Since then, the Park City, Utah-based small business received early funding from DOE, which catalyzed investment from the California Energy Commission and private sources and ensured that the promise of the company's innovative technology could be realized at commercial scale. As a testament to the importance of DOE's investment in innovative small businesses, Wind Tower Systems' 100-meter "Space Frame Tower" technology was acquired by General Electric Company (GE) in early February.
The innovative design of the taller wind turbine towers can product more power because higher-altitude winds are stronger and the towers can be outfitted with longer blades. The combination of stronger winds and longer blades enable the turbines to capture more energy, improving wind farm developers' return on investment per unit.
With the support of $850,000 in Phase I and II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from DOE in 2002 and 2003, Wind Tower Systems was able to complete the final engineering design for the 100-meter wind turbine tower that GE now plans to market. See the complete Energyblog post.
A Biofuels First: Producing Isobutanol from Cellulose
Researchers at DOE's BioEnergy Science Center have achieved another advance in the drive toward creating next-generation biofuels by using bacteria to convert plant matter directly into isobutanol.
Using consolidated bioprocessing-a one-step process to produce biofuels-the team produced isobutanol directly from cellulose for the first time.
Higher-grade alcohols such as isobutanol are better candidates for replacing gasoline than ethanol because they have an energy density, octane value, and volatility that's much closer to gasoline.
The process highlights the possibility of creating a new industry using bio-material such as wheat and rice straw, lumber wastes, corn stover, and specially-developed plants to produce biofuels.
The research is part of a broad DOE effort to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and to create new economic opportunities for rural America. Researchers at DOE's BioEnergy Science Center, led by DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), conducted the work. The team's findings are published online in the journal "Applied and Environmental Microbiology." See the press releases from DOE and ORNL, as well as the BioEnergy Science Center website.
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EERE Network News is a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
