Jim Gardner’s Energy Tech Talk

Here’s some innovative research as reported on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Web site for funded projects in April 2009:

“FastCAP SYSTEMS (Cambridge, MA), in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will develop a game changing new nanotube enhanced ultra capacitor with potential for a 6x improvement in energy density and cost over the current industry state-of-the art. These novel energy storage devices have potential for energy densities approaching those of batteries (33-44 Wh/kg), while providing 20x higher power density and thousands of times the cycle life of existing high performance batteries.

“If successfully developed, this transformational new energy storage technology would greatly reduce the cost of hybrid and electric vehicles to enable their widespread cost effective deployment in the U.S. and dramatically reduce U.S. oil imports.”

This technology also holds great promise to enable continuous power from intermittent renewable resources, like wind and solar, to allow them to grow to a large fraction of grid power while maintaining a stable and highly reliable grid.

I commented in my February blog that solar energy is great when the sun is shining, but when we are on the dark side of this dynamic orb we call Earth, we must have a smart way to store the sunlight we enjoyed just hours earlier.

Here is ONE VERY SMART WAY to store the sun’s energy: ultra capacitors. Forget the solar panel-powered batteries and algae photosynthesis-to-bioenergy technologies (not really, we need them all). Imagine SMART local energy grids using micro-ultra capacitors storing solar, geothermal, tidal/wave, biomass and wind energies to power your local power grid. If these capacitors succeed, you can turn off the breaker from the regional coal-fired power plant, unless you have extra electrical energy you want to sell to our antique power grid.

We have an amazing amount of renewable energy resources in the United States that will keep scientists and engineers busy for decades, looking for better methods of utilizing the energies that Mother Nature offers us each and every day.

Keep your local, state and federal elected officials informed about your opinions on the importance of renewable energies in our country’s future. We have the brain power and physical resources to keep our nation on the leading edge of renewable energies. Call, e-mail, write or visit their offices today and every day, that renewable energy development is not moving forward a fast as possible. Use your vote to get your message across to all levels of government. Join and support local, regional and national groups that advocate the use of environmentally friendly, renewable energy solutions for your neighborhood and our planet.

Jim Gardner