Tech Futures

From Energy Central News:

Without a flicker of interruption, some 280,000 people in northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota will join the wind energy generation this month.

Crews are finishing construction and conducting final testing at the Langdon (N.D.) Wind Energy Center. The 106-turbine, 159- megawatt wind farm is expected to be fully operational within a week or two, according to Scott Scovill, project manager for FPL Energy, the Florida-based company that is building the facility.

 Click here for the rest of the story...

From MIT's Technology Review:

Researchers have developed porous materials that can soak up 80 times their volume of carbon dioxide, offering the tantalizing possibility that the greenhouse gas could be cheaply scrubbed from power-plant smokestacks. After the carbon dioxide has been absorbed by the new materials, it could be released through pressure changes, compressed, and, finally, pumped underground for long-term storage.

Such carbon dioxide capture and sequestration could be essential to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, especially in countries such as the United States that depend heavily on coal for electricity. The first stage, capturing the carbon, is particularly important, since it can account for 75 percent of the total costs, according to the Department of Energy.

 Click here to get the rest of the article.

From The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council: 

The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council announced today that its third annual Great Lakes Manufacturing Forum will be held July 9-11at the Cleveland Key Center Marriott, in Cleveland, Ohio,

The Great Lakes Manufacturing Forum brings together manufacturing, business, academic and government leaders focused on promoting, enhancing and preserving manufacturing in the Great Lakes Region. Regional leaders from the eight Great Lakes States as well as the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec will gather to discuss the image of the Great Lakes region, innovation in manufacturing, the workforce and skills needed for manufacturing today and in the future as well as the borders and logistics requirements needed to succeed in todays global economy. The forum will be opened by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson

We are pleased the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council has chosen Ohio as the site of this years forum, said Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, who also serves as Director of the Ohio Department of Development. The Great Lakes region has been a cornerstone of manufacturing and innovation for more than a century, providing jobs, new technologies, and robust businesses. This forum is a collaborative effort to help our region maintain that strength and make Great Lakes manufacturing the benchmark of the world.

Speakers include notables such as Jayson Myers of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, John Austin of the Brookings Institution, Ned Hill of Cleveland State University, and William Testa of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

"Working collaboratively is the key to ensure we all thrive in the current global economy," said Ed Wolking, president of the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council and executive vice president of the Detroit Regional Chamber. "It is our responsibility as business and governmental leaders to enhance the image of the Great Lakes region and to celebrate and promote our manufacturing strength to guarantee the region's future prosperity."

Some of the Partners in this event include:

·         Society of Manufacturing Engineers

·         Chambers of Commerce of Chicago, Detroit and Toledo

·         Province of Ontario

·         Pittsburgh Technology Council

·         Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters

·         Conexus Indiana

·         Purdue University

·         And many more.

About the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council

The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council is a long-term relationship and collaboration of regional leaders from the eight Great Lakes States and the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec committed to the growth of manufacturing and the Great Lakes region. Its goal is to support a more competitive manufacturing base by promoting greater intra-regional communication and collaboration, best practices sharing and application and positive imagery that will attract, retain and grow business.

For additional information about the event go to greatlakesmanufacturing.org or call 866.615.2182.

Ask most people about the connection between water and energy and at best you'll get a reference to hydropower generation.  But the connection between water use and energy extends well beyond the use of water to generate power--the ways we use water are some of of the largest energy consuming activities there are.  A recent article on CNNMoney highlights the connection:

"Power generation takes water. Pumping water takes power. As the nation struggles to meet electricity demand - expected to surge 50% in the next 30 years - big sections of the country are suffering from drought conditions.

"We're going to have both water and power shortages, maybe in areas where we aren't used to them," said Peter Gleick, President of the Pacific Institute, an environmental research organization. "Atlanta in the last few years is a good example of that."

"Most people don't realize how closely power and water are linked.

"In California, the water pumps that keep the Los Angeles area hydrated are the single largest users of power in the state, according to Gleick. Running a hot water faucet there for five minutes uses as much energy as keeping a 60-watt light bulb on for 14 hours, he said.

