Solar Wind Energy to build $1.5 billion power tower in Arizona

Solar Wind Energy Tower Inc. won approval from an Arizona city to develop a $1.5 billion project that would use ambient desert heat to create a draft to generate electricity, in a concrete colossus that would be the tallest structure in North America.


Artist impression of the Solar Wind's colossal tower which create downdraft. Image: via REW


The 2,250-feet (686-metre) project, which resembles a nuclear plant’s cooling tower, would be capable of generating at a average rate of about 435 MWh [I suspect this would be monthly average] over the course of a year, said Ron Pickett, chief executive officer of the Maryland-based company.

In July and August, the Southwest’s hottest and driest months, the plant could produce more than 1,200 MWh.


The Solar Wind power tower: How it works

Using technology created by Solar Wind, water would be injected in a mist near the top of the tower, causing the air to cool and gain density. The draft created by the sinking air would exceed 50 miles per hour. As the air is forced through a ring of turbines at the tower’s base, electricity is generated.

How it works

“This is a game-changer in certain areas — hot, dry climates,” Pickett said. The company is proposing this project near the Mexico border to prove the concept, with the goal of licensing the process to developers. The technology would work in Africa, Australia and “you can throw a dart in the Mideast, and it works there,” he said.

San Luis, a city of 26,000 residents about 20 miles southwest of Yuma, Arizona, agreed to give the project necessary rights of way and sell it water under a 50-year contract. Terms weren’t disclosed for the agreement, which was approved by the city council on April 23.

Solar Wind expects to get the project operating as early as 2018.

Although no buyers yet for the project's power, local utilities and the U.S. Defense Department have inquired about it.

Source: Renewable Energy World

TheGreenMechanics: This ambitious project is not without criticism from the public; some readers argued that building the 686-metre tower would actually produce more CO2 than the potential avoidance in the foreseeable future.

Would be interesting to see this commissioned in 4 years' time.

You can read the full article by clicking the link provided above.

Turning carbon dioxide into electricity

Could carbon dioxide be turned into electricity? Factory smokestacks photo by Curt Carnemark/ Worldbank


This is a great idea, and it quickly reminds you of the geothermal plant currently under construction in the East Coast of Sabah.

Researchers are developing a new kind of geothermal power plant that will lock away unwanted carbon dioxide (CO2) underground—and use it as a tool to boost electric power generation by at least 10 times compared to existing geothermal energy approaches.

The technology to implement this design already exists in different industries, so the researchers are optimistic that their new approach could expand the use of geothermal energy in the U.S. far beyond the handful of states that can take advantage of it now.

The new power plant design resembles a cross between a typical geothermal power plant and the Large Hadron Collider: It features a series of concentric rings of horizontal wells deep underground.

Inside those rings, CO2, nitrogen and water circulate separately to draw heat from below ground up to the surface, where the heat can be used to turn turbines and generate electricity.

The design contrasts with conventional geothermal plants, explained study co-author Jeffrey Bielicki, assistant professor of energy policy in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering and the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University.

"Typical geothermal power plants tap into hot water that is deep under ground, pull the heat off the hot water, use that heat to generate electricity, and then return the cooler water back to the deep subsurface. Here the water is partly replaced with CO2 or another fluid—or a combination of fluids," he said.

CO2 extracts heat more efficiently than water, he added.

This approach—using concentric rings that circulate multiple fluids—builds upon the idea to use CO2originally developed by Martin Saar and others at the University of Minnesota, and can be at least twice as efficient as conventional geothermal approaches, according to computer simulations.

"When we began to develop the idea to use CO2 to produce geothermal energy, we wanted to find a way to make CO2 storage cost-effective while expanding the use of geothermal energy," said Jimmy Randolph, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Minnesota.

"We hope that we can expand the reach of geothermal energy in the United States to include most states west of the Mississippi River," Bielicki said.

The current research team includes Ohio State, the University of Minnesota and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where geoscientist Tom Buscheck came up with the idea to add nitrogen to the mix.

"What makes this concept transformational is that we can deliver renewable energy to customers when it is needed, rather than when the wind happens to be blowing, or when spring thaw causes the greatest runoff," Buscheck said.


Source: PHYS.ORG

50W Solar PV system for the rural folks

Four community learning centres (or pre-schools) in the rural areas of Sabah have benefitted from a noble effort of several philanthropists.

The beneficiaries of the initial 4 sets of solar power system are community learning centres in Tenom, Tongod and Paitan. It is very encouraging to see synergy of effort from various NGOs to help those deprived of the basic necessity - power supply.

The 50W solar photovoltaic systems. Source: DE, Dec 17.

Parties involved in the project:

Inner Wheel Club of Kota Kinabalu	:	Fund raising to purchase and install the systems
Penampang Renewable Energy S/B	:	Design and supply (at cost)
Centre for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technology (CREATE)	:	Training provider, especially on renewable energy, for rural youths
Tonibung	:	Installation of the solar PV systems at no cost, including training on their operations and maintenance.

The solar PV systems

Each system, designed and supplied by Penampang Renewable Energy S/B, consist of the followings (I hope the reporting by Daily Express is accurate):

• 50-Watt solar panel
• Solar power pack, c/w charge controller, 12V USB, 5V USB
• 70Ah battery
• 300W inverter
• LED lamps

* The packs are expandable for bigger load if required, which is really good as the folks surely would need more power in the near future. This is something like a modular design where people could donate an 'expansion' or two and they just add up to the existing one.


