Energy Daily Conf. International Lessons

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Subject: UFTO Note — Energy Daily Conf. International Lessons
Date: Thu, 15 May 1997
From: Ed Beardsworth

Energy Daily is holding a conference on “Lessons” from deregulation experiences in other countries. My own view is that there’s been far too little attention paid to to what’s been learned overseas, except perhaps for the UK (which may not be a very relevant situation!), so this is a welcome sign.

They’ve just posted this conference on their web site…

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| ** UFTO ** Edward Beardsworth ** Consultant
| 951 Lincoln Ave. tel 415-328-5670
| Palo Alto CA 94301-3041 fax 415-328-5675
| http://www.ufto.com edbeards@ufto.com
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http://www.kingpublishing.com/F-17.html

June 24-25,
International Power Deregulation: Lessons and Implications for U.S. Utilities,
Washington, D.C.

Is there life after deregulation?

Well, of course there is. But what is the nature of that life? To this point, deregulation of U.S. electric utilities has been almost an academic exercise. The unanswerable question, so far, is how it would really work. Will generation really be a boring, vanilla business? And transmission, an exciting, profitable business? Nobody really knows. It is all speculation. But we do know that nothing goes the way it is planned and that the most daring futurists are wrong.

The Energy Daily, in its desire to answer some of these questions. has joined forces with the international consulting firm of Putnam, Hayes & Bartlett (PHB) to peer into the future with the guidance of those who have already been there. Many countries have already restructured–New Zealand, and Argentina, for example. They have very real, hands-on stories to tell and often those stories are at odds with what is anticipated for the U.S. PHB has consulted with utilities around the globe and, together with The Energy Daily, has assembled an imposing panel of experts on life after regulation for a special conference on “International Power Deregulation: Lessons and Implications for U.S. Utilities” scheduled for June 24-25, 1997 in Washington, DC.

The Economist magazine recently compiled a disturbing list of infrastructure investments over time that had gone wrong, sometimes from ignorance and sometimes from political intervention. But, it concluded, at this point in history, with growth rates in many target countries around 10 percent, it would be foolish for international companies to stay out of the infrastructure boom. Be careful and know what you are doing, The Economist concluded.

There is now a convergence between the international experience in electric industry restructuring and deregulation in the U.S. Great fortunes may be made, or lost, in the American electric utility industry after deregulation, as they will be around the globe. The concepts discussed in “International Power Deregulation” may well save American utilities hundreds of millions of dollars by helping them avoid repeating the mistakes that others have made and paid for. I am looking forward to seeing you at this most critical meeting with the gifted and knowledgeable experts from around the globe.
Agenda

DAY ONE, TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 1997

9:00 am “Welcome and Introduction”
Llewellyn King, Publisher, The Energy Daily (Co-Chair)

9:15 am “International Overview”
Howard W. Pifer III, Chairman, Putnam, Hayes & Bartlett (Co-Chair)

10:15 am “Restructuring Assets: Functional Unbundling, Divestiture, and
Acquisition”
Moderator: Fred Baird, Managing Director, Putnam Hayes Bartlett Asia-Pacific, Ltd.

Speakers:
John Rowe, President & Chief Executive Officer, New England Electric System (US)
Robert W. Thomson, Chief Executive, Trans Power New Zealand Ltd. (New Zealand)
David Jones, Group Chief Executive, National Grid Company (UK)
Joseph P. Kearney, President & Chief Executive Officer, US Generating Company (US)

12:15 pm Luncheon and Address: “The View from Wall Street”
Charles A. Trabandt, Chairman, Strategic Advisory Services, Merrill Lynch

1:45 pm “Reasons for Restructuring: Politics, Ideology, and the Need for New Capacity”
Moderator: Brian Caine, Director, Ernst & Young (Canada)

Speakers:
Peter Grenier, Secretary of Energy (Brazil)
Brian Pomeroy, Partner, Touche Ross, (UK)
Alfredo Mirkin, Secretary of Energy (Argentina)
William Farlinger, CEO, Ontario Hydro (Canada)
Jamie Wimberly, Vice President, Consumer Energy Council of America Research Foundation

