Colorado Alternative Energy, Where's the facts? 25.5 Mega Watts?

Posted on June 24, 2012 by George B.
Alamosa-Congentrix-30MW-power plant

Alamosa-Congentrix-30MW-power plant

Many of us know of Otherpower, a great example of a place where good results and not so good are shared..  Good ideas, or not so good ideas, we learn about them, and whether they weathered a storm, or became a twisted pile of metal in some lonely pasture. But what about commercial grade solar? Where do we go to get the truth?

Here’s a place to start:

Congentrix Announcement, Let’s parse >their< announcement that follows

PROJECT IS ONE OF THE FIRST UTILITY SCALE, HIGH CONCENTRATION PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY GENERATION FACILITIES IN THE U.S. AND THE LARGEST OF ITS KIND IN THE WORLD 

*Fantastic! One of the first, the world will be anxious to see how it performs, especially the Stake holders! 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—May 10, 2011—U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the offer of a conditional commitment for a $90.6 million loan guarantee to Cogentrix of Alamosa, LLC. The loan guarantee will support the construction of the Alamosa Solar Generating Project, a 30 megawatt (MW) net capacity High Concentration Solar Photovoltaic (HCPV) generation project located in south-central Colorado near the city of Alamosa. Cogentrix estimates the project will create about 75 construction jobs and 10 operations jobs. The project will source over 80 percent of its components from the U.S.

* 75 construction jobs, we know these are temps, but 10 operations jobs, OK, we’ll note that.

“Colorado has long been a leader in the development and deployment of renewable energy, and this project builds on that record,” said Secretary Chu. “By deploying an innovative, commercially-ready technology at utility scale, the Alamosa Solar Generating Project is increasing the generation of clean, renewable power, creating jobs and strengthening the U.S. economy.”

This paragraph leads us to believe that Steven Chu has signed off as fact that the latest version of the Amonix 7700 >is< commercially ready. How about we be the judge of that? Fact is, he’s forced us to invest in this power plant, and we are stake holders.   

“Today’s announcement from the Department of Energy is exciting news for Colorado,” said U.S. Senator Mark Udall. “With this significant financial commitment, Cogentrix will have the tools to finish construction on one of the largest and most innovative photovoltaic solar power plants in the country — as well as create a significant number of jobs in the San Luis Valley. I have long been a supporter of smart renewable energy projects, and I look forward to watching Cogentrix’ plans unfold.”

I love this paragraph above: Mark Udall looks forward to watching Congentrix plans unfold. It reminds me of how the Las Vegas Sun covered the “unfolding of the Amonix plans”, untill the power plants we built and shipped out of town. I found it curious to say the least, it gets built, and media quits talking about it right when when an idea becomes a reality. 

I did finally.. all too slowly figure out Las Vegas.. what seemed to be a total lack of interest in a big story was really nothing more than Las Vegas living up to it’s motto:  “What happens here stays here.”   

We now have a chance to see if Mark Udall is a typical  Politician who will say and do whatever he needs in order to retain the support of those who don’t care if this power plant ever makes a watt of power, or if he will assure that we see the results of the power production, same as New Mexico has done with the Hatch power plant.

“This is great news for the San Luis Valley and for the entire state’s new energy economy,” said U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. “This new solar facility will further solidify Colorado’s lead in clean energy, create good-paying jobs, and provide a much-needed economic boost for the San Luis Valley and all of Colorado.”

We DIYers know that one of the keys to personal investment is to actually measure the results of our creations.  Will Senator Bennet have any interest in sharing the facts of power production with us Stake Holders?  What about these job numbers? seems to me they are tied to the real power production numbers, and the ability of the power plant to fund those jobs ongoing.   

The proposed facility will use innovative HCPV systems consisting of concentrating optics and multi-junction solar cell panels that are controlled by a dual-axis tracking system. The tracking system rotates and tilts the cells throughout the day so the surface of the solar panel maintains an optimal angle with respect to the sun. According to the project sponsor, the multi-junction solar cells are nearly 40 percent efficient or about double that of more traditional PV panels used in areas with high amounts of direct sunlight, such as Alamosa County. The Alamosa Solar Generating Project will sell all of its electricity output to Public Service Company of Colorado. The facility will produce approximately 75,000 megawatt hours of clean renewable energy per year, enough to power over 6,500 homes, and will avoid the emissions of over 43,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Ahh! lookie here, expectations shared! >they< are expecting to make about 25.5MWs each hour over an eight hour day. We DIYers know there’s wind that keeps the trackers stowed, there’s days not so bright, short days, long days, maintenance days, and more. Does this figure seem a little optimistic? We need not judge a thing,  just show us the Data, and allow us to decide. Let Las Vegas be your guide…Politicians and their minions  have no interest in facts less it serve to keep them in office one more term.  

The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office administers loan guarantee programs that support the deployment of innovative technologies that avoid, reduce, or sequester greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program, which supports the development of advanced vehicle technologies. Including both programs, DOE has issued loans, loan guarantees or offered conditional commitments for loan guarantees totaling over $30 billion to support 28 clean energy projects across the United States. The program’s 12 generation projects produce nearly 25 million megawatt-hours annually, enough to power over two million homes. Including the Alamosa Solar Generating Project, the program has committed over $7.5 billion in loan guarantees to solar generation projects. DOE has also issued conditional commitments or loan guarantees to support numerous other projects, such as four of the world’s largest solar projects, two geothermal projects, the world’s largest wind farm and the nation’s first new nuclear power plant in three decades. For more information, please visit the .

There’s that word again innovative, most of us recognize it as a Marketing bull shit word, we do expect politicians to sprinkle it here and there, but isn’t it a fact that all we want is the facts? If you visit the NREL, you can find promotional material for Amonix, but I have a hard time finding any coverage of the NREL learning from the most important data of all, that being real world data from the field.  Have you seen one article at the NREL discussing field trips to Hatch or Alamosa?  Anything about real power generation VS the marketing bull shit numbers you see above?

Yes! you’ve been learning from the Alternative realists for years, and they’ve taught you it doesn’t matter how innovative something is, Alternative Energy is little different than harvesting rain falling from the sky, it’s what we are able to direct into the bucket that counts, and an accurate measure.

My hero list includes folks like Hugh Piggott, Hugh has a lot of practical experience, and some of his most basic basic lessons are about the fact that your machinery must remain in operation to make any return on investment to you. rugged and reliable operation is proven in the field, not in some lab. certainly Dan B, and Dan F not only have that knowledge, but they teach it. 

