Industry News

Kyocera to Sponsor SolFest Southwest

Kyocera has announced its sponsorship of the first annual SolFest Southwest, a two-day celebration of renewable energy, green building and sustainable living to be held in cooperation with the city of Scottsdale, Ariz., April 17-18, 2004.

Located at WestWorld, Scottsdale’s 11-acre special-events facility, SolFest Southwest will be a regional extension of the annual SolFest based in Hopland, Calif., which has won national recognition since 1996 for educating the public on renewable energy technologies.

SolFest Southwest will include 150 exhibitors, 60 workshops, a wide range of entertainment and a special KidsZone with games and art projects, in six separate tented areas. Keynote speakers will include actors and community activists Ed Begley Jr. and Peter Coyote, as well as authors Dan Chiras, David Orr and American Hydrogen Association founder Roy McAlister. Music will be provided by Turning Point, William Eaton Ensemble, Sistah Blue, Annie Moscow, Scott Beck, Emily Richards and Gabriel Francisco. For more information, visit www.solfestsouthwest.org.

General Electric Makes Move to Buy AstroPower

Last month, a federal bankruptcy court judge in Delaware approved General Electric's plan to buy the major assets of the largest American-owned maker of solar equipment, AstroPower, for $15 million in cash and an estimated $3.5 million in debt. GE is no stranger to alternative energy technologies. In addition, to conducting research into solar energy for decades, lately GE has been acquiring some alternative energy companies. In May 2002, it purchased the Enron Wind Corp. and has developed it into a thriving business now offering new multi-megawatt wind turbines. Eighteen months ago, GE acquired Railway Technology Inc., a manufacturer of solar-powered railroad switches. The AstroPower purchase would make GE a U.S. leader in solar and wind energy.

Navy Developing Fuel Cell System to Power Ships

The Office of Naval Research is developing innovative propulsion systems based on new fuel-cell technology for efficient generation of electrical power. The ONR is currently funding development of a method to extract hydrogen from diesel fuel. A diesel reforming system would take advantage of the relative low cost of the fuel.

Unlike gas turbines and diesel engines, fuel cells do not require combustion, which means they don't produce pollutants such as nitrogen oxide. And fuel cells are more efficient than combustion engines. Typically operating efficiency for a Navy shipboard gas-turbine engines is 16 to 18 percent; the fuel cell system currently under development could provide operating efficiency of 37 to 52 percent. ONR is testing through June a 500-kilowatt diesel fuel reformer that is compatible with a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, at the Department of Energy Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Gallo Cattle Co. May Install Microgy System to Convert Manure into Biogas

Microgy Cogeneration Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Environmental Power Corp., is currently checking out the feasibility of installing up to 4 megawatts of generating capacity at two farms operated by the Gallo Cattle Company in Atwater and Livingston, Calif. Microgy owns a license to a proprietary technology to convert manure into biogas, which can then be used to power a motor-generator set to produce electricity.

Nuvera Receives DOD Order for Fuel Cells for Locomotive

Nuvera Fuel Cells has received a multi-million-dollar order from the U.S. Department of Defense for eight FORZA fuel cell power modules as part of DOD's efforts to develop a fuel-cell-powered locomotive. The development effort, called the Defense Fuel Cell Locomotive Project, aims to demonstrate a 109 metric ton, 1.2-megawatt fuel cell-powered locomotive for defense and commercial railway applications.

Nuvera is developing its FORZA power module primarily for industrial facilities, such as chloralkali plants and refineries, where excess hydrogen produced onsite can be used to power fuel cells and generate clean electricity, providing plant owners with an efficient solution to rising operating costs.

Hydrogenics Launches Fuel Cell Initiative for Off-Road Mobility

Hydrogenics Corp., a developer and manufacturer of fuel cell and hydrogen-related technologies, recently announced a new business initiative to develop fuel cell-based power trains for 'off road' light vehicles. The company is targeting original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to partner in the development of a range of fuel cell-powered 'off-road' vehicles in the sub-automotive power range—typically less than 50 kW of power. Such vehicles would be deployed in utility markets such as airport ground support, materials handling, underground mining, grounds maintenance and military applications.

Related Hydrogenics' mobility projects and sales include forklifts, through an SDTC funded project with NACCO; light utility vehicles through co-operative projects with John Deere ePower Technologies; and integration of a 20 kW fuel cell power module in a fuel cell hybrid bus in Hawaii.

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