Most of the electrical power generated in the US used to be generated by local power companies. At that time extended major power disruptions were rare. The move to a centralized control of power distribution has resulted in a "noticeable" increase in power disruptions in the several locations I have lived in.

A move back to the prior model could likely improve the situation by eliminating the single points in the system where a local failure can propagate and result in "widespread" power losses.

This is the central concept with "My Earthbound Space Station". Also, Siemens produces a skidded fuel cell package that is neighborhood sized at 125 KW. Enough to supply 25 homes plus some left over to put into the Grid. Also on the community side, for trash collection, rather than using land fills, gasification to syngas units are available, see Siemens fuel gasifiers.

No, I do not work for Siemens and have no ties to them. Siemens does, however, produce working tools for small communities and individuals to produce their own clean, CO₂ reducing, ecologically friendly electrical power. They are not the only companies doing this, either. One can find many sources for this with simple google key word searches, too. Also, the USA Department of Energy is an outstanding source for information on this and is very active in promoting all forms of clean energy projects from the smallest to the largest. They are even giving grants to some of the most promising projects. This is one place where we can all contribute in some way.

Any idea of what a gasifier costs?

Suspect the cost of power production is relatively high on a per KWH basis since use on a wide array of fuels including coals (high sulfur coals included) would require numerous scrubber technologies.

How wrong can you be. The cost of SOFC is projected to be in the range of $400 per KW, a one time cost for the equipment. I would think the cost of the Siemens syngas equipment would be about the same. Note, too, that the syngas generator has been in full operation in Germany for thirty years and Germany has ordered more units after the 30 year test. Do not be fooled by the fossil fuel producers, tehy have a tendency to want to protect their investment, just as they have fought the global warming concept for so many years.

I suggest you talk to Seimens about the costs. However, it is a adaptation of the syngas reaction, steam at high temperature and any hydrocarbon or carbohydrate will result in producing methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and water: XH₂O + C_xH_2x+2 + heat = XCH₄ + H + CO + CO₂. This is greatly simplified but does describe the reaction. As a side note, the SOFC will use syngas as a fuel and has an exhaust temperature of ±850°C, more than enough for the syngas reaction. All of this can be found on the Siemens website or by using the wikipedia on the subject(s).

I guess the industry thought that it could save money with a big grid, then didn't take care of the upkeep. In other words it bled the public,and now we are stuck with frequent energy disasters. Two ice storms in two years have left hundreds of thousands without power for up to a week at a time. Time to demand distributed energy.

Ron Wagner

Decatur, IL

Much of the problems with Small is Beautiful has so far been the Not in My Backyard movement. The Siemens unit however may change that. I've lost electrical power a couple times a year, however I have never lost my natural gas connection.

Steve

Women are so inconsiderate, they are always leaving the toilet seat down.

Both the Siemens and the Acumentrics units are about the size of the compressor unit of you Air Conditioner (and about the same price, too) so I don't see how anyone's back yard would find it offensive. As for the Siemens 125 KW unit, this is small enough to mask and would have to be a community project anyway. the 125 KW unit would be enough to supply 25 homes. The same goes for the Siemens Fuel Gasifiers. I noted in today's reading file (I subscribe to several science sources) that Acumentrics has received a substantial grant from the DoE to commercialize their units for 2008 as has Siemens. If I could, I would begine now to make installation, but I am 74 years old and on social security. My IRA went south when Bush was elected and that is long gone (another story which I don't care to go into anymore). When I was working, however, I could have easily afforded to put these into my budget.

Steve: You have not lost Electrical Power due War or act of Sabotage..Terrorist, then if that happens your Natural Gas connection will cease to deliver.

About Toilet Seats, I am a Man and have trained my Boys to sit not to stand, its called Toilet Seat not a urinal.

Mike

Great stuff,

I have been developing a commercial/DIY - Tri-Energy device for residential power creation for some time and hope to release info/units second quarter 2008.

It is refreshing that other people world wide have a similar understanding, and wish to be responsible for their own power production.

Keep up the good thinking !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Regards ................... Macker

Tell us more. Macker! We may be duplicating our efforts. I see the SOFC as the core of my design, with solar driving hydrogen production, biodigestion methane, sugar ethanol, and biomass syngas production as the fuels for the home and transportation. Also, I think Australia holds a lead in the individual home owner energy production. Please, you keep up the good work, too, but lets make it such that the individual can afford it without government subsidy.

The small decentralized power production model is very energy efficient. The last time I calculated it out with a natural gas cogenerator as a furnace, you pay $100 for gas, get $67 worth of heat (67% efficient furnace) and $125 worth of electricity. Large centralized systems seem to have trouble capturing the waste heat, especially the radiant heat. A simple induction generator system allows one, with net energy billing from their local electric company, to use the electric grid as a 240VAC 60cycle storage battery with cogenerator. Reconcillation happens once a year. It relies on the system grid for excitation voltage, frequency and phase synchronization happens to be automatic. The safety factor advantage is that if the grid power is down, the generator can't produce any power. Simple.

Small gasifiers can be built using wood scraps as a fuel source. I have successfully run an engine on one. Check the Mother Earth News back issues for plans.

SOFC's as produced by Arcumentrics and Siemens at a one time price of ±$400/KW is by far more efficient that you generator when you produce electric power at 60% efficiency and heat at 30% efficiency. Both company's 5KW fuel cells are to come on the market in early 2008. And both can be fueled with hydrogen, Methane, alcohols, and/or syngas. 90% efficiency beats any other means of electric generation there is anywhere.

Siemens also produces a 100KW SOFC unit with heat capture built in that would be perfect for small communities. And Siemens has a syngas generator for converting biomass (trash-garbage), which could replace landfills.

