winning the Antelope Valley

solar contract was the fact that Rosendin Electric

was willing to offer a performance ratio guaran-

tee, assuring that the completed project would

perform to deliver power at an optimum level

over a specified period of time. Rosendin

Electric’s extensive expertise in photovoltaic

construction, combined with its long-standing

market history and solid financial footing, makes

the company one of the few California electrical

contractors able to offer such a guarantee.

“With the addition of the Antelope Valley

contract, Rosendin Electric becomes one of the

largest solar distributed generation EPC con-

tractors in the West,” said Duncan Frederick,

Director of Solar Operations for Rosendin

Electric. “We have always been committed to

delivering alternative energy solutions, and we

have an unprecedented track record in wind

farm installation. With the addition of this proj-

ect to our portfolio of solar projects installed

over the past year, we are quickly building the

same reputation for delivering solar power.”

When this project is completed in the first

quarter of 2011, Rosendin Electric will have

been responsible for completing projects that

deliver nearly 20 MW of solar power in the

state of California within 18 months. Rosendin

Electric recently completed the installation of

a 1.2-MW solar array at the Mineta San Jose

International Airport with partner Canadian

Solar, and is in the process of completing sim-

ilar projects for the Hollister Wastewater

Treatment Project, Hollister Unified School

District, San Ysidro School District and the

Arizona Western College in Yuma, Ariz.

Rosendin Electric will also complete a 5-MW

solar project for the Sunset Reservoir in San

Francisco within the next two months. AEN

WIND POWER


First Wind, an independent U.S.-based wind energy company, held a groundbreak-

ing ceremony to commemorate the start of construction of its 30-MW Kahuku

Wind project, the only utility-scale wind energy project on Oahu and one of the

largest in Hawaii. As part of the ceremony, state, local and community leaders joined

First Wind at the project site on Oahu’s North Shore to recognize the economic and en-

vironmental benefits of the project, which upon completion will have the capacity to

generate enough clean, renewable energy to power up to 7,700 Oahu homes each year.

Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle led the celebration, as she, officials from First Wind,

community leaders and others conducted a traditional groundbreaking ceremony using

o’o (Hawaiian digging sticks).

“The Kahuku Wind project brings Hawaii another step closer to reducing our state’s

dependence on imported foreign oil and increasing our energy security,” said Gover-

nor Lingle. “These wind turbines will provide another source of clean energy for

Oahu’s power grid, further building on the progress Hawaii has made in becoming a

world leader in clean energy.”

Construction of the Kahuku Wind project, which was spurred along by an expected

$117 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), will create

immediate economic benefits for Oahu such as employment opportunities during

design, engineering and construction including approximately 200 construction jobs.

The loan guarantee is expected to close soon.

Once completed, the project will support the ambitious Hawaiian Clean Energy

Initiative, which aims to have 70 percent of the state’s energy for electricity and ground

transportation come from clean energy by 2030.

“The start of construction of Kahuku Wind is a major milestone for First Wind and this

significant renewable energy project would not have been possible without the hard work and

support from the DOE, the Governor, state and local leaders and members of the community,

many of which I’m pleased could join us at the groundbreaking ceremony,” said Paul Gaynor,

CEO of First Wind.

“In particular, it is important to acknowledge the vital role that DOE and its Loan Program

Office played in advancing this project as the loan guarantee enabled us to secure the neces-

sary financing to build this innovative wind energy project, which will create jobs, generate

clean power for the people of Oahu, and help Hawaii gain greater energy independence,”

Gaynor added.

Located west of Kahuku town in the hills near Charlie Road, the Kahuku Wind project is

incorporating innovative technologies. The project will consist of twelve 2.5-MW Clipper

Liberty wind turbines. Manufactured in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Liberty turbines are the

largest wind turbines manufactured in North America.

Kahuku Wind will also include a battery energy storage system to assist in meeting perform-

ance standards and smoothing fluctuations in wind energy output. The battery storage system

was developed by Xtreme Power Inc. and will be the largest of its kind in Hawaii. The

project will also include a dedicated communication system to connect the wind energy

project to Hawaiian Electric Company’s system operations and dispatch center.

“Our continued collaboration with First Wind underscores the importance of power

management systems in mitigating the variability of wind energy,” said Carlos Coe, CEO of

Xtreme Power. “We are excited to work with First Wind on the Kahuku project and look

forward seamlessly delivering clean energy to the Hawaiian grid.” AEN

First Wind Begins Construction of Oahu-based Kahuku Wind Project

“The start of construction of Kahuku Wind isa major milestone for First Wind and this

significant renewable energy project wouldnot have been possible without the hard work

and support from the DOE, the Governor,state and local leaders and members of the

community, many of which I’m pleased couldjoin us at the groundbreaking ceremony.”

Paul Gaynor, CEO of First Wind

WIND POWER


Final Phase of PGE’s Biglow CanyonWind Farm Begins to Spin PowerPortland General Electric Company

announced the first turbines assembled

for Phase 3 of its Biglow Canyon Wind Farm

have begun generating electricity and supply-

ing power to the Pacific Northwest’s electric-

ity grid. Twenty-four turbines are currently

generating power, with all 76 turbines in

Phase 3 expected to be completed by the end

of the third quarter of 2010.

“Bringing the first turbines of the final

phase of Biglow Canyon Wind Farm online

represents a big step in developing more re-

newable energy resources for our customers

and for the growing wind energy develop-

ment in the region,” said Jim Piro, PGE Pres-

ident and CEO. “We expect to have the

entire 450-MW wind farm online on time

and on budget.”

The $1 billion Biglow Canyon Wind Farm

is PGE’s first fully-owned wind power facil-

ity. Phase 1 of the project began producing

power in December 2007 with 76 turbines

and Phase 2 in August 2009 with 65 turbines,

with a combined generating capacity of 275

MW. The addition of the final phase will

bring the total installed capacity to 450

MW. Given the variability of wind power, the

plant is expected to produce an average of

around 150 MW—enough to power the

homes of about 125,000 average PGE

residential customers.

Trucks carrying wind-turbine parts for

the final phase began arriving at Biglow

Canyon in April 2010, with about 10

truckloads required to assemble a single

wind turbine. Each of the 415-foot-tall

turbines, from base to tip of blade, has a

generating capacity of 2.3 MW. Phase 3 is

providing jobs for about 150 employees and

contractors during construction.

The Biglow Canyon Wind Farm is

located near Wasco in Sherman County,

Ore. It is PGE’s largest renewable

energy project. When complete, it is also

expected to be one of the largest wind

power facilities in the Pacific Northwest.

In addition to providing carbon-free and

emissions-free generation of electric

power, the wind farm is creating jobs,

providing income for local businesses,

generating tax revenues for local govern-

ment, and providing easement payments

to landowners.

The Biglow Canyon project was developed

by Orion Energy LLC. It is being built by

PGE, which also owns and operates it. AEN

BP Wind Energy Announces SiteMobilization for Colorado Wind Farm BP Wind Energy announced that it is mo-

bilizing the construction site for the

Cedar Creek II wind farm in Weld County,

Colo. The project will have a generating

capacity of 250.8 megawatts (MW) and on

completion will be one of the largest wind

facilities in the state of Colorado.