I continue to study Amonix, Hatch, Alamosa for a good reason, current events, and real equipment in the field should be the focus of our studies. Why would we use Marketing hype? Why would we trust any Politician of any party WHEN we have the real numbers, the real maintenance figures, the real power production contracts to look at?

It’s all so simple, and I add a new Hero to my personal list of Heros this year. I’m not surprised to learn he’s an engineer, not surprised to see him in the field, and those clothes he wears? Yes, his title might suggest he’d wear a suit, but I’d bet he spends most of his time in work clothes, and if we had a chance to shake his hand, I bet we’d find a callous or two from his DIY 🙂  That Person is Richard Turner of El Paso Electric. Rich has this thing about facts and figures, he was likely born that way.. I’m sure his Mom cried when she learned that her little boy would likely grow up to be an Engineer, while the other kids were playing hard…dreaming of the Free Energy Hojo Motor, maybe even buying the plans to build it, Rich was likely looking for the details.  New Mexico and EPE have set the standard, they place a meter between them and those who sell them Alternative energy. It is the ethical and honest thing to do, it’s what this company appears to be all about, and for us retired folks looking for utility stocks to invest in, ones that actually produce dividends.. we need consider EPE, it’s not what you preach, it’s your deeds that count.

The DOE reminds me of a carless man who tosses any seed into the ground, and never keeps notes as to what seed grows into useful plants.  Notice I didn’t make reference to a Farmer.. because a Farmer would be out of business the first or second year with this practice.

When we find we are the stake holders, we should demand access to the facts, if they want to keep things a secret, no problem, they only need fund it themselves, and leave me off the list of stake holders.

We need learn from Mother Nature, Her door is always open, we may never discover all of Her secrets, but it won’t be because she’s put up a fence, and locked us out of the field. I will always remember that School Teacher that told me.. “I don’t care if solar works in our area or not, I want to do the right thing.” I bowed my head in silent prayer that day, because I know there are so many that agree with her….. “God help Us.”  

That page where I found the Congentrix post is here.

The power Meters that EPE provides to their Stake Holders, and rate Payers is here.  

Have a great Sunday.. and oh yes, I can hear the gears in the heads of true DIYers turning.. you are wondering if EPE will be asked to remove those power meters, so not to embarrass certain folks in Colorado, Nevada and beyond? Will you remain silent if that happens? 

At the end of the day.. it’s all BS unless you actullay measure the results… , I guess we’ll see how BS plays in Colorado…. won’t we?   

GB

            

             

Posted in Alternative Energy Sources, Earth & Energy, Fighting Propaganda, Strange Stuff, UtterPower Articles | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Utterpower’s Lexicon

Posted on June 22, 2012 by George B.
Our Place of Worship

Amonoliths

There’s so many words and phrases I have wanted to put in one place for reference.  Since I soon forget them,  I thought I’d start to write them down today.  We DIYers create a lot of our own language..

lex·i·con/?leksi?kän/

 
Noun:
  1. The vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge.
  2. A dictionary, esp. of Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, or Arabic: “a Greek–Latin lexicon”.

Amonolith

  1. A monolithic structure often funded by Government subsidies that proves to serve no practical purpose long term.
  2. A large piece of equipment abandoned and unsightly.
  3. A monstrosity built to Rajkot standards. 

 

Listerlust

  1. To covet simple and reliable machinery.

 

The Polaris

  1. One who deceives himself and others.
  2. One who believes in his own magic AND advertises it for sale. 

 

Silvertone

A man who refuses to accept the fact that Dark Hunter Green is the >only< proper color to paint a Lister CS or clone.

Let me use it in a sentence>   Silvertone Q.

 

Awillem

  1. A story or idea with very high entertainment value.
  2. An idea that may contain merit, but costs cubic dollars with no real return on investment.

Used in a sentence>

  • Neither Jack or Jill ever saw Awillem in the field.
  • They sat around the camp fire sharing awillems.

Ahwillem

A question we ask ourselves, does the author attempt to deceive others, or does  he deceive himself as well?  A website and company called Hydrovolts is an inspirational place to study.  A mention that the DOE has recognized their efforts is educational indeed! .. especially for young engineers.

Journalist

  • A person who compiles and polishes scripts and even ideas given to them.
  • One who promotes products and ideas for profit.
  • One who massages PR and marketing hype in order to make it look like news.
  • A paid Prostitute, normally having a pretty face, and no idea how piss got into a boot.

 Reporter

(See Journalist)

Investigative Reporter 

  • A rare individual whose research is almost always poorly funded.  
  • A person who has taken an oath of poverty.
  • A  root cause for litigation.
  • A Corporate liability

Investigative Journalist   

 See investigative Reporter

 DOE 

DOE!

This is very similar to the idea of giving enough Monkeys type writers. The word is used in the same context as Duh. A qualifier for the proper use of the word.. you should verify that the worthless machinery or Idea would not have been created in the private sector due to the fact that no one there would have funded it.  

Used in a sentence>

  1. Martha may have been nervous because she knew it was a DOE.
  2. DOE!
  3. No wonder people have lost faith in the industry, it’s been DOEd to death.
  4. DOE! what happens here stays here.

 

Fairy-Fuel

A mixture of fuels that defies common knowledge, scientific principles, basic physics. The fuel is claimed to deliver far more energy than its BTU value.

Used in a sentence:

He was able to drive his tractor a full 30% further using his own fairy fuel.

Note:  Joe Biden often promises ‘fairy fuel’ is just around the corner.

 

Peter Pan Syndrome

To have an overwhelming desire to believe in the impossible dream to the point where you refuse to apply critical thought that would reveal the truth.  PPS is typically associated with the belief in the free lunch or free energy.

Venture Capitalist 

A U.S. Taxpayer

Utterpower

The power of a World Wide Community of hands on DIYers sharing ideas and solutions, and distilling them down to KISS.

Obamacare

  1. A massive theft of the medicare fund from people who have paid in all their lives.
  2. A transfer of wealth from those who paid in to those who never have… all in the name of buying votes. 
  3. The act of offering what looks like a free lunch in exchange for political support.

History will remember this as a similar event to having stolen the Social Security fund  and transferring the money to the general fund where it could be looted.  The public? .. too ignorant to notice their pants were down, and they were bent over..

Liberal Thinking

Evan Sayet, he ‘Sayet’ all.

Kept Man

1. John Kerry

 

  …end…. 

 If you have a word or phase you’d like to submit, let me know..

GB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in UtterPower Articles | 3 Comments

Amonix 7700, A crack in the Story?

Posted on June 21, 2012 by George B.
Our Place of Worship

Amonoliths

 

June 21  2012  did you notice, it’s summer already..

