The Energy Matrix

The state of Minnesota and the city of Phoenix, Arizona each have something to celebrate these days.  Minnesota was recently awarded $6 million dollars to continue its progress with the Weatherization Assistance Program, provided by the U.S. Department of Energy through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Not only will this funding increase the amount of low-income homes optimized to save money on their energy bills, but the money will also help create jobs for construction workers.  Similarly, the city of Phoenix was awarded $700,000 to continue installing solar or heating pumps in low- and moderate-income homes. Read more…

While scientists have not yet found a way to harness the ocean’s energy, there is evidence that wind power is the wave of the future.  At least, Google seems to think so, having invested $38.8 million dollars in two wind farms in North Dakota back in May.  Wind farms—collections of wind turbines in the same location—are being used around the world to generate energy.  The two in North Dakota generate 169.5 megawatts of power—enough energy to light nearly 55,000 homes.

The farms are designed by General Electric Co.  Another is being constructed at Lake Erie, utilizing new technology like magnetic rings to power the blades and a lighter weight due to carbon fibers.  Worldwide, GE has installed more than 13,500 turbines.  Farms make economical sense because the largest turbine can only generate 4.0 megawatts.  Currently, wind energy is not feasible in all locations, however.  Read more…

While BP continues its work in cleaning up the oil spill, the company is getting a little help.  And we do mean little.  Various species of oil-eating bacteria are joining the buffet, including a never-before-seen microbe.

Previous bacteria of the genus Alcanivorax have been known since 1998.  These microbes degrade crude oil at high levels of efficiency, devouring the hydrocarbons and leaving the rest behind, including methane.  While not a perfect solution, the bacteria’s presence has come as a relief in recent months to those concerned about the planet’s ability to bounce back from the recent disaster.  However, scientists were not sure how the bacteria would react in the deepest (and coldest) parts of the Gulf, where the plume has created a 22-mile long mist.  A study done between May 25 and June 2 discovered 16 types of bacteria in a deep-sea plume, but that plume remained until only recently, which led some scientists to believe the bacteria were not “eating” the oil. Read more…

In 2009, President Barack Obama requested $2.3 billion for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.  His larger $26.4 billion budget also included $280 million dollars for up to eight different “Energy Innovation Hubs”, each focused on a different challenge facing the energy world today.    Although the plan has been scaled back to three hubs, they still remain ambitious projects in the global energy game, and the final one has recently been announced.

The first, the Nuclear Energy Modeling and Simulation Energy Innovation Hub, was introduced in May of this year.  Led by a team from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Hub represents a shift from previous testing and demonstration methods of nuclear research to the newer theoretical models.  Using a variety of a high-power computers and existing modeling techniques, the Hub will be able to simulate an actual nuclear reactor and investigate questions concerning safety, power, and lifespan.

The second Hub, Fuels from Sunlight, was announced in July.  This Hub is divided between the Caltech campus in Pasadena and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley.  Scientists from the “Golden State” will be investigating issues of sustainability and efficiency for biofuels (sunlight converted into plant material, and then again into fuel).  The project combines scientists from the chemistry, physics, material sciences, biology, and engineering fields, with big results expected. Read more…

The times, they are a changin’.  Where alternative energy like solar power and hydroelectric power was once science fiction, scientists are now working on making these technologies more efficient, more widespread, and less expensive.  In the recent months, there have been several breakthroughs in energy technology.

• Graphene solar cells:  Graphene is a flat layer of carbon atoms connected in a honeycomb lattice, and is the building block of the mineral graphite.  Scientists at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering are working on ways to attach the grapheme to flexible polymer sheets and incorporate them into organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells.  While not as energy-efficient as silicon cells, these OPVs will be more flexible and cheaper.  Professor Chongwu Zhou believes this will eventually lead to use as curtains or in clothing fabrics.
• Nano-scale wires:  An Israeli team at Bar-Ilan University recently conquered a long-standing difficulty in electronic technology, which was that superconducting wires needed to be both large and long.  The team discovered that smaller lengths were feasible in nano-wires made of copper-oxide layers, lanthanum, and strontium.  Read more…