The Cedar Creek II wind farm will be lo-

cated on a 30,000-acre site some 20 miles

north of New Raymer, in Weld County and

east of the existing 300.5 MW Cedar Creek I

wind farm. The project will utilize 63 GE sle

wind turbines each with a rated capacity of

1.6 MW and 60 Nordex wind turbines each

with a rated capacity of 2.5 MW.

“Today marks another significant invest-

ment commitment by BP Wind Energy as

we continue to build out our wind portfolio

across this nation,” said John Graham, Pres-

ident, BP Wind Energy. “The Cedar Creek

II wind farm will create new jobs in

construction, deliver an additional revenue

stream to rural communities without impact-

ing traditional ranching practices, and will

provide clean, affordable power to over

75,000 residents of Colorado.”

The project will employ some 250 work-

ers during peak construction and is expected

to be in commercial operation in the first half

of 2011. The construction contract has been

awarded to Blattner Energy, the largest

installer of wind energy in North America.

Power from the Cedar Creek II wind farm

has been sold under a long-term power pur-

chase agreement to Public Service Company

of Colorado (PSCo), an Xcel Energy com-

pany. The electrical output generated from

the project will reach the grid through ap-

proximately 20 miles of new overhead trans-

mission lines which will tie into the existing

Cedar Creek I wind farm’s transmission line

that interconnects with PSCO. AEN

second largest wind farm in the state.

Electricity will be delivered to the Public

Service Company of Colorado (PSCo) grid

using a 42-mile transmission line, a unique fea-

ture compared to traditional transmission lines

according to Andrew Fowler, Executive Vice

President of Construction for RES Americas.

“Cedar Point is unique because it has quite

a long transmission line,” said Fowler. “Nor-

mally, transmission lines are a challenge for

the wind industry because many lines

throughout the country are being filled up so

more transmission lines are required to trans-

fer the electricity to the areas in need. How-

ever, we were able to work with local

landowners and various authorities to make

the leasing process as easy as possible so this

new transmission line could be built.”

Development of the Cedar Point Wind En-

ergy Project originally began four to five

years ago. RES Americas had to advance

through various aspects of wind resource

assessments and permitting. After securing

the land and working with stakeholders in the

region to discuss environmental impacts and

benefits, it got to the point where the project

could be sold, Fowler noted.

“We were very excited about Cedar Point

because it was our first project in Colorado

after our move from Austin, and our third proj-

ect with Enbridge,” explained Fowler. “We

have been in the United States for 12 1/2 years

and since then we’ve built just over 4,000-

MW of wind farms. It made sense to work

with a company like Enbridge that was already

so committed to green energy investments.”

While Enbridge operates in Canada and the

United States, the company is expanding its

interest in green energy technologies. Cur-

rently, Enbridge has interests in eight renew-

able energy facilities, including wind and

solar projects, a hybrid fuel cell and waste

heat recovery facilities. The 250-MW Cedar

Point project brings the total generating ca-

pacity of the green energy projects in which

Enbridge has interests to more than 800

MW—enough to meet the energy needs of

about 260,000 homes.

“Colorado has tremendous wind resources

and good transmission access, and we believe

that this state has the ideal environment for us

to grow our emerging renewable energy busi-

ness in the United States,” said John Mani-

awski, Director for Business Development at

Enbridge. “We currently have six wind proj-

ects—Cedar Point will be the seventh—and

this project complements our company’s per-

sonal goal of neutralizing

our carbon footprint.”

The contract was

signed in July and con-

struction will begin

shortly with substantial

completion expected in

late 2011. Enbridge and

RES Americas expect

the project will create up

to 250 construction jobs;

additionally, through its

ongoing operations, the

wind farm will generate

revenue for businesses in

the region.

“This state has a very strong focus on de-

veloping and growing its renewable energy

business,” said Maniawski. “The local gov-

ernment, businesses and community truly

support renewable energy and are committed

to reaching that goal of the state’s electricity

coming from clean-energy sources. The de-

velopment of Cedar Point will be a step in the

right direction.” AEN

WIND FARM (Continued from Page 1)

BP Wind Energy’s existing Cedar Creek I Wind Farm in Colorado

Portland General Electric’s Biglow CanyonWind Farm in Sherman County, Ore.

Photo courtesy of Enbridge

EMERGING teCHNOLOGIES


in both winter and summer energy savings.

Solutia is the market leader in the development

of these films under the EnerLogic™ trademark.

“The Department of Energy has recognized

the value of window films as a retrofit solution

to improving energy efficiency,” said Ray Kol-

lar, President and General Manager of Solutia’s

Performance Films segment. “Today’s con-

sumers have also learned that, just like changing

their lighting, window films are an affordable,

easy-to-make choice that can add significant en-

ergy savings and real value. As a global leader

in film technology, we’ll use this grant to keep

pushing the technology forward.”

The grant proposal requested funds to expand

research of new high-performance window

films for residential and commercial buildings.

Solutia’s current technology is utilized in

new films that add up to 92 percent more

insulating power to existing commercial and

residential windows—improving energy

Solutia’s Performance Films Segment Receives Grant to Invest in Energy-Efficient Building TechnologiesGrant targeted to further development ofEnerLogic™ window film series.

Solutia Inc. (NYSE: SOA) announced that its

Performance Films segment was recently

awarded a $356,000 American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant, entitled “Re-

covery Act: Advanced Energy Efficient Build-

ing Technologies,” from the U.S. Department of

Energy. The awarded funds have been ear-

marked for the continued research, development

and commercialization of high-performance,

energy-efficient retrofit window film tech-

nology for residential and commercial buildings.

This technology involves new film coatings

and techniques designed to improve energy

efficiency in every climate zone, specifically

films with low emissivity (low-e) properties, a

measurement indicating a window’s ability to

minimize far-infrared heat transmissions, which

produces significant improvement in a win-

dow’s insulating properties, potentially resulting

America’s clean energy future, including

more than $76 million to support advanced

energy-efficient building technology projects

and the development of training programs for

commercial building equipment technicians,

building operators and energy auditors.

To learn more about Solutia’s EnerLogic

window films patent-pending technology

and the potential energy savings, visit

www.enerlogicfilm.com. AEN

efficiency throughout the year.

“A building’s energy efficiency starts

at its windows,” explained Dave Kaliser,

Director of Product Marketing-Architec-

tural for Solutia’s Performance Films

segment. The proposed work will allow

technologies similar to those utilized in

high-performance low-e glass coatings

to be incorporated into retrofit window

films, while keeping costs in line with

current high performance window films.

“The technologies we’re working on include

improved coating flexibility and low infrared-

transmission coatings,” Kaliser continued.

“These easy-to-install window films can

increase energy efficiency year round, with

much faster paybacks than traditional window

replacement and substantially better energy

savings per dollar spent.”

Using the ARRA, the Department of Energy

is making unprecedented investments to build

opening in August. This major step in Atlanta

brings Marriott one step closer to its goal to

expand its LEED portfolio to approximately

300 properties by 2015, the broadest

commitment of its kind in the industry.

“We’re extremely proud and excited to

be among the first to achieve the highest

levels of LEED certification in Atlanta,”

said Erika Alexander, Area Vice President,

Marriott International Inc.

