More than scientific breakthroughs, the U.S. needs to deploy existing green technologies faster to keep pace with China and other nations, people in the renewable energy industry said this week.
At the Renewable Energy Technology (RETECH) 2010 conference here, the subject of national competitiveness in the burgeoning clean-energy industry was a frequent topic. The concern is that the U.S. is lagging because of wavering policies, complex permitting, and a skittish financial community.
"We're still pretty good at invention or discovery but in terms of deployment, we're losing ground. In fact, you could say we suck," said Mike Davis, the assistant director for energy and environment at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, during a session on national lab research. "Our ability to throw sand in the gears in terms of development in this country is just phenomenal. We've perfected it."
There are legitimate reasons to thoroughly review new energy projects, but entrenched business interests are adept at delaying new technology deployment, he said. For example, in a project where Pacific Northwest National Labs worked with Boise Cascade to store air pollution underground, researchers spent one year engineering the technology and five years seeking permits to do tests, Davis said.
Across the U.S., thousands of megawatts' worth of renewable electricity projects are proposed, but there are growing conflicts over land use, including in southwest desert areas suitable for large-scale solar and the offshore wind project in Massachusetts.
On the finance side, many banks shy away from funding first-of-a-kind projects, such as making ethanol from wood chips, because of the potential technology risk, a situation that stunts the growth of new energy companies.
Germany and Spain have become the two largest markets for solar because its energy policies ensure that project developers can get a premium price for renewable power, an approach many U.S. investors and entrepreneurs say is more simple and predictable than the U.S. system.
China, meanwhile, in the past two years has accelerated its energy production dramatically, becoming a powerhouse in solar panel and wind turbine production. This week, the American Wind Energy Association published a report showing that China installed more wind capacity than the U.S. last year for the first time. Through an aggressive government spending program, China is projected to outspend other countries by investing $7.3 billion this year to upgrade its electricity grid with smart meters and other equipment.
"Things are happening in China at a speed that is making our heads spin," said Virginia Sonntag-O'Brien, executive secretary of policy group REN-21, said during a session on Thursday, according to the RETECH conference organizers.
Entrepreneurs' perspective
Picking up the pace of clean-energy project development means that the prices for electricity or fuel from renewable sources will go down faster, green-tech entrepreneurs said. For technology suppliers, stronger demand translates into higher manufacturing volume and more cost-competitive products in a global market.
"While continual innovation in technology can move the needle in terms of costs and acceptance, really it's deployments that drive you down the cost curve. This is what happened in wind, in solar PV (photovoltaics), and we're entering that phase with our solar thermal technology," said Robert Rogan, senior vice president at eSolar, which makes utility-scale solar systems. "You have to build to scale to recognize the full potential. You can't just look at research."
eSolar power plant
This is eSolar's demonstration plant in Lancaster, Calif.
(Credit: eSolar)
As a company, Pasadena, Calif.-based eSolar is moving from technology development to commercialization, something that many green-tech start-ups are eager to do. The three-year-old company recently announced a giant, 10-year deal to build 2,000 megawatts' worth of solar power in China, following another 1,000-megawatt contract in India.
eSolar also has contracts for 500 megawatts in the U.S. It hopes that a federal plan to streamline permitting on federal land will help get its U.S. project in place in the next year or two, but it still needs to contend with state regulators, Rogan said.
Global race
Specifics aside, people working in clean energy generally argue for consistent policies, which historically has not been the case in the U.S. Having a multiyear policy makes it easier to finance projects, such as biofuel plants or solar farms, since the return is more predictable.
The most recent example of shifting U.S. policy is when the credit for biodiesel production lapsed at the end of last year, which one venture capital investor on Thursday called a "travesty." Not sustaining the subsidy could slow ongoing work in promising algae-based fuels, he said.
In the case of renewable power, the current renewable energy subsidy--a program set up last summer to provide cash grants in lieu of tax credits--is set to expire at the end of 2011. A short-term policy, which may not be renewed, is not "a good fit for a start-up," which needs to attract outside investors to build and install products, said Michael Whalen, the chief financial officer at SolarReserve, another newly formed California solar company.
Like eSolar, SolarReserve is seeking business in the U.S. and abroad. It has two contracts for its molten salt solar storage system, a technology adapted by rocket maker Rocketdyne, in the U.S. and one in Spain. It's in discussions for projects in desert areas in North Africa, Australia, and elsewhere in southern Europe, where the more straightforward subsidies have created large markets for solar, Whalen said.
