Bill Richardson's Energy Roundup

Albuquerque, NM -- April 14-16 -- New Mexico Governor and WGA Chairman Bill Richardson brought together a diverse group of movers and shakers for the North American Energy Summit, named a Solar Power Task Force and is quoted as saying, "Some of these participants have fought a lot in the past - but I heard never a discouraging word, and there was some quality listening happening all through this fine hotel."

Diversity and unity were on the floor of the Hyatt for Governors, Senators, Premiers, Tribal Leaders, etc.. "We brought together entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, policy makers, industry, and clean energy advocates - and for three days we were able to discuss common areas of agreement," said Richardson.

The final act of this meeting was presenting policy drafts that were created by attendees during breakout sessions. These recommendations will be brought forward. According to Bill Richardson, " I look forward to working with my co-lead governor on energy, Governor Schwarzenegger, whom I thank in absentia, to talk to our fellow Governors and develop a strong clean energy resolution that will be passed at the Western Governors' Association annual meeting to be held in Santa Fe from June 20-22."

During this gathering of states, provinces and tribes in Albuquerque, I collected notes on some responsible businesses doing their part and making a difference in the energy industry. An informed sense of direction in energy use and creation will benefit companies like Sterling Energy Systems, Sacred Power, Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, impulse devices, CDX Gas and Blue Sun Biodiesel; all of which build strength in local economies. "The states are the true innovators in creating a strong, sustainable energy policy." stated Governor Richardson.

Wireless Fusion
A great form of energy rises every morning, one some mad scientists are now calling wireless, remote nuclear fusion. El Sol powers the wind, water cycle, and all the solar collecting arrays we can build. Solar radiation is not a new idea, it just becomes a whole lot more desirable as crude oil prices increase and natural gas supplies dwindle.

Odes Armijo-Caster of Sacred Power showcased some of his company's solar devices at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The impressive display included an active tracking, shade producing car port of 25 megawatts that cuts $3,000 worth of electricity bills annually. All of the SP Sol-Park systems offer either seasonal tracking which follows the sun relative to the height above the horizon, or daily tracking which follows the sun up to sun down providing sustained peak production. With approximately 18,000 powerless Navajo Reservation homes, Sacred Power has designed the SP Hybrid, a mobile system to collect the sun, store it in batteries with a 2000 watt inverter and provide a fuel source of either propane or hydrogen all on a compact deliverable tray.

Another renewable technology for today, built for Homeland Security, is their SP Tel-Sol communication shelter. This is a box on a skid that can be delivered anywhere. The SP Tel-Sol has a PV array and communications antennas deployed on top. Housed inside is the battery bank and vital computers. To absorb the heat of the equipment throughout the day there are water tanks attached to the inside of the roof. At night this thermal mass dissipates the heat out the top of the shelter to provide passive cooling.

Sunlight Sterling
The next company I learned about was Sterling Energy Systems, a privately held company based in Phoenix, AZ. SES is testing a 25kw dish engine at Sandia National Laboratories on Kirkland Air Force Base. With 14 million dollars raised they are gearing up for large scale production. According to Robert Liden, the company is being tapped for 6 new systems this year. Deploying these 29% efficient devices in large groups ups the reliability and lowers both the installation and maintenance costs of the entire system. These dishes track and focus the suns rays on an external combustion engine. With heat and a motor the focused energy makes mechanical motion. This motion can be used to pump water directly or create electricity. In large fields of the solar rich south west these solar concentrating devices make economic sense today. The Sterling Engine provides an option for DG and off grid power, as well as hydrogen generation. The desert South West has so much potential, according to Gov. Janet Napolitano, "Arizona could be the next Persian Gulf of solar energy."

Native Power
Sandia Labs provides weapons technology and corporate business development. One such partnership is collaborating with the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority. Sandra Begay-Campbell explained to me the role Sandia plays in assisting the Tribes in obtaining power for some of the many thousands of homes without electricity. Sandia has served as an unbiased advisor to the Tribal leaders giving them the information they need to issue an informed request for proposals. With proposals gathered from qualified bidders, Sandia again helps in the evaluation of the bids and makes recommendations based on technical merit. It has been a long time coming for many people of the Navajo Nation to get power. In some cases the high voltage transmission lines were within a stones throw of powerless homes so it was decided to build a substation and distribute electricity from the grid. In other locations it made the most sense to bring in solar power modules to power the homes individually.

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