Both the Atlanta Marriott Gateway and

SpringHill Suites Atlanta Airport Gateway

were purposely built on a site near alternative

transportation and accessible via Atlanta

airport’s newly built SkyTrain. Each hotel was

created with ten percent of recycled materials

and a landscape and irrigation design that

Marriott Hotels to Become Atlanta’s GreenestSpringHill Suites Atlanta Airport Gateway toBecome City’s First LEED® Gold Hotel; At-lanta Marriott Gateway to Earn LEED Sil-ver from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Two newly constructed Marriott

International-branded hotels located in Atlanta,

Ga.’s Gateway Complex—adjacent to one of

the world’s busiest U.S. airports and home to

the Georgia International Convention Center—

will be among the greenest hotels in the city.

The SpringHill Suites Atlanta Airport

Gateway is LEED® (Leadership in Energy

and Environmental Design) registered by the

U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and

on track to becoming Atlanta’s first LEED

Gold hotel. The Atlanta Marriott Gateway

will apply for LEED Silver status upon

reduces water consumption by 50 percent.

They will use 30 percent less water and 28

percent less energy than a non-LEED hotel.

Twenty percent of all hotel supplies are

sourced locally, within a 500-mile radius, and

each have a white roof to reduce heat

absorption. Both hotels use non-coal produced

energy, low-flow plumbing and shower

fixtures, energy efficient lighting and low-

VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint,

sealants and carpets.

While the SpringHill Suites uniquely offers

90 percent natural light throughout the hotel,

both hotels regularly monitor and test indoor

air quality to ensure the best level and pro-

vide guests access to thermostats to control

personal environments. Additionally, both

offer recycling in centralized locations, hybrid

rental cars, premium parking spaces for low-

emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles, paperless

billing, green meeting options and materials.

Last fall, Marriott announced a goal to

expand its LEED portfolio to approximately

300 properties by 2015, the broadest commit-

ment of its kind in the industry. Today, there

are 30 LEED hotels certified or registered

across all Marriott International brands.

Much of the company’s green hotel expan-

sion will be fueled by a new Courtyard hotel

prototype that is pre-certified LEED, making

it faster, easier and less expensive for hotel

owners. The new prototype will save owners

roughly $100,000, six months in design time

and up to 25 percent energy and water sav-

ings. Marriott plans to roll out a prototype for

its extended stay brands by year-end. AEN

UTC Power, a United Technologies

Corp. company, announced it has set

durability records for its latest genera-

tion transit bus fuel cell system. A PureMotion®

Model 120 fuel cell power plant aboard an

Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC

Transit) bus operating in the Greater Oakland,

Calif. area has surpassed 7,000 hours in service

with the original cell stacks and no cell replace-

ments, and another has exceeded 6,000 hours.

“Based on industry data we’ve seen, these

durability milestones are unmatched in the

industry,” said Ken Stewart, UTC Power Vice

President-Transportation. “We’ve worked very

hard at UTC Power over the past several years

to improve our fuel cell stack durability, which

is recognized as a key challenge to commercial-

izing fuel cell vehicles. These operating hour

numbers demonstrate our significant progress.”

Three of AC Transit’s buses are equipped

with UTC Power fuel cell systems and have

now traveled more than 255,000 miles, with an

average fuel economy that is 65 percent better

than the control fleet of diesel buses running the

same routes and duty cycles.

Fuel cell buses produce no harmful tailpipe

emissions and provide a smooth, quiet ride for

passengers. Transit buses with fuel cell sys-

tems can have a major impact on greenhouse

gas reduction, ranging from a 43 percent

reduction over diesel buses if hydrogen is sup-

plied from the reformation of natural gas, up

to a 100 percent reduction when hydrogen is

generated from on-site renewable sources like

solar and wind power.

“This is the type of result we and our in-

dustry are looking for as we make steady

progress toward proving the commercial

viability of fuel cell buses for public tran-

sit. We’re looking forward to applying the

success of UTC Power’s newest fuel cell

systems in our new fleet of 12 next-

generation buses, as they enter passenger

service over the next six months,” said

Jaimie Levin, AC Transit’s Director of

Alternative Fuels Policy and Hydrogen

Fuel Cell Program Manager.

UTC Power is part of United Technologies

Corp., which provides energy-efficient products

and services to the aerospace and building in-

dustries. Based in South Windsor, Conn., UTC

Power is a world leader in developing and pro-

ducing fuel cells for on-site power at buildings

and for transportation applications.

AC Transit serves more than 1.5 million

people in 13 cities (including Oakland and

Berkeley) and two counties in the East Bay of

the San Francisco Bay Area. With a fleet of

600 buses, it carries more than 67 million

passengers annually. AEN

UTC Power Transit Bus Fuel Cell System Sets Durability Record

OTHER alternatives


NCES is now working with the City Col-

lege of New York to locate the top 20 tidal

generation sites along the New Jersey

coastline from New York harbor to Cape

May. Funding for the 18-month study is

supported by a $260,415 grant from the

New Jersey Department of Transportation

(NJDOT) and the University Transportation

Research Center, which is based at CCNY.

“The constant and predictable tidal resource

in that area makes for attractive site propos-

als,” said Dr. Hanson Tang, CCNY Assis-

tant Professor of Civil Engineering.

“Just like wind and solar energy, tide en-

ergy is renewable,” he added. “However,

it is special because general tidal energy

systems are completely submerged under

water, and thus avoid the view-scape

issues that have plagued offshore wind

systems in many areas of the U.S.”

“New Jersey has a goal of 20 percent re-

newable energy by 2020,” said Roger

Bason, NCES President and Founder.

“And within the last 20 years of the tidal

industry, there have been numerous

advancements in computer modeling,

better blades and a better understanding of

turbine designs that cannot be ignored any

longer. We’re right on the cusp of change

and very grateful for the support to

investigate the statewide potential of tidal

power generation.”

Despite these technological advance-

ments in turbines and electricity genera-

tors, the tidal power industry faces some

significant challenges: Aside from high

construction costs that can significantly

prolong the investment return period, site

selection is critical. The kinetic energy in

a current is a cubic function of its veloc-

ity, which means that a tide stream mov-

ing twice as fast as another tide stream of

equal volume would generate eight times

as much energy as the slower flow. That

means that small differences in current

speed have much larger effects on the cur-

rent’s energy. Thus, in investigating the

feasibility of a site, it’s critical to measure

current speeds very precisely.

NCES’ site evaluation service special-

izes in calculating the tide’s speed in order

to come up with precise locations on

where to install turbines. For this new site

analysis, researches at NCES and CCNY

are using a combination of computer mod-

eling and field measurement to identify the

positions where power generation is max-

imized along the New Jersey coastline.

“We are able to take physical measure-

ments of bathymetry—the depth of the

water relative to sea level—and water

speed from a survey vessel,” explained

Bason. “There is also a shore-based team

who measures water height, and takes soil

and rock samples. Since CCNY has ex-

perts in computer modeling to develop

predictable tidal movement, it made sense

to partner with Dr. Tang to help us deter-

mine the best sites.”

With computer modeling technology,

NCES will be able to produce more re-

fined estimates and quickly identify the

best sites for power generation. And since

the purpose of the project is to generate

power for marine equipment and bridges

along the New Jersey coastline, the high

predictability of the local tides is a huge

benefit for the power industry.

“Hydropower really offers the complete

energy package,” Bason said. “It’s renew-

able, reliable and affordable. The main ben-

efit of tidal energy is that you can basically

predict when power can be dispatched.”

