http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1018/p02s01-sten.html
The latest investor in green energy - the CIA
*Within hours, solar and wind energy units can be up and running in war
or disaster zones.*
*By John Dillin* | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
*ARLINGTON, VA.* - What if you had a power unit that generated
substantial electrical energy with no fuel? What if it were so rugged
that you could parachute it out of an airplane? What if it were so easy
to set up that two people could have it running in just a few hours?
Now there is such a device - built by a small Virginia start-up - and
the federal government has taken notice.
SkyBuilt Power Inc. has begun building electricity-generating units
fueled mostly by solar and wind energy. The units, which use a battery
backup system when the sun is down and the wind is calm, are designed
to run for years with little maintenance.
Depending upon its configuration, SkyBuilt's Mobile Power Station (MPS)
can generate up to 150 kilowatts of electricity, says David Muchow, the
firm's president and CEO. That's enough to power an emergency
operations center, an Army field kitchen, or a small medical facility.
Privately owned SkyBuilt now has a new investor - In-Q-Tel, a venture
capital firm set up by the US Central Intelligence Agency. Skybuilt and
In-Q-Tel will announce Tuesday that they have signed a strategic
development agreement, including an investment in SkyBuilt.
In-Q-Tel's support is a breakthrough for the small firm. (The "Q" in
In-Q-Tel is a whimsical play on the movie character "Q" who supplies
James Bond with nifty gadgets.) SkyBuilt provides innovative energy
solutions with the potential to help meet a wide variety of critical
government and commercial power needs, says Gilman Louie, In-Q-Tel
president and CEO.
The power stations could have important uses for disaster relief,
homeland security, military operations, intelligence work, and a
variety of commercial applications. The units are not yet designed for use by
homeowners.
Though it is not mentioned, SkyBuilt units would have obvious
applications in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, where soldiers risk
their lives over long supply lines to truck in fuel for generators.
After hurricane Katrina, SkyBuilt units could have been rushed to the
scene and set up in hours, restoring power to hospitals, evacuee
centers, police and fire departments, and cellphone towers.
One big drawback of solar energy until now has been that it was a
"custom industry," says Scott Sklar, vice president of SkyBuilt.
Components are usually put together on-site, and differ from location
to
location. "When you buy a car, do they ship in all the pieces to your
front yard and have somebody assemble it? I'm afraid not. We [at
SkyBuilt] learned something from Henry Ford," he adds.
SkyBuilt follows the Ford model. Its MPS units are what Sklar calls
"plop and drop, plug and play."
It works this way: Parts for each Skybuilt unit are packed into
standard-size shipping containers. The containers, specially modified
and strengthened, can be moved by ship, truck, train, or even dropped
by a laser-guided parachute to the most remote location.
Once on-site, the container is opened, and arms and poles are attached
to the outside to hold solar cells and wind turbines. A prototype built
here in Arlington has been running steadily for more than a year
without repairs or maintenance.
While SkyBuilt has 140 patent claims on its energy system, most of its
individual component parts are widely available. Mr. Muchow explains
that its MPS can use photovoltaic cells, small wind turbines,
computers, batteries, and other parts from essentially any manufacturer.
This open architecture allows its MPS units to be upgraded whenever a
battery or other manufacturer comes out with a better product. It also
reduces costs.
This was attractive to In-Q-Tel. The government could develop its own
advanced technology (as "Q" might do). But it is far less costly to
support technology like SkyBuilt's that also finds a larger market in
the private sector, says Troy Pearsall, vice president of technology at
In-Q-Tel.
In-Q-Tel, meanwhile, has signed agreements similar to this one with
more than 80 companies since it was set up in 1999. Its mission is to
identify and invest in firms with cutting-edge technologies that can
aid US national security.
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