Can you imagine, you’re Congentrix, the owner of the Largest CPV power plant in the World! You get calls, lots of calls, how do you like your new CPV power plant?  And some of those calls might be from Madame Chairman Francisca Rubio.  http://www.cpv-8.org/cms/chair.html

I close my eyes, and imagine hearing how the conversations might go.. “We over here are telling people that Alamosa is proof of how great CPV is!  We’re hoping you’ll be writing an article soon telling the world how happy you are to be an owner of a High Tech proven CPV power plant, and how you’re making power for the people…… “you are making power aren’t you?”

So it seems, or am I just dreaming? The folks in Europe point to the USA for proof of how viable CPV is, and meanwhile, those in the U.S.A. point to Europe for the proof.  

Just who are these Spaniards who seem less than charmed by the present day technology? Yes, you have a translator handy, a right click away for most of us..

http://www.diariodenavarra.es/20090628/tudela/duenos-placas-solares-anuncian-acciones-legales-contra-promotora.html?not=2009062802145896&dia=20090628&seccion=tudela&seccion2=tudela

Even the Cheerleaders of all things Green are having a hard time holding the line on this story.  They know there’s so much ‘pent up’ already..  they know it’s all so weird that the New plant operators remain so silent.

The Las Vegas Sun comes to mind.. now there’s a News Paper with the patience of Job, there’s days I think they could wait another year or two before they inquired about all that stuff that Amonix built right down the street, it all  left town on trucks.. lots of trucks.

Like I said, this was a lot like watching the Titanic being built from the window of the Editor’s loft at the SUN…. You report on all the flag waving, show the local Politicians kissing babies, cutting ribbons and more, and once the product becomes a reality… you don’t follow it? You just can’t find time to get around to asking… “hey, did that Boat ever float?”

You might ask yourself why newspapers are dying? It could have something to do with how selective they seem to be in what they report. 

Here’s what I think is the beginning of the story.. at least the beginning of the story outside the bounds of the Utterpower pages. You know I’ve been smelling something ever sense I saw those pages at the DOE.  

scroll to Amonix article in this link below..   

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Solar-Roundup-SolarWorld-Sued-by-DuPont-Ailing-Amonix-SMA-Microinverters/

Here’s an added note.. A spokesman for Congentrix told a person in the Media that Congentrix and Amonix got together and checked out the Alamosa power plant in April!

The wording  might leave one to think that all is well with this power plant. Now where is that Power meter? seel the following article. You believe this?  

http://www.solarmash.com/news/2012-05-15/alamosa-solar-generating-plan-worlds-largest-cpv-up-and-running-23603/

I think we’ll hear more about this in December..

GB

Posted in Alternative Energy Sources, Announcements, Earth & Energy, Insane Grants, Strange Stuff | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Agenda21

Posted on June 19, 2012 by George B.

If you have never met a Lesbian you liked…. you may not be able to say that after watching this video..

 

Posted in Buyer Beware, DIYer Skills, Fighting Propaganda, Strange Stuff, Things I Hate!, Your Wasted Tax Dollars | Tagged , | 20 Comments

Solar CPV (VS) Mono Crystaline and Thin Film Flat Plate Arrays.

Posted on June 16, 2012 by George B.
Our Place of Worship

Amonoliths

 

Zach Says… Check the Math yourself.

Just the Facts Please

It’s not that hard to run this piece of chalk…

 

At the end of the day, it is the ‘Hands On’ AE Enthusiast’s responsibility to validate some of the data we are given. If we make no efforts; we are perhaps more guilty that the people we call gullible.

The data I share below is from Saturday, a comparison of several Solar PV Power Plants and  their output for a best hour expressed as a percentage of their rated output.   What this means is we are looking at the KWHs that passed by the meter during that best hour. What might we do with the data we can find at EPE, and how valuable is it… read on.

We understand that clouds roll by, and there are many variables, but I believe if you return to these metering sites, you will indeed see a pattern between the advertised output and the actuals for the different types of technologies.

Here’s a power plants of interest, all of which EPE contracts to buy power from.

NAME                     TYPE                         MOUNT TYPE              % OF RATING

Stanton Tower     Mono crystalline         Fixed mount                      100%

Road Runner        Thin Film                     Single axis                              97% 

Wrangler               CPV                               Dual Axis                                    89%

Amonix Hatch      CPV                               Dual Axis                                   58%

I couldn’t find any Alternative Energy websites that were following the actual performance of AE power.  It’s as if the AE bloggers think any effort to put PV in the field is good, and therefore in alignment with their goals. The NREL plays a limited role, they are currently NOT focused on the total package of any technology in the field as far as I can see, or they’re not reporting on it.. 

It’s my belief that we must all work together to assure that the cream rises to the top, and if we don’t challenge the results of some of these manufacturers, we help destroy the credibility of the entire AE industry.  It certainly has been harmed by Solyndra, and others, and the rest of the story has yet to be told. 

El Pasco Electric, thanks for being the up front and responsible Company I’ve come to know through my research and probes into your company.  What talent you have within your ranks, and how lucky your customers are.

Let’s hope the Power Companies that buy power from those who sell renewables (Like Congentrix) in other parts of the country follow EPE’s example of sharing energy facts with customers, and helping them make important choices.  

EPE, you do more for us to know reality than all the rest together.

Here’s EPE’s great link where you can compare power production claims with the real figures..  

http://www.epelectric.com/renewable-energy/menu 

Studying the past.. in this Martha link you’ll find some graphs of previous performance from Hatch.., the highs have gone from 42xxKW or less to around 3000KW, is this evidence of more equipment out of service, and why?  Link back to Martha. Article  

Here’s some of my thoughts. The best hour performance expressed as a percentage of the power plant’s rated capacity gives us a comparative figure we can use to check the health of the power plant relative to others over time. The weather underground provides us valuable information we might use to further analyze power production figures.

We’ve seen it all in other industries, projected costs of ownership, returns on investment, and far more. We’ve come to learn that nothing replaces the field test over the advertised lifetime of the product.

What does it mean when you consistently see a lower power production number than expected? I think we might get a number of answers, but my top choice is the plant will likely be one that needs more maintenance and may not be getting it. It could be a simple fix, maybe a fuse blown on a tracker motor, a simple error like a fuse too low in it’s Amp rating, or one where a slow blow needed to be? but as time goes by, we assume that simple problems would have been rectified, and we’d see a higher percentage of power production.