Currently, NCES has identified 12 sites

throughout the United States, including

Alaska. These sites are preliminary per-

mits as established with the Federal En-

ergy Regulatory Commission (FERC). In

New Jersey, three of the sites have FERC

permits and two have plans for turbine

deployments. According to Bason, these

deployments are waiting for additional

state and federal permits, and will be

installed next year. AEN

Department of Energy Announces $24 Million for Algal Biofuels ResearchT

he U.S. Department of Energy

(DOE) announced the investment of

up to $24 million for three research

groups to tackle key hurdles in the com-

mercialization of algae-based biofuels.

The selections will support the develop-

ment of a clean, sustainable transportation

sector—a goal of the Department’s contin-

ued effort to spur the creation of the

domestic bio-industry while creating jobs.

Developing cost-effective renewable trans-

portation fuels is a key component of the

Administration’s strategy to cut green-

house gas emissions and move the nation

toward energy independence.

“Partnerships such as these focus the

creative powers of the public, private and

academic sectors on key challenges facing

the development of renewable energy for

transportation,” said Assistant Secretary

for Energy Efficiency and Renewable En-

ergy Cathy Zoi. “The United States must

find effective ways to hasten the develop-

ment of technologies for advanced biofu-

els made from algae and other renewable

resources to reduce our need for foreign

sources of oil.” Zoi made the announce-

ment while speaking at the Biotechnology

Industry Organization (BIO) 2010 World

Congress on Industrial Biotechnology

and Bioprocessing.

The consortia consist of partners from

academia, national laboratories and private

industries that are based across the coun-

try, broadening the geographic range and

technical expertise of DOE partners in the

area of algal biofuels. Projects are expected

to continue for a period of three years. To-

gether, they represent a diversified portfo-

lio that will help accelerate algal biofuels

development with the objective of signifi-

cantly increasing production of affordable,

high-quality algal biofuels that are environ-

mentally and economically sustainable.

The three consortia selected for funding are:

• Sustainable Algal Biofuels Consor-

tium (Mesa, Ariz.)—Led by Arizona State

University, this consortium will focus on

testing the acceptability of algal biofuels

as replacements for petroleum-based fuels.

Tasks include investigating biochemical

conversion of algae to fuels and products,

and analyzing physical chemistry proper-

ties of algal fuels and fuel intermediates.

(DOE share: up to $6 million)

• Consortium for Algal Biofuels

Commercialization (San Diego, Calif.)—

Led by the University of California, San

Diego, this consortium will concentrate on

developing algae as a robust biofuels feed-

stock. Tasks include investigating new ap-

proaches for algal crop protection, algal

nutrient utilization and recycling, and de-

veloping genetic tools. (DOE funding: up

to $9 million)

• Cellana LLC Consortium (Kailua-Kona,

Hawaii)—Led by Cellana LLC, this consor-

tium will examine large-scale production of

fuels and feed from microalgae grown in sea-

water. Tasks include integrating new algal

harvesting technologies with pilot-scale

cultivation test beds, and developing marine

microalgae as animal feed for the aquaculture

industry. (DOE funding: up to $9 million)

National Algal Biofuels

Technology Roadmap

Despite algae’s potential, many technical

and economic challenges must be over-

come for algal biofuels to be

commercialized. To identify

these hurdles and guide

research and develop-

ment activities, DOE

convened the National

Algal Biofuels Technology

Roadmap Workshop,

bringing together more

than 200 experts and

stakeholders from

across the country.

The Department syn-

thesized workshop re-

sults and released a draft

report for public comment

in June 2009. The final

National Algal Biofuels

Technology Roadmap

released in June reflects

the substantive comments

received and is intended to

guide future work and

investments in algal biofuels. Under

the Recovery Act, the Department

awarded funding earlier this year to an

algal research consortium to tackle a

broad range of barriers identified in the

roadmap report.

Additional information on algal

biofuels is available on the Department’s

Biomass Program website at

www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass. AEN

TIDAL ENERGY (Continued from Page 1)

Photo courtesy of National Currents Energy Services

POWER PROFILES


AEN: How

did you be-

come inter-

ested in wind

energy?

TF: I was in-

terested in

wind ever

since I was a

child because

my parents

were inter-

ested in alter-

native energy. Towards the end of my

childhood I was in homes that were

passively-designed for solar energy. After

college, I actually worked in the aerospace

world and gained a lot of experience.

Eventually I was laid off, but it ended up

being a blessing in disguise since I was

able to concentrate more on my passion for

wind energy. I joined the National Renew-

able Energy Laboratory [NREL] in 1994

after I heard they were looking for women

with advanced engineering degrees. Since

that time, I’ve learned so much about wind

energy and its uses inside and outside of

the United States.

AEN: Please tell our readers a little about

NREL and what you do.

TF: At NREL, we are one of the

Department of Energy’s laborites and our

focus has been 100 percent on renewable

energy since the late 1970s early 1980s. At

that time, we were known as the Solar

Energy Research Institute, but during the

Bush Administration, we were given a

broader focus on renewable energy and

became NREL. Today, we’re viewed as

the most neutral, strongest technical voice

on energy efficiency and renewable

energy. We have at least 10 technical

divisions that handle fundamental research

and testing, and we also do outreach

and education.

My main emphasis for more than a decade

has been on distributed wind projects that

includes small wind and mid-sized wind.

The mid-sized wind sector is relatively

new for us. In regards to small wind, I

work heavily with manufactures designing

new technologies for turbines. I’ve also

gained expertise on the U.S. market

and policies driving renewable energy

when I worked on a program called Wind

Powering America, which focused on

educating tax payers on the wind industry.

I want to help develop new standards

and recommend new practices in today’s

market because, in the end, it’s all about

working together to find new renewable

energy solutions.

AEN: As a woman in a traditionally

male-heavy field, what are your thoughts

on drawing more skilled women engineers

into the wind industry?

TF: I’ve always had a big emphasis on

trying to get more women involved in

math and science, which is why I started

working with a group called Women of

Wind Energy. It started out as a very

small volunteering group and grew so

rapidly that now we have an Executive

Director as a paid staff member. Histori-

cally, we focused on bringing women

into the wind energy and raise that per-

centage. We received stacks of résumés

and letters of recommendations that we

would go through and choose the top

women. These ladies were typically

coming out of college or transitioning to

a new job and wanted to get involved in

renewable energy.

Then we internally recognized outstanding

women leaders in the industry by nominat-

ing Women of the Year—we just recog-

nized our fifth leader at the yearly

conference. By now, we’ve implemented a

Rising Star Award that focuses on younger

women behind the scenes who may not

have that high-powered executive position

yet, but they’re still passionate about wind

energy. We want to empower women that

they can do this and rise about statistics.

AEN: Was your work at NREL greatly

affected by the economy?

TF: Fortunately for us, NREL is hired by

lots of different people so it diversifies our

funding and strengthens our work efforts.

Specifically in wind technology, we are in-

volved on the research side and can often

do things that other companies cannot.

Having people with that knowledge helps

us grow the U.S. manufacturing base. We

are currently developing mid-sized wind

turbine technology [loosely defined as 100

kilowatts up to 1 MW] that has a purpose

in the market today. Communities are very

interested in owning their own turbines

and producing their electricity. We are

working with the DOE to develop new

mid-sized wind energy uses.

AEN: What do you want to see

happen with the wind industry in the

coming years?

TF: I definitely see more and more women

joining the work force for wind energy as

the demographic is shifting in our country.

