The squad of American troops burst through the door, only to find that their terrorist targets had fled. There was a pile of shredded documents which was carefully gathered up and taken back to base.

Now, reconstructing shredded documents takes brute force, thousands of man hours, or lots and lots of computer processing with little chance of success. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is wondering if there is a better way. It created the DARPA Shredder Challenge, with a first prize of $50,000, to see if the general public can create an effective method of piecing back together shredded documents.

DARPA is the “what if” part of the Pentagon, funding a huge variety of research. They have funded such things as stealth technology, anthropomorphic mechanical arms and hypersonic vehicles. A big chunk of their funds go to “black” or secret research. Their site reads that DARPA is the place for “high-risk, high-payoff research, development and demonstration of new technologies and systems that serve the warfighter and the Nation’s defense.”

The challenge is massive. There are dozens of brands and hundreds of models of shredders. Some shred in strips while others cross cut. Each produces a shred piece that is different than the others.

Then, there is the document. How big is each piece of paper and are they printed on one side or both sides? What language is used or is the document a code?

Document reconstruction is a complex process involving engineering and computer software. DARPA has created five puzzles, each of increasing complexity. The document for each puzzle must be reassembled in order to see the puzzle and then the puzzle has to be answered. The deadline for solutions is December 4, with the winner being announced the following day.

One of the most inconvenient aspects of renewable energy solutions such as wind or solar power is that the energy is produced with no regard to the actual needs of the electrical grid being supplied the power. The grid, even in the United States, has times when it cannot accept the energy produced by solar panels or wind turbines. The excess supply over demand often results in the temporary shutdown of production.

Part of the problem of excess power is that electrical grids are not efficient distributors of power. The U.S. has one of the largest, in miles and capacity, electrical grids on the planet but even here excess electricity from California has little chance of filling a need for electricity in New York City. The grid, actually a series of partially interconnected grids, just doesn’t operate that way.

Poor interconnection is one reason excess electricity cannot be moved across country. Electricity is moved via high voltage lines. For a variety of reasons, primarily political, these lines have become increasingly difficult to construct.

One solution that allows solar and wind sources to continue to produce electricity is to store the energy until it is needed. Storage also would allow these energy producers to provide electricity to the grid at night or when the wind is not blowing. The concept of storage and the reality of storage are far apart, however, as battery design and engineering continues to lag the rest of the technology.

One utility company in New Mexico has brought a project online that may provide a solution to the storage issue. The PNM Prosperity Energy Storage Project can generate 500 KW of electrical power using 2,158 solar panels. The excess electricity produced is stored in 1,280 lead-acid batteries and the process is controlled by high tech smart grid controls.

PNM is using the smart grid controls to supply electricity to its grid from storage when the solar array is producing at a decreased output, night or clouds overhead. When electrical demand is less, the solar power is diverted to storage by the smart grid controls.

Other electrical production methods have little ability to control output in increments. This project demonstrates that the right technology combined with a green energy source can provide a constant supply of electricity while responding to changes in demand.

In September 2008, TransCanada began the process of obtaining all the various clearances and permits to build an oil pipeline from northeastern Alberta Canada to the oil refinery region of eastern Texas in the area of Houston or Port Arthur. The Province of Alberta claims that the oil sands contain the third largest proven crude oil reserve in the world. The Athabasca deposit in Alberta is the largest developed oil sand production site on the planet.

The Keystone Pipeline plan was developed in stages and much of the pipeline is now in operation, carrying oil to refineries in the American Mid-West. The remaining stages would build a new pipeline in a straighter course across the Great Plains and also connect the existing pipeline with new construction to the Gulf Coast.

The pipeline remains in limbo. The U.S. State Department is the first agency to have to approve or disapprove the project and it has yet to complete its work. The project faces significant opposition from environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the National Wildlife Federation.

The existing pipeline is a mix of new construction and repurposed natural gas pipeline. It is 2,147 miles in length and runs from Hardisty, Alberta, to refineries in Wood River and Patoka, Illinois. It began operation in June 2010. A second leg of 291 miles, from Nebraska to the oil storage and pipeline hub of Cushing, Oklahoma, was opened in February 2011.

The Keystone XL portion of the pipeline is estimated to cost about $7 billion. The entire system is designed to transport 1.1 million barrels of crude oil per day from Canada to the United States. In a site published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the creation of up to 20,000 construction jobs and property tax revenues to state and local governments of $138.4 million are among the reasons given to approve the project.

Opposition is generally based on environmental grounds. The Friends of the Earth cite the pollution created by production from tar sands, the effects on global warming, the threat of pipeline spills and the pollution created by the refining process. The new pipeline will cross several large rivers, including the Missouri, and travel through some of the United States’ most productive agricultural acreage.

Reuters reported on November 2, 2011, that President Obama had told a Nebraska media outlet that he would make the final decision on approving the pipeline. The Washington Post, in an editorial dated October 10, supported the project while a New York Times editorial on August 21, 2011, opposed it. In march, 2011, the Congressional Research Service produced a report titled Keystone XL Pipeline Project: Key Issues, which covers many of the pro and con arguments in detail.

As the Tokyo Electric Company continues rolling blackouts and electric users try to reduce energy consumption, the question becomes: Why is Japan short of electricity?

The easy answer is that nearly 20% of the operating nuclear power plants in Japan are shut down, due to the earthquake and the tsunami. The more complex answer involves the convoluted history of electrical power in Japan and the Japanese electrical grid.

Perhaps alone among modern nations, Japan has a divided electrical grid. South of Tokyo, the grid operates on a 60 hz frequency. From Tokyo northward, the grid operates at a frequency of 50 hz.

In simple terms, the electricity in half the country cannot be used in the other half. Trying to do so would result in damage, electrical fires and other related mayhem. Tokyo is in the region that has all of the shut down reactors and is suffering the lack of generation capacity.

The Tokyo Electric Company introduced electricity to Japan in the late 1800′s. It bought its equipment from Germany. Other electric providers bought from the U.S., from General Electric, and that is why the separation developed. There are only four points where the electricity is converted from one frequency to the other, and their capacity is severely limited in comparison to the current need.

For more information on this topic:
The Japanese Electrical Grid: A Major Problem for Economic Recovery
A Country Divided: Japan’s Electric Bottleneck
The Japanese Situation
Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan

Southern Company teams up with EPRI to develop a Smart Grid project to demonstrate a broad array of technologies.

The Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI) conducts research and development relating to the generation, delivery and use of electricity for the benefit of the public. An independent, nonprofit organization, EPRI brings together its scientists and engineers as well as experts from academia and industry to help address challenges in electricity, including reliability, efficiency, health, safety and the environment. EPRI also provides technology, policy and economic analyses to drive long-range research and development planning, and supports research in emerging technologies. EPRI’s members represent more than 90 percent of the electricity generated and delivered in the United States, and international participation extends to 40 countries. EPRI’s principal offices and laboratories are located in Palo Alto, Calif.; Charlotte, N.C.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Lenox, Mass.