Date: May 10, 2010 Author: Steve Dunn Source: DailyGate.com (
click here to go to the source)
U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack's assistance was sought Saturday in expediting the first test of a low-cost hydropower generator that eventually may be built in Keokuk.
Paul Roos, technical director of Amjet Turbine Systems, LLC, updated Loebsack on the company's plans to manufacture the equipment in an operation that could employ 330 people within five years.
"I'm really excited from what I've heard about this," said Loebsack, who met with Roos, Keokuk Mayor Tom Marion and a few others in the city council chambers at City Hall. "The governor and I want more jobs in this part of Iowa."
The company wants the University of Iowa to test the generation system, which would give the project greater credibility because the U of I testing facility has been described as "world class." However, Amjet would need the Federal Electrical Regulatory Commission's blessing to connect to the power grid in Iowa City, which would give the test results greater weight.
"On one hand, we have all of this potential," Roos told Loebsack. "Then we have FERC, which tends to act slowly."
Amjet has submitted an application to the Iowa Power Fund for a $630,000 grant. Roos said the Power Fund Board has given conditional approval, due in part to the Tennessee Valley Authority's support. If the grant is awarded, $430,000 would be used to build a prototype of Amjet's technology; the remaining $200,000 would be used by the U of I for the test.
"We've found a very economical way to build these units," Roos said.
Amjet is looking at producing 40 megawatts of electricity at most with its system, while the power plant at Lock 19 in Keokuk generates 300 megawatts of electricity.
"There are 82,000 dams in the U.S. Only the big ones have hydroelectric power so there is a huge potential using existing dams and smaller units up to 40 megawatts," Roos commented. "We wouldn't need a subsidy for these units to run efficiently."
According to Roos, a generator is put in the periphery of each unit, which is made from a composite material and weighs 3,000 to 4,000 pounds.
"These units can be put in a series as well as parallel," he said.
At present, hydropower accounts for only 1 percent of Iowa's annual megawatts per hour per year. However, the Department of Energy predicts that figure could reach 12.8 percent within five years.
In fact, Roos pointed out, President Barack Obama forget to mention hydropower when he visited Southeast Iowa recently and focused on renewable energy.
"That was the omission of the day," Roos said. "The hydropower that's left can fill up to 15 to 20 percent of our energy needs. With the oil spill (in the Gulf of Mexico and terrorist attack (in New York City), it's more clear than ever that we need to become energy efficient."
Amjet is looking at employing eight to 10 people initially in the Morse Rubber building in Keokuk. After two years, the operation would move to a "green park" off the bypass near ADM in Keokuk.