There is also a report written by the DOE

and wind stake holders that believe we can

have 20 percent of our energy generated

from wind by 2030. Of course, there are

people on the inside who want to push for

50 percent, but I think a goal of 20 is

perfectly acceptable for now. AEN

Trudy ForsythSenior Mechanical Engineer II for National Renewable Energy Laboratory

AEN: Please

tell our readers

a little about

yourself and

how you be-

came involved

in the industry.

LD: I became

interested in

wind and solar

energy in the

1980s, while

working and

living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I

took classes to learn about them and

volunteered for a nonprofit focused on

‘Appropriate Technology,’ as it was called

back then. This brought me into contact

with the Farallones Institute, which cre-

ated the environmental network EcoNet.

As a volunteer, I helped work on an early

interface for EcoNet. All this exposed

me to facets of renewable and sustainable

efforts, and I found what interested me

most was our energy system. I just kept

thinking that there must be some way to

use what is local and clean first, and

use the imported and fossil fuels after that.

So I started digging into how our energy

system was set up and how decisions

were made regarding what technologies

were used.

When I moved from the Bay Area to Min-

neapolis, I connected with a nonprofit that

worked on energy-efficiency and renew-

able energy policy. I learned everything I

could about clean energy policy and advo-

cacy. Wind energy and solar energy were

just getting to be taken seriously by policy

makers, but utilities and many others still

needed to be convinced. I then started full-

time on the early work of Windustry in

1995 by developing and presenting a con-

ference and handbook on wind energy for

farmers and rural landowners and Agricul-

ture Extension folks. I thought that people

could make better decisions about the op-

portunities of wind energy if they knew

more about things like what makes a good

wind project, wind energy economics and

what to expect in the development process.

AEN: What can you tell us about

Windustry?

LD: Windustry is unique because all the

informational materials we develop and

design are to broaden a knowledge base

for the rural landowners and communities

in wind-rich areas, as well as provide in-

formation for the general public. Now, as

we begin our 15th anniversary year, we are

a steady voice for community wind, and

we work to increase the local economic

opportunities and benefits that wind devel-

opment provides. Community wind energy

projects come in many shapes and sizes,

all sharing significant elements of local

ownership and participation, public or pri-

vate. This new economic opportunity for

rural communities can build support for

renewable energy in general, while maxi-

mizing the local economic benefits of

wind energy development.

AEN: What new campaigns are you

currently working on?

LD: We have a brand new campaign right

now called Community Wind across

America. With support from the U.S.

Department of Energy, we will be produc-

ing three regional conferences each year

for the next two years. This year, our

kick-off conferences are in Denver, Colo.

in October, St. Paul, Minn., in November

and State College, Penn. in November/

December. You can visit our website for

dates and details at www.windustry.org.

AEN: What was the biggest challenge the

company has faced due to the economy?

LD: Wind development is so capital-

intensive that when the capital markets

melted in the fall of 2008, so did the wind

industry. As we have seen in so many

ways, creativity comes out of chaos. I

would say we are still working to rebuild

the industry in new and creative ways with

more diverse policy that supports more

diverse business models.

AEN: Where do you see the wind indus-

try headed in the next five to 10 years?

LD: I would not begin to predict where the

wind industry and markets are going over

the next five or 10 years, especially when

it is so dependent on public policy. But I

know what I would like to see happen. I

would like to see more of our technical

know-how and attention aimed at distrib-

uted generation of clean renewable energy,

along with the model we have now of

large, centralized generation. Small and

distributed systems can play a vital role in

our transition to clean energy. They can

complement the centralized systems.

All that, ‘too big to fail’ stuff is failing on

its promise of making our lives better,

especially if it destroys our ecosystem.

On a large scale, we have the Gulf oil spill

affecting the people and wildlife in the

southern United States, we have the tar

sands waste in the west and in Canada,

and mountaintop removal in Appalachia.

We can’t afford to keep turning our natural

resources over to large corporations that

are all consumed with their bottom line.

We must look at how we use energy and

how we can lighten our footprint on the

earth today. AEN

Women in Wind PowerLisa DanielsExecutive Director for Windustry


New Climate and Energy PoliciesCould Create 2.5 Million Jobs,Hold Down Energy Costs

Obama and congressional legislation,

and would reduce U.S. emissions to 27

percent below 1990 levels in 2020, equal

to 4.46 billion metric tons of carbon

dioxide equivalent.

“This report is the first solid economic data

based on what is already underway at the

state level to address climate change and en-

ergy use,” said Kathy Wagner, Director of

Governmental Studies at the Johns Hopkins

University’s Washington, DC Center, which

published the study.

The Center for Climate Strategies was

established in 2004 and is a nonpartisan

501(c)3. CCS works with 40 states and

several regions across the United States,

and in Mexico and China, to develop and

advance comprehensive climate and en-

ergy policies and actions.

The Governmental Studies Program of

Johns Hopkins University Washington

Center periodically publishes timely

reports of path-breaking work that can

better inform ongoing policy debate. This

report can be viewed in full at http://

energypolicyreport.jhu.edu. AEN

New greenhouse gas emissions and en-

ergy policies at the federal level

could generate as many as 2.5 million

new jobs and $134 billion in economic activ-

ity in the United States while keeping energy

costs down, according to a new report from

the Center for Climate Strategies, published

with Johns Hopkins University.

The report is based on economic impacts

of climate policies developed by 16 states

and calls for adoption of 23 specific

policy approaches that have the potential

to reduce pollution, are cost-effective and

improve energy, health, environment and

economic development.

“Several states have pioneered creation of

comprehensive state climate action plans in

recent years,” said Tom Peterson, President

and CEO of the Center for Climate Strate-

gies. “Our analysis provides the first clear in-

dication of what would happen to the

economy if such programs were adopted at

the federal level.”

“These results may sound surprising to

some, but detailed analysis shows opportuni-

ties for well-chosen policies to expand the

economy,” according to Dr. Adam Rose of

the University of Southern California, a

principal author of the study.

“The Center for Climate Strategies’ re-

port findings substantiate that advanced cli-

mate actions are essential to establishing a

stable and strong economy, using clean en-

ergy sources, including renewables and nu-

clear power, as the primary drivers, long

into the future,” said former EPA Adminis-

trator and New Jersey Governor Christine

Todd Whitman, Co-Chair of the Clean and

Safe Energy Coalition (CASEnergy). Cap-

italizing suggested policy adoptions would

focus on creation of new clean energy

sources for heat and power; improved en-

ergy efficiency and industrial processes;

transportation and land use improvements;

agriculture and forestry conservation; and

expanded recycling and waste energy re-

covery under a national framework.

Assuming full and appropriately scaled

implementation of all 23 actions in all

U.S. states, the resulting greenhouse gas

(GHG) reductions would surpass national

GHG targets proposed by President

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

DOE Announces $30 Million for Energy-Efficient Housing Partnerships

The U.S. Department of Energy announced

15 research and deployment partnerships to

help dramatically improve the energy efficiency

of American homes. These highly-qualified,

multidisciplinary teams will receive a total of

up to $30 million for the initial 18 months of

the projects to deliver innovative energy effi-

ciency strategies to the residential market and

address barriers to bringing high-efficiency

homes within reach for all Americans. A total

of up to $20 million per year will also be made

available for the partnerships for three potential

one-year extensions. These research and de-

ployment partnerships will provide technical as-

sistance to retrofit projects and will leverage

industry expertise and funding to support

DOE’s energy efficiency retrofit programs.