"We have a real patchwork quilt of policy initiatives that are not particularly coordinated, and each addresses a different part of the puzzle in different fashion," he said.
Regardless of which country can establish the best environment to spur innovation in green technologies, it's clear that the race is global, which is in sharp contrast to the IT revolution, said Stephan Dolezalek, the head of the clean-tech practice at VantagePoint Ventures.
"If renewable is the second coming of the (IT revolution), people are saying, 'I'll be damned if I'll let it happen in Silicon Valley. There's no reason we can't grow these in industries as quickly in Beijing, in India, in the Middle East,'" he said.
Monday 8 February 2010
Laying Pipe
Dan Benjamin and yours truly discuss the secret history of blogging, transitioning from freelance to agency, the story behind the web standards movement, the launch of A Book Apart and its first title, HTML5 For Web Designers by Jeremy Keith, the trajectory of content management systems, managing the growth of a design business, and more in the inaugural episode of the Pipeline.
Saturday 6 February 2010
Steel Strips to supply spare wheels for BMW’s MINI model
Steel Strips Wheels (SSWL), part of the Steel Strips Group, has said that BMW has nominated the company for the supply of spare wheel for its prestigious MINI model.
The company is in the process of development of the spare wheel for MINI model and the supply of the same is likely to start in the middle of 2010 after approvals from the German auto major.
It will supply 48,000 wheels per annum from its Chennai plant.
At present, the MINI model is manufactured only at Oxford, UK and from there it is exported across the globe.
Steel Strips Wheels, established in 1985, is a part of the Steel Strips Group, headquartered in Chandigarh. The company is engaged in the manufacturing of single piece steel wheel rims in the range of 10 to 30 inches dia for scooters, passenger cars, utility vehicles and tractors.
The company is in the process of development of the spare wheel for MINI model and the supply of the same is likely to start in the middle of 2010 after approvals from the German auto major.
It will supply 48,000 wheels per annum from its Chennai plant.
At present, the MINI model is manufactured only at Oxford, UK and from there it is exported across the globe.
Steel Strips Wheels, established in 1985, is a part of the Steel Strips Group, headquartered in Chandigarh. The company is engaged in the manufacturing of single piece steel wheel rims in the range of 10 to 30 inches dia for scooters, passenger cars, utility vehicles and tractors.
Oria Steel, Tubing for Frame Building
The detailed history about Oria in steel racing bikes is bit murky and begins (?) in the 1980s as the company wanted to rival Columbus in the marketplace . Here is what I've been able to piece together from different sources. As in the case of Castello Mario & Figlio more information about Oria is desired.
To some degree, and possibly in all instances, Oria used steel supplied by a steel manufacture and converted the steel into specific products. One of the steel manufacturers was certainly German firm Mannesmann. Some frames built with Oria tubes stated on the decals, as seen above, "Prodotto base Mannesmann" (base product Mannesmann).
It has been said that Mannesmann had a plant in Italy in Dalmine, east of Milan, that was producing large quantities of quality seamless butted bicycle tubing in the early post-WWII period. It is thought, perhaps, that the Mazzuccato family that owned Oria, eventually purchased it. The Mazzuccato family is thought to be from the Padova area, or in the Veneto.
Among the framebuilders that used Oria are Guerciotti, Tommasini, Montagner, Olmo, Dancelli, Daccordi, Ciocc and Pinarello (began to first use Oria tubing in 1993 according to Fausto Pinarello). And, some others I imagine.
Oria Tubesets (composed of head tube, seat tube, down tube, top tube, chain stays, seat stays, fork legs; and their weights in kg.) : HI Tension (2230), HI-Ten Oversize (2850), CroMoly (2190), Ml 25 (2080), ML 34 1880), RANF (1990), GM 00 (1940), Double butted (2000), KK (1880), CroMoly-Oversize (--), SGM 00 (2720), Top (2860), Oversize (2690), Over Double (2650), Butted Top (2690), CSS 52 (2230) , 7020 (aluminum).
Oria is known to have been involved with also providing aluminum tubesets and in 2005 Oria was still involved in framebuilding but with carbon as seen here:
The caption of this photo referred to the brothers Franco and Gianpaolo Mazzuccato and an association with Olmo in the construction of the Olmo "Zeffiro" carbon frame set. The caption also said, "The brothers Mazzuccato chose instead to remain in Italy. Oria today remains at the forefront: the metal has almost disappeared inside the factory and specialization is directed toward the production of composites."