4:00 pm “Market Structures to Implement Restructuring: ISOs, Poolcos, & Power Exchanges”
Moderator: Larry E. Ruff, Managing Director, Putnam Hayes & Bartlett

Speakers:
Graeme L. Dillon, Chief Executive Officer, Victoria Power Exchange (Australia)
Cesar W. de Faria, Director, President, Copelmi Mineracao(Brazil)
Eileen Marshall, Director of Regulation, Ofgas (UK)
Shmuel Oren, Professor, University of California, Berkeley (US)
Jan Moen, Director of Regulation and DSM, Norwegian Water Resources & Energy

6:30 pm Reception, Dinner and Address: Hosted by Putnam, Hayes & Bartlett

Hon. James E. Schlesinger, Senior Advisor, Lehman Brothers

DAY TWO, TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 1997

8:00 am “Control or Restructuring: Problems of Federal versus State Jurisdiction”
Moderator: William H. Hieronymus, Managing Director, Putnam, Hayes & Bartlett

Speakers:
Pierre Lederer, Senior Vice President & Head, General Economic Studies, Electricite de France (France)
Javier Herrero, Managing Director, Iberdrola (Spain) *
Richard O’Neill, Director, Office of Economic Policy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (US)
Robert Gee, Commissioner, Texas Public Utilities Commission and Chairman, NARUC Electricity Committee

10:15 am “New Competition and Emerging Markets: Developing Viable Strategies”
Moderator: James M. Speyer, Managing Director, Putnam, Hayes & Bartlett

Speakers:
Richard C. Green, Jr., Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, UtiliCorp. United Inc. (US)
Stephen Snyder, President & Chief Operating Officer, TransAlta Utilities (Canada)
Lee W. Hogan, President, & Chief Executive Officer, Retail Energy Group, Houston Industries, Inc. (US)
A Representative of National Power (US) *

12:15 pm Luncheon and Address: “International Experiences and Domestic Problems”
Llewellyn King (Co-Chair)

1:45 pm “Drawing Conclusions”
William W. Hogan, Professor, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

2:45 pm “Wrap-Up Session and Adjournment”
Howard Pifer III (Co-Chair)
Howard W. Pifer (Co-Chair)

Adjourn

Nuclear Decommissioning

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Subject: UFTO Note — Nuclear Decommissioning
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997
From: Ed Beardsworth

————————————————————–
| ** UFTO ** Edward Beardsworth ** Consultant
| 951 Lincoln Ave. tel 415-328-5670
| Palo Alto CA 94301-3041 fax 415-328-5675
| http://www.ufto.com edbeards@ufto.com
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Nuclear Decommissioning and the Strategic Alliance

Major programs are underway in the Federal sector to begin D&D — decommissioning and decontamination (and dismantlement!) — of nuclear facilities. DOE’s efforts are focused on the many contaminated weapons facilities and lab sites around the country, but much of the technology being developed and applied will be directly relevant to the decommissioning of civilian power reactors.

Only a few civilian reactors have been shut down so far, but eventually this huge issue will have to be addressed (maybe sooner rather than later, with industry restructuring). Some utilities are already paying close attention. The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has industry working groups dealing with the government on policy issues, but there’s been little attention so far to the technologies to be used. (EPRI has a new initiative in this area, just getting started.)

With so much at stake, utilities already dealing with shut-down plants are understandably wary of new technology, so the government’s efforts to “prove” new technology could prove to be quite valuable.

——————–

Of immediate potential interest–an upcoming conference, June 24-27 in Chicago, featuring a special on site tour of the CP-5 at Argonne National Lab, where new robotics technology is being used in the large scale demonstration project there.

For more information on the conference, contact Eileen Schmitz, Weapons Complex Monitor Forums Office. 847-234-2353 excpub@aol.com. The registration package and agenda should be available after May 19.