This effort will support the Department’s Retro-

fit Ramp-Up initiative, announced by Vice

President Joe Biden in April, which brings

communities, governments, private sector

companies and nonprofit organizations together

to deliver energy-efficiency upgrades—or

retrofits—to whole neighborhoods and cities.

“Home energy efficiency is one of the

easiest, most immediate and most cost-

effective ways to reduce carbon pollution

and save money on energy bills, while

creating new jobs,” said Secretary of Energy

Steven Chu. “By developing and using tools

to reduce residential energy use, we will

spur economic growth here in America and

help homeowners make cost-cutting im-

provements in their homes.”

The partnerships will provide additional

support to ongoing retrofit initiatives that are

making cost-effective energy efficiency

retrofits easily accessible to hundreds of

thousands of American homes and businesses.

These partnerships will research and deploy

new technologies and demonstration projects,

and provide systems engineering, quality as-

surance, and outreach for retrofit projects

throughout the country.

Existing techniques and technologies in

energy efficiency retrofitting—such as air-

tight ducts, windows and doors, heating

and cooling systems, insulation and

caulking—can reduce energy use by up to

40 percent per home and cut energy bills

by $40 billion annually.

The selections were made though the DOE

Building Technologies Program, which forges

research partnerships across the residential

building industry to develop cost-effective

solutions that dramatically reduce the average

energy use of housing while improving

comfort and quality. To find out more, visit

the Buildings Technology Program website at

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings.

To further support the broad deployment of

energy efficiency building retrofits, DOE

hosted the Residential Building Energy Effi-

ciency Meeting 2010 in Denver, Colo. from

July 20-22, to present cutting-edge research re-

sults, identify key stakeholder and market trans-

formation needs, and facilitate collaboration

opportunities between conference participants.

This conference was targeted to researchers, ar-

chitects, contractors, manufacturers, builders,

utilities, legislators, lenders, realtors, auditors,

raters, installation technicians, HOA representa-

tives and anyone else interested in creating

substantial connections with the field.

Visit www.energy.gov to read the full

report of the selected teams, which will each

receive between $500,000 and $2.5 million

depending on their performance. AEN

Jack Jacobs, Managing Partner at

Cleantech Law Partners, will provide

insights into current legislative issues

facing the renewable energy industry

with a monthly column.

Jack Jacobs is the Founder and Manag-

ing Partner of Cleantech Law Partners, a

boutique law firm that caters to the unique

legal and policy needs of renewable

energy and cleantech companies. Before

founding Cleantech Law Partners, Jacobs

held a variety of legal, policy and business

positions in the United States and abroad,

including environmental litigation lawyer

for a Boston law firm, consultant for a

venture capital fund that focuses on early-

stage renewable energy and cleantech

companies, policy analyst for the Israel

Ministry of Environmental Protection, and

as a legal fellow for the United Nations

Environment Program in Geneva. For the

past few years, Jacobs has taught a gradu-

ate-level course in comparative environ-

mental law and renewable energy policy.

He holds an LL.M. degree in environ-

mental law and natural resources policy

from the Northwestern School of Law at

Lewis & Clark College, a J.D. degree with

a concentration in environmental law from

Vermont Law School, and a B.A. degree

in environmental analysis and planning

from Frostburg State University, where he

graduated cum laude. Jacobs was admit-

ted to the Massachusetts bar. AEN

Coming in October: Policy Perspectives

ANSI Accredits First Certification Body Under Superior Energy Performance Pilot Accreditation ProgramThe American National Standards Institute

(ANSI), coordinator of the U.S. stan-

dards and conformity assessment system,

announced that KEMA Registered Quality

is the first certification body to be accred-

ited under the Institute’s pilot program for

Superior Energy Performance (SEP).

The SEP Program, an initiative guided

by the U.S. Council on Energy-Efficient

Manufacturing (U.S. CEEM), aims to pro-

vide industrial plants with a road map for

achieving continual improvement in en-

ergy efficiency while maintaining compet-

itiveness. Under the terms of the program,

a third-party certification body assesses

the conformance of a manufacturing facil-

ity to the SEP requirements for energy

intensity improvement. By requiring that

these certification bodies earn ANSI ac-

creditation, U.S. CEEM recognizes the

credibility and value that accreditation

adds to the process by attesting to the com-

petence and qualification of certifiers to

perform their activities.

Launched in late 2009, the ANSI pilot pro-

gram for Superior Energy Performance is the

latest addition to the Institute’s slate of ac-

creditation programs. Following deliberation

and review of the assessment results, the

ANSI accreditation committee made the de-

cision to award KEMA Registered Quality

with initial accreditation in accordance with

ANSI accreditation requirements and the

following standards and scopes:

• SO 14065:2007, Greenhouse gases—

Requirements for greenhouse gas validation

and verification bodies.

• Superior Energy Performance, Plant

Measurement and Verification Protocol—

Energy Intensity Pathway.

“Accreditation under ANSI’s program for

Superior Energy Performance attests that

KEMA is competent and capable to assess

compliance with standards specifying contin-

ued improvement and efficiency in energy

use,” said Lane Hallenbeck, ANSI Vice

President of Accreditation Services. “ANSI

congratulates KEMA for achieving accredi-

tation in the vanguard of this new initiative.”

SEP is one of several programs that support

the Save Energy Now LEADER initiative,

launched by the U.S. Department of Energy

(DOE) Industrial Technologies Program (ITP)

to drive a reduction of 25 percent or more

in industrial energy intensity in ten years.

Working in partnership with U.S. CEEM,

states and regional teams, ITP conducts energy

management demonstrations that help Save

Energy Now LEADER companies achieve

ambitious industrial energy intensity reduction

goals through strategic energy management.

ANSI’s portfolio of accreditation services

includes various programs for product

certification bodies, personnel certification

bodies, certificate programs, greenhouse gas

validation and verification bodies, and

standards developers.

For more information on the SEP pilot

accreditation program, contact Reinaldo

Figueiredo, Senior Program Director for

Product and Process Accreditation Programs,

(202-331-3611; [email protected]). AEN

MONEY MATTERS


37 Projects in 16 Counties Will Save26,600 Megawatt Hours of ElectricityEach Year

Pennsylvania is expanding its

commitment to advancing clean, solar

energy with the investment of $18

million in 37 projects in 16 counties,

Department of Community and Eco-

nomic Development Secretary Austin

Burke said in July.

“These new projects are creating jobs

while helping to make the development

and deployment of solar technology

more affordable,” Burke said after the

projects were approved by the

Commonwealth Financing Authority on

July 7. “Ultimately, this means substan-

tial energy savings for families,

businesses, schools and municipalities

that use clean, renewable technologies.”

The 37 projects, approved through the

state’s solar energy program, are in

Adams, Allegheny, Beaver, Berks,

Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Franklin,

Lancaster, Lawrence, Lehigh, Mont-

gomery, Northampton, Philadelphia,

Schuylkill and York counties. They are

expected to leverage nearly $88 million

in private investments.

The solar projects will have an in-

stalled capacity of more than 24

megawatts and will generate at least

26,600 megawatt hours of electricity

annually, or enough to power approxi-

mately 2,700 Pennsylvania homes. In

addition to generating 26,600 solar

renewable energy credits a year, the

systems will annually save $5.2 million

during each of the next 20 years.

