So, What about fuel cells...specifically...what about the Bloom Box?

Fuel cell apps in action. VERY EXPENSIVE...but it could come down.

Fuel cell technology was most recently on the tech media's radar last year when the Department of Energy proposed cutting research for fuel-cell vehicles, which have been touted for many years as the ultimate green car solution. Mobile fuel cells have formidable technical challenges, notably storing enough hydrogen for a long driving range, and the lack of a hydrogen distribution infrastructure. Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridar told reporters at least twice during last week's press conference that the technology was not developed for cars, an indication of how much people associate fuel cells with vehicles.

Bloom Energy is using fuel cells for stationary power, which is arguably a better application for the technology. For starters, stationary fuel cells can use the natural gas lines already in place for fuel. The Bloom Energy Server can run on different fuel sources, including biogas, a gas made from organic materials. And they can be strung together, much the way servers are clustered to boost processing muscle. An initial customer, eBay, for example, is using a five 100 kilowatt boxes--each about the size of a parking space, to power 15 percent of its headquarters in San Jose, California.

For companies that need on-site power, fuel cells are already in use because they are very reliable. Fuel cells could power data centers, for example, because of their reliability and the potential to supply DC power directly to electronic equipment. Since they are relatively clean sources of power, fuel cells can receive state subsidies, as they do in California.
Bloom is not alone. In getting so much media attention, Bloom Energy certainly benefited from its connections to high-profile investors, such as John Doerr of famed venture capital company Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfied & Byers. Kleiner's connections probably helped line up initial customers for Bloom, including Google, Walmart, Staples, FedEx--all companies which have invested in alternative energy sources for financial and environmental reasons. But Bloom Energy is not the only company making fuel cells for stationary power.

FuelCell Energy, which is based in Danbury, Connecticut, is already selling fuel cell power systems for commercial customers, which fuel cells that can run range from 300 kilowatts to 2.8 megawatts. Another is start-up ClearEdge Power, which recently introduced a smaller fuel cell for homes or small businesses to make electricity and heat. Panasonic is developing fuel cells for homes, which also use natural gas to make both electricity and hot water.

Where Bloom Energy stands out is the design and materials it's using in its fuel cells, which offers the potential to lower costs with higher manufacturing volume. The core of Bloom Energy's technology is a solid oxide fuel cell, which takes fuels and oxygen from the air to make an electrical current.

One technical challenge with this type of fuel cell is that they operate at very high temperatures. That allows for greater efficiency in energy conversion but also requires engineers to deal with high heat. Bloom has designed the system to recycle the heat generated from the energy conversion in the process of mixing incoming natural gas with steam, which is needed with this type of fuel cell. So instead of using the heat to make hot water, for example, the heat is fed back into make electricity, according to the company.

Another significant technical achievement is that Bloom Energy's system doesn't use expensive materials, notably platinum which is used as a catalyst in many types of fuel cells. Bloom Energy is cagey on exactly what it uses but says that the fuel cells use a ceramic made from sand and inks. Researchers have been trying to make fuel cells without platinum for years. Another company trying to make a low-cost fuel cell catalyst is SunCatalytix, a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, although it's a very different technical approach.
Cost. So why all the fuss over a well understood technology? Because Bloom Energy has said that it can deliver its electricity at between 8 cents and 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, including the cost of ongoing maintenance. In many place of the country, that's cheaper that the grid rate. Because fuel cells are their own source of juice, they also offer back up power in the case that there is a grid outage.

According to Bloom Energy's data, companies which purchase this sort of system can earn back the initial outlay of between $700,000 and $800,000 for a 100 kilowatt system in three to five years. A 100-kilowatt system could be enough to power 10 U.S. homes or a small business, such as a Starbucks, according to the company. But keep in mind, that its stated cost per kilowatt assumes subsidies as high as 50 percent of the initial cost and natural gas prices of $7 per million BTUs, according to an interview. Still, Sridhar claims it can drive down the cost steadily and that it can compete without subsidies.

Peak Oil!

The term Peak Oil is one that seems mysterious to most of us... as we really don't know what it means.

So lets ask... what is it? and lets answer... Peak Oil means that the world has reached beyond the half-way point for oil production...we have peaked our production and can't expect oil to last... There is truly an energy crisis coming, one that will come not because OPEC has turned off their deliveries...but one that comes because the world supply of oil is on a rapidly declining ramp.

