Class Notes 10-12-09

The goal for November 9th:

We have about 60 people in class, 3-4 people per team

·
A panel of people from companies already
presenting here, some northwest energy angels

·
The goal of this panel is not to judge or
criticize, it is to tell you where there might be useful resources, what
companies are already working on this kind of stuff

o   Give
you the names, help you get in contact with people, etc.

Greg Whiting

·
An expert with multiple utilities across the
country

Entrepreneurial
Opportunities in Energy Conservation

·
Conservation: efficient use of resources, not
deprivation of benefits of using resources

·
Long-term effects of conservation on resource
planning

·
Leveraging the market: how to find
entrepreneurial opportunities in conservation

·
Overview of current key tech areas, and funding
opportunities

Conservation:
Efficient Use of Resources

Energy Conservation:
1973-1979

·
Initial oil price shock

·
1970s –ear conservation

·
Jimmy Carter’s sweater; perception of
conservation as being in conflict with economic development

·
Not a widely appealing message

o   People
want more and better, not less and worse

·
Find a way to give Americans this car without
concerns about energy prices or greenhouse gases, and see what we buy.

·
We want Conservation
without Deprivation

For best results,
energy conservation leverages the market

·
Today’s approach

o   Market
based efficient use of limited resources

o   Optimization,
not deprivation

o   Energy
is valuable!

§
Pursue opportunities with a high rate of return

·
This approach is based on entrepreneurial
introduction of a broad range of technology improvements

o   Efficiency
improves…

o   …and
energy users don’t’ notice the difference

o   …or
they even think it’s an improvement.

·
Take the fluorescent lights for example

o   People
found a way to improve energy efficiency, then used the savings to invest in
even more-improved lighting

Entrepreneurial
Solution: Aluminum Beverage Cans

·
Goal: deliver beer to retailers

·
Problem: 12 oz. of beer, 2 oz of steel can

o   14%
of transportation energy wasted! Can does not contribute to sales

·
Solution: Aluminum can

o   12
oz of beer, only 2/3 oz of aluminum can

o   Only
5% of transport energy wasted

o   AND:
No tin aftertaste to beer. Increased sales! No deprivation.

·
Continuous improvement

o   Lighter
cans (34/lb. as opposed to 22/lb. in 1972)…now, only 2% of transportation
energy is wasted

o   Still
no deprivation

Long-Term effects of
conservation on resource planning

Customers
aren’t the only people who benefit from conservation

·
Utility incentives can accelerate the tech
adoption curve

·
How it works

o   Subsidize
use of energy efficient technologies

o   Benefits
all ratepayers

·
Economic efficiency of electric and gas utility
incentives

o   City
light

§
Buy back kWh at 3 cents

§
Sell kWh at 4.5 cents or more, or avoid
purchasing kWh at 7.8 cents

o   Effect
on capacity planning

§
Approximately 11 billion kWh/year required
without conservation

§
Only about 10 billion kWh/year with conservation

Leveraging the
Market: How to find entrepreneurial opportunities

Conserve
energy…and make Money

·
Look for opportunities to:

o   Prevent
the use of the energy in the first place, without deprivation or inconvenience

o   Minimize
energy needed to accomplish goal, without deprivation or inconvenience

o   Recycle,
without significant inconvenience

·
Technology makes the difference between
conservation without deprivation and conservation with deprivation

o   There
are entrepreneurial opportunities in all three areas above

o   Energy
is valuable—and improving energy efficiency frequently has other, even
more valuable benefits.

Entrepreneurial
solution: On/off sensors Don’t use the energy in
the first place

·
Generation 1 (1886): Dad yells at you.
“Turn off the lights!”

·
Generation 2 (1977): Light switch stickers
“would the last person to leave the room please turn off the
lights?”

·
Generation 3 (Entrepreneurial opportunity):
Economically different sensors

o   Wall-mounted
and ceiling-mounted occupancy sensors

o   Plug
strip sensors

o   Pay
for themselves through saved energy

§
No deprivation, very little inconvenience

o   New
opportunities: Improvements?