Burke said one of the projects,

Frazer/Exton Development LP, will

receive a $2.7 million solar energy

program grant for the purchase and in-

stallation of a solar photovoltaic system

next to Makamie at Whiteland, a

planned senior housing community to be

developed in East Whiteland Township.

The 1,800-kilowatt, ground-mounted

system will generate 2.3 million kilo-

watt hours of energy annually, which

could save the facility $286,000 in

annual energy costs. The $8.6 million

project will leverage an additional $5.8

million in private investment.

The Commonwealth Financing

Authority administers Pennsylvania’s

economic stimulus programs, including

portions of the $650 million Alternative

Energy Investment Fund that Governor

Rendell signed into law in 2008.

For more information on state alter-

native energy investment programs

available through the Department of

Community and Economic Develop-

ment, visit www.newpa.com or call

866-466-3972. AEN

ARPA-E (GRIDS) funding to acceleratedevelopment of fuel-free, ubiquitousenergy storage technology that firmsintermittent power

General Compression Inc. (“GC”), a

Massachusetts company developing an

innovative compressed air energy storage

system that burns no fuel when generating

electricity, has been selected to receive up to

$750,000 in the Department of Energy’s

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy

(ARPA-E GRIDS) funding program. The

government grant will help accelerate the

development of General Compression’s

Advanced Energy Storage (GCAES™)

technology and projects.

“We strongly support ARPA-E’s strategic

goals, and are impressed with the rigor of the

selection process, and speed with which the

ARPA-E team has implemented the program.

It is an honor for GC to be selected to partic-

ipate in DOE’s transformational energy initia-

tive. The successful development of a scalable

and ubiquitous energy storage technology will

enable intermittent renewable generators like

wind and solar to serve a greater percentage of

the U.S. electricity load,” said Eric Ingersoll,

CEO of General Compression.

GC is currently testing its GCAES™ unit

at a facility in Massachusetts and in 2011 will

begin building a pilot project in Texas with

partner ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP).

General Compression AwardedDOE Grant for Compressed Air Energy Storage Project

Pennsylvania Invests $18 Million to Support Alternative Energy Projects Groups Represent Nearly 600,000 Residential

and Small Commercial CustomersFirstEnergy Corp.’s Ohio electric utility

companies—Ohio Edison, Cleveland Elec-

tric Illuminating and Toledo Edison—an-

nounced that Northeast Ohio Public Energy

Council (NOPEC) and Northwest Ohio

Aggregation Coalition (NOAC), govern-

mental electric aggregation groups that rep-

resent nearly 600,000 customers of the

utility companies, have signed a Supple-

mental Stipulation supporting the compa-

nies’ Ohio Electric Security Plan (ESP).

NOPEC and NOAC join the utilities and 17

other parties, including the cities of Cleve-

land and Akron, staff of the Public Utilities

Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and several

manufacturing, education, hospital and

consumer groups, in support of the ESP.

“This plan is supported by a broad coali-

tion representing residential, commercial,

industrial and low-income customers,” said

FirstEnergy President and Chief Executive

Officer Anthony J. Alexander. “We are

hopeful that the PUCO will act soon to

approve the ESP so that our customers can take

advantage of the benefits offered in this plan.”

As part of this agreement, the compa-

nies will provide additional benefits to

customers, including:

• $12 million for the companies’ Fuel Fund

to support low-income payment assistance

programs during the three-year plan period,

an increase from the $6 million that the com-

panies currently provide.

• $300,000 to support energy efficiency and

other programs to benefit Toledo Edison

customers—consistent with what has been

offered to customers in Cleveland and Akron

under a previous ESP stipulation.

• Support for the continued development of

wind and solar facilities in Ohio through

long-term contracts to purchase Renewable

Energy Credits.

• An outside audit of the companies’ annual

reports of capital improvement investments.

• A commitment that customers will not pay

certain costs related to transmission projects

approved by the PJM Interconnection, a

regional transmission organization, for the

longer of the five-year period from June 1,

2011, through May 31, 2016, or when the

amount of costs avoided by customers totals

$360 million, provided PJM’s cost allocation

methodology is not substantially altered.

In addition to the parties who have agreed to

support the plan, a regional environmental

group has agreed to support aspects related to

renewable energy support, and four low-income

agencies have agreed not to oppose the ESP.

Under the proposed ESP, which was filed

on March 23, 2010, base distribution rates

would remain in place through May 31, 2014.

The plan also outlines a competitive bidding

process that would be used to establish gener-

ation supply and pricing for customers who do

not choose alternative suppliers. In addition,

the companies would provide $3 million for

economic development and jobs support in

their service territories and $1.5 million for

low-income customer assistance programs. AEN

NOPEC and NOAC Sign Agreement to Support FirstEnergy Ohio Utilities’Electric Security Plan

Energy Capital announced the final close

of Energy Capital Partners II, a private

equity fund focused on the acquisition, de-

velopment and construction of North Amer-

ican energy infrastructure assets. The fund

will primarily invest in assets in the fossil

and renewable power generation, electric

transmission and midstream gas sectors.

Energy Capital’s Senior Partner, Doug Kim-

melman, commented, “we are appreciative of

the support and trust of our many Limited

Partners and we look forward to providing at-

tractive investment returns across an energy

landscape with accelerating capital demands.”

Fund II has made several investments

to date, including the completed acquisition

of three natural gas-fired power generating

facilities in New England, a 100-mile gas

gathering pipeline system under construction

in the Barnett Shale region in Texas, an elec-

tric transmission line under development

in Southern California and an operating

business providing electrical infrastructure

construction and maintenance services.

The fund exceeded its $3.5 billion target

capital raise amount and completed the

final close at the capped amount of $4.335

billion, which includes capital committed

from the Partners and employees of Energy

Capital Partners.

Kirkland & Ellis served as fund counsel

and Park Hill Group acted as placement

agent for the fund. AEN

Energy Capital Partners Raises $4.335 Billion for Fund II

Direct Liquid Injection Vaporizer Systems

The Brooks Instrument family of high-performingdirect liquid injection (DLI) vaporizer systems features unique atomization and heat exchangertechnologies for end-users requiring reliable liquid vaporization. The DLI vaporizer can acceptmultiple liquid inlets and will generate perfectlymixed vapors. Brooks offers several heat exchanger designs to accommodate a wide rangeof liquid properties: extremely low vapor pressures(sub 1 torr), very low-flow rates (sub 5 grams perhour) and very high-flow rates.

Brooks Instrument(tel) 888-554-FLOWwww.brooksinstrument.com

DuPont Offers PV Manufacture’s a New High-Performance Seal Product Zalak® 5300 Seals Help Bridge Performance Gap

BY STEVE COX As PV manufacturers use more aggressive

and efficient chemicals, such as nitrogen tri-

fluoride (NF3), and oxygen (O2) plasma to

increase up time and improve output, more

strain is placed on the manufacturing

process. Materials traditionally used in PV

manufacturing, like silicone, fluorosilicone,

and standard fluoroelastomers can degrade

quickly in harsh conditions causing un-

planned maintenance due to incompatible

sealing materials. DuPont Performance Poly-

mers (DuPont) has found a solution to this

problem by introducing a new product line

of Zalak® 5300 high-performance seals.

