Microturbines - alternative energy source
Nice link from
No Watermellons to an article in
Technology Review on Microturbines.
These are small electrical and thermal generators that can use a wide range of fuels and provide 25 to 250 KW of power. Uses the same sort of engine as a jet airliner only smaller and quieter.
bq. While it’s probably still true that all politics is local, all power is not. Most businesses still rely on large, central electric-generation utilities for the juice to run their operations. But that’s changing. Faced with soaring prices, a doubling of demand in recent decades, and an aging power grid susceptible to blackouts, an increasing number of small- to medium-size businesses want local control over their power supply. That can mean literally putting it in their back yards.
bq. Among the most economical, cleanest-burning and most fuel-efficient of the new power sources now emerging is the microturbine. Commercially available for only about three years, microturbines are small combustion turbines that consume natural gas or a variety of other fuels to produce 25 to 250 kilowatts of power. About as tall as a good-sized man and two or three times as wide, these compact dynamos—cousins of the engines that power jet airplanes—can be parked right next to a business facility.
Cool stuff - the company that was mentioned in the article
Capstone has a good website with lots of info about this technology.
Posted by DaveH at February 12, 2004 1:27 PM