Terry Kenney Wants to Turn Big Truck Traffic into Electricity
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 04.29.08
While the Japanese are trying to produce electricity from train station gates (!?), entrepreneur Terry Kenney is going after a bigger target: Trucks.
It took him eight years to get a working prototype, but now there's one working at the Port of Oakland which Kenney calls the "Dragon Power Station". Special plates are set on the road, and as big trucks drive over them (about 2,500 of them per day at the port), they compress a tank of hydraulic fluid under the road, which in turn creates a series of pumping actions that turns a generator to produce electricity.
By June, the Dragon should generate about 5,000 to 7,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each day, or enough to power up to 1,750 homes. Not bad for a prototype.
The plates Kenney developed for trucks are wide and sturdy. They were designed to weather the crushing force of trucks weighing up to 180,000 lbs. He developed a smaller version of the road plate for sedans and other passenger cars, which he hopes to one day see installed at high-traffic theme parks and toll bridges.
Of course there's no such thing as a free lunch. That energy actually comes from the fossil fuels burned by the trucks. The benefits of that system is that they are harnessing energy that would otherwise be lost, and doing so in a way that isn't noticeable in practice to the thousands of trucks.
Update: For more on this, see ::Further Thoughts on Turning Road Traffic into Electricity.
::Fire From the Dragon: Green Entrepreneur Harnesses Truck Energy, ::Dragon Power Station makes electricity from traffic
It's this kind of ingenuity that makes America great. It might not be a magic bullet, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.
This is an interesting idea. Isn't the UK doing something similar? I had a similar idea awhile back to regain lost inertia energy on our freeways. Why not line the undersides of our highways with spinning magnet motors. The magnets would spin in one direction and the passing pull of the metal cars could maintain the momentum. Sure you lose some inertial energy at the expense of cars. But with electric hybrids vehicles it would create a nice feedback loop. And with cars whizzing by at 70 mph the momentum hit would trivial compared to the gains of the electric motors.
They should also line freeways with windmills. Air gusts from passing semis should be able to power quite a few windmills.
That works out to only 4kwh/day per household! If that was what an average household used- we would have plenty of energy. I wouldnt be surprised if my fridge uses that amount/day.
As for the energy source- wouldnt the trucks have to be given more gas to get off these plates? effectively turning a deisel truck into an electric generator? Unless the plate somehow assits the truck in slowing down/stopping (a form of regenerative braking) at a point needed, I dont see how this is 'creating' anything green. Its stealing momentum from the trucks bit by bit. Having all new diesel trucks shut off when not moving would do alot more good for the environment (IMO).
The energy used by the vehicle lifting itself out of the depression created when the fluid was compressed isn't energy that would have otherwise gone to waste, it's energy that would otherwise have never been expended.
You might as well just run a diesel generator.
If you really want to make a difference, ship by rail instead of truck for long hauls, especially if using the new hybrid diesel electric engines.
I've got no opinion if this makes America whatever but I would suggest that they would place the power stations in spots which seek to hinder the speed anyways - such as speed bumps. Or do you have them in America, i wouldn't know? Anyways what goes up must come down.
True enough. It all helps and is a great start.
About the free lunch - it isn't free and the energy he is collecting isn't otherwise wasted - it has to be generated in excess of what it would take to drive on regular pavement.
For this system to work would be like saying you can put a pinwheel generator out your window while you drive and collect free energy. The problem is that you would increase aerodynamic drag and put greater demands on the engine and increase your fuel expense by that much plus the inefficiencies of the conversions.
His system will increase the fuel expense of driving across his part of the road. The truck will need to drive uphill by the amount it pushes his plates down - even if it is a 1/4" drop in elevation across the plates it matters. On a bicycle it matters and on an 80,000# semi it really matters.
So basically, if each truck spends an additional 5¢ or 25¢ in fuel going across this sytem, and this system is able to convert 30% of that into value for the owner of the plates; 400 trucks at 25¢ is $30.
It is a tollway reinvented but in a way that takes fuel out of one persons gas tank without them knowing and lets another person profit from that. If that arrangement is consensual then great. If it is not then it is not great.
I am not suggesting the inventor recognizes this fact. It is the fact nonetheless.
agreed.
It's not apparent to me whether these plates will just be stealing energy from the trucks. This is fine, of course, if the truck is supposed to be slowing down.
