Synergy Module

A beta copy of the Synergy Data application is now online and can be accessed with the following credentials. It is incomplete and buggy but it works. Thanks Jason, well done!

http://84.203.147.117/
user: jsmith@no.mail
pass: jsmith

Almost every day, a new update will be deployed so check back frequently.

www.synergymodule.com will shortly be changing from a blog to a commercial Website. But don’t worry, the blog will still be accessible from the menus of the Website. The following graphic is a designer’s idea of what the new Website will look like.

Deeper penetration of renewables onto the electical grid is facilitated by linking regional grids using high voltage interconnects. I am a supported of TREC as you will see from previous posts. I found the following proposal on www.airtricity.com

These interconnects act both as a way of landing electrical energy from offshore wind farms as well as interconnecting the grids on both sides of the link. Full details are available on:-

SuperGrid

Over the past few months a growing group of parties interesed in DR have started to communicate. We had a teleconference a while back and a meeting is proposed in Tallagh at 11:00am on 28th August, 2008. The text of an email circulated to confirm the time and venue is below. As I havn’t permission to publish names the persons names in the text below are covered in Xs. If anyone else wants to attend they will be more than welcome to do so.

 ______________________ 

Dear All,

Everyone that replied is available to meet on 28th August 2008 in Dublin. 11:00am has been suggested to allow those travelling from Belfast and Cork to arrive. The response and enthusiasm has been exceptional with many people coming from Belfast, one from England, and of course XXX XXXXX and I will be representing Cork. It seems like there are quite a few closet DR fans.

XXXX XXXXX has kindly booked a room for us at the Synergy Centre in Tallagh. This is on the campus of the Institute of Technology, Tallagh (ITT). A map is available on the following web page.

http://www.wirelitesensors.com/index_files/page435.asp

I am still working at engaging the parties to the Smart Metering project. It would be great if we could get a representative to attend. I will follow up with XXXX XXXXX of CER and XXXXX XXXXXXX of SEI prior to the meeting to see if they want to be represented. If anyone can suggest a Smart Metering contact at ESBN I would appreciate same. I see DR and Smart metering as mutually enabling technologies.

Although not for this upcoming meeting we need to engage the Suppliers also. If anyone has a good contact list (XXX XXXXX??) of suppliers they might circulate an email letting them know that the group exists and asking for their involvement. Suppliers may be interested in DSU projects or might be interested in real time pass through tariffs (ie like PPPT) that reduce their need for hedging. The suppliers buy energy on an SMP that varies by 300% on a typical day and it is often much more yet almost every consumer sees electricity as having a constant price.

Private investment of around €5 Billion is expected in Wind Energy through Gate 3. Curtailment policies, if implemented will cripple this investment opportunity. A key objectives of DR is to facilitate deeper renewables penetration. XXX XXXX has asked IWEA for an opportunity to allow a presentation from our Group to speak at their next conference in The Europa Hotel, Belfast on Friday 3rd October. Andy Frew suggested that we pre arrange future DR Group meetings, one in advance. I would therefore like to suggest the possibility of having the second next meeting of the DR Group on the morning of 4th October in Belfast. Perhaps we could discuss this at the meeting 28th. Will the Suppliers have representatives at the IWEA conference?

We need to bring CHP investors into the discussions on DR also. Demand for hot water and peak loads coinside. CHP generators should use the same technology as DR and react in real time to real time pricing. CHP vendors are telling me they are ham strung by not being able to export surplus energy (at peak times).