TheGreenMechanics: As an alternative, there is a similar set on sale which I think is comparable to the above system. I saw one at City Mall with almost similar features - solar power pack with solar panel, USB outlets, 70Ah battery c/w 4 units of 3W LED bulbs. The system is marketed at RM550.00 minus the inverter. A separate 300W quasi-sine wave inverter will cost around RM250 to RM300.

Greenhouse PV Demonstration Project launched in Fukushima farmland

The "Greenhouse PV Demonstration Project" in Fukushima is a project to test how much impact the shading caused by the solar panels affects the growth of the fruit and vegetables inside the greenhouse.


Demonstration project on agricultural greenhouse solar PV. Photo: solar-frontier


Solar Frontier tests solar greenhouse

Fukushima, the name synonymous with 2011's Japanese tsunami and subsequent nuclear accident,  is an area of Japan that has been treated with so much care since the disaster two years ago.

It is no surprise then that the Japanese government is much effort in providing power supply from other sources. So, as part of the economic recovery efforts, solar panels have been fitted to an agricultural greenhouse for a demonstration project in Minamisoma, Fukushima.

The project, by companies including Japanese panel maker Solar Frontier and German EPC Belectric, in cooperation with the local prefectural government of Fukushima, sees installation of 324 Solar Frontier panels with 50kW total rated capacity covering 1,300m² of roof space on an agricultural greenhouse.

The results of the project are due to be reported in January, 2014, to determine impacts of shadows from solar panels on high value greenhouse products.


TheGreenMechanics: Would be good to test this solar PV shading on our paddy field and see if there is much impact on the amount of rice produced as a result. At the same time, free electricity from the farm. Sounds good, eh?

Source: Solar Frontier website

Germany launched €16 million organic PV R&D project

Germany is seen as the world leader in promoting and implementing renewable energies and in particular solar PV. It seems that with the new organic PV R&D initiative, it continues to be the leader in this particular industry.


This latest push for organic photovoltaics could be just what the industry needs. Image - PV-Mag


Organic photovoltaic R&D project

Germany’s BMBF has backed a Merck-led research and development inititiave in OPV technology to the tune of €8.2 million.

Labeled the POPUP project, Merck – a German pharmaceutical, chemical and life science company – will spearhead the consortium, which consists of ten technology leaders, each possessing various expertise in the field of OPV.

With BMBF’s financial backing, the total budget of this three-year project is €16 million (around RM68 million), and its objective is to develop more efficient and stable OPV materials for use in the solar power industry. The POPUP project will also look to develop more adaptable and flexible device material capable of supporting rigid, opaque and semi-transparent modules.

In the longer term, it is hoped that this research into OPV can help lower costs, allowing for mass adoption of the technology, and perhaps even integration into next-gen automobiles in order to supply clean and consistent power to onboard electronic systems.

The technology’s inherent aesthetic value also makes it a desirable option for architects keen on creating solar-powered glass facades. The new technologies can also be used to charge mobile devices and even be fitted for off-grid applications.

Merck’s role, according to an official press statement, will be to coordinate the research of the ten partners, while also performing the "development and synthesis of the cutting-edge materials as well as the chemical-physical characterization and evaluation in simple device structures."


Source: pv-magazine

Microsoft says there is huge potential in fuel cells

In fuel cells technology, electrochemical process is involved to convert energy from hydrogen, natural gas, ethanol or biogas.


Demonstration model of a direct-methanol fuel cell. The actual fuel cell stack is the layered cube shape in the center of the image. Image source.


In a latest development, Microsoft says it is considering the use of fuel cells to power data centers, saying that its studies find it a technology with much potential.

How so?

• According to the studies by the IT giant, fuel cells are much cheaper than high voltage switchgear, transformers and copper cables, and have no moving parts, unlike generators.


• Where fuels are distributed in a data center, and placed at the servers and racks, it is possible to completely eliminate the power distribution system in the data center, including the power backup generation.


• If a fuel cell fails it only affects a small part of the data center, the report reasoned.

The paper, boldly titled "No more electrical infrastructure: Towards fuel cell powered data centers," investigates fuel cells as a centralized power source and as distributed power generation technology with fuel cells used at the rack or single server cabinet level.

There is broad industry interest in fuel cells. In September, eBay unveiled a data center in Salt Lake City Utah that uses fuel cells made by Bloom Energy.

But overall, use if the technology in data centers remains far from mainstream. Sean James, a senior research program manager at Microsoft's Global Foundation Services and an author of the study, said in a blog post that he sees "tremendous potential" in fuel cells, though "deep technical issues" remain.


 "Fuel cells are very clean, reliable and perfect for small form factor applications. By integrating fuel cells with IT hardware, we can cut much of the power electronics out of the conventional fuel cell system. What we are left with is a very simple and low cost data center and fuel cell system." - Sean James


Still there are issues with fuel cells

Technical issues, such as the fuel distribution system, power management and even safety training, remain to be resolved. Nonetheless, James argues, in time, "you may end up with one someday delivering clean electricity and heat to your home" via fuel cells.

The paper looks at running an entire data center on fuel cell technology and decoupling data centers from the electric grid. If fuel cells use natural gas, the buried lines delivering it are "not subject to severe weather."