In some Solar PV power plants, it’s important that you engineer for wind loading, and this can be important in fixed applications as well and of course the higher latitudes put more area towards the wind, and may require better mounting practices. Here in my Area, winds can come from nearly any direction, but the winter winds normally arrive from the south, and summer Winds from the North. I have seen flat panels mounted with gaps between them to assure the array was a less effective sail.

For us curious DIYers, we can’t leave the thought of gears alone. When trackers track, we know there’s a lot of ways to do it, and Vertis Shared in a comment about a trouble free tracker that used nothing other than a freon gas to steer a panel towards the sun. It was durable, it was trouble free. but we need be careful not to make assumptions, as some of these new and higher concentration CPV systems need to be very accurately pointed at the sun to work. Plus or minus 3 degrees would be great for some types of panels, but might deliver very poor results for the higher concentrating systems. so we need assure the tracker design can track with the required accuracy.  

I’ve mentioned this over the years, but it is a fact that a very disruptive force showed itself here about a dozen years ago, a lot of companies got on the downsize bandwagon and stripped out a lot of the older work force. At Mazda for instance, the knowledge of a very costly engineering blunder was lost, and the mistake repeated. It’s all History now, and Mazda  took care of  their  customers, same as they had the first time, but it was costly..

Exactly how was that knowledge lost, and where do you put the sticky note to never do it again? Apparently some things were carried forward in the minds of the work force that had the lead, the incentives to leave were tuned to encourage the brain trust to leave, and those who designed the plan may have had too little understanding of the value of that knowledge.

Many of us remember the British Cars that arrived on our shores, some of the designs were long in the tooth, but so attractive to some of us. One lesson that sticks in my mind… A popular British axle that fit a number of cars like the early Austin Healy Sprite fetched a fairly high price. I found out about this when I let out the clutch at a stop light, and went nowhere. Around the same time, Lotus was breaking drive train parts on the race course and decided to put a rubber donut in the drive train, troubles gone! 

These are experiences we DIYers have stored in memory, and when we look at mechanical designs, we look to see if the designer(s) had access to these lessons of the past? We might even do this subconsciously.

What takes the brunt of the punishment in a tracker design? One of the problems with solar PV design is the entity who attempts to drive advancements in technology (the DOE) appears to be dangling a carrot for the low-cost bidder.  If a tracker survived in a previous location, how much effort (money) will be put into beefing up the tracker for the new location when every dollar spent may take you further away from your initial goal… of getting that award from the DOE…  

The DOE reminds me of a delay line in the learning curve. Reaching for that Carrot will just as often destroy the company as help it, all we need do is keep score.

What we now see in the Alternative Energy field is a Government awarding money to entities to build something, and then awarding money to other entities to buy it. Can you imagine a more effective way to stifle the development of a superior product that returns value to the investor? I think there’s reason to believe that what the DOE is effectively doing is allowing other countries to focus on the real goal.. developing products that provide a return on investment to humanity.  

We saw our Government literally destroy the housing industry by placing people in homes they could not afford. I saw people who made half my wage settle into homes twice as grand as I would ever dare commit to mortgage. Zero down, Zero interest, and no reason not to default in five years when the contract ended. Our Government, (the DOE) applies the same destructive program to the AE market. Whatever errors they make is of no consequence to them, it all falls on our backs, same as the housing industry blunders that will plague our children for all their adult lives.

The proof is in the field for all to see, but who cares to note it? I say we start at Hatch, and see what Martha helped plant there?              

Happy Father’s day..

 GB 

 

Posted in Critical Thinking, Earth & Energy | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Sustainable Development

Posted on June 16, 2012 by George B.

It’s an old term freshly hijacked by those who’d like to organize your life and make everything simple for you. Thank you Dr. Kemm, and many others who make time to explain what’s really going on behind the curtain of deceit.

We’ve all seen the catch phrases in the past, and the people behind them generally have two things in common. 

  • They see very complex problems as simple to solve.
  • All that’s really needed is for them to be given the money to fix them.

Is there anywhere on earth better for you to observe the presentation of ‘child-like’ ideas than the meeting that CFACT attends and reports on in Rio?  Watch it below..   Dr. Kemm gives us a good overview that I took the liberty to cut and paste here.  This assures some level of integrity for the page I slap together this Saturday Morning.

Most of the people I know who would support the idea of keeping Africans on the sustainable development path; see at lot of things simpler than they are., since you are likely  ‘hands on’ if you read utterpower.com, you know.

JB, if you are reading this, here’s an article worth translating into the native languages there.. people need to know that the UN claims easy answers for complex problems.. if only we give them the authority over all of us..  CFACT is worth our support, they bring us the other side of the conversation mostly ignored by other entities.  

You simply must watch some of the CFACT video clips from UN meeting at Rio!

 

 One I particularly enjoyed is the statement that road maintenance is mostly for cars, and the money should be better used for public transportation. It’s obvious this man has never attempted to get the crops from the field to market. Watch another man flail his arms encroaching on the personal space of others at the table, you know he’s not very aware of his immediate surroundings…. yet alone the complex issues he attempts to lecture on.         

————————————————–    

  BY KELVIN KEMM

If you want to learn what farmers think (and need), talk to African farmers – not to bureaucrats, environmental activists or politicos at the Rio+20 United Nations summit in Rio de Janeiro. You’ll get very different, far more honest and thoughtful perspectives.

The recent (May 24) Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network conference in Pretoria, South Africa brought together delegates from agricultural communities in many African countries. FANRPAN’s primary objective is to improve food security in Africa, by ensuring that small-scale farmers can become more productive. Their obvious enthusiasm and commonsense views were heartening.

FANRPAN chair Sindiso Ngwenya of Zambia gave an incisive presentation, pointing out that agriculture is the key to reducing poverty and ensuring food security in Africa. “We call upon the world to assist us,” he said, “not by treating us as beggars, but by treating us as equals.”

Ngwenya criticised many First World attempts to use climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development arguments to prevent African agriculture from advancing. “If you are using implements that were there before Christ, how much chance do you have?” he wanted to know.

And why would anyone think these UN-EU-US issues are important to African farmers and families who are trying to feed their families and neighbors, and improve their living standards by exporting their products?

Africa does not need foreign aid in the form of handouts, Ngwenya emphasized. African farmers need modern technology and reliable, affordable electricity. They need the world to buy African produce. Instead, far too often, European and other First World countries impose rules or block African exports, using a multitude of excuses that can no longer be tolerated.

FANRPAN has decided to go “Africa-wide,” Ngwenya announced. Africa is huge –larger than the United States, China, India and Europe combined. And yet 60% of its arable land is not used at all. On the arable land that is used in most African countries, crop yields are typically a quarter of the norm in South Africa. What’s needed, he said, are modern farming methods, seeds, fertilizers and equipment –at the level of every individual farmer.