Peak Oil has probably occurred and peak gas cannot be that far away. Therefore we must move from a pure flexible supply / inflexible demand model to a more inflexible supply / flexible demand model for electricity supply. The importance of DR and Smart Metering will become vital in this paradigm shift. We will have to add a layer of realtime supply and demand based on realtime pricing signals on top of the existing D-1 planning processes outlined in the current Trading and Settlement Code. (An english translation of the Latin text is due for release soon. It took 1600 years to translate the Bible so thats not bad

As a final point, I am hugely interested in the concept of TREC (www.desertec.org). Brown, Merkel and Sarkozy are now pushing this plan as was in the news recently. If Europe is linked via the UK into a high voltage DC network then we could in theory become a net exporter of energy especially as night when the solar plants on the south of Europe are off and our loads are at their lowest. I have personally offered my services to TREC to promote their plan in the Irish context if they wish me to do so. As well as securing our energy future this plan has the opportunity of delivering peace in the Middle East and offering income to northern Africa. This plan is proposing 20GW by 2020 and 400GW by 2050. Brown recently said the ‘North Sea could be the new Gulf in terms of its potential to generate wind energy’. This island wants a slice of that action too. Did you know that Middle East sovereign wealth funds are lined up to invest in projects like TREC. Credit crunch me @r53!

The difficulties are not technical they are educational. I would like to see the DR Group contract with a media presenter such as David McWilliams or Duncan Stewart to develop a TV documentary on the global energy changes occurring and what our strategy as an island is, and should be, to meet those challenges. My biggest fear is that the Irish energy debate shrinks down to one of whether we should have a Nuclear Power plant or not. That question is irrelevant. We don’t have a competitive advantage in nuclear technology or production. We have the best wind sites in the world. We should lead the world in renewables. And we should lead the world in the export of Smart Grid and DR technology. I told Enterprise Ireland this, so I did. Didn’t I, XXXXXXX.

I am on holiday this coming week. No international flights, you will be glad to hear. Just a tour of the Antrim coast in a fuel efficient Prius. I will respond to any emails after the 27th July.

See you all soon!

Jerry Sweeney

Synergy Module

www.synergymodule.com

021 4854300

087 6681692

The importance of the Exponential function keeps turning up in every significant analysis on the subject of supply and demand of fossil fuels. To see why watch the following two YouTube videos. The second video is in eight parts. It is well worth the time and effort involved. The first video projects a popular image of how us technologists see the progressive world we live in today. After you watch the second video, my guess is you will change your view on the message of the first video.

The First Video : - Exponential Times

The Second Video : - The Most IMPORTANT Video You’ll Ever See

On June 8th 2007, Eirgrid published a paper on wind energy cost implications. See my blog, on 14th June 2007, for details and for correspondence I had with them regarding the, in my opinion, very optimistic price projections for gas. In essence that paper seemed to me to suggest that wind wasn’t fully economical unless gas reached €0.80/therm and the projections suggested that might never happen or if it did it might be after 2020.

 A year ago I was confused that no account for risks associated with peak oil or peak gas were factored into the plans. So what happened?

Gas prices now are €0.20/therm higher than they were expected to be in 2026. Is there anyone on the planet that believes gas prices will fall by 30% between now and 2026? If there is I’d like to share their medication.

Boone Pickens has ordered 667 1.5MW wind turbines from GE at a cost of US$2 Billion. That investment will yield an average of 300MW of electricity. What I find interesting is his ‘Pickens Plan’. I would like to see someone put forward such a plan for Ireland’s energy needs.

If BMW are backing the H2 economy then I better look at it again! Air Products PLC are the UK subsidiary of the largest H2 company in the world. I left the following message on their web site. Again I will publish any reply I get.

_________________________________ 

 I am researching the use of H2 as a motor fuel. Can you supply me with the following information:-

1) Capital cost of equipment to produce H2 from electricity at night and store same.
2) Maintenance and depreciation cost of same.
3) Efficiency of the H2 electrolysis production process.
4) Cost and availability of conversion kits for existing vehicles
5) Eqivalent motive output of H2 versus petrol or diesel.

My research is investigating ways to facilitate renewable penetration onto the electrical grid by consuming excess electrical energy at certain times for the production of H2.

I left the following message on www.bmw.com. The message is self explanatory. I will publish any reply I get.

_______________________________ 

I am really upset with BMW. I just watched John Doerr’s talk on www.TED.com about climate change to find that BMW sponsored the video and put an advetisement for a V8 motor car at the end.

My last car was a 320D. My current car is a Prius. In our home we want a small electric car for short runs and a plug in hybrid for longer family trips. My family will not buy another car until we can buy what we deem to be eco friendly enough. As time passes people that think like me will become less of an anomaly.