Source: Computerworld Malaysia

Housetec Sdn Bhd launched solar generator for the local market

Sometime ago I wrote about Solarator, the portable 600W solar power generator that costs as much as $6,500 (more than RM20,000) and people asked where and when will this be available.

I suppose the Solarator's price would be too prohibitive for the masses. But a new portable solar power generator is now available locally thanks to Housetec (M) Sdn Bhd.


Housetec Korea Group Chairman Keun Moon explaining to the delegates. Sinar Harian photo


Housetec to market portable solar generator in Malaysia

Housetec (M) Sdn Bhd has recently launched the first compact solar power generator for the local market. It plans to first introduce the product to the ministries, departments and other government agencies followed by individual consumers in the rural areas, fishermen, etc, at a later date.

Several solar based products were introduced during the signing of memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the company and  ANGKASA (Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Bhd) in Kuala Lumpur.

For the time being, Housetec is targeting ANGKASA members but the products would be extended to the masses soon.


Products offered

Very little was made known through the report by Sinar Harian, but from the information seen on ANGKASA's official FB page, these are two of the products on offer:

• SG-80 Multi Solar System: This system enables you to operate/ power-up TV, laptops, fans, lights, etc.
• SG-24 Solar Lighting System: This system enables you to to power up Housetec's LED lighting series

TheGreenMechanics: This initiative shows that there is now improved awareness in the solar-based technologies as an alternative source of energy that is environmentally friendly. You may want to check it out with ANGKASA for more details should you be interested.


Source

Artificial photosynthesis, a promising technology for future energy production

What is artificial photosynthesis

It is a chemical process that replicates the natural process of photosynthesis, a process that converts sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and oxygen. The artificial photosynthesis term is commonly used to refer to any scheme for capturing and storing the energy from sunlight in the chemical bonds of a fuel, a solar fuel.


Photosynthesis is a natural process to convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into usable fuel and emitting useful oxygen in the process. Photo: de engineur


Promising technology for future energy production

The technology is absolutely promising! Prof. Michael Grätzel, a Swiss pioneer of artificial photosynthesis was awarded the world’s most prestigious technology award - the Millennium Prize - worth £660,000 (about RM3.35 million) for his effort and contribution towards development of future energy.

Since the 1970s, Grätzel has been developing the Dye-Sensitised Solar Cell (DSSC), a device that mimics the ability of plants to capture photons of light and turn them into electricity.


How it works

DSSCs use special dyes to capture the energy in light at different wavelengths, like the chlorophyll of plants. Although still under development, the excitement surrounding DSSCs lies in the fact that while they only convert around 11% of the light energy into electricity, which is well below the efficiency of conventional solar cells, they are much easier and cheaper to construct, and are expected to be much more cost-effective.


TheGreenMechanics: This reminds me of a researcher friend at a local university saying (or rather posting on his FB page) something like "charging your phone by plugging it to the tree". Well it's very possible!

Use your urine to charge mobile phone!

Put your phone on the ground and pee on it!

Maybe not literally, but soon you will be able to charge your phone with urine. Not only that, the researchers aim to eventually use the technology to power household electrical appliances, too.

You may not have to waste your urine anymore. Image credit: Discovery news

Alternative power source: Urine powers mobile phone

British scientists said they have harnessed the power of urine and are able to charge a mobile phone with enough electricity to send texts and surf the Internet.

Researchers from the University of Bristol and Bristol Robotics Laboratory in south west England said they had created a fuel cell that uses bacteria to break down urine to generate electricity, in a study published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics.

"The beauty of this fuel source is that we are not relying on the erratic nature of the wind or the sun; we are actually reusing waste to create energy. One product that we can be sure of an unending supply is our own urine."
-Ioannis Ieropoulos, engineer/researcher at University of Bristol

According to them, the cell is currently big - the size of a car battery - but hope to shrink it to become portable soon.


How it works

The team grew bacteria on carbon fiber anodes and placed them inside ceramic cylinders. The bacteria broke down chemicals in urine passed through the cylinders, building up a small amount of electrical charge which was stored on a capacitor (battery).

The microbial fuel power stack (MFC) that they have developed generates enough power to enable SMS messaging, web browsing and to make a brief phone call.


TheGreenMechanics:
As long as people continue to pee, raw material for this technology will be available. The task now is to refine the idea to make the invention capable of fully charging a phone battery.


Source: Discovery news

Yanmar Kota Kinabalu R&D - a boost for Renewable and Alternative Energies

The bold move by Yanmar in setting up a Research and Development centre in Kota Kinabalu is commendable.

Other renewable-energy-inclined companies should emulate such noble cause, but, of course the state government would need to facilitate it by making the policies business-friendly. Yanmar's initiative is timely as Sabah is one of the major producer of CPO in Malaysia and this deserve more effort to unearth the potential of bio-diesel.

Kudos!

A Daily Express snippet

Yanmar's capital investment of RM17 million for new engine testing building

Yanmar Kota Kinabalu Research and Development Centre has increased its capital investment to RM17 million for its new engine testing building.

The building with four test benches for performance and durability tests was in line with the corporate mission to provide "sustainable solutions for needs essential to human life for our tomorrow."

In conjunction with the launching, the company also celebrated its 5th year business anniversary in Sabah. The celebrations were launched by the Kota Kinabalu Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir here on 17 May.

The centre, located on a 1.31-hectare site at the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park, is currently focusing on diesel engines based on the next generation fuel technologies such as biodiesel fuel and alternative energies.

