Resource World Magazine

58 www.resourceworld.com j u n e / j u l y 2 0 1 4 ALTERNATIVE e n e r g y r e v i e w Developments in Alternative Energy by Jane Bratun oregon CoMBines geotherMal and solar Power The Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech), in Klamath Falls, Oregon, celebrated the university's geothermal power plant and solar panel array completion with a formal ribbon cutting on Friday, April 18, 2014. This project, located in a rural area, fea- tures an innovation in clean energy that can be used anywhere. Developers at Oregon Tech's 1.75-megawatt geothermal power plant began the final infrastructure and installation phase in June 2013, while the solar panel project broke ground in July 2013 when technicians installed 1,207 galvanized posts to support over 7,800 solar panels. The clean power plant sits at the top of Campus Drive, with the solar panels located on nine acres of hill- side next to Moehl Stadium. The panels are tilted at 35 degrees, with different orientations ranging from 180 to 210 degrees south to capture the sun's rays and to convert the energy into electricity to power approximately 35% of the Oregon Tech campus. The solar project is an "all-Ore- gon" project and is one of the largest solar photovoltaic systems in the state and the largest multiple campus, university system- based contract for solar energy in the United States. The combination of self-generated geothermal and solar power will make Oregon Tech the first university in the world to have all its needs for electricity and heat met through these two clean energy sources, helping it to decrease its carbon footprint. The plant will also over-generate approximately 700,000 kilowatts per year, which will be donated to Pacific Power's low-income sub- sidy program. The geothermal and solar array at Oregon Tech will sup- port student training in clean, green jobs, which are a growing industry cluster in Oregon, through exposure to green energy configurations and the research work embedded in the projects. Both projects employed local labour. researChers develoP lithiuM-free flexiBle Battery According to its online newsletter, a Rice University laboratory in Houston, Texas is developing flexible, portable and wearable elec- tronics in a thin film battery for energy storage. With this battery, researchers hope to solve the dual problem of inorganic metal compounds in most batteries being too brittle, while the carbon- based storage systems that provide flexibility can't approach the theoretical storage capacity of inorganic systems. Rice chemist James Tour and his colleagues have developed a flexible material with nickel-fluoride electrodes layered around a solid electrolyte to deliver a high-powered supercapacitor with- out the lithium found in commercial batteries. Their electrochemical capacitor is about a hundredth of an inch thick but can be scaled up for devices either by increasing the capacitor size or by adding layers. Developers expect standard manufacturing techniques to allow for an even thinner battery. In tests, the students found their square-inch device held 76% of its capacity over 10,000 charge-discharge cycles and 1,000 bending cycles. To create the battery (supercapacitor), the team deposited a nickel layer on a backing. They etched it to create 5-nanome- tre pores within the 900-nanometre-thick nickel fluoride layer, giving it high surface area for storage. After they removed the backing, they sandwiched the electrodes around an electrolyte of potassium hydroxide in polyvinyl alcohol. Testing found no deg- radation of the pore structure, even after the 10,000 charge and recharge cycles. The researchers also found no significant degra- dation to the electrode-electrolyte interface. "The numbers are exceedingly high in the power that it can deliver, and it's a very simple method to make high-powered sys- tems," Tour said, adding that the technique shows promise for the manufacture of other 3-D nanoporous materials. "We're already talking with companies interested in commercializing this." The Rice battery may solve the lithium supply problem because lithium-ion is the gold standard for energy storage. Renewable energy applications span electric vehicle batteries as well as wind and solar arrays, but the global lithium market is subject to price spikes and supply issues, so diversifying the energy storage sup- ply chain is significant. aMeriCan vanadiuM installs vanadiuM flow Batteries American Vanadium Corp. [AVC-TSXV; AVCVF-OTCQX] is part- nering with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to demonstrate the CellCube™ vanadium reduction oxidation (redox) flow energy storage system. New York City's Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has installed three CellCube vanadium flow batteries on the 25th floor setback of its lower Manhattan headquarters to demonstrate how small footprint, high volume, onsite, energy storage systems can reduce peak electricity use. Onsite energy storage is important for consumers because it stores energy onsite during cheap off-hours rates and draws from the onsite battery when rates are high, while ensuring resiliency in case of grid disruptions. This demonstration is intended to augment the successful facility energy management measures at

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