Well, it's the start of an investigative process.....
Photos: Oria decals; reader Grady sent a photo of his decaled Montagner using Oria TT 0.9.
To some degree, and possibly in all instances, Oria used steel supplied by a steel manufacture and converted the steel into specific products. One of the steel manufacturers was certainly German firm Mannesmann. Some frames built with Oria tubes stated on the decals, as seen above, "Prodotto base Mannesmann" (base product Mannesmann).
It has been said that Mannesmann had a plant in Italy in Dalmine, east of Milan, that was producing large quantities of quality seamless butted bicycle tubing in the early post-WWII period. It is thought, perhaps, that the Mazzuccato family that owned Oria, eventually purchased it. The Mazzuccato family is thought to be from the Padova area, or in the Veneto.
Among the framebuilders that used Oria are Guerciotti, Tommasini, Montagner, Olmo, Dancelli, Daccordi, Ciocc and Pinarello (began to first use Oria tubing in 1993 according to Fausto Pinarello). And, some others I imagine.
Oria Tubesets (composed of head tube, seat tube, down tube, top tube, chain stays, seat stays, fork legs; and their weights in kg.) : HI Tension (2230), HI-Ten Oversize (2850), CroMoly (2190), Ml 25 (2080), ML 34 1880), RANF (1990), GM 00 (1940), Double butted (2000), KK (1880), CroMoly-Oversize (--), SGM 00 (2720), Top (2860), Oversize (2690), Over Double (2650), Butted Top (2690), CSS 52 (2230) , 7020 (aluminum).
Oria is known to have been involved with also providing aluminum tubesets and in 2005 Oria was still involved in framebuilding but with carbon as seen here:
The caption of this photo referred to the brothers Franco and Gianpaolo Mazzuccato and an association with Olmo in the construction of the Olmo "Zeffiro" carbon frame set. The caption also said, "The brothers Mazzuccato chose instead to remain in Italy. Oria today remains at the forefront: the metal has almost disappeared inside the factory and specialization is directed toward the production of composites."
Well, it's the start of an investigative process.....
Photos: Oria decals; reader Grady sent a photo of his decaled Montagner using Oria TT 0.9.
Thursday 4 February 2010
Fresh markets sought amid dumping issues
Additional tariffs are compelling China suppliers of pipes and pipe fittings to seek new marketing strategies to stay afloat. This is a result of the US and the EU having tacked anti-dumping duties on China-made imports of steel pipes for use in the oil and gas industries.
Already, formal protests have been lodged in several international trade bodies but the majority of enterprises plan to sustain production while waiting for the restrictions to be lifted.
The measures are expected to constrain shipments further and reduce China’s steel pipe delivery to the EU and the US by more than 40 percent in the months ahead. In 3Q09, steel pipe exports to both destinations fell 85 and 79 percent, respectively, year on year.
The US, meanwhile, is continuing investigations on unfair trade practices, particularly on producers of seamless copper pipes with more than 152.4mm length and less than 308.102mm diameter. More countries are expected to follow the US and the EU’s lead. Argentina, for instance, intends to pursue similar proceedings for carbon steel alloy pipes with a diameter of less than 273.1mm.
So far, tariffs imposed against China seamless metal pipe manufacturers have forced about 70 percent of their rank to stall or limit production. On the other hand, a few enterprises still see the US and the EU as profitable outlets, and are prepared to strengthen their foothold in the markets and pay the extra levies.
To minimize revenue losses, most makers are planning to reroute shipments to the domestic market and to their customary big buyers in Algeria, India and Singapore. Other possible overseas destinations are South America and Africa.
With burgeoning demand from the homefront, steel industry associations in China are likewise lobbying for 13 to 17 percent tax rebates on certain metal products. The government is still considering this appeal.
Steel pipes, which account for 50 percent of the country’s total output, remain in great demand for a range of applications such as those for gas conduits and boiler tubes. From January to September 2009, production reached 15.4 million tons of seamless designs worth $3.3 billion. During this period, crude steel output grew 8 percent year on year to reach 420 million tons.
Already, formal protests have been lodged in several international trade bodies but the majority of enterprises plan to sustain production while waiting for the restrictions to be lifted.
The measures are expected to constrain shipments further and reduce China’s steel pipe delivery to the EU and the US by more than 40 percent in the months ahead. In 3Q09, steel pipe exports to both destinations fell 85 and 79 percent, respectively, year on year.