——————–

There will also be a major international conference in Miami, December 1-5, 1997, sponsored by DOE, on the theme of cost reduction for D&D, and technology transfer “across the oceans”. To get on the mailing list for further details as they become available, contact Chuck Broom, ICF Consulting, 630-778-0972, CABroom@msn.com

——————–

OVERVIEW

Since this is such a complicated topic, with so many programs and players, here’s a very quick overview, presented as a series of definitions:

–> “D&D” —

Decommissioning and Decontamination (and Dismantlement!) of nuclear facilities

–> “EM” — Environmental Management —

This is the DOE Office responsible for dealing with management and cleanup of sites within the DOE complex. EM-40, the Office of Environmental Restoration; has line management responsibility for clean up. EM-50 is Office of Science and Technology. EM-60 handles deactivation of facilities (done long before D&D can begin). EM sponsors a great deal of work in remediation for both radioactive and other hazards and contamination.

At FETC in Morgantown (METC and PETC have merged into FETC), there’s a group (not connected to Fossil) that manages part of the EM D&D program.
More information is available at: http://www.wpi.org/doe/focus/dd/

“The mission of the D&D Focus Area is to develop, demonstrate, and deploy improved technologies and systems; to solve customer-identified needs; to decontaminate and decommission DOE’s radiologically contaminated surplus facilities and their contents; and to facilitate the acceptance, approval, transfer, commercialization, and implementation of these technologies and systems.”

–> “LSDP” — Large Scale Demonstration Projects —

Major projects sponsored by EM to integrate the ongoing D&D of specific government facilities with the deployment of a number of new technologies in real conditions, and evaluate their performance. Four such projects are currently underway.

The mission is “to select innovative, ‘field test ready’ decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) technologies, demonstrate those technologies in a large scale demonstration environment, and compare the results against existing commercial technologies with the intent of showing that significant benefits can be achieved through the utilization of enhanced D&D technologies or verify existing technology practices are the most cost effective.”

–> “CP-5” —

The first LSDP has been underway for some time at Argonne National Lab, at the CP-5 reactor (“Chicago Pile 5”).

–> “Strategic Alliance for Environmental Restoration” —

The consortia of contractors for the CP-5 LSDP, comprised of Duke Engineering and Services, 3M, ICF Inc., Florida International University, and Commonwealth Edison. The contract is a cooperative agreement with DOE, but not a CRADA — all results will public information, and the group is just now gearing up to tell the story more widely in the utility industry.

The “deliverables” of the Strategic Alliance will take the form of additional titles in the “Green Books” series — reports documenting proven technology for environmental remediation. (See separate UFTO Note)

The Alliance has a very detailed web site at:
http://www.strategic-alliance.org

To find detailed descriptions of the technologies being tested, click on “Demonstration Projects”, and then “Technology Demonstrations”. Use the “guest” log on feature.

——————–

For more information:

There are many institutions and people involved (e.g., several offices of DOE, Argonne, and all of the Alliance participants), and many of them can be hard to get a hold of. I can provide more contacts if you want them.

Mr. Rock AKER, Com Ed’s representative in the Alliance, has kindly offered to serve as a point of contact for UFTO members. He can be reached at Tel 630-663-5491 email: akerrex@ccmail.ceco.com

Hand held Computers in Utilities

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Subject: UFTO Note – Hand held Computers in Utilities
Date: Fri, 02 May 1997 09:29:24 -0700
From: Ed Beardsworth

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| ** UFTO ** Edward Beardsworth ** Consultant
| 951 Lincoln Ave. tel 415-328-5670
| Palo Alto CA 94301-3041 fax 415-328-5675
| http://www.ufto.com edbeards@ufto.com
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Hand-Held Computers in Utilities

In the April issue of Electrical World T&D, there were a couple of items about hand-held computers. A number of you have either already implemented them, at least in some applications, or are thinking about it, so perhaps this will be useful if you didn’t notice it in your own perusal of the magazine.

On page 47-8, there’s a “Buyer’s Guide”, showing photos of 22 different brands, with a quick summary of their features. This follows an article on using them for field data collection. Also, on page 12, a conference is mentioned:

Utility Industry Hand Held & PDA Forum, August 20-22, St. Louis, MO

Contact:
World Market Strategies, 415-252-8008, info@wmsltd.com
Ask for Jeff Lohrmann. See web site at: http://www.pda-expo.com

The company does market development for mobile computing and wireless communications, putting vendors in touch with each other and with customers. This will be their third annual forum with the utility industry. Last year they had over 300 attendees representing hardware and software vendors and over 75 utilities (including some of your companies). The company can provide a summary report from last year’s event. More details from their web site is attached below.

