When the Power Goes Out, Renewable Energy Trailer Goes to Work in Michigan

August 12th, 2009 by Jeff Kart

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Here’s a feather in the cap of renewable energy supporters.

When the (baseload, coal and nuclear) power went out after storms in Muskegon, a mobile renewable energy unit came to the rescue.

Mobile Gen LLC, an energy company based in Houston, Texas, has been testing a new mobile power generation trailer at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab in Muskegon. The lab is an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The NOAA facility lost its power after a Sunday storm, and the mobile unit kicked into action, giving off juice for a field station, classrooms and scientific equipment, reports The Muskegon Chronicle.

The story adds that the mobile unit, a 20-foot utility trailer with two wind turbines, five solar panels, battery storage and a propane hydrogen generator, is actually able to power the facilities indefinitely.

You can’t go and buy one just yet. The prototype was built in Elkart, Indiana, famous for travel trailers. It’s intended for use by the military, disaster response and government agencies like NOAA, which also runs the National Weather Service, quite appropriately.

Also appropriate: The trailer will be marketed as well to recreational vehicle enthusiasts.

A writer at Blogging for Michigan observes that the Mobile Gen is supplying 50 percent of the facility’s power, and may go into service at other remote government sites for full-time power in the future.

(Image Credit: Leaning power line. By Tammra, via Flickr.)

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Tags: Electricity, Energy, Indiana, Michigan, Texas

About the Author

Jeff Kart is typing about issues in the Great Lakes, from advanced biofuels to zero-emission vehicles. Jeff is an environmental journalist and social media evangelist based in Michigan, where the summers are short, the winters are cold, and the stories are plentiful.

russ

Hi Jeff – Went to the article.

1. 5 PV panels for 1 kW – in good sunshine and with batteries might supply 500 watts per hour? Maybe 6 hours per day – that far north is probably less.

2. 2 wind turbines – no name or model there – rated at 3 kW each. With a wind turbine you use a capacity factor of maybe 35% (on the extreme high end of the 10 to 35% range) So 35% * 6 kW *24 = 50 kW per day with a 12 m/s wind speed. At 5 m/s (which is more typical) you might get a fraction of that.

Maybe 50 kW per day – fortunately they do have the generator which would be far less costly. Why not just start with the generator and save the bucks? Carry along enough fuel for a week.

Wouldn’t be as green but more productive, cost effective and practical.

I like wind & PV but have great difficulty seeing them as practical emergency service devices.
russ

Hi Jeff – Went to the article.

1. 5 PV panels for 1 kW – in good sunshine and with batteries might supply 500 watts per hour? Maybe 6 hours per day – that far north is probably less.

2. 2 wind turbines – no name or model there – rated at 3 kW each. With a wind turbine you use a capacity factor of maybe 35% (on the extreme high end of the 10 to 35% range) So 35% * 6 kW *24 = 50 kW per day with a 12 m/s wind speed. At 5 m/s (which is more typical) you might get a fraction of that.

Maybe 50 kW per day – fortunately they do have the generator which would be far less costly. Why not just start with the generator and save the bucks? Carry along enough fuel for a week.

Wouldn’t be as green but more productive, cost effective and practical.

I like wind & PV but have great difficulty seeing them as practical emergency service devices.
http://jeffkart.com Jeff Kart

Russ,

According to The Muskegon Chronicle story (linked above), the standard output is 7 kilowatts of electricity, which can be increased by using the propane generator.

Jeff.
http://jeffkart.com Jeff Kart

Russ,

According to The Muskegon Chronicle story (linked above), the standard output is 7 kilowatts of electricity, which can be increased by using the propane generator.

Jeff.
MD

If they have a railway available, the locals can use diesel locomotives as generators.

The locomotives can be tied into the local grid, of course they need to disconnect portions of the line that are damaged or being worked on.

That is what was used when the substation under the World Trade Center was destroyed.
MD

If they have a railway available, the locals can use diesel locomotives as generators.

The locomotives can be tied into the local grid, of course they need to disconnect portions of the line that are damaged or being worked on.

That is what was used when the substation under the World Trade Center was destroyed.
Mr. Sinister

Maybe it’s just me, but in the midst of a natural disaster or other such catastrophe, I’d sure feel a lot more comfortable with a heavy duty generator and a big tank of diesel rather than a few solar panels and a couple of wind turbines.
Mr. Sinister

Maybe it’s just me, but in the midst of a natural disaster or other such catastrophe, I’d sure feel a lot more comfortable with a heavy duty generator and a big tank of diesel rather than a few solar panels and a couple of wind turbines.
russ

How much power does this ‘wonder machine’ generate. Not much I expect.

The propane/hydrogen generator must supply virtually all the capacity.
russ

How much power does this ‘wonder machine’ generate. Not much I expect.

The propane/hydrogen generator must supply virtually all the capacity.