The US, meanwhile, is continuing investigations on unfair trade practices, particularly on producers of seamless copper pipes with more than 152.4mm length and less than 308.102mm diameter. More countries are expected to follow the US and the EU’s lead. Argentina, for instance, intends to pursue similar proceedings for carbon steel alloy pipes with a diameter of less than 273.1mm.
So far, tariffs imposed against China seamless metal pipe manufacturers have forced about 70 percent of their rank to stall or limit production. On the other hand, a few enterprises still see the US and the EU as profitable outlets, and are prepared to strengthen their foothold in the markets and pay the extra levies.
To minimize revenue losses, most makers are planning to reroute shipments to the domestic market and to their customary big buyers in Algeria, India and Singapore. Other possible overseas destinations are South America and Africa.
With burgeoning demand from the homefront, steel industry associations in China are likewise lobbying for 13 to 17 percent tax rebates on certain metal products. The government is still considering this appeal.
Steel pipes, which account for 50 percent of the country’s total output, remain in great demand for a range of applications such as those for gas conduits and boiler tubes. From January to September 2009, production reached 15.4 million tons of seamless designs worth $3.3 billion. During this period, crude steel output grew 8 percent year on year to reach 420 million tons.
Wednesday 3 February 2010
Stainless Steel Pipe Shelving
One of the most important parts of the house that should be maintained well is the kitchen. It should be kept safe enough because this is where our food is prepared. And one way to keep safety in the kitchen is to avoid clutter. Just how can you avoid clutter, you might ask? One way is to keep the kitchen pipe shelved with Stainless steel pipe shelving.
Having a shelving for the kitchen pipe, and a stainless steel at that helps make sure that rust won’t be spoiling your food and in worst scenario – spoil your health.
So just how do you choose an excellent Stainless steel pipe shelving for your kitchen?
Here are the features that you must look for in buying Stainless steel pipe shelving:
1.Function
You don’t get just any shelving that you see in a home remodeling or home furniture store. You will know that you have the right Stainless steel pipe shelving if it serves its purpose well. For specific brands and products, ask your family, friends, handyman or construction builder’s opinion which amongst those available Stainless steel pipe shelving products are doing quite well. But of course, you need to have an idea about your kitchen’s needs first before you can just nod on any kind of Stainless steel pipe shelving.
2.Aesthetics and Practicality
These two features should go hand in hand. If your Stainless steel pipe shelving is nice to look at but will cost you a fortune, you have to rethink buying it. Set a budget first before you go scouting for that ideal seamless pipe shelving. But if you’re one who lives like the rich and famous, go ahead, buy that most elegant-looking Stainless steel pipe you’ll see.
3.Maintenance and Assembly Effort
One best feature of excellent Stainless steel pipe shelving is its being low maintenance. If it will take you more time cleaning your Stainless steel pipe shelving than the time you spend cleaning your car, and your kitchen’s not even that of a mansion’s, forget about buying that kind of Stainless steel pipe shelving. How will you know if it’s high maintenance or low maintenance? Too intricate design and people who have used that Stainless steel pipe shelving you are eying on should inform you. Don’t forget to ask the sales clerk and look at the Stainless steel pipe shelving’s manual for any special maintenance or cleaning requirements.
Getting it assembled should also be one issue if you are looking Stainless steel pipe shelving that will suit your kitchen, budget and of course assemblage powers. Are you a do it yourselfer? That will be cool because you will save more money than asking someone to work on getting your Stainless steel pipe shelving assembled. But that does not necessarily mean it will you save you time, of course. Again, the Stainless steel pipe shelving’s manual should inform you how much effort it will require you in getting it ready for the kitchen.
If you are not a DIY’er, look for someone who can help you with putting it up. But if putting the Stainless steel pipe shelving will cost you more than getting one room remodeled or redesigned, think about it first. Or better, look for another kind, brand, or model of stainless kitchen pipe shelving.
Posted at 10:49AM Feb 01, 2010 Read More... by Rebecca in Stainless steel pipe |
Having a shelving for the kitchen pipe, and a stainless steel at that helps make sure that rust won’t be spoiling your food and in worst scenario – spoil your health.
So just how do you choose an excellent Stainless steel pipe shelving for your kitchen?
