QUICK NEWS, August 1: FEDS MOVE AHEAD ON ATLANTIC OFFSHORE WIND; SMART GRID INVESTMENT LAGS; $3.8MIL FROM FEDS TO CSP-GAS HYBRID

FEDS MOVE AHEAD ON ATLANTIC OFFSHORE WIND Offshore wind farms will be encouraged in tracts along the East Coast

Peter Brannen, July 23, 2012 (Washington Post)

“The federal government is poised to auction to wind farm developers 2,434 square miles of the continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean, which would allow wind farms to sprout 10 miles off the shores of six states, from Massachusetts to Virginia…Extensive efforts are underway to avoid the fiasco of the first proposed offshore wind farm in U.S. waters. That 24-square mile project off the coast of Cape Cod unleashed a fierce, decade-long battle that still lingers in the courts. Although Europe has had offshore wind farms for many years, the United States remains without even one…

“The plan to auction leases to offshore wind farm developers represents an enormous commitment to a potentially vast new industry…Wind turbines in the Atlantic alone could generate more than 1,000 gigawatts of power, an amount equal to the country’s current total energy-generating capacity…”

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“The area to be leased [before the end of this year by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) of the Interior Department]is about the size of Delaware… 125 square miles off the coast of Maryland, 161 square miles off Delaware…[and] 176 square miles off Virginia…[plus acres] off the coast of New Jersey and Rhode Island…[and 1,161 square miles] off Massachusetts]…

“…[A]s the federal government tries to jump-start a homegrown, renewable energy source, it is anticipating and trying to address in advance every possible objection…including spoiled views and potential hazards to birds, marine life and underwater archaeological sites…In addition to incorporating lessons learned with Cape Wind, the agency is grappling with the legacy of a poorly situated land-based wind farm in California that has killed thousands of raptors, souring some environmentalists on wind power…BOEM is also taking pains to protect man-made resources…”

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SMART GRID INVESTMENT LAGS Smart Grid Plagued By Anemic Venture-Capital Investment

25 July 2012 (Renew Grid)

“Smart grid venture-capital (VC) funding remained weak in the second quarter of this year (Q2'12), totaling only $66 million in nine deals, according to a new report fromMercom Capital Group LLC. …The research firm blames changing business models and customer concerns over smart grid technology…

“Funding levels have remained flat over the last three quarters: $66 million in 10 deals for the fourth quarter of 2011 and $62 million in 10 deals for the first quarter of this year (Q1'12). The average deal size in Q2'12 was $7.3 million, compared to $6.2 million in Q1'12.”

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“The top five deals for Q2'12 accounted for 89% of the total $66 million that was raised…Deals in the U.S. accounted for half of the total VC funding raised - with $32.4 million in five deals - followed by Germany, the U.K. and Israel…Twenty-two different investors participated in nine VC deals in Q2'12, but only Siemens was involved in multiple deals (two). There were eight investors in Q1'12.

“Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in Q2'12 totaled $14 billion in seven transactions…Top acquirers with multiple deals this year include Eaton (which acquired Cooper Industries and Gycom), Siemens (Senergy Sistemas de Medicao and RuggedCom) and Itron (SmartSynch and C&N Engineering)…Smart grid communication technology companies received the most funding as a technology group, followed by grid optimization, advance meter infrastructure and demand response companies.”

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$3.8MIL FROM FEDS TO CSP-GAS HYBRID DOE SunShot Initiative Awards $3.8 Million For Concentrating Solar Combustor Research

27 July 2012 (Solar Industry)

“Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and industry collaborators Solar Turbines Inc., Oak Ridge National Laboratories, German Aerospace Center and San Diego State University have been awarded a $3.8 million contract by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a gas turbine combustor for a concentrating solar power (CSP) hybrid gas turbine system. The award was given through DOE's SunShot Initiative, a collaborative national effort to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of energy.

“The majority of today's commercial CSP plants generate steam to support steam turbine electric power generation. The steam generated by these commercial CSP plants is limited to a maximum temperature of 400 degrees C, yielding approximately 40% thermal efficiencies, according to SwRI. Even for developmental CSP technologies, efficiencies are well below those achievable with gas turbine combined-cycle plants, which can be well above 55% thermal efficiencies and as high as 62% for state-of-the-art combined-cycle power plants.”

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“This research project aims to combine the advantages of highly efficient gas turbine power plants with CSP systems by operating the gas turbine at up to 1,000 degrees C combustor air inlet temperatures.

“The project, to be conducted in three phases, is expected to begin in August and will continue through 2015. In the first phase, researchers will evaluate combustor concepts and develop the design. The second phase entails fabrication of the combustion system, which will then be tested in the third phase.”

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