They say that there’s wide range of how far along different utilities are at implementing these devices. Some companies are very advanced, and others haven’t even started. Too often, companies gear up to build their own system (reinventing wheels) and don’t realize how much is already available on the market.

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(PS: Please let me know if you consider this item “redundant”, “borderline,” or “worth sending via UFTO”. It’s sometimes a difficult judgement call, and I don’t want to be sending too many things that you already know about via other sources. EB)

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World Market Strategies/PDA Inc.
(web site material)
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Join us at the 1997 Utility Industry Hand-Held & PDA Forum

The 3rd annual Utility Industry Hand-Held & PDA Forum will be held August 20-22, 1997, at the Marriott Hotel in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. We look forward to your participation in this exciting event.

Call 415-252-8008 or email at info@wmsltd.com for more

———————————————————————-

The Utility Industry Hand-Held & PDA Forum ’97 will again gather technology vendors, Operations/Administration Executives, CIOs, and Project Managers representing electric and gas companies from around the world together to discuss Hand-Helds, PDAs, related software and enabling technologies in a setting conducive to real problem solving.

The Forum provides significant opportunities for both the vendor and customer communities to share the risks and the rewards of bringing vital and effective field automation to the Utility Industry. This Forum continues to be the only event targeted specifically at mobile/wireless/hand-held computing technology in the Utility Industry.

Here’s the topics so far:
Field automation in disaster management
Mapping in the field
Distribution system/work management applications
Field service applications
Building an enterprise wide field automation strategy
Database connectivity
Determining the ROI for Mobile Projects
Wireless communications
Introductory issues in field automation
Sales Automation
Trouble call management
Inspections

Background & Description

More than 250 individuals, including nearly 100 CIOs, IT Managers, Project Managers and Operations Executives representing 75 different Utility companies along with 35 exhibitors who displayed their technology, participated in our inaugural Utility Industry Hand-Held & PDA Forum in December 1995. Our second annual Utility Industry Hand-Held & PDA Forum in August 1996 attracted 300 participants, including more than 110 Utility company executives and 42 exhibitors.

Past sponsors have included:
— AM/FM International — RAM Mobile Data — MDSI
— Norand — Utility Partners — Trimble Navigation
— Electric Power Research — Institute Husky Psion
— IT for Utilities Magazine — PennWell Publishing
— Motorola — Pen Computing Magazine
— Alliance Systems — Arrowsmith Technologies
— Raytheon Transportation Management — Mapframe
— PDA Industry Association — World Market Strategies — PDA Inc.

We look forward to working with you on this event. If you need more information call Jeff Lohrmann, James Thomas or Jon Covington at 415-252-8008 or email us at info@wmsltd.com for more information.

DOD Exploratory Battery Workshop

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Subject: UFTO Note — DOD Exploratory Battery Workshop
Date: Thu, 01 May 1997
From: Ed Beardsworth

(This little known workshop has come to our attention, and may interest people who follow battery technology closely. It is a tri service DOD event, and covers early stage R&D at DOD labs and contractors, at a fairly technical level. It is open to outside attendees, on a limited-space available — basis. Anyone wanting to go should contact Ms. Meskin as indicated. Note the very low registration cost.)

————————————————————–
| ** UFTO ** Edward Beardsworth ** Consultant
| 951 Lincoln Ave. tel 415-328-5670
| Palo Alto CA 94301-3041 fax 415-328-5675
| http://www.ufto.com edbeards@ufto.com
————————————————————–

5th WORKSHOP FOR BATTERY EXPLORATORY DEVELOPMENT (DOD)

June 30-July 3, 1997
Burlington, Vermont

The purpose of this workshop is to assess current DoD-sponsored battery 6.2 development programs in order to identify technology challenges and coordinate future efforts. This year the scope of the workshop has been broadened to include all high energy batteries with those of lithium chemistry receiving the major focus. Speakers will come from 6.2 efforts and will include both government and industrial participants.