Designed for photovoltaic cell manufac-

turing, the product was originally unveiled

at Intersolar North America and is credited

with bridging the performance gap between

standard fluoroelastomers (FKM) and per-

fluoroelastomers (FFKM) seals. The Zalak

5300 seals are specially formulated for use

in plasma environments, such as edge isola-

tion, ARC coating in crystalline cell manu-

facturing, TCO sputtering deposition, and

selective a-Si PECVD applications in PV

cell manufacturing.

“The PV industry is unique in the challenges

it faces and since DuPont is continuously doing

research feedback, one of those challenge

complaints we heard from manufacturers is

the cost pressure,” said Joe Chen, Photo-

voltaics Market Segment Leader for

DuPont Vespel®, Kalrez® and Zalak®.

“Even though performance is also impor-

tant, I think it always comes down to cost.

That being said, we are proud to introduce

this high-performance product for PV crys-

talline silicon and thin film manufacturing.”

According to DuPont, Zalak 5300 is

less likely to erode in aggressive plasmas

compared to standard fluoroelastomers or

silicones. And while the company’s flag-

ship product, Kalrez® 9100, is still known

as the industry standard for even better

plasma resistance, Zalak seals joins the

Kalrez perfluoroelastomer product line as

a cost-effective alternative in select appli-

cations where traditional sealing materi-

als are insufficient. In addition to its

excellent plasma resistance, Zalak 5300

seals offer good resistance to “dry”

process chemistry, excellent compression

set properties, low stiction (sticking) and

very low particle generation.

“One of the product’s biggest selling

points is that it does so well in dry appli-

cations and ultimately gives customers a

lot of value in terms of ex-

tending the equipment life,”

Chen continued. “Since

manufactures typically run

equipment much more ag-

gressively than its designed

for, the Zalak 5300 can han-

dle that increased aggressive

environment. So not only

does the product exceed per-

formance needs, but its also

cost-effective.”

Another reason the Zalak

5300 seals are an excellent

upgrade from standard sealing

materials is the low-mainte-

nance requirement. As manu-

facturers run equipment hotter

and hotter, they inevitably

need to do maintenance work

more frequently. However,

the Zalak 5300 seals actually

decrease the time needed in

the maintenance cycle, according to Chen.

“Production time is critical,” he explained.

“And once you’re able to run the equipment

as you want to, you can actually run it longer

and not to waste time with maintenance

costs. That’s why we introduced the Zalak

product. We wanted to give our customers a

lot of flexibility in terms of maximizing the

seal life while minimizing costs.”

To learn more about the availability of

sealing shapes or sizes, visit http://

photovoltaics.dupont.com. AEN

Target Energy Audits and Power Demand Studies

The new Energy Platform EP1 from Dranetz is ahand-held electrical energy and power demand an-alyzer specifically designed for conducting facilityenergy audits and power demand studies. With thegrowing emphasis on “green” facilities, the EP1with its handy Energy Platform Report Writer(EPRW) software offers facilities engineers andelectrical contractors a cost-effective means ofgathering and reporting the data required to document energy savings. The EP1’s ability torecord both forward and reverse energy is essen-tial in grid-tied alternative energy system analysis.

Dranetz(tel) 800-372-6832www.dranetz-bmi.com

Precision Optical Profiler for Automated HB-LED Production QA/QC

Veeco Instruments Inc. introduces a newContourGT™ Optical Surface Profiler configurationoptimized for characterizing high-brightnesslight-emitting diode (HB-LED) patterned sapphiresubstrates (PSS). The ContourGT-X8 PSS combinesadvanced non-contact 3D measurement capabilitieswith unique Veeco PSS metrology hardware andsoftware technology, and a Wafer Automation System Developer’s Kit (SDK) that provides a tailoredsolution for PSS quality assurance and quality control applications where high-throughout and repeatability capabilities are essential.

Veeco Instruments Inc.(tel) 516-677-0200www.veeco.com


NEW PRODUCTS

Fused Silica and Halsolar Material for Production of Solar Panels

Morgan Technical Ceramics’s (MTC) fused silicarollers provide a variety of benefits for thermal pro-cessing and chemical doping of silicon wafers andmodule glass. The rollers are inert, have high mechanical strength and good wear characteris-tics, leading to a long life in a challenging hightemperature environment. For high temperatureapplications in aggressive atmospheres, MTC hasdeveloped HalSolar alumina/silica rollers, whichhave improved chemical resistance, excellent ther-mal shock resistance and can be supplied with asmooth surface finish.

Morgan Technical Ceramics(tel) 800-433-0638 www.morgantechnicalceramics.com

Let us know about it! E-mail [email protected] with “AEN: New Product” in the subject line for a list of what to include and deadlines.Are you launching a new product?

WHEN WHAT WHERE WEBSITE

SEPTEMBER

September 1-2 Women in Green Forum Pasadena, California, USA www.womeningreenforum.com

September 1-4 Environment & Energy Tech 2010 Busan, Korea www.entechkorea.net/eng/mn01/mn01_01.php

September 6-8 The Third IASTED African Conference on Power and Energy Systems Gaborone, Botswana www.iasted.org/conferences

September 6-10 25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and 5th World Conference on Photovoltaic Conversion

Valencia, Spain www.photovoltaic-conference.com

September 7 National Clean Energy Summit 3.0 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA www.cleanenergysummit.org

September 7-8 First CSP Today Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Summit India New Delhi, India www.csptoday.com/india

September 14-15 AWEA Wind Resource & Project Energy Assessment Workshop Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA www.awea.org

September 15-17 Alternative Renewable Energy & Green Industries Expo Washington, D.C., USA www.aregreenexpo.com

September 30-Oct. 1 XVII Border Energy Forum Chihuahua, Mexico www.borderenergyforum.org

OCTOBER

October 3-5 Saudi Water and Power Forum 2010 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia www.ksawpf.com

October 5-7 AWEA North American Offshore Wind Conference & Exhibition Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA www.awea.org

October 6-7 Energy Solutions Expo London, England www.energysolutionsexpo.co.uk

October 14-15 Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum Paradise Island, Bahamas www.caribbeanenergyforum.com

October 20-22 METALCON Las Vegas, Nevada, USA www.metalcon.com/metalcon10/public/enter.aspx

October 21-22 Third Annual Exploration & Production Technology Summit 2010 Houston, Texas, USA www.exproevent.com

October 26-27 AWEA Wind Power Health & safety Workshop Austin, Texas, USA www.awea.org

October 27-29 Solar Power International Los Angeles, California, USA www.solarpowerinternational.com/sepa2010/public/enter.aspx

NOVEMBER

November 2-4 Clean Energy Expo Asia Singapore www.cleanenergyexpoasia.com

November 2-4 RenewableUK 2010 Glasgow, Scotland, UK www.renewable-uk.com/events/annual-conference/index.html

November 17-19 AWEA Wind Energy Fall Symposium Phoenix, Arizona, USA www.awea.org

Novemer 17-19 Build Boston Boston, Massachusetts, USA www.buildboston.com/ResPlus/BuildBoston

November 18-19 Third Concentrated Photovoltaics Summit Europe Seville, Spain www.cpvtoday.com/eu

November 24-26 RENEXPO South-East Europe Bucharest, Romania www.renexpo-bucharest.com

November 30-December 2 NextGenFuels 2010 Delhi, NCR, India http://growdieselevent.com/default.aspx

INDUSTRY calendar • 2010


UPCOMING EVENTS

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