As long as these are only installed where vehicles are already forced to slow down, then they are harnessing energy that would otherwise be lost to heat when braking. If vehicles however need any additional fuel however to get over these plates, you're just stealing fuel economy from the vehicles to produce electricity.
Disagreed. You see, this is the cumulative energy wasted by these big trucks having to drive over this small bump in the road. The energy is still coming from the truck's fuel-powered engine.
Instead of drawing power from this wasted energy, this is how much energy could be saved by smoothing out the road. Ideally all the roads would be as straight and level as possible, sloping gradually to their destinations.
Like, say, rail.
The innovation is grand, I agree, but the result probably isn't worthwhile in the overall scheme of things.
Truly a brilliant idea! Can you imagine all traffic in big cities and busy high roads. I hope it is going to be applied, very soon. I believe, his business is going to flourish!
HAHA this is a complete waste of time.
- the energy that this captures is not 'lost'!!
This process will result in the truck having to do slightly more work when crossing the plate. ie the gains in Electricty will be exactly equal to a total loss across all trucks in Petrol efficency when crossing the plate.
The Japan train one however is different. - it is capturing engergy exerted by each individual (gained from eating food) and hence considerably more 'Green'.
But this does give me an idea. Are there any Gyms that use the wasted energy of exercisers to generate electricty?
you would think that all those peopel riding cycle machines, rowing machines, treadmills etc. - are just throwing away energy which could be used to power the lights and hot water heating of the very gym they are using?
All these schemes to harvest so-called "wasted" energy on the highways are so seductive, because you're stealing energy in tiny, unnoticeable bits from large numbers of people who won't notice.
It's a lot like the old scheme to get rich by collecting all the fractional pennies from bank transactions. Sure, no individual notices losing that tiny amount, but add it all up and it accumulates into something significant. It is still theft; no wealth has been created, only transferred.
It's ok if it is used on a sloping road, when trucks must slow down a lot.
On a flat road, it's quite silly, energy generated would come engine of the truck, not green at all
In reading this post, as well as the linked articles and comments, I am too frequently astounded at the utter void of knowledge concerning basic energy science. Let us review ...
First, 7,000kWh per day will not "power up to 1,750 homes". That would mean each home uses 4kWh per day or 120 per month ?!?! Not even if every hour were Earth Hour. Try about 7 times that at a minimum (840kWh per month), at least in the US.
Second, 7,000kWh divided by 2,500 trucks would mean that each truck would produce an average net of 2.8kWh. Since 1kWh equals 1.34 hp (for 1 hour) then 2.8 x 1.34 = 3.75 hp (FOR 1 HOUR). Even if each truck's engine was directly connected to an electric generator for a whole minute it would have to be putting out 225 hp (3.75hp x 60 min/hour). In other words, cutting out all of the inefficiencies of the mechanics, hydraulics, etc., these trucks would have to be running at near full power. In the real world, double or triple that.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE find me the names of this guy's investors. I have a wave energy device that will power your whole house on just the waves you make in your bathtub !!! Really it does ... because I said so !!
And finally to MGR/TH -- I know that you're not the source for this story, but you really need to start vetting your so called "news" a little better. Just because it was published somewhere doesn't mean it's not bovine excrement. Otherwise it amounts to relaying what is not much more than Internet gossip (but with a green spin).
BTW, are you folks still looking for an Alternative Energy Writer? How about an alt energy reviewer? I can tone it down a bit as long as I'm not debunking fantasy portrayed as fact ... really I can :)
If this is an area where braking is needed then it effectively acts as regenerative braking. The energy converted just goes somewhere other than back in the truck. If this is in an area where speed is to be maintained then yes it would be stealing incremental amounts of energy.
THIS IS A COMPLETE SCAM, although i'd like it to be true...I can't find any data supporting the claims in this post.
No such thing as free energy, as mentioned by others the trucks will simply be producing this energy...clearly not the most efficient way to gain energy!
I like the japanese traingate idea though :)
If you want to create energy from traffic...think regenarative breaking!
If he installs the system on steep downhill stretches of road where the truckers are using their brakes there would be free energy to be collected. It would be an inroad regenerative braking system and have the bonus of less brake wear.