This workshop is sponsored by Office of Naval Research and coordinated by the High Energy Battery R&D Group, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division and Advanced Technology & Research Corporation (ATR).

TECHNICAL PROGRAM COMMITTEE

U.S. Army — Robert Hamlen, Ph.D; Sol Gilman, Ph.D.;
Harold Christopher, Ph.D.; Allan Goldberg
U.S. Navy — Carl Mueller, Ph.D.; Patricia Smith, Ph.D.
U.S. Air Force — Richard Marsh; Steve Vukson
DARPA — Lawrence Dubois, Ph.D.; Robert Nowak, Ph.D.

To maintain a technical workshop environment, attendance is limited, and advance registration is required.

Please send Registration Form (below) to:
Ms. Adrien Meskin, ATR, 15210 Dino Drive, Burtonsville, MD 20866-1172
or fax to Adrien at (301) 394-3916.

A packet of registration materials including hotel information, airport, and agenda will be sent upon receipt. The registration fee is $100.00. You have a choice of paying at the workshop or including a check with your registration form. Make checks payable to ATR/Battery Workshop.

The workshop will be held at the Hampton Inn-Burlington/Colchester. A block of rooms has been reserved for all participants at the Government per diem rate for both single and double rooms. For reservations call 1-800-HAMPTON and refer to reservation code 5th Battery Workshop.

For further information, contact Adrien at the following: email–meskin@oasys.dt.navy.mil; phone–(301) 989-2499; and fax (301)989-8000.

_______________________________________________________________________

5th WORKSHOP FOR BATTERY EXPLORATORY DEVELOPMENT REGISTRATION FORM

NAME:

GOV’T AGENCY/ORGANIZATION:

ADDRESS:

CITY: STATE: ZIP:

PHONE: FAX: EMAIL:

$100.00 REGISTRATION FEE ENCLOSED (MADE OUT TO ATR): YES [ ] NO [ ]
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PROGRAM

5th Workshop for Battery Exploratory Development
June 30-July 3, 1997
Burlington, Vermont

Monday, June 30
9:00-1:00 Registration
1:00 Opening Remarks Peter Keller, NSWC Carderock
1:05 Welcome James Barnes, NSWC Carderock
1:15 Introduction of Keynote Speaker
Stanley James, NSWC Carderock
1:20 Lithium and Lithium-ion Polymer Batteries: Status andOutlook
Bruno Scrosati, University La Sapienza

Overviews

Organization and Battery Program

2:00 Navy — Carl Mueller, Patricia Smith, NSWC Carderock
2:40 Army — Robert Hamlen, CECOM; Sol Gilman, ARL
3:20 Break
3:30 Air Force — Richard Marsh, Wright Laboratory; Dan Radzykewycz,
Phillips Lab
4:10 DARPA — Robert Nowak, DARPA
4:40 Adjourn
6:30 Buffet Dinner

Tuesday, July 1

8:00 Registration
8:25 Opening Remarks Peter Keller, NSWC Carderock

Secondary Battery Technical Presentations

8:30 New Generation of Silver Zinc Batteries for Navy Vehicles
Roberto Serenyi, Yardney Technical Products, Inc.
8:55 Nickel/Metal Hydride Development
Air Force Nickel/Metal Hydride Battery Development
Steve Vukson, USAF Wright Laboratory
Bipolar Nickel/Metal Hydride Battery
Martin Klein, Electro Energy, Inc.
9:30 Rechargeable Lithium/Copper Chloride Battery Development
Fred Dampier, Lithium Energy Associates, Inc.
10:00 Break
10:15 Affordable Batteries for Undersea Vehicles (Lithium/Cobalt
Oxide)
Charles Kelly, Alliant Techsystems
10:45 Advanced Lithium Batteries for Underwater Vehicles
Synthesis of a High Energy Density Manganese Oxide Cathode
System
Alex Shiao, Maxpower, Inc.
Electrode Fabrications for High Energy Density and
High Rate Capability Rechargeable Lithium Systems
Kirakodu S. Nanjundaswamy, Eagle-Picher Industries Inc.
11:30 Particulate Sol-Gel Synthesis and Characterization of LiMO2
( M = Co, Ni, NixCo1-x ) Powders
Prashant Kumpta, Carnegie Mellon University
12:00 Lunch
2:00 Synthesis and Properties of Sol-Gel Derived Electrode
and Electrolyte Materials
Bruce Dunn, UCLA
2:30 Polymer Gel Electrolytes
Shyam Argade, Technochem Company
3:00 Break
3:15 Polymer Battery Technology Reinvestment Program
Recent Developments in the Ultralife Solid State SystemTMBattery
Edward Cuellar, Ultralife Batteries, Inc.
High Capacity Lithium Ion Solid Polymer Battery Development
Vincent Teofilo, Lockheed Martin Missles and Space
Flexible Manufacturing/Rapid Prototying of
Lithium Ion Polymer Batteries
David Roller, Alliant Techsystems
4:00 SAFT Li-ion Battery Development Program
N. Raman, SAFT America Inc.
4:45 Adjourn