Referring to the 2011 COP-17 world environment congress in Durban, South Africa, Ngwenya pointed out that the FANRPAN slogan is “No agriculture, no deal.” However, agriculture, and particularly the advancement of rural African agriculture, was not included in past COP objectives. Many delegates criticised this, saying it reflected the First World’s hope that Africa and African agriculture will remain primitive and underdeveloped, so that rich countries can praise Africans for being “sustainable” and protecting the planet.

Africans are being told by First World activists, politicians and pressure groups to “stay in tune with nature,” delegates noted – when this attitude really reflects a well-fed First World’s maneuver to retard African agricultural improvements.

When it came to the eternal climate change saga, FRANRPAN delegates emphasized “climate-smart agriculture” and noted that Africa has always experienced dramatic weather and climate variations. What’s needed now, they stresse, is sensible, fact-based science, to predict and adapt to local and regional climate cycles and variations.

Equally impressive was learning that a group of small-scale farmers from Burkino Faso had paid their own way to attend a meeting in Windhoek, Namibia, nearly 3,000 miles (4,500 kilometers) away, to present a petition calling for the development of evidence-based policies, to replace what to now have been emotional, harmful and oppressive policies, rules and treaties.

The delegates said they were tired of the First World telling them what to do, based on First World interests and perceptions. They understand all too well that calls for “sustainable development,” “biodiversity” and climate change “prevention” really mean demands for policies and practices that ensure sustained poverty and malnutrition.

FRANRPAN CEO Dr. Lindiwe Sibanda emphasized that the real work is done on the ground, at the level of individual countries – and “policy comes from people.” Individual countries must come to their own conclusions about what works for them, and countries must align their policies to ensure food security for their people, she said. Modern methods and technologies are also required, to enhance intra-Africa food trade and enable countries to export what they are good at producing.

Her enthusiasm was praised by a farmer who spoke from the floor, with a strong French accent. “There’s a lack of resources for small farmers to come here,” he said, even for important meetings like this, but he was glad he had spent the time and money to be there. Certainly, those that did attend exhibited enough excitement and enthusiasm for the millions who could not join them.

Chairman Ngwenya wrapped up the proceedings by criticising the apparently intentional side-stepping of agricultural issues during COP-17. The First World must stop impeding African farmers and end “the paralysis by analysis,” he said. Absolutely right.

There is far too much First World smoke and mirrors, telling Africans they are saving the planet – when the real intention is to stop them from acquiring modern technology and electricity that would allow them to surge to middle class or even rich country status.

This FANRPAN conference serves notice to the United Nations Environment Programme, Rio+20 Sustainable Development Summit, Europe, United States and other obstructionists that Africa has caught on to what they are doing – and is no longer willing to play their game.

That’s good news for every African, Asian, Latin American and other poor family that wants to eat better, live better and have the freedom to pursue their dreams.

_____

Dr. Kelvin Kemm

Dr Kelvin Kemm is a nuclear physicist and business strategy consultant in Pretoria, South Africa. He is a member of the International Board of Advisors of the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), based in Washington, DC (www.CFACT.org). Dr. Kemm received the prestigious Lifetime Achievers Award of the National Science and Technology Forum of South Africa.

Posted in Critical Thinking, Earth & Energy, Fighting Propaganda, In The News, Insane Grants, Submitted Articles, The New Green Movement | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Amonix 7700 Photo Contest, recording failure

Posted on June 15, 2012 by George B.

 

Our Place of Worship

Our Place of Worship

Do you live near an Amonix 7700 Power Plant? Got a decent Camera and know how to use it? You could win money by snapping a picture, The better time to arrive is in the early morning or afternoon with the sun is closer to the horizon.  But remember anytime is OK.  What we are interested in is how many trackers are NOT following the sun, and pictures that clearly demonstrate this are of interest.  Dual Axis Trackers are a high maintenance item compared to fixed arrays, and to my knowledge; there has been no accounting of the tracker problems and associated costs. Simply no one I can find has an interest in reporting the real costs VS power production of the Amonix 7700 trackers.  

Don’t Miss seeing this site below if you are going to the Hatch Chile Fest! Why would you miss it? 

Hatch Next Era Power Plant (New Mexico)

Hatch Next Era Power Plant (New Mexico)

The Hatch power plant is fairly easy to find, just find Hall street in Hatch, and follow it west, it turns into #26 and travels W.  Not too far down the road, you’ll see the power plant on your right (north).  according to google earth, just a little ways past the power plant, you might have a 20 foot elevation advantage that may help you take a picture of the trackers at a favorable angle.  You might get a decent view of what is tracking and what’s not.

look at location W007 1530 and N32 3736 if you need more help with location.. Hatch has been operating for a year now, it’s windy here, and it would be nice to know if NextEra has repaired the trackers that were reported bad by passers by. Remember, your picture may pay for your dinner on the road!  

Thanks to El Paso Electric, we have this power meter to look at for Hatch. You will need to spend some time with this meter to understand what you see. It’s best to consult the Weather Underground, look for wind gusts, and expect these trackers to stow when gusts are high enough to trip the effort to protect the trackers. In my opinion, this plan is flawed, and I challenge you to challenge my thinking on the topic. My simple and not so scientific study notes that the Hatch trackers will often ‘stow’ when gusts of 20mph are recorded at the nearest weather reporting  center. when trackers are in stow, we expect to see zero power production during the hour(s). There are several possibilities here, one, wind gusts typically range higher here in Hatch than the areas south west of here, or that personnel at Hatch have lowered the previously shared 28MPH gust parameter that starts a stow in order to keep trackers from seeing more damage. We must guess, because this data is not openly shared.  

If you are passing by Alamosa Colorado, you might be up for a little adventure into the irrigation circles North West of town.  Teh location is about  37 35,52.55N  and 105 56′ 48.03 W.  It’s fairly easy to find, and you basically stick with the main road, but zig zag across the land space to get there on a West, North, West, North track..

 

Alamosa-Congentrix-30MW-power plant

Alamosa-Congentrix-30MW-power plant, under construction in this picture.

 Leave Alamosa headed north on 1st St N.  This turns into #17, head North, turn left on CR6S. Go west to N. River Rd, head North. Turn left on CR 4.5 S. go west, turn righ ton rd S 108, head N. turn left on CR3S. Go west. turn right on SCR 106, head North. Turn Left onto LN2N head West. You will arrive on the north end of the Congentrix power plant. 

