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AET – Solar Hot Water

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American Energy Technologies (AET) of Jacksonville, FL has been a leader in solar hot water heating systems since 1987. They now have two new products that represent a major advance in the state of the art in residential solar hot water. In addition, they are nearing the demonstration phase of a new high temperature solar collector suitable for power generation or process steam applications.

These two programs represent new technology and new business or investment opportunities. (Disclosure- I am a consultant for the company.)

I. Residential Solar Hot Water

“Sav’nSun” system is a pre-assembled system designed for easy retrofit installation. The system is freeze-proof, and features a smaller, more attractive solar collector that resembles a skylight on the roof.

“EagleSun” is designed specifically for new home construction – an attractive, economical, low-maintenance solar water heater that actually becomes part of the roof while the home is being built. Unlike a conventional thermosiphon system with its unsightly tank above the collector, the EagleSun appliance is fully integrated into the roof structure and presents a clean skylight appearance. Each system is factory pre-assembled making installation quick and easy. Unlike other ICS systems, EagleSun works in freezing and non-freezing conditions, and does not require a secondary tank and heating element , making it the first true solar appliance for the building industry in all regions of the country.

Both system use AETs’ proprietary Black Crystal selective coating ? which absorbs more energy in the day and loses less energy at night than conventional collector coatings. The Black Crystal coating, which is also non-toxic and environmentally friendly, was developed in cooperation with Sandia National Labs. See:
http://www.eren.doe.gov/sunlab/documents/techpapers/AbsrCoating.htm

These systems are enjoying a very positive response among builders. The company is seeking $1.5-$2.0 million for to ramp up commercialization, and is also interested in finding strategic partners.

II. Solar Thermal Electric

AET is also developing a high temperature solar collector (HTSC), suitable for process steam and electric power production, but without the limited applicability and high cost of concentrators and vacuum collectors. (A new separate company will be formed for this program.)

The HTSC is a flat plate (one-sun) collector. “One-sun” means there is no concentration of the sun’s energy. It can operate with diffuse light and has a wide acceptance angle. Until HTSC, vacuum tubes were the only one-sun technology with the ability to achieve sufficiently high temperatures for STE applications. U.S. Patent No. 5,653,222

The Jacksonville Electric Authority has determined that HTSC, if proven, would provide an attractive return for them, compared to the alternatives of PV, biomass, and fuel cell technologies. JEA is therefore working with AET to develop a combined cycle pilot project in 2001. If this proves successful, JEA is considering 100 MW of HTSC as part of a new 500 MW plant being planned. Such an installation would require HTSC array covering approximately 50 acres.

An initial outside investment $1.0 million is needed for development of a production model of the high temperature collector system and to support the pilot project in 2001.

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I can supply copies of brochures, studies and business plans for these two programs.

Contact:
Richard Squires, CEO
904.781.7000 x102 wrsquires@aol.com

http://www.aetsolar.com

Las Vegas Energex2000

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Las Vegas Lemonade

ENERGEX’2000 GlobeEx’2000 35th IECEC
Riviera Hotel Convention Center, LAS VEGAS, USA
JULY 23-28, 2000

http://www.globeex.com/
http://www.cableregina.com/nonprofits/ief/PAGE14.HTM
http://Www.aiaa.org/calendar/iecec00cfp.html
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If ever there was a time to make lemonade (i.e. when the world gives you lemons), this conference was it. One of the worst organized, most jumbled, and light on content imaginable. A great many speakers simply didn’t show up. Attendance was mostly by DOE, 3rd world energy officials, academics, and a few vendors and entrepreneurs. It was also very heavy on Nevada as a great place to do business, most notably development of the Nevada Test Site. (Also, I would not recommend the Riviera Hotel.)

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So, for some lemonade. Plenary speeches, which mostly consisted of high level pep talks and very general overviews of the energy situation around the world, did offer a few good points.

– Dan Reicher (DOE Assist. Secty for Energy Effic) gave an optimistic and aggressive account of DOE’s commitments to renewables and efficiency, with emphasis on cost-effectiveness. He noted that in 1999, for the first time, more new windpower came on line than new nuclear.

– Nevada State Senator Randolph Townsend, who spearheaded deregulation in Nevada, actually said–if your legislators ever tell you they think they know what’s best, they’re dead wrong. The whole business of deregulation is one of surprises and unintended consequences.

– Admiral Truly, Director of NREL, suggested that the growth of the petroleum industry in the first half of the 20th century is going to prove to be an excellent analogy for what is starting to happen with biomass refining in the 21st century.

– Richard Sonstelie, recently retired CEO of Puget Sound Power, explained that the utility industry has always known that generation, transmission and distribution are entirely different businesses, and that generation has never been a natural monopoly. He went on to develop the idea that distribution isn’t either, and that it’s been terribly oversimplified. Distribution actually consists of a long list of distinct businesses (e.g., network planning, construction, outage response, call centers, customer research, energy procurement, meter reading, billing and collections, etc.). The only aspect of the pipes and wires business that can even begin to be viewed as a natural monopoly is the ownership of pipes and wires–in that it doesn’t make sense to have more than one set in any given location (there are exceptions to this, as we know, and some would argue the point.). Therefore, it isn’t necessary to treat the entire Disco as a regulated monopoly. Most of its activities can be handled on a competitive business model, with incentives and penalties to assure that service/reliability standards are met. After all, pipes and wires are “transportation” businesses, and their metrics should more like those applied to Federal Express. Utilities are already outsourcing what they’re not best at, and some are doing for other utilities–as new lines of business–what they’re good at themselves.