The purpose of this new technology is to diversify the company's biodiesel fuel research for the reduction of greenhouse gas towards a better environment.

The centre also has a complete facility for chemical analysis for fuel in compliance with the European standard and the American Society for Testing and Material (ASTM) standard. The ASTM is a non-profit organisation.

Ref: iProperty.com

2MW landfill gas plant powers up 1000 homes

Thanks to innovative people.

According to Malaysia Book of Records, the biogas power plant at the Air Hitam Sanitary Landfill in Puchong is the first plant in the country to generate electricity using landfill gas.

About the landfill gas power plant:

Location                             : Puchong, Selangor
Landfill name                    : Worldwide Landfill Parks (renamed after being rehabilitated)
Generating capacity          : 2 MW
Feed-in tariff scheme         : Biogas (energy is sold to TNB at RM0.40/kWh for 16 years)
Feed-in tariff approval       : Since March 2012
Energy source                   : Landfill - solid wastes collected from around Klang Valley since 1995
Stored energy                   : The land-filled waste can sustain energy production for at least 16 years
Number of homes served  : about 1,000 although some reports stated 2,000 households.
Others                               : The park is open to visitors and researchers.

Zamri Abdul Rahman (left) showing SEDA CEO, Badriyah Abdul Malek (second right) and other SEDA representatives on how the methane gas is siphoned out for producing electric energy. Pic by NST/Che Rani Che Din


The Puchong Experience: 2 MW is produced at landfill gas plant

The methane gas from the Air Hitam Sanitary Landfill in Puchong -- generated from the waste accumulated over the past 10 years -- is now being put to good use to produce electricity.

The gas, found in landfills, is converted into electricity in a gas power plant that transfers the gas from underground pipes into an energy converter to produce, on average, two mega watts of energy every month. The electricity output is said to be able to power about a thousand households.

The landfill, which was closed after it reached its maximum use in 2006, was rehabilitated and renamed as Worldwide Landfills Park, with the renewable energy project undertaken by Worldwide Landfills Sdn Bhd. The landfill, saturated with 6.2 million metric tonnes of waste from its decade-old operations, can produce the 2MW energy for at least another 16 years.

The project was initiated in 2004, in cooperation with TNB Energy Services Sdn Bhd.

According to Worldwide Holdings Bhd general manager (environment) Zamri Abdul Rahman, the landfill was recently named as the first sanitary landfill to produce 2MW electricity in the Malaysia Book of Records.

"We are proud of the achievement and recognition given for the landfill. Nevertheless, our aim is to produce renewable energy from the waste at this former landfill," he said.

He said the project was initiated to supply power to the landfill operations but with TNB's participation, the electricity produced is now sold to TNB for 40 sen per kilo watt.

"The 2MW energy will be channelled to the main national power grid," he said.

Zamri added the Worldwide Landfills Park is open to visitors, especially students or agencies carrying out research on waste management and environmental studies. He said the company was looking at other landfills to convert them into power producers.

Zamri was speaking at a briefing session on the plant's operation to Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) chief executive officer Badriyah Abdul Malek and SEDA board members.
Source: New Straits Times


TheGreenMechanics' two cents: 

We have a solid waste dumping site near Kota Kinabalu located in Kayu Madang Telipok which I think would have been filled beyond its capacity by now. Some estimates this facility to be covering up to 145 hectares in lanfill area.

The dumping site has been there for more than 10 years and there's every possibility that this could surpass the capacity and sustainability of the gas power plant in Puchong, Selangor.

Malaysia going the Bio-oil way

During the Palm and Lauric Oils Conference and Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur last week, an exhibitor told that bio-oil, which is derived from biomass, it is a cheaper alternative to depleting fossil fuels. Compared to fuel oil, currently priced at around US$750 (RM2,325) per tonne, bio-oil can be be sold for US$375 (RM1,170) per tonne.


What is bio-oil

Bio-oil is a renewable diesel fuel converted from biomass through process called fast or flash pyrolysis. The fast pyrolysis occurs by heating compact solid fuels in the absence of air (oxygen) at temperatures between 350°C and 550°C for a very short period of time (less than 2 seconds) and then condensing the resulting vapors within 2 seconds.

The flash pyrolysis process to produce bio-oil *

Lipochem's bio-oil pilot plant *

Note: *Images from Lipochem's presentation handout.


Big potential for domestic use and export of bio-oil

Malaysia's ambition to produce and use more second-generation biofuel is fast picking up as process engineers embark on converting biomass to liquid fuel via fast pyrolysis.

“Second-generation biofuel, like bio-oil, is more environmentally friendly than biodiesel or bio-ethanol. This is because bio-oil is derived from biomass and this circumvents the food versus fuel dilemma,” said Lipochem Sdn Bhd managing director Koh Pak Meng.

Second-generation biofuels are a realistic alternative to the costlier fossil fuels. This is because bio-oil can be used to heat up water to produce steam to push turbines that generate electricity. This is a valuable means of replacing depleting fossil fuels like petroleum, coal and natural gas.

One can turn a wide range of biomass, for example agricultural waste like oil palm waste, into stable, concentrated bio-crude. This is then refined into bio-oil to replace fuel oil burnt in boilers.