Wednesday, July 2, 1997

8:00 Registration
8:25 Opening Remarks
Peter Keller, NSWC Carderock
8:30 Cathode Materials for Lithium Ion
William Smyrl, U of Minnesota
9:00 Cr (III)-modified LiMn2O4 Intercalation Materials for
Li Rechargeable Batteries
Rick Howard, Covalent Associates, Inc.
9:30 Low-cost, Lightweight Rechargeable Lithium Ion Batteries
Grant Ehrlich, Yardney Technical Products, Inc.
9:45 Low Temperature Electrolytes Formulated for Li-ion
Battery Applications
Yair Ein-Eli, Covalent Associates, Inc.
10:00 Break
10:15 Development of Large Li-ion Batteries for Aircraft
and Spacecraft Applications
Lynn Marcoux, BlueStar Advanced Technology Corporation
10:45 BB-X590 Battery Development for U.S. Army Applications
David Fouchard, Rayovac Corp.
11:15 Lithium-Ion 8 Ah Prismatic Cells for Navy UnderwaterApplications
Chris Castledine, Rayovac Corp.
11:45 Lunch
1:45 Ambient Temperature Rechargeable Lithium Ion BatteryTechnology
Thomas Reddy, Yardney Technical Products, Inc.
2:15 High Energy Lithium/Metal Disulfide Rechargeable Batteries
for Undersea Propulsion
Nicholas Papadakis, Northrup Grumman Corp.
2:45 Advanced Development Program for Lightweight
Rechargeable “AA” Zinc-Air Battery
Alexander Karpinski, Yardney Technical Products, Inc.
3:00 Break

Primary Battery Technical Presentations

3:10 Primary Battery Introduction
Peter Keller, NSWC Carderock
3:15 Power for Army Munitions
Allan Goldberg, ARL
3:30 Directions in Thermal Battery Research
John Erbacher, GRC International, Inc.
3:45 Development of a Thermal Battery with Novel Electrochemistry
Shyam Argade, Technochem Company
4:15 Development of High Rate Primary Zinc-Air Cylindrical Cells
Joseph Passaniti, Rayovac Corp.
4:30 Adjourn

Thursday, July 3, 1997

8:00 Registration
8:25 Opening Remarks
Peter Keller, NSWC Carderock
8:30 Development Status of Six Kilowatt Four Hour Sonobuoy Thermal
Battery
Nicholas Shuster, Northrop Grumman Corp.
9:00 Development of Lithium/Carbon Monofluoride Cells for Navy
Applications
Daniel Rohde, Rayovac Corp.
9:30 21st Century Land Warrior Li/MnO2 Pouch Battery
James Drass, Power Conversion, Inc.
10:00 Break
10:15 Advanced Primary Battery Development at BlueStar
Advanced Technology Corp
Lynn Marcoux, BlueStar Advanced Technology Corp
10:45 High Energy Density Ultrasafe LiMNO2, Pouch Cell
William Hoge, Ultralife Batteries, Inc.
11:15 Adjourn

New News on “New Energy” (aka “Cold Fusion”)

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Subject: UFTO Note – New News on “New Energy” (aka “Cold Fusion”)
Date: Mon, 28 Apr 1997
From: Ed Beardsworth

————————————————————–
| ** UFTO ** Edward Beardsworth ** Consultant
| 951 Lincoln Ave. tel 415-328-5670
| Palo Alto CA 94301-3041 fax 415-328-5675
| http://www.ufto.com edbeards@ufto.com
————————————————————–

New News on “New Energy” (aka “Cold Fusion”)

Dr. Randell Mills, BlackLight Power Company, of Malvern, PA, is making some remarkable claims, and has attracted some prominent backers with his “Unified Theory” and devices which generate large amounts of excess “anomalous” heat.