This is why we need to develop alternative energy at a much faster rate then we have been, and why we need to improve mechanical performance for biofuel burning engines (you know, those engines that are using bio-diesel and gas with bio fuel additives) as these fuels do not burn as efficiently as petro-based fuels.Peak Oil... that is the term that means we are running out of time. Really that simple.

Truth in Humor...

While we laugh, there is truth in the message...here is another example.

Here we are in a new year and each of us has his or her own path to follow. But as we go down that path we find that we converge at several spots along the way. Fighting pollution and conservation are examples of those points where we can act to make a difference.

For instance, recycling things like aluminum, glass, and plastics, really recycling...not just once in a while...will reduce the impact on our trash and reduce the use of energy at the same time...
As an example, here is the deal on Aluminum...it is the most prevalent metal on earth...much more than iron for instance...but it takes a great deal of energy to make aluminum from scratch because it is found in a variety of rocks rather than a near pure state. We find that recycling generates high quality aluminum without all of the energy use...less then half actually...and lots less carbon release. That is a win-win... and its only one example.

So...you recycle glass, cans, plastics, aluminum on a regular basis and your land fill or waste management program gets a break, the environment gets a break, and the energy consumed is reduced...giving us all a break.

Simple actions like this make a world of difference... for us and future generations.

Kyoto to Copenhagen... Any improvement?

Copenhagen is a beautiful city...one that was well prepared to accept the international delegates for the recent conference on Global Warming that had hoped to replace the Kyoto Protocols that have been modestly ...hell, poorly protecting our planet. So, did the world realize that our pollution was a problem and that we must act now to keep the impact of Humankind on the state or our planet from changing the face of the Earth?

The problem that Kyoto tried to address was climate change, and more specifically, the speed at which the earth appears to be warming up. The term Global Warming has become a battle cry... on one side is the group that feels man has made a mess of things and that we have caused the earth to warm at an alarming rate...melting ice and placing us on a road that will destroy our world...or at least make it damn near unbearable in most places... then there are those who feel this climatic shift is part of a natural cycle and that it is not really Global Warming, just a cycle and that the arguments presented by its proponents are not supported by scientific evidence at all. Remember, the US did not support the Kyoto Protocols.

So now we move to Copenhagen 2009... and again, but with much more animation, ask the same questions. The answers were not, however, quick to come...and there are many world wide who feel we have again failed.

The two largest polluters are China and the United States...followed by India and others... but these two super economies feel that they have to take their time to slow their carbon dumping in order to protect their populations from the impact on employment, especially in this recessionary time.

HEY....LISTEN UP!

There is only one Earth and we are polluting it past its capacity to survive. We don't have time to delay here. Kyoto did not work...and not it is questionable if Copenhagen has any chance of succeeding.

Now there were some promises. President Obama committed billions of dollars to third world nations to help them cope, and there was an 18% reduction here and later on a 25% reduction there... but not now and not fully committed. From my perspective I would say "Forget global warming...it pollution that we need to address"... things like air and water pollution must be corrected if we are going to effectively manage this part of Earth's history.

So what can we do? Simple... this is a Republic.... Talk to your representatives...tell them what you think must happen... we need to make real strides in correcting our environment or our Grand Children will not know Snow... forget the Northern and Southern Ice Caps...they won't even know snow.

OK...so what do you think...

WAUSAU, Wis. (Sept. 27) -- Waterways across the upper Midwest are increasingly plagued with ugly, smelly and potentially deadly blue-green algae, bloomed by drought and fertilizer runoffs from farm fields, that's killed dozens of dogs and sickened many people.

Aquatic biologists say it's a problem that falls somewhere between a human health concern and a nuisance, but will eventually lead to more human poisoning. State officials are telling people who live on algae-covered lakes to close their windows, stop taking walks along the picturesque shorelines and keep their dogs from drinking the rank water.

The shame here is that our farmers who are causing this could make changes to their processes that would yield real improvements here.. improvements that must be made or this tragic condition will extract a price that we are not going to like... including birth defects and potentially life shortening illness... even death...from the toxic reaction to these algaes.

The blue-green algae pictured here is proliferating throughout the North Central States...but is just as likely in other regions, especially as we see changes in our weather patterns. We need to appreciate that our actions will cause reactions. And we need to take steps to correct these issues... correct them through process change that eliminates the run off and prevents this from happening all together.