This message and any reply you send me will be shown on my blog, www.synergymodule.com.

 _________________________ 

BMW contacted me on Monday, by email, to ask for my postal address. I received the following message from them on Thursday.

______________________________
Dear Mr Sweeney

Thank you for making us aware of your thoughts in relation to the current threats to our planet. BMW sponsorship of the talk given by John Doerr is significant in that it confirms BMW’s support of the power of ideas and underwriting the distribution of talks on the TED website.

Please be assured that BMW are very aware of the current need for saving the planet.  The research BMW are developing is along the lines of hydrogen fuel because this is an infinitely renewable resource and, although 100 BMW Hydrogen 7 series have been built and are currently being tested, there are as yet no hydrogen filling stations to provide this fuel. The BMW Group has been committed to hydrogen technology as a means of reducing car emissions, in particular CO2 emissions, for over 20 years.  When running in the hydrogen mode, the BMW Hydrogen 7 emits nothing but water vapour.  Unlike fossil fuels and traditional petrol, hydrogen is available in virtually infinite supply when renewable energies such as solar, wind and wave power are used to produce the liquid hydrogen.  Stored in a hi-tech tank which keeps the fuel at a pressure of 3-5 bar and a consistent temperature of -250C, liquid hydrogen offers significant advantages in energy density compared to other possible alternative fuel sources to enhance the cruising range of the car.
Additionally, there are Company publications confirming the BMW Group’s commitment to sustainability, energy strategy for the future and recycling of end-of-life vehicles at www.bmweducation.co.uk/publications/ which you may find of interest.  The publications reflect the research and development that BMW are devoting to the search for alternatives not only for the future but also for the environmentally focussed disposal of vehicles that are no longer required or fit for purpose.

BMW are committed to improving the consumption of fossil fuels by reducing the level of consumption of petrol and diesel, by improving the mileage range per tank of fuel, by introducing technical developments such as the stop/start function as well as brake regeneration.  If you would like further guidance on any of these aspects, they are more fully described on the EfficientDynamics website which can be accessed via the following link:

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/efficient_dynamics/

We very much hope that this guidance reassures you that BMW do take the influences on the earth very seriously and would suggest that on-going research and development by the Company is committed to constantly improving current levels of consumption as well as focussing on future developments which will offer the use of not only cleaner fuels but also those which are finite - such as oil and bio-diesel.

If you wish to discuss any of these aspects further, please do contact me as I would be very glad to have the opportunity to talk to you about any or all of these issues.

Yours sincerely

Elfriede McNeal

Customer Service Executive
BMW Ireland
Tel: +353 1 890719420
Email: customerinformation (at) bmw.ie

_______________________________

I am impressed by the way BMW responsed. I am sceptical about their comittment to the ‘Hydrogen’ economy but I accept that it is their opinion and I acknowledge that BMW has a lot of clever people.

I did some more research. They have produced 100 units of 7 Series BMWs that are dual fuel, petrol and H2. You can’t buy these 300BHP vehiccles. They are lending them to key decision makers. The problem is of course having H2 stations where you can go to refuel the car. There is a website, www.h2stations.org , that lists H2 stations but it is offline today.

The central topic of this blog is demand response. However the two imperative drivers for DR are climate change and the economic fallout of peak oil. I don’t know which is going to affect my children more. What follows are two videos I watched this weekend, one on each topic.

The following TED conference speech, addressing what we need to do to avoid climate change, is unusual in that at the end we see the depth of emotion in the speaker regarding climate change.

If the above video addresses the fear of climate change then the following video, of Congressman Bartlett, speaks to the fear of the economic fallout of peak oil. This is the first in a sequence on YouTube. The entire set takes an hour to watch. It is worth taking the time.

I was really impressed by the Webcast by Mary Ann Piette I found yesterday so I did a search and found this one as well. Its even better! This evening I rang Mary Ann and asked her who produced the boxes that she demonstrated during her talks. The Synergy Module type device she demonstrated is made by Akuacom (www.akuacom.com).