Mills says his theory is consistent with and an extension of Maxwell’s Equations, Newton’s Laws, and Einstein’s Theories of Special and General Relativity. Whether it represents an overthrow or an extension of quantum mechanics and other aspects of modern physics will probably be hotly debated for some time to come. (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun)

Mills believes that his theory explains how his devices generate excess heat, and is pursuing an aggressive business development plan. Dr. Mills and his company, formerly called HydroCatalysis Power Corporation, have been known in the cold fusion community for some time, but his story is now attracting a great deal more attention (a situation not unlike what happened two years ago with Clean Energy Technology, or CETI, with their Patterson Cells–which story also continues to unfold).

BlackLight Power’s story is explained in considerable detail at the company’s web site, at: http://BlackLightpower.com

Meanwhile, ENECO* in Salt Lake City has a very different approach, and has kept a very low profile. Their device is actually quite similar to the BlackLight Power cell–a hot hydrogen gas cell that does not require electrical input and can be operated at high temperature (a fundamental limitation of liquid-based systems).

ENECO’s theory of how the cell operates, however, is very different. Dr. Mills revolutionary theory predicts a new lower energy state for the Hydrogen atom, which he calls the hydrino, and it is a transition to this state, that he says accounts for the release of energy. The subsequent formation of a molecule of two hydrinos (mass 4) is also hypothesized.

ENECO’s explanation involves a form of low energy-induced slow nuclear fission in a lattice, which produces heat, helium, and very small amounts of infra-red and ultraviolet emissions. This explanation for the observed phenomena conforms to all known scientific principles, and it also can consistently explain why the many attempts by others to replicate Pons and Fleischman’s results may or may not have been successful.

Neither company believes that the phenomena first announced in 1989 by Pons and Fleischman, and the subject of such intense controversy ever since, are due to “fusion”. Instead, each has developed an explanation involving different new and controversial scientific concepts.

Both companies have filed for patents for their devices, based on their respective theories. Both are seeking investment capital to fund their respective attempts to scale up and build a several kilowatt device within the next year. The company with the correct theory will probably be more successful. The race is on.

—————
*ENECO prepared a proprietary Review of State of the Art of Cold Fusion, offered for sale last year–with discount for UFTO members–see UFTO Note Sept. 20, 1996.

ENECO is also the sister company of Thermodyne, which is developing a new type of thermal to electric energy converter — see UFTO Note March 21, 1997.
—————-

CONTACTS:

Fred Jaeger, ENECO
Salt Lake City, UT 801-583-2000, jaeger@eneco-usa.com

Randell Mills, BlackLight Power, Inc.
Malvern, PA 610 651-4938, rmills@BlackLightpower.com

IERE Workshop – Future Directions in Power System Reliability

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Subject: UFTO Note – IERE Workshop – Future Directions in Power System Reliability
Date: Mon, 28 Apr 1997
From: Ed Beardsworth

————————————————————–
| ** UFTO ** Edward Beardsworth ** Consultant
| 951 Lincoln Ave. tel 415-328-5670
| Palo Alto CA 94301-3041 fax 415-328-5675
| http://www.ufto.com edbeards@ufto.com
————————————————————–

IERE Workshop – Future Directions in Power System Reliability

This is very late notice–just got word of this myself. EPRI and EdF are cosponsoring an IERE Workshop, at EPRI, in Palo Alto this coming Thursday and Friday, May 1-2.

There isn’t an electronic notice of this meeting posted anywhere, but I can fax you a copy of the program brochure. Also, I may be getting an electronic copy of the agenda, which I can forward via email on request.

