Combined wind, biomass power proposed

Wind would be the primary source of energy backed up by biomass furnaces to make up the shortfall.

July 21, 1999
Web posted at: 1:51 p.m. EDT (1751 GMT)

(ENN) -- A Lawrence, Kan., man has conceptualized an energy system that combines the power of the wind and the burning of biomass, such as municipal waste. The system, he said, could help remedy climate change woes.

"Such a system could call up solid fuels to back up a wind system when the wind doesn't blow," said Les Blevins, president of the Advanced Alternative Energy Corp.

Blevins has yet to construct the system and will not release details of how the system works until he has secured patents for the technology. In 1993, he secured a patent for the biomass portion of the system, called the Sequential Grates System.

However, he said energy would primarily be generated through wind turbines. When the wind begins to drop, system operators would dispatch the biomass burning furnaces to make up the shortfall.

"I'm envisioning a power plant that can take municipal solid waste and turn it into energy and return it to the community," he said. Such a system can exceed 80 percent efficiency, compared to just 32 percent efficiency for conventional electricity systems such as coal-fired power plants.

Blevins believes that his technology is adaptable for both developing and developed nations. "It is clean, efficient, low cost, modular, scalable, expandable and provides waste disposal and energy independence," he said.

According to Blevins, the technology is also applicable in the fight to slow down and prevent climate change. Renewable energies, such as wind power and biomass burning, produce much less, if any, carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is the most prevalent greenhouse gas.

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