Energy Innovators, Large and Small, Push Technology Curve Ever Forward
By Campbell, Dan
Question: How many sailors does it take to change a light bulb? Or, more specifically, to change the model for portable solar power generation? Answer: Three.
Anchored in Key West, FIa., during the winter of 1997-98, the skippers of three small sailboats who were about to begin long ocean voyages started to tinker with concepts for a better way to power their onboard refrigerators, lights and communications equipment. There was no room for large, bulky solar-power systems, or for large banks of batteries and the diesel fuel supplies needed to recharge them at sea.
The compact, lightweight solar-power systems they adapted and built from existing parts were admittedly crude, but occupied very little deck space and worked well through rough seas and doldrums. One of the sailor-inventors even adapted his maritime solar-power gear for use on a land trek in Peru.
When they met up again in 2003, after logging thousands of voyaging miles, the sailors were amazed that all three systems were still working perfectly. Agreeing that they had designed the proverbial “better mouse trap,” with real commercial potential, they formed a company and sought out solar engineering and manufacturing expertise to help refine their model. After two years of development work, the Solar Stik was launched commercially “with the intent to revolutionize the solar energy market, on land and sea,” says Stephanie Mollis, chief financial officer for Solar Stik, based in St. Augustine, FIa.
That voyage that started in 1998 resulted in a port of call in March 2008 at the WIREC ’08 trade show in Washington, D.C. Solar Stik was one of 246 exhibits demonstrating renewable energy products and services. Like most of the other booths, the Stik exhibit was a very busy place. People from around the world with every imaginable need for small, portable power generators stopped by to inspect, lift, shift and discuss the equipment with Mollis and company president Brian Bosley.
Weighing only 80 pounds when assembled, the units are filling the need for purposes as diverse as land and sea recreation, home back- up power generation, and by emergency first responders and even the military.
“Our first sale – five units – was to the U.S. Army for use in Iraq,” says Bosley, who has further meetings lined up with armed services to discuss possible future purchases. A National Guard officer stopped by the booth and was intrigued by possible use of the Solar Stik in the immediate aftermath of hurricanes and other disasters. A delegation from Ghana saw the Stik as a possible replacement for outdated, non-functioning solar systems on some buildings in their West African country.
“WIREC was really our first big ‘coming out event’ and the response was truly overwhelming,” Bosley says.
Innovations unlimited
The Solar Stik booth was just one example of the fascinating confluence of small-shop “backyard” inventors, large industries and leading biofuel companies that were showing their wares at the huge trade show, which filled the main exhibit hall at the Washington convention center. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford would have felt right at home walking the aisles of the trade fair and talking to the men and women who are convinced the world is on the cusp of an energy revolution – and doing their part to advance it.
A number of states, foreign nations, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and trade associations also had exhibits where they touted what they are doing to promote renewable energy.
No exhibit was bigger or more impressive than Volvo’s: seven huge tractor trucks, each adapted to run on a different type of renewable fuel, including 100 percent biodiesel, synthetic diesel, hydrogen and methanol/ethanol blends.
Rob Simpson, manager for national field marketing, says Volvo remains convinced that the diesel engine “is still the future of power for heavy trucks,” and is being adapted to run on more environmentally friendly fuels. “The goal here is to show the variety of fuel alternatives for diesel engines; they are not all commercially viable yet, but we are showing what can be done. These are all production trucks.”
Other automakers displayed plug-in hybrid cars that can run the first 40 to 50 miles just on the power of an over-night electric charge.
Nick Bowdish of Pagan Inc. said his company – a major builder and operator of ethanol plants – can build a stateof-the-art, turn-key ethanol plant for clients, and is increasingly doing so outside the traditional Cornbelt territory for biofuels. It currently has plants under construction in Georgia and Texas.
“We’re also here to show how Pagan is part of the larger renewable energy industry,” he added, explaining how the ethanol plants of today run on significantly less power and require less water than was the case just a few years ago.
As for fears that ethanol is diverting too much corn from the food chain, he pointed to seed technology advances being made by Monsanto and others that he said will double per-acre corn harvests in the next 20 years.
Snapshots of change
A few other snapshots of the some of the exhibits at the trade fair:
* Louis Capuana Jr., president of Thermasource, a geothermal consulting and drilling business based in Santa Rosa, Calif., explained how advances in technology are allowing his company to tap into and generate power from geothermal resources that in the past would not have been considered hot enough for commercial use.
* The Sea Breeze Power Corp. displayed plans and maps for transferring wind power from British Columbia to power-hungry California, which would involve the use of undersea power cables.
* AgriPower Inc., of Great Neck, N.Y., presented a modular, portable biomass generator that can run on a wide variety of ag or industrial wastes. The $1.2 million power plants use a fluid-bed combustor and several heat exchangers to heat compressed air that drives a turbine generator. Originally created for use in developing countries, they are now being used to meet many needs, such as at landfills, where trash is being turned into power instead of filling valuable land space.
* PaceGlobal, a Fairfax, Va.-based energy consulting firm, was there to attract clients with services that Marketing Director Chrissy Hunt said range from carbon and energy management to price forecasting and project valuation.
USDA was one of the major sponsors of WIREC ’08, which will next move to India in 2010.
Stephanie Hollis describes how the two 50-watt solar panels on the Solar Stik can be quickly adjusted just three times a day to ensure that maximum sun is hitting them. USDA Photo by Bob Nichols
More than 240 exhibits filled the trade show floor at WIREC 2008.
By Dan Campbell, Editor
Copyright Superintendent of Documents May/Jun 2008
(c) 2008 Rural Cooperatives. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.