Speakers from Japan, Canada, Europe and the US, will present more than 20 technical papers on Issues, Emerging Technologies, and System Support Tools. About 50 people are registered to attend.

In the unlikely event that someone from your company would like to attend on such short notice, for more information about registration, contact Suzette Rius, 415-855-2798, srius@epri.com

In the likely event that you cannot attend, it may still be possible to get a copy of the workshop proceedings from EPRI. Contact Suzette after May 5.

————————
(IERE stands for International Electric Research Exchange, and is composed of utility R&D organizations from around the world. It was started in Japan and is headquartered there. Members include UNIPEDE in Europe, and other organizations in North and South America. The Chairmanship rotates, and this year it’s held by Dick Balzhiser. Currently, it doesn’t have a presence on the web. The annual General Meeting will be held in San Francisco the week of May 4. I’ll try to get more information about the organization, e.g. membership and how to access their reports, and will pass it along.)

Acoustic Profiling of Bottom Ash

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Subject: UFTO Note – Acoustic Profiling of Bottom Ash
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 1997 14:47:36 -0700
From: Ed Beardsworth

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| ** UFTO ** Edward Beardsworth ** Consultant
| 951 Lincoln Ave. tel 415-328-5670
| Palo Alto CA 94301-3041 fax 415-328-5675
| http://www.ufto.com edbeards@ufto.com
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Acoustic Profiling of Bottom Ash

Entech Design, of Denton TX, sells a Material Acoustic Profile System (MAPS), which uses sophisticated oceanographic sonar mapping equipment to provide two and three dimensional images of bottom ash levels in water filled hoopers. Plant personnel can observe the level and distribution of material in the hopper, enabling smarter ash handling schedules and giving advance warning of any problems. The system can by integrated with distributed control systems for automatic control of bottom ash conveying routines.

MAPS has been on the market since 1991, and is currently installed on 44 units (including a couple of UFTO utilities). Extensive information and references are available.

BinMinder is an offspring of MAPS that monitors liquid-material interfaces in a wide variety of applications, such as chemical production and waste water systems. Utility applications include flue gas desulfurization tanks, pyrite holding tanks, and bottom ash dewatering bins, where it can be used to reduce material carryover due to overfilling, along with other operational benefits.

Contact:
Randy Minnis
Entech Design, Inc.
Denton TX
817-898-1173, entech@iglobal.net

Robotic Hot Inspection and Repair of Waterwall Tubing

/0 Comments/in , /by

Subject: UFTO Notes — Robotic Hot Inspection and Repair of Waterwall Tubing
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 1997
From: Ed Beardsworth

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| ** UFTO ** Edward Beardsworth ** Consultant
| 951 Lincoln Ave. tel 415-328-5670
| Palo Alto CA 94301-3041 fax 415-328-5675
| http://www.ufto.com edbeards@ufto.com
————————————————————–

Robotic Hot Inspection and Repair of Waterwall Tubing

Entech Design, a Texas company with several successful products for bottom ash handling and mapping, has a put together a proposal to develop a new robotic pipe-crawler system to inspect and repair waterwall tubing in fossil power plants.

Inspection — While NDE techniques are well known, they are not used as frequently as might be indicated because of the high cost of currently available procedures. The proposed system will provide a rapid and cost-effective means to get comprehensive tube condition data, making it possible to predict failures and to schedule preventive repairs during scheduled outages. The company believes that over 30% of forced outages could be eliminated.

Repair and Replacement — Robotic technology is highly developed in other industries, and capabilities exist to manipulate, cut and weld tubes. Performing these tasks with heat-tolerant robotic systems would significantly reduce boiler cool-down time, by as much as ten hours. Over all outage times would be reduced and scaffolding costs would be eliminated.

The company has a detailed plan involving collaboration with Sandia National Lab (one of the leading robotics R&D groups in the U.S.), and a leading provider of robotic equipment. The system would use available off-the-shelf components.

They’re looking for an electric utility partner to provide development capital and program guidance, and to participate in the ownership of the service company that will employ the technology.

Contact:
Randy Minnis
Entech Design, Inc.
Denton TX
817-898-1173, entech@iglobal.net