"Gleick said that California could achieve 95% of its energy conservation goals 58% more cheaply by targeting water consumption rather than power consumption.

"'Water and energy are tightly linked, but these links are poorly understood and rarely used in policy,' he said."

Gleick is no Johnny-come-lately to water issues.  A 2003 MacArthur Fellow in freshwater issues, he was the first person GBN referred us to when we said we were exploring the fesibility of a fresh water institute on Lake Erie.  Energy and water are intimately connected in ways that will affect our region for decades to come.  Click here to read the rest of the CNNMoney article.  To learn more about Peter Gleick and the Pacfic Institute, click here.

Up until now most of the debate about biofuels has centered on the inefficiencies of corn-based ethanol vs. the promise of biobutanol and cellulosic ethanol.  As reported in the New York Times, however, two recent studies indicate that biofuel production in and of itself is more harmful to the environment than conventional fossil fuels:

"Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these 'green' fuels are taken into account, two studies being published Thursday have concluded.

"These studies for the first time take a detailed, comprehensive look at the emissions effects of the huge amount of natural land that is being converted to cropland globally to support biofuels development.

"The destruction of natural ecosystems — whether rain forest in the tropics or grasslands in South America — not only releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere when they are burned and plowed, but also deprives the planet of natural sponges to absorb carbon emissions. Cropland also absorbs far less carbon than the rain forests or even scrubland that it replaces.

"Together the two studies offer sweeping conclusions: It does not matter if it is rain forest or scrubland that is cleared, the greenhouse gas contribution is significant. More important, they discovered that, taken globally, the production of almost all biofuels resulted, directly or indirectly, intentionally or not, in new lands being cleared, either for food or fuel."

You can read the full article here.  This is by no means a justification of continuing our dependence on oil.  But in the rush to develop alternatives it is good to remember that sometimes technology bites back, and that the most direct and immediate solution may not, in the long run, prove the most appropriate choice.

Earlier this week NorTech released a report that analyzes and monitors emerging trends in Northeast Ohio's high tech sector between 2004 and 2006. Major findings from the report indicate that the high-tech sector in Northeast Ohio began to experience some gains between 2004 and 2006 after several years of decline.......

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From the Columbus Dispatch:

You've heard the numbers: Ohio has lost more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs so far this decade.

But state officials say many of those could be replaced by 2030 if Ohio's manufacturing strength can be tapped in the cause of renewable energy.

"This is one of our best bets, particularly on the manufacturing side," said Mark Barbash, chief economic-development officer for the state Department of Development.

"It also offers the opportunity for additional research and development jobs."

You can read the rest of the story here, courtesy of Crain's.

Like we said, Shift Happens.  But it might be Generation Q that makes it happen...what do you think?

Timing is everything, it seems, and right on the heels of our last post comes this from Energy Central News:

"When 1,800 workers lost their jobs after a Maytag appliance factory and headquarters closed last year in the small town of Newton, Iowa, a wind-turbine-blade company saw opportunity -- an available, skilled work force in the middle of one of America's hardiest wind energy production regions.

"TPI Composites Inc. is building a new plant there as the energy industry aims for a cleaner, more sustainable future. With proper incentives, thousands of "green-collar jobs" could be created, from ethanol production to wind turbines and solar panels, and all the maintenance and construction to support them, industry officials said.

"TPI used to build boats, but switched to turbines in 2001 for the "major growth opportunity," said Steve Lockard, chief executive officer of the company, based in Phoenix. The idea, he said, is to "transform the work force away from the Maytag-type jobs of the past into jobs that can withstand the test of time going forward."

"However, advocates and executives say training is key to making sure the industry has enough skilled workers to make it into a real economic engine and are pushing for more lucrative tax breaks, much like oil companies already receive, to make it profitable."

The rest of the article is onmy available to registered users, but the implications for Northeast Ohio should be clear--as we move ahead with the offshore feasibility study, we already know we have a strong wind manufacturing components industry here.  Maybe it's time to ramp up our efforts to establish Northeast Ohio as a major wind manufacturing center, from components through finished products.