August 15, 2007

Global Monitor (August 2007)

Iowa welcomes ethanol-fed hog

That familiar, ear-splitting, pulsating rumble and roar you hear is the power of corn.

Paul Teutul Sr. and his sons, Paul Jr. and Mikey—the stars of the cable TV hit "American Chopper" and the proprietors of Orange County Choppers—have converted a stock Harley-Davidson motorcycle to run on E85 fuel (85% corn-based ethanol and 15% gasoline). The "corn chopper" is part of an Iowa Farm Bureau (IFB) program called "Join the Ride Iowa" that seeks to boost development of renewable energy from the U.S. corn belt.

Craig Lang, president of the IFB, an independent farmers' organization, said his group got involved in the project "because Iowa is the epicenter of renewable energy activity through our leadership in ethanol, soy biodiesel, wind, and livestock production." More than any other state, Iowa understands agriculture and we knew if anyone could showcase that, it would be the Teutuls."

The striking motorcycle (Figure 3) has some unusual elements designed to feature renewable energy:

• Wheel spinners that "run to the scale of a genuine wind turbine," reflecting the state's burgeoning wind industry.
• Front fenders with sculpted ears of corn, and rear fenders embedded with soybeans. Iowa is America's leading producer of corn, beans, ethanol, and biodiesel.
• Custom leather seats that include images of livestock, another important part of the state's agricultural economy and the consumers of the by-products of ethanol production.

3. Corn chopper. Orange County Choppers impresario Paul Teutul Sr. revs up the motorcycle he built for the Iowa Farm Bureau to promote biofuels. In the background, on the left, are sons Paul Jr. and Mikey. Courtesy: Iowa Farm Bureau

Paul Teutul Jr. said, "We had no idea Iowa had so many cutting-edge renewable energy efforts under way until we came to the state for inspiration" during the motorcycle's design. He added that Iowans "are literally using every component of agriculture" to change energy use in the U.S. The IFB news release did not quote Paul Sr., probably because most of his remarks would have been unprintable.

Iowans and others will have a chance to win the corn chopper this summer by buying $10 raffle tickets. Gross proceeds from the raffle will go to the American Lung Association of Iowa to support its consumer education program promoting E85.

Orange County Choppers isn't just another small California custom motorcycle shop; it's a big business. The company has five dealers in New York, Michigan, Texas, Colorado, and Florida, and is actively recruiting more.

NYPA upgrades pumped-storage plant

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has upgraded one of the four units at its 1,000-MW Blenheim-Gilboa pumped-storage plant to meet summer peak loads. The effort is part of a multiyear plant life-extension project.

The newly refurbished generating unit (Figure 4) resumed operation in late May after having been out of service since September 2006. A second unit will be shut down for upgrading this September and is slated to return to service in June 2008. The plan is to refurbish all four units by 2010.

4. Heavy lifting. This 190,000-pound turbine was installed as part of the staged refurbishment of the New York Power Authority's 1,000-MW Blenheim-Gilboa pumped storage project in the Catskill Mountains. Courtesy: NYPA

Blenheim-Gilboa began operations in 1973. Its turbines generate power by drawing water from two high reservoirs when needed, typically during hot summer weekdays. When demand ebbs, at night and on weekends, the turbines pump water back up to the reservoirs. "A key goal of this first stage of the project was to return the first refurbished generating unit to service before this summer, and we achieved it," said Allen Schriver, NYPA regional manager for central New York.

Each of the two reservoirs can hold about five billion gallons of water. The top reservoir is atop Brown Mountain, and the lower one is 1,200 feet below. According to NYPA, the plant can start generating power within two minutes of a call for it.

According to a NYPA press release, the $135 million upgrade of the first unit "will allow Blenheim-Gilboa to produce more power from the same amount of water while extending the facility's record for reliable service for decades ahead."

Last December, NYPA inked a 15-year deal to upgrade its Niagara Power Project near Niagara Falls. Earlier, the state-owned public power agency started a life-extension project at its St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt project in Massena, N.Y., on the Canadian border. That project, said NYPA, should be completed by 2013.

Created when Franklin D. Roosevelt was governor of New York, Manhattan-based NYPA is the largest state-owned electric utility, with 18 power plants and more than 1,400 miles of transmission lines. Hydro plants account for about 75% of NYPA's generating capacity. NYPA was the model for the federally owned Tennessee Valley Authority, which Roosevelt created when he was president.