Bus, Library, Platform, Ski Resort

The Beijing bus happens to be an electric hybrid vehicle. A hybrid vehicle uses an engine to power an electric generator. The electricity from the generator powers a motor that turns the wheels. And the wheels on the bus go ‘round and ‘round.

But even better, this bus puts out ultra-low emissions. That’s because reducing engine emissions is critical in China, where pollution is so bad. The electricity that powers the bus comes from an on-board device called a “microturbine.” In the case of the Beijing bus, this is a small engine that burns compressed natural gas. The gas spins a turbine and generates electricity. And it moves that bus.

OK, but how is the Chinese bus similar to the Reagan Library? Well, the Reagan Library also gets its electricity from microturbines. There are 16 microturbines at the Reagan Library, delivering over 95 percent of the power that the large building uses. (Large? Hey, the Reagan Library houses an entire Boeing 707, the former Air Force One, in a gigantic hangar section.)

The microturbines at the Reagan Library burn natural gas. The gas comes from the regional pipeline system. So yes, the library buys natural gas. But it hardly ever has an electricity bill. Even better, the heat from the turbines actually gets recycled to run the library cooling system.

Yes, you read that right. At the Reagan Library, the heat runs the cooling system. I know it seems strange, kind of like Reaganomics did at first. But hey, it works. And the library has much lower electric costs than if it bought power from the Southern California grid. The microturbines eliminate all but a small electrical connection to the larger grid. The process is highly efficient.

And how about that ski resort near St. Petersburg? It too is off the electric grid. But without a reliable source of power, the Russian resort is out of business. So the resort uses a series of microturbines that burn natural gas (and it being Russia, sometimes kerosene). These microturbines are the sole source of power and heat for a luxury hotel and other facilities like chairlifts and water pumps.

Out in the Gulf of Alaska and the North Sea, many offshore platforms now obtain power from rugged microturbines. These platforms are no ski resorts or stately libraries. These platforms are serious industrial facilities, exposed to salt water and the heaviest storms that Mother Nature can blow at them. And there are earthquakes in Alaska.

Traditionally, almost all offshore platforms have used diesel generators to crank out power to run the on-board systems. Things like oil pumps, lighting and signaling devices, and crew quarters. This requires that the platform operators send out diesel fuel by barge to the platforms. Then they have to pump the fuel into holding tanks.