Unlike the current burning of empty fruit bunches in oil mill boilers, Koh said bio-oil plants adopt the fast pyrolysis process, where biomass is heated rapidly to temperatures between 300° Celsius and 550°C at high pressure without any oxygen.

The gases released by the burnt biomass enter a quench tower, where they are quickly cooled and recycled back to the reactor as fuel.

“Bio-oil plants are the way forward as ithey are far more energy efficient and make the industry more carbon neutral,” he told Business Times at the sidelines of the Palm and Lauric Oils Conference and Exhibition, here, yesterday.

Currently, Lipochem’s demo plant in Klang is able to process fiveonnes of dry biomass a day. Koh said this plant, when scaled up 20 times to a commercial size of 100 tonnes a day, will cost around RM30 million.

“The return on investment for a typical 100-tonne-a-day bio-oil plant is around three years. It is a worthwhile investment.”

Koh said bio-oil has many of the advantages of petroleum fuels since it can be stored, pumped and transported. It is currently being combusted directly in boilers, gas turbines, and slow and medium speed diesels for steam and power plants.

“Fuel oil is priced at around US$750 (RM2,325) per tonne while bio-oil can be sold for US$375 per tonne. The price difference itself poses big potential for domestic use of bio-oil as well as for the export market.”


via: Business Times

MI: Recreate tornadoes to produce Electricity

Could this be billed as Mission Impossible? A man-made vortex that is 200 meters in diameter and goes up 10 kilometers into the air?

Not according to a retired engineer from ExxonMobil. The idea is to create a huge vortex of warm air to cause a change in pressure at the bottom in order to drive a turbine-generator. An idea derived from the tornado formation.

The concept of creating a vortex with Atmospheric Vortex Design. Illustration by vortexengine.

The unusual idea, but possible

Fossil fuel power plants generate ample waste heat that can be used to make more electricity. The idea is unusual, and for 35 years Louis Michaud, a retired engineer from ExxonMobil, has mulled over how to bring the concept into reality. Michaud just got some backing, and it’s coming from a prominent Silicon Valley technology investor. A foundation by Peter Thiel, who co-founded PayPal, just awarded Michaud a $300,000 grant to show that his idea could work, said Michaud from his home in the Canadian province of Ontario.

“I think there is a huge potential here, and I don’t want to let it go,” Michaud said.

The money will allow Michaud to experiment with and document the creation of a mini vortex for electricity generation at the Lambton College in the city of Sarnia. The college, located in an oil drilling region, has the proper lab equipment for his project.


How it works: The vortex

The concept for creating a vortex, like a tornado, is based on the fact that air, when heated, will expand, become lighter and rise up. As the air rotates and goes up, the pressure at the bottom of the vortex becomes lower. As surrounding air enters at the bottom, and the difference in pressures then drives a turbine generator to produce electricity.

The diameter and height of the vortex make a difference in how much energy can be produced. A vortex that is 200 meters in diameter and goes up 10 kilometers into the air could have the production capacity of 200 MW, Michaud said. He envisions power plant owners to set up vortex-building equipment at existing facilities to make use of the waste heat and increase the overall electricity-production efficiency of the power plant.


Existing technology

There already are technologies that exist today to harness waste heat at power plants. A combined-cycle natural gas power plant takes the heat byproduct from burning natural gas and makes steam to run a turbine generator. Doing so increases the efficiency of a power plant from the 40 percent range (simple-cycle design) to just over 60 percent (combined-cycle design).

Michaud claims that his vortex station could make use of the waste heat a second time and boost the efficiency by another 20 percentage points.

For his prototype project, he plans to build a much smaller one that goes up 15 meters into the air and shows how it could turn a turbine. Michaud hopes to produce enough results to prove the technology concept by the end of the summer of 2013.

If he can demonstrate the idea’s feasibility, then he will eventually need some willing power plant owners to give him a chance for a field demonstration. To make this happen will be especially difficult because power plant owners aren’t known to take technology risks. For one thing, they have to abide by a host of regulations, including safety rules, and often under law they could get penalized for not maintaining a reliable supply of electricity. Trying out new equipment could throw their energy production out of whack.


Source: REW

FRIM ready to produce biodiesel in larger scale

Let's not stop researching for biodiesel alternative. Just like what FRIM is doing:

Back in Oct 2011, Chairperson of the Malaysian Forestry Research and Development Board, YB Hajah Nancy Shukri poured the biodiesel into a bus. Photo credit: FRIM portal. One year on (Dec 2012), they say they are ready to produce it in larger scale.

FRIM NOW READY TO PRODUCE BIODIESEL

The Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) has been successful in growing 6,000 Jarak Pagar (Jatropa Curcas) trees, and now, it is ready to plant these trees on a large scale. The pilot project to grow these trees began in 2009.

These trees are also known as the Barbados Nut trees, the Purging Nut trees and the Black Vonit Nut trees. FRIM is planning to acquire a large piece of land from the Terengganu state government for the upcoming project.


COASTAL LAND MOST SUITABLE

Rosdi Koter, a research officer at FRIM, said Terengganu has close to 71,000 hectares of unused coastal land. He said the land is able to withstand extreme heat, and 99% of the soil is fused with silica. It is suitable for the cultivation of Jarak Pagar trees and Bintangor trees, which are capable of producing biodiesel.

Through this project, raw materials will be gathered for the production of biodiesel, which will ultimately increase the income of the locals.

"These trees can be easily planted, and the saplings do not face any threat from pests and animals like wild boars.