Depending on conditions, you can go back down N CR 106 and turn right onto Stanley, this might get you into the south end of the complex if you have trouble driving the fence line from the North..  Do respect private property, do attempt to make the trip in the early AM when the sun comes up, or be there in the after noon as the sun is falling to get the better pictures. Do make use of google earth, to become familiar with the area. If you take pictures use a high resolution, take more than your cell phone to get the best pictures, there’s some nice inexpensive cameras with 10X zoom lens, a camera like this might allow some good pictures.

Remember, the picture you take may pay for your meal out. 

And for those in Tucson, we have a picture of trackers up in a previous post not doing so well, we’ve heard there were 11 trackers not following the sun on one day.. if you’re there, consider taking a picture of trackers not tracking.

Thanks in advance for your interest. I say any time the DOE hands out borrowed money to support the building of these power plants, and leaves us with the debt,  it is our business how they perform.  If they want complete privacy, fund it  yourself.

A reminder once more. Do not trespass, do not touch  stuff that’s not yours,  don’t enter the complex without permission. With the number of tweaker metal thieves across the country do consider waving if you see someone in ear shot, and announce you are a tourist and there  only to take photos.   

There are other posts here at utterpower.com about commercial CPV

https://www.utterpower.com/predicting-epic-failures/

 https://www.utterpower.com/martha-symko-davies-disruptive-technologies/

https://www.utterpower.com/nrels-amonix-pages/

Do remember… many of us love Solar Power Plants, I have invested in an off grid power plant, and I am glad I made the investment. unfortunately, about 80% of those who support Alternative Energy do so out of a religious like conviction that AE is the right thing no matter if it pays a dividend to humanity or not!  I read this AM where a blogger in Florida is all upset that Scientific study had produced a report that cloud cover in parts of Florida made it difficult or impossible to get a decent return on investment there.  He was angered by this finding; and was asking people to call their elected officials and get them to push for more solar investment regardless of some scientific nonsense! We really are seeing a return of the SUN Worshipers. And we are likely seeing places of worship go up. It’s never a problem long as the Worshipers build their own places of worship.    

If you fund it all.. who cares what is built? If I help fund it through taxes or other assessments, I should have access to the results. 37MW of field tests, I think so… Who was it that couldn’t wait to see a year of power production out of Hatch… before more were built? That be the DOE for one.

Comments are welcome here.

references:

http://www.usairnet.com/weather/maps/current/new-mexico/wind-speed/

GB           

     

 

         

 

Posted in Alternative Energy Sources, Earth & Energy, In The News, Projects | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NREL’s Amonix Pages

Posted on June 14, 2012 by George B.

 

Easter Island 7700

 

CPV? maybe that was last week’s focus? The Amonix 7700s have been in the field  and operational at Hatch New Mexico for a year now..  And 30 Mega Watts worth in Alamosa Colorado.  All we hear is the sound of silence….And this follows a blitzkrieg style marketing campaign… even the NREL joined in!    

Here’s a few important paragraphs for reference, what follows are snippets from an NREL page, short on time? Scroll to the bullet items. 

Martha Symko-Davies, a senior supervisor at NREL, recalled that most concentrator companies could not see the benefits of switching to new-generation solar cells, but Amonix was different, conducting research and development with NREL to overcome stiff challenges.

The first NREL/Amonix project led to a larger award in 2007 from DOE for $15.6 million leveraged by an additional $18 million of investor funds, which helped make the transition to manufacturing of the Amonix 7700 at the company’s facility in Seal Beach, Calif.

Amonix has 15 years of experience developing CPV systems, while NREL has a record of more than three decades of research and development in PV technologies. The fruitful partnership, incorporating the high-efficiency multi-junction solar cell with Amonix’s flagship CPV system, came about through the High-Performance PV Project funded by the DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Program.

Other DOE-funded support came from the Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Pathway Partnership programs. DOE’s Sandia National Laboratories and Brookhaven National Laboratory also facilitated the scale-up of this project.

A conundrum was how to use the highly efficient cells without breaking the bank. Researchers solved that problem by teaming an inexpensive Fresnel lens — at less than $2 a pop — with each of the 7,560 high efficiency solar cells that make up one 53-kilowatt 7700 system. The 500-power amplification of the Fresnel lens allowed the solar cells to be tiny — thus a small fraction of the cost of bigger cells — while still packing record-setting efficiency.

There were other hurdles to clear, too.

Researchers developed a new receiver package of cells and lenses to ensure that the cells would not short out. They solved the distortion problem that happens when a lens doesn’t focus all colors on the same convergence point. And they overcame the thermal issues that crop up when a cell has to handle the intensity of 500 suns.

Their efforts were rewarded in the form of $130 million in private equity financing in 2010.

Here’s the NREL page. 

Can we parse and analyze the above paragraphs together? Maybe we just make bullet items of the statements.

  • Amonix was different
  • A need to overcome stiff challenges
  • Amonix a 15 year old Company
  • The fruitful partnership, incorporating the high-efficiency multi-junction solar cell with Amonix’s flagship CPV system, came about through the High-Performance PV Project funded by the DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Program.
  • Researchers solved that problem by teaming an inexpensive Fresnel lens — at less than $2 a pop
  • Researchers developed a new receiver package of cells and lenses to ensure that the cells would not short out.

We need keep in mind some of the basic facts as we analyze the many articles we find on the WEB and in news print, and do ask yourself, can you find a single article anywhere that questions anything to do with this project?

Here’s my quick observations:

Amonix is a 15 year old company that tells us that they have tested eight generations of the 7700 trackers.  Considering that the only real test of a single generation is to stick it out in a field for it’s expected  life time, how’d they do that?

The NREL boasts that working together with Amonix, they solved a lot of problems. I think the Solar industry gives testament that you don’t know what problems were solved without a field test.

Oh yes, and the mention of a new receiver package they developed, and how they overcame thermal issues.. Oh really? And.. they overcame this in the LAB, or in the field? Yes, here we have an admission that much is new and not yet field tested. 

I do remember all the effort that went into the formulation of a plastic sheath used for outside telephone cables. The study was long and tedious, and some might even know that lead was used as a sheath in the very early days of Telco outside plant. In some of the areas where this new plastic was used, it was found that there were holes being bored into the sheath, and it was found that an insect was doing it. Yessir.. those folks at the lab forgot to sprinkle a generous amount of bugs on the plastic to see if any were interested in chewing on it I guess. this  is just an example of reality, the only good test is a field test exactly where you are going to set up business, and since every site is different, every deployment can deliver unexpected results.        

 Regardless of all the hype, regardless of all the efforts Man makes to accelerate life cycle testing, he is constantly reminded of the many variables and has learned that nothing takes the place of sticking the product out in the field and testing it exactly where it will be used.