Doesn't this actually work if the plates are placed on a downhill section, where the truck would normally be using brakes, which I assume, would otherwise be dissipating the energy as heat?
On the one hand, yes, there's no energy wasted simply by driving a truck that can be "regained" by this device.
However, if this device is placed in an area where a truck is already supposed to be slowing down, there's energy to be gained there. The brakes convert this energy to (essentially useless) heat. This device could take some of that energy and make use of it.
Now, granted, one could redesign the route so that trucks didn't have to slow down (good luck with that), or redesign the trucks to make use of their momentum in some productive way as they're slowing down (good luck with that one, too). Compared to the options, this seems like a cheap solution.
I agree - there is no such thing as free lunch - (aka the laws of thermodynamics) A better and just as kooky generator idea would be to harness the wind generated by vehicles moving on a highway - but then you have to realize that by eliminating the slipstream, cars and trucks will have to work harder -- any cyclist who has drafted off another cyclist or group of cyclists will know the impact on the incremental energy you'd have to expend.
Here's something I haven't heard much about - how about engineering roads so that you have a minimum number of stops (think of the fuel efficiency gains if we reduce start and stop traffic) ... oh wait they have that in EUROPE, they're called round-abouts.
Its interesting that posts like this draw so many physicists.
The fact that the actual design of the hydraulic plate was not detailed, nor exact placement of said device was provided means essentially anyone posting numbers/calculations in their comments above are just hyperventilating over artificial schemas.
I can conceive of a scenario where this works (think of the placement of the plate similar to a truck scale, level with the road that depresses only a small distance from the road surface), but until we are updated on the results of this tiral. Hope someone can set a reminder to follow up...?
Sorry Quinn - we don't need to know the details, we simply need to know very basic theromdynamics. The energy of this scheme comes from plate displacement or other effects and any displacement of the plate or other energy generating effects subtracts energy from the truck.
We speculated on places where taking energy from the trucks might be a good thing - helping trucks slow down going down hill, but on a level road you are simply taking inefficiently generated motive power away from the truck and inefficiently converting it to electricity. You'd be much better off taking that diesel fuel and using it to directly run a generator.
Doesnt the article state this was done at a port? Doesnt that mean the trucks will be stopping anyway?
I agree that this doesn't add up, physics wise. It could, however, be sensible if it harnessed energy that is truly being lost....for example, the vibration energy, or the air turbulence that is caused by each passing truck. Or am I also missing something? Either way, I think that this sort of dialogue is very important, even if Terry Kenney's idea is flawed, it is good that he's trying....you've got to admire that. An idea means nothing if you don't get it out there.
I thought this was a late April fools joke for a minute.
Only after reading the comments do I think there is some use to this, and that is down steep enough slopes that trucks would want to brake anyway, or coming to a stop.
He's off by three orders of magnitude -- over estimated by 1,000.
Let's try this again. 7,000kWh is a lot of energy. If each truck weighed 74,000 lbs (40,000 lbs is a standard cargo weight), 7,000kWh is enough energy to lift every single one of the 2,500 trucks 100 feet into the air. This is not even taking into account any energy conversion inefficiencies, so that figure should at least be doubled to compensate for this (200 feet ?!?!).
I have never seen a hill like that at any port in the world. A ramp like that would be extremely scary, not to mention unreasonably expensive.
A simple and frequent mistake actually -- 7,000 Wh or 7kWH, instead of 7,000kWh. The physics works for that. So basically enough to power 1/4 of a typical home. Pretty trivial, unless you're one of his investors that have pumped $4 million into the venture. Nor to any of the port authorities that have undoubtedly spent hundreds of hours on project coordination.
A better idea might be to put regenerative braking on the cargo crane winch motors to get back some of the power when lowering the containers onto the trucks. Not sure if this is already being done, but it sounds much easier to implement, and with far better yields. If not, just remember you heard it here first (and now it's public domain) !!
Peteathome: Let me ask you this... Suppose your bathroom scale was flush with the floor, and you walk across it on your way to another room. Does this mean that you're 'simply taking inefficiently generated motive power away' from your locomotion? OK, the answer is yes, marginally. However, the energy being captured here is the result of gravity, not an opposing force (wind, roll-resistance, inertia).
The only relevant arguments to this are: is the hydraulic system able to capture energy as efficiently as proposed, and to what degree can you design this system to be viable and not obtrusive.
