Community Power Corporation

Does anyone know about this company? www.gocpc.com. They seem to have very sophisticated power generating based on biomass. Since I live in corn country it would be a natural. They have a lot of information online. I am no engineer or electrician, but am very excited about the potential. They use Stirlling engines, and high tech gasification etc. I haven't seen any prices, so that is the big unknown. They are pre commercial , but are aiming at between $700 kW and $3,500 kW. I guess depending on the scale of the unit. Is this highly competitive? What is their competition?
I am a new member, and not yet technically savvy. Just got a corn stove that meets about 80% of my heating needs. Am now looking for a generator for my lighting and air conditioning. I am on two lots, not acreage, so I don't think I could get any kind of wind tubine approved. I don't know the payback time for solar in Central Illinois. Does PV work as well in winter, as in summer? Aside from when covered with frost or snow. I would want to consider a solar roof on the three sunniest sides. I have a pyramidal roof. I am doing this for practical reasons, so don't want to waste money on an impractical, unproven system. It would replace an old roof.
I am also interested in a water cooled system. I have an old well near the house.
Would appreciate any advice.
All the best,
Ron Wagner

ronwagn wrote:

Does anyone know about this company? www.gocpc.com. They seem to have very sophisticated power generating based on biomass. Since I live in corn country it would be a natural. They have a lot of information online. I am no engineer or electrician, but am very excited about the potential. They use Stirlling engines, and high tech gasification etc. I haven't seen any prices, so that is the big unknown. They are pre commercial , but are aiming at between $700 kW and $3,500 kW.

Is that $700 / kW? I've got a little over 1kW of wind/solar which cost a good bit more than $3500. Otoh, much of my cost is batteries - and unless you're going to use it grid-tied, you'd still need those. For the actual generation, even at the high end, that would compete with solar. At the low end ($700/kW) it would compete very favorably with many alternative systems.

I guess depending on the scale of the unit. Is this highly competitive? What is their competition?

biodiesel could be cheaper - but that's because we haven't saturated the sources of used fryer oil yet.

Does PV work as well in winter, as in summer?

There's a few issues there. The actual PV _generation_ is more efficient in cooler temperatures. I also find that at noon, because of reflection off snow & ice, I get more peak power. Of course, there's longer days in Summer, but since many of them are foggy out here on the coast, I generally figure I get more power in winter. That's definitely not true for everybody. Counter to that, if your batteries are not kept at room temperature (and who wants to keep them in the house...) they're _less_ efficient and can't store as much - so they should be well insulated. -- derek

If you wish to learn about generators for longterm 24/7 use, go to utterpower.com For wind and solar try otherpower.com Good luck

"Derek Broughton" wrote in message

ronwagn wrote:
Does anyone know about this company? www.gocpc.com. They seem to have very sophisticated power generating based on biomass. Since I live in corn country it would be a natural. They have a lot of information online. I am no engineer or electrician, but am very excited about the potential. They use Stirlling engines, and high tech gasification etc. I haven't seen any prices, so that is the big unknown. They are pre commercial , but are aiming at between $700 kW and $3,500 kW.
Is that $700 / kW? I've got a little over 1kW of wind/solar which cost a good bit more than $3500. Otoh, much of my cost is batteries - and unless you're going to use it grid-tied, you'd still need those. For the actual generation, even at the high end, that would compete with solar. At the low end ($700/kW) it would compete very favorably with many alternative systems.
I guess depending on the scale of the unit. Is this highly competitive? What is their competition?
biodiesel could be cheaper - but that's because we haven't saturated the sources of used fryer oil yet.
Does PV work as well in winter, as in summer?
There's a few issues there. The actual PV _generation_ is more efficient in cooler temperatures. I also find that at noon, because of reflection off snow & ice, I get more peak power. Of course, there's longer days in Summer, but since many of them are foggy out here on the coast, I generally figure I get more power in winter. That's definitely not true for everybody. Counter to that, if your batteries are not kept at room temperature (and who wants to keep them in the house...) they're _less_ efficient and can't store as much - so they should be well insulated. -- derek

What about storing the energy as weight?
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ashley Clarke -------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the info.
Ron Wagner

Thanks for the tip.
Ron Wagner