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WLSA ~ Will Waste Heat Be Bigger Than Solar?
Michael Kanellos January 24, 2009

Sean Casten, the crown prince of waste heat, tells us how the U.S. can ameliorate its energy consumption problems with better factory and facilities management. Not everything improves with time.

The typical industrial power plant in the U.S. is only about half as energy efficient as those used in 1910, according to Sean Casten, CEO of Recycled Energy Development (RED).

In fact, the ones Thomas Edison designed were more efficient. The problem? Waste heat. Edison's plants weren't actually very efficient as making electric power, Casten noted, but he sold the heat generated during operations, which boosted the overall. A full two-thirds of the fuel burned to generate power in today's power plants – which for the most part were built in the mid-1960s with 1850s technology – gets lost he asserts.

"Edison's were 50 percent efficient," he said.

Although it can be tricky and expensive to harness, waste heat is getting increased focus as a source of power in both the U.S. and China, mostly because of the quantities of heat out there. A study conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Labs estimated in 2005 that the U.S. alone has 100 gigawatts of untapped electrical capacity in the form of waste heat that annually could produce 742 terawatt hours of power. That's bigger than the solar fleet, which gets measured in megawatts. UC Berkeley's Arun Majumdar estimates that the U.S. consumes 100 quads (100 quadrillion BTUs) of energy a year and 55 to 60 percent of it gets dissipated as waste heat (see Tapping America's Secret Power Source).

Generating that heat, naturally, also means excess greenhouse gases. Approximately 42 percent of carbon dioxide emissions come from power plants, said Casten. If power plants are truly only 33 percent efficient, that means that 28 percent of the carbon dioxide output in the U.S. could be eliminated without crimping the national lifestyle. Cars only account for 19 percent.

Some companies, such as Cypress Semiconductor and GMZ Energy, are trying to develop thermoelectric materials. These are semiconductors that, wrapped around a steam pipe, could convert ambient heat to electricity.

Companies like Israel's Ormat and Westmont Ill.-based RED – which raised a $1.5 billion fund with Denham Capital Management to take on waste heat projects – are largely focusing on the more traditional techniques. Namely, exploit excess steam pressure and heat to turn a turbine, power heating systems or boil more water. It all depends on the circumstances on the ground. Waste fuels can also be harvested.

"Everything is custom," Casten said.

While the bulk of waste heat is generated in large plants, there are also smaller pockets. Natural gas pipelines are equipped with booster stations which maintain the pressure inside the pipeline as the gas travels from one point to another. Each one on average requires 10 megawatts of power but gives off about 3 megawatts worth of waste heat.

"There are opportunities all over the place – silicon manufacturers, cement, steel," he said. "They have high volumes of fairly high quality waste heat."

One of the company's more dramatic projects will go online in 2010. West Virginia Alloys, a silicon manufacturer, will install a waste heat recovery system that will generate 45 megawatts of electrical power. The company only uses 120 megawatts right now. (Put another way, the company only really needs 75 megawatts for its operations and is currently burning off 45 megawatts.)

To date, the big challenge has been cost. Most industrial-scale waste heat projects cost between $5 and $50 million. That's too high for most to pay out of capital budgets and too low for a public financing project.

"There's a huge Goldilocks problem," he said. To get around this, RED pays for any waste heat recovery system it installs and then gets paid for energy savings under long-term contracts.

"It is becoming mostly easier for a whole lot of reasons," Casten said.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/will-waste-heat-be-bigger-than-solar-5577/


Discovery Channel features energy-from-waste plasma gasification technology (video).
http://www.timelesswealth.net/video2.html


Wireless Age to Acquire Interest in Renewable Energy Projects
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 11, 2009) - Wireless Age Communications, Inc. (PINK SHEETS:WLSA), ("Wireless Age" or "the Company") announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with PowerPlay Energy Corp. ("PowerPlay") and Sunbay Energy Corp. ("Sunbay") through a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company to acquire a 60% interest in a newly formed entity that will hold all of the assets and liabilities of a development stage plasma gasification project proposed to be built in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada and the exclusive rights to participate in plasma gasification projects in the United States of America.

Through its subsidiary Sunbay, PowerPlay is a renewable energy developer specializing in gasification projects, and possesses the intellectual property rights, contracts and licenses necessary for the development of plasma gasification and renewable energy projects. Additionally, Sunbay has entered into an exclusive developer agreement with a world-renowned original equipment manufacturer of plasma torches, as well as a designer and operator of plasma gasification facilities.

Formal closing is subject to various conditions precedent, including drafting certain ancillary legal agreements, regulatory and board of directors' approval.

Pursuant to the agreement the Company has agreed to pay the following consideration: two million five hundred thousand (2,500,000) Newlook Industries Corp. ("Newlook") common shares, one hundred sixty seven thousand US dollars (US$167,000) and a one million two hundred fifty thousand Canadian dollar (CAD$1,250,000) senior secured debenture. The debenture pays interest at 8% per annum, will mature one year from the date of closing and may be fully repaid by the Company at any time with the delivery of five million (5,000,000) Newlook common shares. The debenture will be secured by a general security agreement over all of the assets of the Company including the intellectual property rights of the Port Hope project and the Company's interest in future USA projects. As part of the transaction the Company intends to complete a name change to better reflect the future direction of the Company.

The Company confirms that there is no relationship in this transaction involving any non-arms length party and Wireless Age, its insiders and PowerPlay or Sunbay other than a director of a Newlook insider is also a director and officer of PowerPlay and Sunbay.

Newlook is the Company's controlling shareholder currently holding an ownership percentage of approximately 55%.

For more information, please contact:

Wireless Age Communications, Inc.
John G. Simmonds
Chairman & CEO
905-833-2753 ext. 223

Source: http://tinyurl.com/kt4o79


Wireless Age Communications, Inc. (WLSA) has set a important milestone: they have signed a definitive agreement and ensured shareholder value though non-dilutive terms. The letter of intent was a non-binding contract, whereas the definitive agreement they announced this afternoon governs the terms and conditions they have reached in the acquisition.