The latest investor

in green energy – the CIA

Within hours, solar and wind energy units can be up and running in war or disaster zones.

By John Dillin | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

ARLINGTON, VA. – What if you had a power unit that generated substantial electrical energy with no fuel? What if it were so rugged that you could parachute it out of an airplane? What if it were so easy to set up that two people could have it running in just a few hours?

Now there is such a device – built by a small Virginia start-up – and the federal government has taken notice.

SkyBuilt Power Inc. has begun building electricity-generating units fueled mostly by solar and wind energy. The units, which use a battery backup system when the sun is down and the wind is calm, are designed to run for years with little maintenance.

Depending upon its configuration, SkyBuilt’s Mobile Power Station (MPS) can generate up to 150 kilowatts of electricity, says David Muchow, the firm’s president and CEO. That’s enough to power an emergency operations center, an Army field kitchen, or a small medical facility.

Privately owned SkyBuilt now has a new investor – In-Q-Tel, a venture capital firm set up by the US Central Intelligence Agency. Skybuilt and In-Q-Tel will announce Tuesday that they have signed a strategic development agreement, including an investment in SkyBuilt.

In-Q-Tel’s support is a breakthrough for the small firm. (The “Q” in In-Q-Tel is a whimsical play on the movie character “Q” who supplies James Bond with nifty gadgets.) SkyBuilt provides innovative energy solutions with the potential to help meet a wide variety of critical government and commercial power needs, says Gilman Louie, In-Q-Tel president and CEO.

The power stations could have important uses for disaster relief, homeland security, military operations, intelligence work, and a variety of commercial applications. The units are not yet designed for use by homeowners.

Though it is not mentioned, SkyBuilt units would have obvious applications in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, where soldiers risk their lives over long supply lines to truck in fuel for generators.

After hurricane Katrina, SkyBuilt units could have been rushed to the scene and set up in hours, restoring power to hospitals, evacuee centers, police and fire departments, and cellphone towers.