Here are the features that you must look for in buying Stainless steel pipe shelving:
1.Function
You don’t get just any shelving that you see in a home remodeling or home furniture store. You will know that you have the right Stainless steel pipe shelving if it serves its purpose well. For specific brands and products, ask your family, friends, handyman or construction builder’s opinion which amongst those available Stainless steel pipe shelving products are doing quite well. But of course, you need to have an idea about your kitchen’s needs first before you can just nod on any kind of Stainless steel pipe shelving.
2.Aesthetics and Practicality
These two features should go hand in hand. If your Stainless steel pipe shelving is nice to look at but will cost you a fortune, you have to rethink buying it. Set a budget first before you go scouting for that ideal seamless pipe shelving. But if you’re one who lives like the rich and famous, go ahead, buy that most elegant-looking Stainless steel pipe you’ll see.
3.Maintenance and Assembly Effort
One best feature of excellent Stainless steel pipe shelving is its being low maintenance. If it will take you more time cleaning your Stainless steel pipe shelving than the time you spend cleaning your car, and your kitchen’s not even that of a mansion’s, forget about buying that kind of Stainless steel pipe shelving. How will you know if it’s high maintenance or low maintenance? Too intricate design and people who have used that Stainless steel pipe shelving you are eying on should inform you. Don’t forget to ask the sales clerk and look at the Stainless steel pipe shelving’s manual for any special maintenance or cleaning requirements.
Getting it assembled should also be one issue if you are looking Stainless steel pipe shelving that will suit your kitchen, budget and of course assemblage powers. Are you a do it yourselfer? That will be cool because you will save more money than asking someone to work on getting your Stainless steel pipe shelving assembled. But that does not necessarily mean it will you save you time, of course. Again, the Stainless steel pipe shelving’s manual should inform you how much effort it will require you in getting it ready for the kitchen.
If you are not a DIY’er, look for someone who can help you with putting it up. But if putting the Stainless steel pipe shelving will cost you more than getting one room remodeled or redesigned, think about it first. Or better, look for another kind, brand, or model of stainless kitchen pipe shelving.
Posted at 10:49AM Feb 01, 2010 Read More... by Rebecca in Stainless steel pipe |
Tuesday 2 February 2010
Dow Presents New Steel Pipe Coating Materials At Pipeline Coating 2010 Conference In Vienna, Austria
Horgen, Switzerland - Dow Europe GmbH (Dow) announced recently that it will take part in AMI's 2nd international conference Pipeline Coating 2010, an event that focuses on technology and market developments in the global pipeline protection industry. During the 3-day conference, to be held on February 1-3 in Vienna, Austria, Dow will introduce its new offer to the steel pipe coating industry with a presentation entitled "A High Density Polyethylene and Grafted Adhesive Solution for Steel Pipe Coating". It will be held by Dr. Olaf Henschke, technical leader for steel pipe coating on February 3, at 11:10am (replacing Koepsch).
"Dow will demonstrate its advanced solutions for pipeline protection, and introduce its new offer to the steel pipe coating industry: the recently launched top-coat and adhesive polyolefin materials for three-layer steel pipe coating systems," said Dragan Visekruna, Dow's market manager for pipe applications in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. "DOW HDPE 12110G, a black high density polyethylene top-coat material, and AMPLIFY GR 320 Functional Polymer, a grafted adhesive resin will contribute to the long term corrosion protection of oil and gas pipelines," adds Visekruna.
The DOW HDPE 12110G / AMPLIFY GR 320 system in combination with different fusion bonded epoxy (FBE) materials demonstrated in industrial trials that they meet stringent performance requirements for coating large diameter steel pipes. Reference projects indicate a good long-term performance of the Dow HDPE 12110G / AMPLIFY GR 320 system that exceeds the requirements of DIN 30670 and of other national and customer standards.
A three-layer steel pipe coating system comprised of DOW HDPE 12110G and AMPLIFY GR 320, together with an FBE bonded directly on the steel pipe, can help deliver good coating performance for the lifetime of oil and gas pipelines while also offering excellent processability on conventional pipe coating lines.
As a top-coat material, DOW HDPE 12110G in a three-layer steel pipe coating system offers excellent environmental stress crack resistance (ESCR), excellent physical properties and easy processing. AMPLIFY GR 320, Dow's adhesive, offers excellent adhesion to both the FBE and top-coat layers in a three-layer coating system, in addition to easy processing, mechanical strength at high and low temperatures, good temperature resistance and low water absorption.
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