"FRIM is willing to provide its expertise for the success of the project," he said.


BIG POTENTIAL

FRIM stated that although Malaysia has the potential to become the world's largest biodiesel producer and the world's largest oil palm producer, many NGOs have criticised the idea of generating bio fuel from food sources like sugarcane and corn.

Hence, FRIM started research and development programmes in 2008 to find alternatives to palm oil with regard to the production of biodiesel from non-food sources.

The transfer of multi-feedstock technology in producing biodiesel had been carried out by FRIM and Xtract Tech Sdn Bhd, an entity under the postgraduate entrepreneurial training programme (FMBiosis), supported by the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC).

This resulted in the establishment of a FRIM pioneer plant in December 2010, which has the capability of producing 20,000 litres of biodiesel every month.

B20, a multi-feedstock compound, has been used by FRIM's vehicles, and it has enhanced the performance of engines in these vehicles. FRIM has also used B5, another biodiesel compound, in diesel-powered vehicles. FRIM requires 120,000 litres of the compound every year.


Source: Bernama

IBM sets world record for photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency

IBM's CZTS Solar Cell Device (Credit: IBM Research)

An efficient and affordable photovoltaic (PV) solar cell made of readily available natural materials was developed by team comprising IBM’s Materials Science and Japanese  company, Solar Frontier.

“Tests of our Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ (made of readily available copper, zinc, and tin, and referred to as CZTS) thin-film devices have achieved a world-record PV solar-to-electric power conversion efficiency of 11.1% (10% better than any previous reports) for this class of semiconductors, say IBM Research photovoltaic scientists Teodor Todorov and David Mitzi. And it can be manufactured by simple ink-based techniques such as printing or casting.


What makes CZTS better

Energy from the sun reaching the earth’s surface amounts to several thousand times our global consumption of electricity. Yet electricity from photovoltaic (PV) solar cells currently contributes significantly less than one percent of worldwide production. Of the numerous existing PV technologies, none so far have combined the virtues of being highly efficient, cheaply scalable and made with abundantly available materials.

Currently, the most widespread PV semiconductors, made of crystalline silicon, are abundant and highly efficient. They’re in panels used for everything from home electricity to the International Space Station. However, they have extremely high material purity requirements (>99.9999%), and the wafers are typically cut from large solid ingots and wired in series to form PV modules — making it expensive and difficult to upscale.

Other thin-film chalcogenide materials used in PV cells, such as Cu(In,Ga)(SSe)2 (CIGS) and CdTe, have been developed to a performance level close to that of silicon, with inherently more scalable processing, the scientists say. They are directly deposited on large-area, low-cost substrates such as glass, metal or plastic foil.

But their compounds contain rare and expensive elements that increase cost and limit their manufacturing levels to less than 100GW per year (worldwide continuous electricity consumption is 15 Terawatts — 150 times greater than the level of what these CIGS can produce).

“Our CZTS PV cells could potentially yield up to 500 GW per year — getting closer to the Terawatt levels of renewable electricity the planet needs.”

They hope that within several years this new class of photovoltaic materials will begin to contribute to the wider availability of lower-cost solar electricity.

Abbreviations:
CIGS     - Cu(In,Ga)(SSe)₂ (thin-film material)
CZTS     - Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄  (made of copper, zinc, and tin)
GW       - gigawatt
PV        - photovoltaic

Note: The original report was written by Teodor Todorov and David Mitzi, IBM Research photovoltaic scientists. Reference: IBM Research

TheGreenMechanics: Moving ahead for the better. With more and more breakthrough on finding cheaper and more efficient solar cell, let's hope that we wouldn't have to resort to nuclear power in the distant future.

Germany hikes electricity charge to finance Green Energy

It is inevitable, really.

To make renewable energy sustainable, a kind of levy has to be imposed on your energy consumption. The more you use energy the more surcharge (hidden charges if you like) will be levied on you. Germany is doing just that.


A biogas plant is seen behind a wind turbine in Nauen, Germany. Photo by AP via wtov9


Electricity surcharge up by almost 50%

Germany's electrical grid operators Monday (Oct 15, 2012) said they were hiking by nearly 50 percent the charge to consumers that goes to finance subsidies for renewable energy as the country phases out nuclear power.

Consumers will be asked to pay 0.05277 euros ($0.06839) per kilowatt hour of electricity consumed in 2013, the firms announced, compared to a 0.03592-euro surcharge this year.

For an average three-person house, this 47-percent increase amounts to an additional 60 euros per year to around 185 euros in add-on power taxes. In total, the network operators hope to collect more than 20 billion euros to finance renewables.

On Thursday, German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier said that Europe's top economy wanted to have 40 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020, up from a previous target of 35 percent.

Germany decided in the immediate wake of Japan's 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant disaster to shut down its nuclear reactors by 2022 and ramp up the use of renewable energy.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has made the so-called "Energiewende", the term used to describe both the end of nuclear power and the promotion of renewable energy sources, one of her government's priorities.

However, the policy has run into difficulties, notably due to technical and financing problems as well because of local resistance to building new power lines. - FRANCE24

Related story: Germany's clean-technologies industry to more than double by 2025


TheGreenMechanics:
Germany's new electricity surcharge of €0.05277 (RM0.21) is almost equal to Malaysia's average household electricity price. According to the EU statistical office Eurostat, Germany's average household electricity price is €0.253 (about RM1.00) per kWh, the second highest in the 27-member bloc behind Denmark. Suddenly our electricity tariffs seem so cheap.

