MORE NEWS, 6-1 (INTELLIGENT TURBINES; SUN SHINES ON NEVADA TRIBAL LANDS; NOT-SO-ECOMAGINATION)

INTELLIGENT TURBINES
'Smart Turbine Blades' To Improve Wind Power
May 29, 2009 (Sustainable Business via Reuters)

"Researchers have developed a technique that uses sensors and computational software to constantly monitor forces exerted on wind turbine blades, a step toward improving efficiency by adjusting for rapidly changing wind conditions.

"The research by engineers at Purdue University and Sandia National Laboratories is part of an effort to develop a smarter wind turbine structure...[which] also could help improve wind turbine reliability by providing critical real-time information to the control system to prevent catastrophic wind turbine damage from high winds…"

The basics. (click to enlarge)

"The engineers embedded sensors called uniaxial and triaxial accelerometers inside a wind turbine blade as the blade was being built. The blade is now being tested on a research wind turbine at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research Service laboratory in Bushland, Texas. Personnel from Sandia and the USDA operate the research wind turbines at the Texas site.

"Such sensors could be instrumental in future turbine blades that have "control surfaces" and simple flaps like those on an airplane's wings to change the aerodynamic characteristics of the blades for better control. Because these flaps would be changed in real time to respond to changing winds, constant sensor data would be critical."

A researcher displays an experimental blade design. (click to enlarge)

"Research findings show that using a trio of sensors and "estimator model" software…accurately reveals how much force is being exerted on the blades. Purdue and Sandia have applied for a provisional patent on the technique…

"Sensor data in a smart system might be used to better control the turbine speed by automatically adjusting the blade pitch while also commanding the generator to take corrective steps…[and] used to design more resilient blades…The sensors are capable of measuring acceleration occurring in various directions…[and] two types of acceleration….The research is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through Sandia National Laboratories."


SUN SHINES ON NEVADA TRIBAL LANDS
Solar energy comes to tribal clinic
May 30, 2009 (Lahontan Valley News)

"A new solar energy system is [powering]… the Pyramid Lake Tribal Health Clinic in Nixon…The 30-kilowatt photovoltaic array was made possible by a combination of donated labor and materials, and a program created by the Nevada State Legislature…Labor and materials were donated by the nonprofit Black Rock Solar, and costs for the solar panels were offset by a $138,000 rebate from the SolarGenerations program, which is managed statewide by NV Energy.

"The panels were installed on the ground in a fenced area next to the clinic and are expected to generate approximately 60,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, or roughly half the clinic’s annual electricity consumption. This will reduce the clinic’s annual electric bill by approximately $7,200 or $180,000 over the expected 25-year life of the panels…Since the start of the program six years ago, over 2 megawatts of solar energy have been installed statewide, and over $8 million in financial incentives has been paid out."

Pushed onto lands thought in the 19th century to be too burned by the sun and blown by the winds to be productive, Native Americans now find themselves in possession of immense New Energy resources. (click to enlarge)

"The Tribal Health Clinic provides health care services to the communities of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation…Black Rock Solar is supported by Burning Man and is focused on speeding the adoption of renewable energy by delivering low or no cost solar power to communities in need.

"Employing an innovative and collaborative approach to solar project development, Black Rock Solar extends Burning Man’s spirit of creativity and environmental stewardship to affect real environmental change, according to Tom Price, executive director of Black Rock Solar…This is the seventh completed project for Black Rock Solar…"


NOT-SO-ECOMAGINATION
GE: How Clean (and Not-So-Clean) Tech Drives Ecomagination
Keith Johnson, May 27, 2009 (Wall Street Journal)

"…General Electric is still touting the potential for “green” products to save the day.GE said the 80 product lines in its “ecomagination” line tallied $17 billion in sales last year, a 21% jump over 2007 even as most of the conglomerate’s other divisions treaded water or went backwards. GE is aiming for $25 billion in sales in the unit this year…

"How to explain the success of “ecomagination”? Aside from the growing appeal for everything from wind turbines to efficient locomotives, there are two other reasons. The products GE has certified as part of the “ecomagination” group include plenty of things that at first blush don’t sound very green, and the definition gets broader every year."

The part of the brain where GE thinks up its advertising campaigns? (click to enlarge)

[GE’s definition ofEcomagination:] “…Products that significantly and measurably improve customers’ operating performance or value proposition and environmental performance or services that substantially enable such improvements.”

"…[T]he Jenbacher coal mine gas engine, part of “ecomagination” …turn[s] a potential liability—gas inside coal mines—…into heat and power, in addition to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. There are clear “green” benefits—but all in the name, as GE says, of “making coal mining cleaner.”

Eco-initiative or marketing initiative? (click to enlarge)

"…Three years ago, none of GE’s reactors were part of the “ecomagination” energy lineup; today both “Advanced Boiling Water Reactors” and “Economic Simplified Boiler Water Reactors” are part of the mix…Three years ago, GE had just two oil-industry products in “ecomagination”; today there are six, including devices that help oil refineries deal with heavier grades of crude oil with fewer environmental side-effects.

"Outside of energy, GE is bringing other star divisions into “ecomagination” too—such as healthcare. In 2008, for the first time, GE added four healthcare devices, from X-rays to ultrasounds, to its “ecomagination” lineup…GE has made no bones about its hopes that the world’s appetite for clean stuff will help drive sales and profits at the struggling conglomerate. It’s good to remember that “green” is as expansive a term as the government policies underwriting much of that growth."