– Jan Pepper, renewables expert and until recently with APX, in charge of setting up their green power market, outlined the growing scale of green power programs. Eight states have already adopted renewable portfolio standards, and 13 have systems benefit charge used to support green power. Truth in labeling/certification agencies are emerging. An intriguing new trend–the “green” attribute of green power can be traded separately from the actual KWH’s themselves. This enhances the marketability of power from intermittent generators.

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Two topics that got a lot of attention: Building Heating, Cooling and Power (BCHP is the new acronym) and geothermal, particularly the local heating and cooling variety. (If there is interest, I can provide more information on these items.)

Building Heating, Cooling and Power (BCHP)

The DOE has gotten very interested in on-site generation which maximizes the use of the waste heat for heating and cooling. The BCHP Initiative has over 70 participants, including government, utilities, ESCOs, manufacturers, vendors, etc. http://www.bchp.org/

The gas industry continues to push hard on gas cooling. The GAX heat pump technology promises 30% higher efficiency than the best gas furnace, and 100 beta units will go into the field next year. There is increasing emphasis on humidity control through the use of dessicants.
Rocky Research is a technology development company in Las Vegas that has a impressive array of work going on in heating, cooling and refrigeration, and is looking for commercialization partners for several of its technologies. http://www.rockyresearch.com

Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium is a non-profit organization advancing the use of “GeoExchange” heating and cooling systems, notably in commercial and industrial applications, in addition to residential. (GeoExchange Systems work by moving heat, rather than by converting chemical energy to heat like in a furnace. Every GeoExchange System has three major subsystems or parts: a geothermal heat pump to move heat between the building and the fluid in the earth connection, an earth connection for transferring heat between its fluid and the earth, and a distribution subsystem for delivering heating or cooling to the building.)
http://www.geoexchange.org

One supplier, ClimateMaster, offers a range of advanced products geared to commerical and residential, including a split system that can be used in combination with a traditional furnace.
http://www.climatemaster.com

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The most unusual find–I met a German project developer with a story about a “solar chimney”. They actually built a demo in Spain (with Finosa), with at 200 meter chimney that ran for 7 years. The fullscale design calls for a 950 meter chimney, 135 meters in diameter, surrounded by 4 mile diameter circular heat absorber structure (like a greenhouse roof). Heat rising through the chimney will generate 100 MW by turning a fan blade in the base. Crops can be grown in the covered area, and black tubing filled with water can provide storage to make power 24 hours a day. They already have permitted projects and are raising money. The company also has a number of solar trough programs in Spain, Crete and Jordan.
http://www.solarmillennium.de/engl/eseiten/eaufwind.htm

Bomin Technologies – Intelligent Energy Systems

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This unique and interesting company has recently come to our attention, and may be of interest, for their technology, for their business model, and as a potential business partner and/or investment.

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( This summary was adapted from company materials.)

Bomin is a privately-held Swiss-American company that develops, makes and sells Intelligent Energy Systems for buildings. Sales have grown from $2M in 1994, when the Company was formed, to $9.7M in 1997 (average growth rate of more than 64%). Sales were $12.6M in 1998, and are expected to continue growing at more than 30% a year.

Bomin was initially established in the mid-80’s as a developer of technology. Results are now moving into the market, and the company is evolving into a broad based platform for commercialization of innovative energy-related products through an international network of business partners. Bomin’s executive team combines international expertise in business operations, corporate finance and technology commercialization.

Bomin’s products improve efficiency and benefit the environment in three market segments:

– Intelligent Lighting – daylighting and controlled lighting systems, which bring sun or natural daylight into buildings and control the use of artificial light;

– Intelligent Heating – solar thermal-based products, which harness the sun for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, cooling and power generation; and

– Intelligent Control – hardware and software products which improve energy efficiency in pumps, co-generation units and other energy consuming devices.

Bomin is also bringing to market a pipeline of proprietary breakthrough technologies developed in their German and US labs.

– HEATPULSE is a stirling engine that uses mid-temperature waste heat from power generators or industrial processes, or from biomass.

– SUNPULSE is a low-temperature stirling engine developed for application in a solar-powered water pump and a refrigeration and air-conditioning system, for use throughout the developing world.

The company is seeking to raise additional capital to increase sales and marketing of existing products, enable the purchase of several identified acquisition candidates, and further product development and commercialization. An offering memorandum will be provided to qualified parties.

I also have an 13 page Executive Summary (Word document) that I can send on request.

A great deal of information is available from the company’s website at
http://www.bomin.com

UFTO’s Contact: Nicholas Parker, Chairman ( in Toronto)
1-416-763-1020, nmparker@email.msn.com