In Malaysia, to help finance the Feed-in Tariff scheme, consumers who use up more than 350kWh per month are levied with 1% surcharge. This is good for a start but that just shows that we are still at infancy stage compared to Germany.

Japan to phase out nuclear energy by 2040

Wise move by Japan

On September 14, 2012, Japan announced that it too would phase out nuclear power generation by 2040 and would further develop renewable sources.

There are more than 50 nuclear plants in Japan. Graphic by AFP

World's biggest nuclear power producers

Japan trails only the United States and France in nuclear power generation capacity, and replacing the country’s 49,000-megawatt nuclear generating capacity could mean a big boost for both green energy and natural gas suppliers. A possible downside is that Japan would increase imports of crude oil, which it also has been burning to generate electricity to replace production from Fukushima.

According to the Financial Times, Japan’s remaining 50 nuclear plants will be shut down once they reach an operating lifetime of 40 years and no new nukes will be constructed. The last plants were built in 2006.

Japan’s nuclear plants provided about 30% of the country’s electricity and the country had planned to raise that to 50% by 2030. Today only one of the country’s nukes is still in operation and the rest were not restarted following shutdowns for safety inspections. That was not because the plants failed the inspections, but because the government responded to public demands to keep the nukes closed.


Positive impact on Japan's energy alternatives

Japan is the world’s largest importer of natural gas, virtually all of it in the form of liquid natural gas (LNG.) The large LNG projects in the Middle East, South Asia and Australia have already gotten a boost, and that boost will last longer and may get larger for big LNG producers like Shell, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips.

Japan currently has about 7% of the world’s total solar power capacity, and most analysts expect that number to rise significantly. Japan boosted its feed-in tariffs for solar power to $0.53 per kilowatt-hour in June over a period lasting for the next 20 years.

Japan’s Sharp is the world’s largest producer of solar PV panels, and with Kyocera poses a significant obstacle to foreign solar makers like First Solar and SunPower.


Wiser? While Malaysia plan to build, but Japan is shutting down

Malaysia, through MNPC (Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation) is said to be preparing a Nuclear Power Infrastructure Development Plan by 2013 to deliver Malaysia’s first nuclear power plant by 2021.

Earlier this year, MNPC and TNB revealed that the Nuclear Power Plant project has tiptoed to an advanced stage of development and that the final decision to “go nuclear” would be made next year or in 2014.

Nuclear power program in Malaysia - snapshot of IAEA's presentation

Why oh why, Malaysia?

Malaysia's plan to go nuclear is of great concern because Japan and France - the two supporters of nuclear energy - apparently have made major decisions to back away from reliance on nuclear power.

Germany announced earlier, after last year's disaster at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, that it would abandon nuclear power generation by 2022. So, it is very wrong for Malaysia to go the opposite direction. It does have many other alternatives other than nuclear.

Come on!

9.5 MW Mini Hydropower plants in Tuaran?

I was looking for information on how to develop a low-head micro hydro generator and found this proposed 9.5 MW Mini Hydropower plant in the District of Tuaran, on Scribd.

It is very interesting as the river (Sungai Tuaran/Kiulu) has been talked about as a suitable area for developing mini hydropower for sometime now. The salient features of the project is summarised in the following table.

Table 1: Salient features of the project

This working paper was written few years back by Afiepower Sdn Bhd and coffeeshop talk among the population at the affected area has it that the approval for the hydro-power scheme has been given although no confirmation of this from any government agencies or the local authority yet.


Brief facts about the project

Developer             : Afipower Sdn Bhd (JV between Afie Enterprise S/B and H2RM Engineering S/B)
Location                : 20 km Southeast of Tamparuli, on the 3 major tributaries of Tuaran River
                                (Sg. Mantaranau, Sg. Mulau 1 and Sg. Mulau 2)
Cost                      : RM96.9 million
Completion           : Within 24 months
Scheme                : Build-Own-Operate, BOO
Mode of operation   : Run-off-river concept
Latitude/Longitude  : N06°05’028”-05°56’528” and E116°17’308”-116°23’372”
Total catchment area: 230 km sq
EIA report: done, although no documentation seen yet

Installed capacity         : 9.5 MW, consist of:
                                          Sg. Mulau 1: 5 MW
                                          Sg Mantaranau: 2.5 MW
                                          Sg. Mulau 1: 2 MW
Export capacity              : 9.12 MW
Generator rated voltage   : 3.3kV, 50Hz, pf. 0.85
Feeding to SESB line     : transformed 11kW fed to a 11/33kV substation at Kg Pukak
Selling price                  : 19.5 cents/kWh
Licence period               : 21 years (proposed PPA)


You can also get access to this documentation at Scribd by clicking the link below. Enjoy reading:

PROPHO

No diagrams and detailed construction dimensions as these were not uploaded to Scribd by the document uploader.

Hope this is an interesting read for many.

Solar Charity: Groups using solar to end Energy poverty

General Electric (GE), on many occasions, has been my reference and source of information on energy matters. It is due to GE's commitment to build innovative solutions to today’s environmental challenges that brings me to share with you this article on cheap and affordable solar power.

Today, it is estimated that there are approximately 1.3 billion people who live without regular access to energy. People are forced to use fuels that pollute and cause respiratory illnesses, like kerosene and biomass, and spend long hours time collecting fuel.