With this said, let’s look at what the NREL and Amonix have done together, with a brand new and not so tested product; they put five megawatts worth in Hatch New Mexico, but before they could test a thing, we see another 30 Megawatt Amonix 7700 power plant go in at Alamosa Colorado.   

The articles released to the news papers, bloggers, and AE industry read like a story book. Proven leaders, Amonix is ready to launch an IPO, commentators read the news releases without a single question, Guy Blanchard (Amonix) makes himself available to charm the believers, and all he really need do is repeat the Amonix Mantra “we are the leaders in low cost commercial grade CPV power plants” or similar words, watch the Face to Face Jon Ralston conducted in Las Vegas, home of the Production Facility for Amonix. go to the Las Vegas Sun today 6/12/12 and do a search with the key word Amonix.. Yes! Now that the Las Vegas Sun has something other than big talk to cover, all you get out of them is a big yawn, if you could talk to them privately, they might tell you the circus is coming to town, and people want to read about that, not facts about Solar CPV.

Not a single person in the whole AE community is willing to ask questions, like how did  you accomplish all of this, and do you have a single tracker in service where we can look at the maintenance records, the power production figures, the true cost per KWH, or do we need take your word for it?

And now the facts:

Let’s visit those websites that cut and pasted the Amonix NREL promotional articles, are there any followup articles? Is there any interest at all now that the Amonix 7700s are real and in service?

Does the public have any access to the power production data? What maintenance problems have their been in the field at Hatch? how about at Alamosa?

And.. how are these brand new and totally untested receivers doing?

The facts according to my observations is there is absolutely no one in the entire AE community who has any interest in helping to police the industry, and help assure that the best technology rises to the top.

What we have now is profoundly troublesome, and entire industry without a watch dog, or perhaps, we do have them, but they’ve been neutered and had their teeth pulled.

What lies in the field at Hatch? What lies in the Field at Alamosa? Oh yes, it was world news until it became a reality, but now….. there no interest at all?

It wasn’t that long ago, the solar industry was full of facts and figures, and you sold your products on their merit alone. Today, those who have less than a clue have made available so many different incentives,that it’s difficult to tell if the Solar PV array need make even a watt of power for most of the players to be happy, at least at the beginning of the game. 

We see how Journalists, Commentators, AE bloggers, and more seem to grow disinterested once something becomes a reality. This is exactly opposite of other technologies, and there coud be a reason for that.

There is no better study, than reality, and the Amonix power plant at Hatch New Mexico is just that… ‘Reality’.

The only player in this game I mostly understand is ‘EPE’, El Paso Electric. regardless of what they think of Solar PV at this time, they are a pawn on the chess board, but I think they are the smartest piece on the board. They are forced to play by the mandate of the State, and this is likely driven by the citizens who believe that Solar is a good investment.    

NextEra, I know I haven’t figured out this entity yet, it seems they were rewarded a large chunk of money in incentives, loans, awards.. .who can keep it all straight? But the fac tis, they know they’ve bought a ‘PIG in a POKE’, they are not so dumb, and they know there is no way this version of the Amonix 7700 has been life cycle tested, YET they signed a 25 year long contract with EPE! The other thing they know is the 7700 has never seen an environment exactly like Hatch, high winds, blowing  sand and dust, days you can’t see the sun through all the blowing dust, and those receivers, yes, the NREL says they’re new, so what to expect? The terms of the contract between NextEra and EPE are what we need look at to know the Game. EPE wants to be left whole, they know they need pay a penalty if they don’t buy renewables as a percentage mandated by the state. They might ask NextEra to pay those penalties if they don’t deliver the KWHs promised in the contract, but d they care beyond that? I’d expect there is some agreement in there to break the contract at the end of any year, and the EPE might go back to the State and Argue they are not to be held accountable to meet a percentage of renewables when they are not available. 

The KWHs of production promised by NextEra tell us only part of the story.. who pays if the plant fails to perform? 

The Village of Hatch? They lease the ground that all this equipment sits on. I would imagine if the lease payments stop, they’ll be in a good position to file in court for the salvage rights if nothing else.

Note to bloggers, stay away from hatch and Alamosa, don’t be there in the AM to take pictures and see how many trackers are unable to meet the morning sun, don’t ask about the real power production figures, the real maintenance costs, or a darned thing, just sit back and let the marketeers drop the articles in your lap, and repost them.

When the public finally catches on that there is no one watching the hen house, when they drive by fields of junk, let’s put the blame where it belongs. The AE industry should self police, and if they don’t, they bring about their own destruction.

We can’t blame the NREL, they have masters, and they must obey, for the rest of us? What’s our excuse?

How about some facts? If you know where they are, how about sharing a link under comments? 

As for the Las Vegas Sun, we should expect their next story on Amonix when someone gives it to them.. how sad it is, but in fairness, the only difference between them and the rest of the world is the story lays at their feet.

 

two posts to review:

https://www.utterpower.com/martha-symko-davies-disruptive-technologies/

https://www.utterpower.com/lidia-ball-clean-energ/

Here’s a good place (below) to study the actual power production of the Hatch Power Plant. My Question is: Will someone put pressure on EPE to take this down? As I have posted elsewhere, it’s important for you to consult the weather data, and note the wind gusts,  cloud cover and other factors that impact power production here. My thanks to EPE for sharing information with their customers, this is what I like about power companies, they have a strong incentive to be forthright and honest with their customers, regulators, investors, and partners.   

http://www.epelectric.com/renewable-energy/NX01

I have plenty of other pages up on the Amonix power plants, and in my opinion they have been underperforming, the data that has been available via EPE shows best hours at less that 3800KW for a power plant rated at 5040KW, but many day light hours produce zero, due to wind gusts. Look at the data. Reports of tracks not tracking, and even pictures of trackers not tracking.. if they want our tax dollars, this better become an open book..  

I’ve put effort into sharing the facts as  I think I see them, I totally understand that reality is most difficult to find at times, and I ask that you share your reality with me if you see it different than I share here..  Comments are easy, make one..   

Added note: 6/27/12 

Here’s a brutal reminder of today’s reality, there is every kind of certification, and so few have any bearing on the actual performance of the product in the field.

http://news.pv-insider.com/concentrated-pv/cpv-intelligence-brief-18-%E2%80%93-31-january-2012

Just where is that ‘follow up’ on the NREL pages? Finally! they have a real product to study, in a real environment, and there seems to be no interest… It reminds me of a space craft returning with  moon rocks, and no one being interested in studying them, it begs us to ask.. what is the prime mission of the NREL? 