Enterpreneurial
Solution: Efficient lights. Same or better result, with no deprivation

·
Electric lighting

o   Original
tech: Incandescent bulb

o   Basically
unchanged since early 1900s

·
Energy efficient improvements

o   Fluorescent
lights: similar light, 1/3 the energy

§
Partially unsatisfactory solution

§
Deprivation: light quality, not dimmable,
mercury

·
Therefore, opportunity still exists!

o   Light
Emitting Diodes (LEDs): better lgith, 1/10 the energy

§
Dimmable

§
Electronically controllable

§
Range of colors

o   What
might be better than LED’s? What might solve other fluorescent lighting
problems?

§
Discussion – e.g , LED Panels

§
Note: LEDs offer benefits beyond just
conservation. When LED costs become comparable with CFL costs, CFLs may
disappear.

Entrepreneurial
Solution: Recycle

·
The aluminum can (again)

·
Recycling pays—about $10 billion/year

·
Value in the energy saved

o   Approx.
400 watt-hours per can

o   Worldwide,
24 million megawatt-hours per year – enough electric energy to power 2.4
cities the size of Seattle

·
Discussion: Entrepreneurial opportunity

o   Lithium
and nickel-based batteries (EVs, computers, cell phones…now even cars!

o   Approximately
70% of finished Li-ion battery costs are attributable to raw materials

o   Cobalt
is approx. 30% of weight of Li-Ion battery, $20/lb. long term average price

§
WHY IS NOBODY RECYCLING THESE?!!?!

o   Nickel
is approx. 30% of weight of NiMH battery, $4/lb. long term average price.

o   For
comparison, aluminum is 100% of weight of aluminum can, but only $0.75/lb. or
so long term average price

·
What else can be economically recycled that
isn’t being recycled?

o   Why?

o   How
can this be resolved (opportunity)?

Overview of Key
Technology Areas

·
Lighting

o   Efficient
and controllable exterior lighting

o   Efficient
and controllable interior lighting

o   Specialty
lighting (e.g. Space Needle LED tree lights)

o   Effect
of utility incentves:

§
LED tree lights at Space Needle

§
City Lght paid about 25% of cost of project

§
10,000 kWh/year savings (approx. 1house)

·
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning

o   Space
heating

o   Ventilation

o   Space
cooling

o   Humidity
control

o   Indoor
air quality

o   Controls

o   Opportunities:

§
Magnetic refrigeration

·
www.camfridge.com

§
Dual thermostat/humidistat controlled system

·
Thermostat-Humidistat controls—if you can
control those two, you may find that people may accept increased humidity levels
at certain temperatures.

§
Efficient air motion – fans are very
inefficient

§
Increase use of technologies like desiccant
wheels, ADSIL, UV-C

·
Distribution is an entrepreneurial opportunity
too!

§
Peltier effect—converts heat directly into
electricity

·
Can completely revolutionize the refrigeration
industry

·
Information tech

o   Information
Tech – Desktop computing

§
Multiuser CPUs

§
Power management software

§
Smart power strips

o   Information
Tech – Server rooms

§
Optimize airflow

§
Sensor grids

o   Information
Tech – Server farms

§
Efficient uninterruptible power supplies

§
Economization

o   Entrepreneurial
Opportunities

§
Minimize cooling

§
Maximize computing efficiency

§
Ocean-based servers

·
Refrigeration, water temperature and kitchen
equipment

·
Industrial processes

o   Commercial
refrigeration

o   Kitchen
equipment

o   Water
heating and cooling

o   Industrial
processes

§
Aluminum and silicon refining

§
Wider use of microwaves

§
Electroplating

·
New construction

o   Whole-building
design in construction

§
Built-in controls and internet-enabled monitors

o   Insulation

o   Building
envelope

§
Quadruple-glazed windows

o   Elevators

§
Regenerative braking

§
Controls

·
Electric generation, transmission and
distribution

o   Electric
power generation, transmission and distribution

§
More efficient wire

§
More efficient transformers

o   Storage

§
Biggest problem in electric industry

§
Batteries, flywheels, etc.