What this means is that the technology is here and now, all we have to do is start using it. Even with solar power at the current cost of ±$5.00/watt, the payback is eight years, and most states in the USA give a subsidy of about half the cost to convert.

Been unable to get any email to you ............. got a working address ???

Macker

My e-mail address is everywhere, even with spammers, hehehehehe, chtank@gmail.com. I like the way gmail filters and I can leave it all hang out on THEIR server to be deleted in 30 days if I don't do it sooner. My web site address is http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~chtank/index.html, my blog is http://chtank.blogspot.com/ (I have not updated this for a while, however). The important links to my discussions for CR4 is http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~chtank/education.html, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~chtank/starships.html, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~chtank/ecoenergy.html, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~chtank/mower.html, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~chtank/biodigestion.html.

Please note that I am a dinosaur, retired, age 74, and subject to all the frailties of extinctions that accompany being a dinosaur. And lady dinosaur is a bit disabled, too, so I have to pick up on those duties she can no longer perform, such as walking the dogs, preparing meals, sweeping the floors, etc.

Thanks for your many contributions. I will be looking for a combined heat and power system. I just wonder if a local HVAC man would dare install it for me, and would it endanger my fire insurance. Can see any logical reason, just thinking of govt. mentality.

Would appreciate any specific product recommendation that would be available in the USA. I have never heard that you could save money with one in the home. The Siemens unit sounds great.

What do you think will happen politically with this technology. Will it be a bear to get marketed? I know they are in use in Europe and Japan. We seem to be way behind on this.

Maybe we need a political action group to get them going. Do you know of any?

All the best,

Ron Wagner,

Decatur, IL

The department of Energy talks extensively about all these systems, and in some cases government subsdies are available. As for Siemens, I would contact them directly, and Acumentrics as well. Be sure to inverstigate before you invest. You might look into Ceramics Limited in Australia, too; I do not have their full name or address handy at this time but a google search will likely get you there

I'll state the oblivious.

It's a whole different equation.

when oil is $80/barrel

Looks like it may go up to $98/barrel very soon!

Whee! First Solar (FSLR) shares have skyrocketed following the company's blow-out third quarter report Wednesday night. The huge beat - revenue ex a special gain of 49 cents versus an expected 19 cents - has sent analysts scrambling to redo their model. And it has triggered manic buying across the solar sector. Credit Suisse's Satya Kumar this morning upped his price target on the stock to $250 from $160, and repeated his Outperform rating. He said this was a "transformational" quarter for the company. "As investors ponder the implications of $100 oil, potentially weakening economy, weak dollar, geopolitical oil risks and threats from global warming, we cannot but stress how FSLR/(SPWR) [SunPower] are excellent plays over these big themes in the stock market," he writes.

Kumar says that First Solar's photovoltaic panels are in the process of driving the costs of solar energy to under 15 cents per kilowatt hour, close to utility peak pricing, "a level below which there is demand for several 10s of GW of solar in a trillion dollar global electricity market." He says the company is likely "just a few months away" from signing contracts with a U.S. utility. "FSLR will become the first [solar] stock that can remain profitable even if you completely eliminate subsidies a few years from now."

This is the start of the SOLAR REVERLUTION ...!!!!

Regards,

Macker

There is a company named Power House Industries in Jupiter, Florida that has developed a micro grid solar system that cost less than 25% of any other solar electrical generating system. I saw it working. It is trully a simple solution for off grid systems and on grid systems. There best features is that the system is not exposed to the elements. It produces 300% more electricity than any other solar system available. This company has two products. The micro grid for homes and the mini grid for large buildings.

Guest, you failed to provide links to back up this claim. We need to see documentation.

Hi Tank, The info ..........................

Solar Cells That Work All Day

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

On the surface of a new photovoltaic prototype, microscopic nanotube towers perform best when they catch light on their sides.

By David Talbot

Solar cells generally crank out the most power at noon, when the sun is at its highest point and can strike the cell at a 90-degree angle. Before and after noon, efficiencies drop off. But researchers Georgia Tech Research Institute have come up with a prototype that does the opposite. Their solar cell, whose surface consists of hundreds of thousands of 100-micrometer-high towers, catches light at many angles and actually works best in the morning and afternoon.

"It may be intuitive: when the light goes straight down, the only interaction is with the tops of towers and the 'streets' below," says Jud Ready, senior research engineer at the institute's Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory. "But at an angle, the light has an opportunity to reflect off the sides of the towers." When the sun is at a 90-degree angle, the prototype delivers only 3.5 percent efficiency. But it delivers better efficiencies at many other angles and is actually at its peak efficiency--7 percent--when light comes in at a 45-degree angle. That means the device operates at relatively high efficiencies during much of the day and has two efficiency peaks: one before noon, and one after noon.

-----------------------------------

Regards, Macker

The problem(s) with solar power is its cost. To day, solar cells cost, +/- $4.50 (US) per watt. The promise is that new high efficient cells will cost less, but to date none are showing on the market. The US government and State governments do give subsidy for such installation, but all in all, it still is too expensive except for the more effluent. The price of the solar cells, installed, must go to $0.40 or less per watt to be an effective alternative. This will include the batteries or other storage for the solar energy produced and for the power conditioning to match the grid and/or household equipment in either 120 volts or 240 volt, three phase volt system.

Although your tower set-up is a very good idea, and a viable method for solar power production for communities, it would only increase the costs per watt of any electric input into the grid. At this time, solar power is idea for remote locations far away from any grid of any alternative power source at a lower cost.

Solar power is a currently available source for Electric power, but it is not the only source. We must look at it as a whole value receive package and choose that which most meets our needs at a price we can afford. This whole package will include, and is not limited to, solar cells, wind turbines, fuel cells, syn-gas, sewer gas, and alcohol production.