PG&E starts getting gas from manure

The renewable energy industry hits the fan Tuesday in California.
Pacific Gas & Electric and BioEnergy Solutions will open a pipeline Tuesday that will deliver methane from a manure-to-gas facility on a farm in the Fresno area to the utility. Some farms in California, such as cheese maker Joseph Gallo Farms, and a number in Europe already generate gas from manure, but they also consume it to run their operations. This marks the first time that manure-generated gas will get sold across pipelines in the state.
(Credit: BioEnergy Solutions)
BioEnergy Solutions owns and operates the digester (the thing that converts the manure into gas), which is located on the 5,000-cow farm, called Vintage Dairy. The company says it will soon build digesters at other nearby farms. The Vintage Dairy facility is expected to provide enough gas for 1,200 homes. Ultimately, BioEnergy will deliver 3 billion cubic feet of gas to PG&E a year, enough gas for 50,000 homes.
Although BioEnergy and PG&E talk about how many homes the gas could serve, the utility will actually use the gas to run electrical power plants. PG&E has set a goal of generating 20 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2020, not including power from hydroelectric dams. Although the utility gets only a small amount of its power now from utilities, it has signed enough contracts to inch it past the 20 percent mark, said a spokeswoman.
A single cow is probably good for 100 watts of power after the conversions are calculated, according to some estimates. Cows crank out about 120 pounds of manure a day. Just in case you were wondering.
PG&E wouldn't say what it is paying for the gas, but contends that the prices are competitive. Manure won't be the only source of renewable gas in the future. Other companies such as Ze-Gen and Onsite Power Systems are working on converting other types of trash into power.
BioEnergy uses the storage pond method for converting manure. In a nutshell, the manure is placed in a big pond with microbes, which break down the manure. The gas from the digester--which ordinarily would float into atmosphere and contribute to greenhouse gas levels--then goes to an upgrade facility that separates the methane from other gases conjured up by the manure. The digester will prevent approximately 1,500 tons of methane, one of the more harmful greenhouse gases, getting into the atmosphere from the Vintage farm alone.
The pond at the Vintage facility can hold around 37 million gallons of water and manure, which will no doubt make for great discussions on any Cub Scout field trip. Other companies, such as Microgy, have turned to thermophilic digesters, which use a combination of heat and microbes.
The gas from BioEnergy's Vintage digester will be piped to the nearby upgrade facility, which then connects to commercial natural gas pipelines. Other farms will also pipe gas to the facility.
Besides serving as a source for natural gas, these digesters serve other environmental functions. Manure storage facilities are a source of groundwater pollution as well as greenhouse gases, so the more that's digested, the better.
Normally, getting rid of manure is a regulatory and financial headache for farmers. With digesters, however, they typically no longer have to pay disposal fees, or can even get a small fee from the operator of the digester, depending on the contract.

Intel picks 'Atom' as name for new chip family

Intel has picked "Atom" as the new brand name for its latest microprocessor, the world's largest semiconductor company said.
The Intel Atom processor is the name for the new family of low-power processors, the brains of digital devices, that will power mobile Internet devices and ultra low-cost and small notebook and desktop personal computers.
Intel sees a big market for the Internet-connected devices that can fit in one's pocket and for what it is calling the netbook, a low-cost PC costing around $250.
The Intel Atom processor is based on a new microarchitecture designed for small devices and low power consumption, Intel said. The chip is less than 25 square millimeters, and 11 of the chip's dies--the slivers of silicon with 47 million transistors each--would fit in an area the size of a U.S. penny.
The new chips, previously code-named Silverthorne and Diamondville, are made on Intel's 45-nanometer chipmaking technology and slated for introduction toward the middle of this year.
"Diamondville and Silverthorne both represent an attempt by Intel to sell chips profitably for a whole lot less," said Nathan Brookwood, an analyst at market research firm Insight 64. "This is the first new processor design coming out of Intel since the Pentium Pro in 1995."
Atom joins other Intel brands including Core, Core 2, Celeron, and Xeon, names for other processors the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company makes and sells.
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Intel also announced the Intel Centrino Atom processor technology brand aimed specifically at mobile Internet devices. It was formerly code-named Menlow.
Centrino Atom includes the Intel Atom processor, a low power companion chip with integrated graphics, a wireless radio, as well as thinner and lighter designs.
Sean Maloney, chief sales and marketing officer for Intel, said that Atom is "a fundamental new shift in design, small yet powerful enough to enable a big Internet experience on these new devices. We believe it will unleash new innovation across the industry."
Intel also said that Atom has potential for new sales dollars in consumer electronic devices and other gadgets, and said it was well positioned for growth in all of those segments with Atom's low-power architecture as a foundation.

The high price of iPhones in Ireland

The high price of iPhones in Ireland

DUBLIN, Ireland--Some of the papers are calling it the 1,200 euro phone.
Apple will bring its iPhone to Ireland on March 14, but the price the company will charge for the phone--particularly when the monthly service contract is added in--is raising eyebrows.
The 8GB iPhone sells for 399 euros (including value-added taxes) while the 16GB version goes for 499 euros. Plus, users need to sign up for service from cellular carrier O2 for 45 euros a month for a minimum of 18 months. The 45 euros per month fee, by the way, is the minimum. After 175 minutes of call time and 100 text messages, the price starts to climb.
Thus, the 8GB phone goes for 1,209 euros, while the 16GB version goes for 1,309 euros. The phones also run on slower, older networks than many other phones.
To put the price in newly devalued U.S. dollars, the 8GB equals about $600 while the 16GB version goes for nearly $760. With service fees, the 8GB sells for $1,834. In England, the 16GB iPhone, when only hardware is considered, sells for about $100 less than in Ireland.
While the price may be steep, there does seem to be a lot of interest swirling around. Chris Armstrong, CEO of PortoMedia, a Galway-based company coming out with a movie download services, loves his iPod Touch, which has the same keyboard. The same goes for Ray Nolan, CEO of Hostelworld, a portal for booking rooms in hostels. I saw a few other people with the iPod Touch at the Irish Software Association's annual conference this week.