Building A Gas Forge

Alternative sources energize businesses

David N. Hommrich stood on a hill above his growing solar power park near Burgettstown as the sun hit hundreds of panels. He is building it atop a coal refuse pile that for decades generated only pollution from stormwater runoff.

"It's a great business, and we're helping the environment. It's a good sign for the economy" because jobs are being created in manufacturing and installing the solar panels, said Hommrich, president of Sunrise Energy LLC of Green Tree, owner of the five-acre solar power generating operation in Smith Township, Washington County.

So far, Sunrise Energy has installed 500 solar panels that convert energy from the sun into more than 100 kilowatts of electricity that is sold to West Penn Power Co., the Greensburg-based utility that serves 720,000 customers in Western Pennsylvania.

Hommrich intends to place 3,500 panels within the park's fenced-in boundaries to generate nearly 1 megawatt of power -- enough to power about 800 homes at peak output. Using solar panels shipped from Canadian Solar Inc. of Kitchener, Ontario, Hommrich expects to finish the park by the end of August.

Hommrich's company is doing its part, albeit a small one, to help West Penn Power fulfill its obligation to supply customers with power generated from alternative energy sources, such as wind, solar and hydroelectric.

Nationwide, coal-fired plants generated 44.7 percent of the power in the United States so far this year. Natural gas and oil-fired plants added 21.4 percent, nuclear plants 20.5 percent and hydroelectric 8.2 percent, according to U.S. Energy Information Agency figures. The remaining 5.2 percent comes from other alternative sources.

So far, the state's utilities are meeting requirements mandated by the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act of 2004. It set targets for the utilities to obtain an increasing portion of the electricity they supply from alternative sources, said Public Utility Commission spokeswoman Denise McCracken.

Electric companies in Pennsylvania are required to have 9.73 percent of power sales come from alternative sources during the year that started in June through May 2012. The requirements began in 2006 and increase annually to 18.5 percent by June 2020.

"I have not heard any rumbles that the utilities would not be able to meet the requirements," said Courtney Lane, senior energy policy analyst for Penn Future, a statewide environmental organization.

"We don't see any problem, at least in the short term," said Cory Byzewski, vice president and general manager of Direct Energy's residential business in the Northeast. The company, which has an office in Pittsburgh, has 800,000 customers in eight states from Illinois to the Northeast.

Making Custom Knives » Blog Archive » Building a Better Gas Forge

One common forge design I saw was  to cut open a 20lb propane tank or freon tank to use as the forge shell, then line the shell with a fiberglass insulation. This insulation is sold under different names like “Durablanket” and “Kaowool” or “Inswool”. The insulation is manufactured in blanket form, and is typically used to in the construction of blacksmith forges and furnaces. A hard ceramic coating is applied to protect the soft insulation from being torn, but also to create a barrier against airborne dust from the insulation.

Gas burners for forges, furnaces, & kilns

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