 GB   

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Critical Thinking, Earth & Energy, Questions & Answers, Strange Stuff, The New Green Movement, UtterPower Articles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

I really like my new power plant

Posted on June 12, 2012 by George B.

I hear that all the time, and I do remember telling myself that years ago, and then it dawned on me…… I had that feeling it was meeting my expectations, but compared to what?

I really hadn’t compared it to others in the field for fuel economy, power quality, or a darned thing.  How embarrassing, but how typical that is.. 

It reminds me of what many of us are taught as technicians, if you don’t have a clue what you are about to measure, maybe you better study up BEFORE you make that measurement. And the same goes for expectations, you best have some idea what’s available before you determine if something is good or bad.. compared to what? 

This thought should be applied to the new commercial CPV power plants the NREL has been pushing hard to fund. They advertise the efficiency of a tiny component of CPV, and ignore what many of us consider immense challenges/problems with the rest of the system.  

What are their expectations of the overall system? Power production numbers, life expectancy, maintenance costs? Will the REAL results be open for review, or will they hand over the public purse with no way for the public to learn of the result?  

  What have they committed us tax payers to fund?  We saw Amonix literally die in the news after the closure of the Amonicx 7700 tracker production plant, not even the Las Vegas Sun could do more than give a yawn on the topic of Amonix, were they broke, were they really busy tooling up for the 8800 tracker, a few blocks down the street?

Meanwhile the Amonix 7700 power plants are in service producing power,  and you can look at their output every day, every hour here.. but will it mean a thing to you? Will you rationalize whatever you see, how does it compare to proven and reliable mono crystalline flat solar PV? Maybe you’re one of those people who thinks we need 35MWs worth of test site?

http://www.epelectric.com/renewable-energy/NX01

If you’re one of those typical AE Solar PV bloggers, you might share what your expectations were? You didn’t have any? 

Today 6/12/12 at Hatch, no wind, no stow, best sunny hour of productions was  3.065MW. That’s 60% of the hyped NREL numbers isn’t it? I know, I know.. you wouldn’t dare blog less it sounded positive..

Geeze..

GB

 

 

  

Posted in Alternative Energy Sources, Test Bench | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Washington State Residents Wake to Higher Liquior Prices, DIYer Musings..

Posted on June 11, 2012 by George B.

Not long ago, we citizens voted to take liquor sales away from the State, a good IDEA? Maybe, but according to a friend of mine that buys half gallons of something, the total price in California for his favorite is about $28, and $55 here (total ) price.

The State imposes a stiff sales tax, AND there’s another tax at $6 a Litre on booze here now.  Apparently the State figured it actually makes far more money now without employees, stores, and so much more to manage, I have no idea who is getting the far larger cut now than before..

As you can imagine, there’s a lot of talk, and some of it is about the unintended ‘JOBs’ program this may have inspired.

I wonder if we’ll see a slight bump in sales of good used diesel trucks with van bodies? I don’t really drink much more than a beer or two a month, sometimes a glass of wine, sometimes none at all for months on end.  But I do reserve the right to drink up to three beers if I want. Smoking? I wish I never had, but who could afford not to if you were a kid in the Navy and they were $1 a carton? I have not smoked for about 26 years or more I guess.

It’s all supply and demand, and unless the sellers and taxers of booze and ciggerettes  figure out how to roll the price back, or make sure the price isn’t far cheaper just across the border.. I’d bet the revenue will go down from here.  I can envision contracts (illegal ones) being made to deliver booze to saloons and cocktail lounges from out of state.  Yes, the guy will arrive looking like a food service truck, and wheel in cases of the top sellers disguised as food stuffs.  

Those trucks that run interstate, will the SOW need inspect them all, and maybe even x-ray those crates to determine if there’s illegal booze coming into the state? Maybe they’ll hire a new Army of inspectors? Maybe give the job to the State Patrol? 

But these thoughts spawn other ideas… especially if you are a DIYer.. Yes, the FED thinks it was a fine idea to drive interest rates to zero denying so many people in retirement traditional investments that carried a man through his retirement years, so why shouldn’t we be creative?

First off, maybe we look at what beer is legally, a plastic bottle WILL hold pressures great enough to stop fermentation, so maybe it’s possible to sell wort with yeast added just before bottling? Not all yeasts are the same, but my experiments suggest we need only crack the cap, and allow the fermentation to happen at a higher pressure so you have the carbonation when it’s done. Champagne, wine? Maybe we can do it all this way and avoid paying tax, and even showing ID to buy it?  Ahh, you are thinking the pressure regulator cap.. good, keep thinking..

There are down sides, as it is now, kids could buy all the wort they want, just put it in a place that’s about 65-70 degrees F, and wait a week.. sediment you say? Put the original cap back on, wait a while, and pour slowly into a glass. Maybe use a coffee filter?

But I mention these things not because they are mature ideas, but because they are ideas that might spawn bigger and more mature ideas.

You’ve seen that guy that drives around delivering 5 gallon carboys of Water right? What’s stopping you from selling 5 gallons of high Quality Wort directly to a house hold? Is there an existing law that says you can’t pop in an air lock before you leave, or ask the person who let you in to do so?  When you return the following week, is it legal to rack off the done fermenting carboy to a clean carboy you brought , and return the empty?

How does it work for wine?… in my state, you are allowed to make up to 600 gallons of the stuff.

What are the rules in your state? There are some taverns that are micro breweries  too, but not all will care to mess with it, maybe you can offer a service that is a step in between?

Solar Power, no doubt, when it’s done right, it’s very good indeed, I think about solar distillation and how I might do it.. at sea level, you don’t need to be much higher than 105F degrees to pull the Alcohol off with a Vacuum, and I think about those little 12 volt compressors, there are a few that are well made, and may go the long haul, that Fresnel lens from an old projection TV, a few panels, and let the sun make your legal motor fuel.

Yes.. some will think about drinking this stuff.. but remember, it’s illegal, and we need leave those activities to the politicians.

I hear the gears turning somewhere.. we need do away with all State’s rights, make it all Fed.. put up  barbed wire if we have too in order to curb illegal activities.

This home delivery idea for wort.. I think it has merit, same for wine.. and the add ons.. you can deliver bottles, caps, and all kinds of supplies to the door of your customers! Imagine.. returning cleaned and sanitized cases of bottles, brewing supplies, custom labels, and..  is it illegal for you to offer a bottling servie of their ferment right out of your truck? Go to the section of your local grocery and note the price of a top preium beer sold in a 22 ounce bottle. there’s room for your mark up me thinks..

GB 

 

 

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