Ending energy poverty is about more than helping people see at night — it’s about economic opportunity, safer and healthier communities, better educational opportunities and connection to the rest of the world. Below is a look at a handful of the many organizations working to end energy poverty using solar power.


1 LITER OF LIGHT

Isang Litrong Liwanag, or 1 Liter of Light, uses the Solar Bottle Light design – a cheap, sustainable, light bulb alternative – to light buildings during the day around the world.


Solar bottles ready for use in the Philippines. Photo: Isang Litrong Liwanag


The Solar Bottle Light requires a one-liter plastic bottle, bleach, and a bottle-shaped hole in the roof. The plastic bottle is filled with a mixture of water, and bleach. It’s then capped, sealed, and placed in the hole halfway below and halfway above the roof. The water inside the bottle refracts and disperses sunlight, giving the bottle the power of a 50-60 watt light bulb.

The design was pioneered by Alfredo Moser, a mechanic in Sao Paulo, who needed to light his workshop when his neighborhood suffered a long cut in electricity in 2002. Since then, students from MIT have worked with 1 Liter of Light to help develop the design further.


SOLAR ELECTRIC LIGHT FUND (SELF)

SELF, a DC-based non-profit, grew out of an organization that sought to illuminate rural India in the 1990s. Since then, the company has installed solar electric systems in places including Benin, Lesotho, Burundi, Kenya and, most notably, Haiti, where the organization created systems that power 11 health care facilities and a hospital run by the NGO Partners In Health.



Solar Electric Light Fund project in Benin, West Africa. Photo: Changemakers


Through this installation, the organization has improved the quality of medical services for over 170,000 Haitians by powering lights, microscopes, vaccine refrigerators and other lifesaving equipment with renewable energy.


SOLAR SISTER

Solar Sister is a social enterprise committed to eradicating energy poverty by encouraging economic development. Solar Sister gives women entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow a sustainable business selling solar products. The organization reinvests any profits back into their network of entrepreneurs, creating a sustainable business with a positive impact on the environment and the community.


WE CARE SOLAR

WE CARE Solar is a non-profit organization that manufactures the Solar Suitcase, a portable solar system, for health clinics.


Medical Solar Suitcase. Photo: We Care Solar


The Solar Suitcase is easy to use and is designed to be used at night when emergency health care is needed. The suitcase comes with highly efficient medical lighting, as well as power for mobile communication, computers, and medical devices. To date, the design has been used in almost 200 clinics in 17 countries, including Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, and South Sudan.


PROJECT SURYA

To replace the highly polluting cooking stoves traditionally used in rural areas, Project Surya invented a stove that requires less than half as much biomass fuel, and emits less greenhouse gases. The improved stove has a solar lamp and a solar-panel powered fan to improve combustion. The project will help divert black carbon, methane, and ozone from the environment. In addition, because exposure to traditional biomass fuel can cause upper respiratory complications, low birth weight, eye diseases, and even blindness, replacing the stoves with clean technology is expected to improve public health.

Can BioPro Diesel be the green energy alternative?

Few days ago Bernama carried an interesting article about BioPro Diesel, claimed to a breakthrough fuel invented by researchers from University of Malaya. If it is true to what the BioPro is billed for, this could probably solve the issues of palm oil wastes and pollution related to wastes disposal.

Photo: Faculty of Engineering, News & Events - UM

The super-clean diesel

BioPro diesel is derived from palm oil waste through bioprocess, i.e. using enzymes in a low pressure, low temperature process.

Codename      : Biopro Diesel TM, or BPD100
Cost               : RM1.50/litre
Unique feat     : 100% from palm oil waste (compare: biodiesel is 80% diesel and 20% palm oil)
Compliance    : Euro 2M and Euro 4M emission standards
Acid content   : 0.2 mg/KOH/g
                      (compare: other EURO 2M/4M compliant diesel have recorded a max. 0.25 mg/KOH/g)


Comparative studies between BioPro Diesel and conventional diesel

Vehicle used                     : 10-year-old Mitsubishi pickup
Method                             : driven to travel 100 km
Using conventional diesel   : costs RM28 (US$9)
Using BioPro (BPD100)     : costs RM16 (US$5)
Saving                              : up to 45%
Engine RPM                     : lower by 500rpm when using BioPro Diesel

Others advantages:
      - lesser soot, less polluting
      - will not clog fuel filters
      - can be used in any diesel engines with no modification needed


Big potential

Malaysia currently has about 420 palm oil mills mostly located in Johor, Sabah and Selangor, the potential is huge. UM scientists estimated that based on BioPro price of RM1.50/liter, total revenue from these palm oil mills could be up to RM40 billion per year.

The investment? RM12 million is needed for a palm oil affluent process plant to produce 25 tonnes of BioPro diesel daily. The byproducts created during the extraction process can be used as fertilizer and water, which can then be reused at other industry applications.


TheGreenMechanics' two cents: If this alternative fuel is super-clean, cheaper and can readily replace the conventional fossil diesel, they should speed it up and let us start using it immediately. Don't limit ourself to just the palm oil effluent, let's use some end-product palm oil as well.

References: further readings at -
Bernama - http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v6/newsfeatures.php?id=680560
Faculty of Engineering, UM - http://engine.um.edu.my/about/displayevent.php?id=25