The energy production of the Dragon Power Station would be minute compared to the energy savings of putting the freight on a train instead of a truck.
I'd like to buy an electric car and slap a solar panel on the roof and put some bike pedals in it so my passengers can generate electricity when it's cloudy but it just isn't practical for a human and/or a solar panel (current productions panels) to produce enough energy to move a 1.5 ton car at any useful speed.
The energy production of the Dragon Power Station would be minute compared to the energy savings of putting the freight on a train instead of a truck.
I'd like to buy an electric car and slap a solar panel on the roof and put some bike pedals in it so my passengers can generate electricity when it's cloudy but it just isn't practical for a human and/or a solar panel (current productions panels) to produce enough energy to move a 1.5 ton car at any useful speed.
This is the "tragedy of the commons" in reverse.
This is the "tragedy of the commons" in reverse.
"That energy actually comes from the fossil fuels burned by the trucks."
That is technically not true. While fossil fuels are used in order to move the trucks onto the plates. The actual electricity is produced by the weight of the truck and the load it is carrying.
Furthermore, the trucks would be driving through the location anyway so by proxy we would be extracting more energy from those fossil fuels.
This is an ingenious idea that exploits gravity's pull on mass and has the potential to significantly impact the efficiency of energy consumption and recycling in the future.
"That energy actually comes from the fossil fuels burned by the trucks."
That is technically not true. While fossil fuels are used in order to move the trucks onto the plates. The actual electricity is produced by the weight of the truck and the load it is carrying.
Furthermore, the trucks would be driving through the location anyway so by proxy we would be extracting more energy from those fossil fuels.
This is an ingenious idea that exploits gravity's pull on mass and has the potential to significantly impact the efficiency of energy consumption and recycling in the future.
A better alternative would be to cover the top of each semi trailer with photovoltaic solar cells. Connect 'em to large sheilded capacitors in the trailer.
When the truck makes a stop, they can hook into the grid and discharge. Until truck stops are equipped with these "electic dumping stations". the truck can be directed to "dump" at a local substation.
The trucking companiies make some coin and tax break and we all get the benefits of this extra electricity FTW
A better alternative would be to cover the top of each semi trailer with photovoltaic solar cells. Connect 'em to large sheilded capacitors in the trailer.
When the truck makes a stop, they can hook into the grid and discharge. Until truck stops are equipped with these "electic dumping stations". the truck can be directed to "dump" at a local substation.
The trucking companiies make some coin and tax break and we all get the benefits of this extra electricity FTW
It is media reporting of such hogwash as this that is undermining true research in alternative energy. People need to go back and review their high school physics!
The more investors that get scammed by such inadequate simple understanding of the laws of physics, the more alternative energy (real applications) will never get off the ground due to consumer caution.
Someone needs to vett these kinds of media reports for common sense and simple high shcool physics before they are posted to the ignorant american consumer...
Why not just put the toll gate on a hill? The potential energy is collect as the truck slows to go up to pay and regained when they leave and go down the hill.
Better yet - get a system so you don't need to slow down to pay the toll. Or one that allows drafting at normal speeds - like a long rubber tired train.
This plate system is long on tech and short on design. Not very smart or elegant but it could be a tricky means of theft and as such will have its proponents.
The energy is being taken by the bump from the truck to generate power. The truck must ride up against gravity to press it down.
Energy is stolen here from the truck's forward movement which is also obtained through a transfer system probably more inefficient than just stealing the diesal fuel.
Regenirative braking should be done on the vehicle.
The best way to save power is to shift from trucking to railroads. If one doesn't have a siding use piggyback and transfer short haul.
It is a step in the right direction. At the moment a lot of electricity is gained from fossil fuels anyway. If we could utilize the buring of gasoline twice its a good move in my book.
I don't see how this could work
this basically converts the trucks gravitational potential energy into electricity... problem is.. that truck is going to need to regain it's potential energy... how? by working the desil engine more.
so... esentially.. this seems like a desil power plant to me.... not very clean.
Buuuuttt... I write this after no reading all the comments before me, and only after first year engineering and at a time of night.... morning when I should actually be asleep
This type of technology is wonderful in the short term, but what happens as we start sliding down the other side of peak oil. There won't be as many vehicles on the road. What are we going to power this system with then? Camels & horses????