September 3, 2008
SHEC Labs chooses Corman Park for solar farm
Alan Bell-Chambers - Country Press
A new research farm in the southwest corner of Corman Park aims to
harvest the sun's energy for commercial power generation, home heating
and the production of hydrogen for the next wave of hybrid vehicles.
Corman Park council authorized the solar research farm on Hodgson Road
as a discretionary use of the 40-acre property at its August 11
meeting.
"We've gone through years of technology development and a couple of
years of field testing. Now we have to field test commercial scale
systems." SHEC Labs President Tom Beck said the company needs space to
test several solar array designs. "This gives us an area to do some
real world testing. We have the convenience of the city and a rural
location. It's the best of both worlds."
"We've been told we have the most efficient solar thermal technology in
the world, so far as we know." Beck cannot be more certain than that
because, like the others, his company wants to protect its inventions
and innovations.
"We invented a technology that concentrates the sunlight as much as
16,000 times. It's very intense -- so intense that if you put a piece
of steel at the focus, it burns a hole through steel, like a laser. We
also had to invent a way to harness the intense sunlight. If you can
melt steel with it, how do you capture it without discernable
loss?"
The high heat comes from dozens of curved mirrors mounted on a frame
resembling a satellite dish. The mirrors reflect and focus sunlight on
a solar receiver suspended in front of the wall of glass panels. The
receiver transfers the heat to tubing filled with mineral oil, which
heats water in boilers to create steam for turbines that generate
electricity. The first receivers burned up in the focal point so the
company had to invent one that could withstand the heat. Beck said the
solution was counter-intuitive.
"You'd think a black coloured object would absorb heat very well and it
does, but if you do that you end up cooking it, melting it." Beck said
they solved the problem with reflective surfaces. "The beam comes in,
hits the reflective surface and bounces within the chamber. The energy
is absorbed over a large area within the chamber without cooking any
part of it."
The intense heat captured in the receiver can also be used in what Beck
calls district heating; distribution systems that could serve whole
neighbourhoods with in-floor heating and provide domestic hot water.
"Your home would no longer require a combustion source for your water
heater or your furnace. You would no longer have to have a chimney on
your home. You would have a central heating plant that's solar based.
It would have fossil fuel back up, in the event that you have prolonged
cloud conditions and your heat storage ran out."
The district heating and power generation ideas are offshoots from SHEC
Labs' original goal of using solar energy to make hydrogen for hybrid
vehicles. "In the last ten to 12 years, the fuel cell industry has
moved slower than anyone thought. It's still not economical for
automotive industry."
Beck said natural gas was viewed as a source, "but then it's considered
dirty hydrogen because it's derived form fossil fuels." SHEC Labs chose
methane as a feedstock for its hydrogen production process. Landfills
or biomass waste from agricultural and forestry operations provide the
methane, which is converted into hydrogen though a chemical reaction
accelerated by a catalyst and intense heat from the solar array. "We
clean up a serious pollution problem and produce an alternative clean
fuel in the process."
The high heat requirement led to the development of the solar array that
concentrates the sunlight and the receiver that won't melt. SHEC Labs
also invented a new way to attach glass to the parabolic panels for the
array.
Since the auto makers have not perfected hydrogen fuel cell technology,
Beck said they are developing their own market for their clean
hydrogen. Within weeks, the firm expects to start a conversion project
for civic vehicles in a major city in Texas. The city's fleet will be
converted so they can run on hydrogen or regular fuels. "With fleet
refueling, we don't have to worry about building a lot of stations
because fleets can go to single station to refuel."
"If you happen to be out of range of refueling station, you can still
rely on your fossil fuels. It works seamlessly." Beck said the project
would concentrate on light and heavy duty trucks because they have the
space for the extra equipment, including the hydrogen storage tank.
After a dozen years of research, Beck said the company is ready for the
commercial production stage. Using solar energy to make hydrogen is
where they started but now they're also ready to power turbines for
electrical generation and can use the arrays for hot water distribution
systems.
SHEC Labs is also working on direct electrical generation with
photovoltaic panels but they have to solve another problem. Using the
parabolic mirrors to focus sunlight on the semi-conductor chips that
convert light into electricity makes the chips more efficient but also
reduces their longevity. "When you concentrate sunlight on them they
age much more rapidly. We are working to try to extend the age."
"If you can make a system at a quarter of the cost that lasts half as
long as the traditional system, it would be worthwhile." Beck said the
solar research farm in Corman Park would help them determine the
cost-benefit ratio of their systems. It also gives them the space to
erect larger arrays so they can confirm optimum sizes for the various
applications.
As the firm draws closer to commercial production stage, SHEC Labs is
hosting a steady stream of people from power companies in Europe and
the Orient. Beck believes the company is maturing at the right time,
citing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and a heightened focus
on alternative energy.
"A major incident in the world that disrupts the supply could devastate
the economy of the United States." Since the US imports 70 percent of
its fossil fuel needs, energy security is a buzzword and Beck offers
hydrogen and solar energy as part of the solution.
He also notes that India and China, with one third of the world's
population, are putting thousands of cars on the roads as they strive
to match western lifestyles. Their growing demand will push oil prices
higher making hydrogen more attractive as an automotive fuel.
The increasing popularity of electric-gasoline hybrid vehicles will
produce more demand for electricity and SHEC Labs is ready to offer
solar powered electrical generation. Coincidently, hydrogen is needed
in the manufacture of photovoltaic semi-conductor chips.
Convinced his company will benefit, Beck relishes the new competition
among American states and other nations, all striving to take the lead
in alternative energy. However, while SHEC Labs may appear to be ready
for the future, Beck said the company is constantly seeking better
systems. "We always want to be the company that obsoletes our old
technology. You want to be in that position. You don't want another
company to obsolete you. You want to obsolete yourself."
