Solarator - the portable 600W solar power generator

If you are living in a remote location where grid power is not available you would be familiar with the portable 600W or 1200W-rated gasoline generators. These are good enough to power up few fluorescent lamps, a couple of table fans, and your radio/TVs. Sorry, no air-contitioners please.

Save the petrol and go for the sun instead. Because HHV Solar (India) may have just helped you with what you need - a sustainable power supply without the need to re-fuel.

A suitcase you can bring anywhere? Not quite, it weighs 415 kg - not really portable. Pic: HHV Solar.

A leading solar module manufacturer, HHV Solar Technologies, in April 2012 announced the launch of its revolutionary solar device called Solarator, a trailer-mounted, solar PV power generator ideally suited for remote locations and as an emergency power source.

The company claims that it is the first such product developed in India  and the big advantage of the Solarator is that it is a “green” power device.

The Solarator was displayed at the London Solar Energy Exibition as reported by Syllogic.

The Solarator power generator

It consists of 2 high efficiency solar modules, each of which can generate 300 Watt of electricity. The modules utilise mono crystalline silicon cells which convert sunlight into electricity. During transport, the modules are folded compactly and at the site, unfolded to catch the sun’s rays.

The generator and the two-wheeled trailer on which it is mounted, together weigh only 415 kg which makes it easy for the system to be hauled or even air-lifted to remote places. A completely sealed water proof compartment at the bottom of the trailer houses all electronics and electrical, to avoid any short circuits. This compartment also has space for luggage/camping equipment which needs to be carried along. - HHV website.


Specifications

Product name             : Solarator
System power             : 2kVA on continuous AC power
Solar module capacity : 600 Watt
Solar module               : 2 x 300W, mono-crystalline. Make - HHV Solar
Storage                      : 300 Ah, maintenance free battery bank. Make - Powersonic
Power outlet                : 230Vac x 50Hz, 24Vdc, charger socket
Inverter                       : 2000 VA. Make - Outback
Weight                       : 415 kg, together with its 2-wheel trailer
Price                          : Estimated 3.5 lakh (US$6,500) although yet to be fully commercialised.

TheGreenMechanics:
Thanks to innovation, we can have more 'fully-functional' portable solar power generators; not just some solar-powered lantern lamps for the remotely located folks. With the many solar module manufacturers in Malaysia, there should be some innovations somewhere by some practical guys. How I wish I am in the solar photovoltaic industry.


Note: Pictures are from HHV Solar website and Syllogic whose active links are provided in the respective images.

Solar-powered motorbike by Sunred

Two-stroke vehicles, especially motorbikes are known for their inefficiency i.e. energy consumption is higher due to the way the fuel is incompletely burned and wasted out of the exhaust pipe.

But people innovate and who say motorcycle cannot be made 'cleaner'.

Hobbyist who like riding their big-engine motorbikes, as well as clean energy enthusiasts will definitely find this interesting. SunRed demonstrated that you can ride your favourite bike and at the same time be a green advocateur.

Concept solar-powered bike by Quimera

How it works

Think about all those hours the motorcycle is left parked under the baking sun. The bike gets its power from this. Also, due to the snail shape design, solar plates are installed in such a way that they harvest energy from the sun no matter how the bike is positioned.

The prototype design of solar-powered bike by Spanish automotive company SunRED was showcased in an autoshow in Barcelone and won the prize for best innovative.

BusinessWeek reported that the bike’s 3.1 sq meters of armadillo-looking solar panels soak up the sun’s rays while it is parked, then retract to reveal the driver’s seat when it is time to go. While an alternative power source has yet to be included in the design, the solar cells alone would allow it to reach speeds of up to 48 km/h and a range of up to 21 km.

SunRED's snail shape design bike. Or scooter, if you like.

Further development

The project is still on-going and SunRED is collaborating with Quimera to build a complete purpose-built electric platform that allows customization to any type of bike/scooter. Once completed, it will be capable of recharging through both solar panels and plug-in electricity. The hybrid charging methods can take the bike around 120km of traveling with top speed of 100km/h.

120 km range is more like it, because a bike that can travel 21 km in a single charge is not really appealing to many.

Brief technical specifications made available by Quimera:

Power               - 18kW
Torque              - 96 Nm
Consumption     - 10KWh/100 km in Euro cycle
Range               - 100km (Euro cycle)
Top speed         - 100 km/h
Charge time      - 70% in 1hour
Energy storage  - Lithium polymer batteries
Cooling             - Water-cooled electric engine

TheGreenMechanics' two cents:
I like the armadillo or pangolin-shape design. On one hand, it says many things about nature and the impressive innovation of the solar modules; what you normally see is the square design. On the other hand, I am not too sure about the efficiency of the solar cells so arranged.

LED streetlights by 2014

If the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment has its way, by 2014 Malaysia will be using Light Emitting Diode (LED) to light up its streets. By doing so, the government is expected to save RM300 million every year on energy expenses for streetlights.

    A typical LED streetlight, powered by solar. The ministry's initiative will be on grid power.

An example of a widely use of LED lamp application bright sighboards and traffic lights. Due to its directional light beam, when angled correctly, LED lamp is very bright and suitable for traffic lightings during daytime.


Initiative by KePKAS

According to Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister (KePKAS), Datuk Bolkiah Hj Ismail, the move to use LED for street-lighting is to achieve a sustainable development through the adoption of green technology. It is the government's desire to look into more development plans that are environmentally friendly.

Through the use of green technology via LED lights, there is an expected saving of up to 75% (I'm quoting Datuk Bolkiah) of energy compared to conventional lights. A pre-qualification registration and consulting service on the use of LED lights to contractors was held on Monday, organised by Realkey Solutions Sdn Bhd.

The Federal Government is expected to roll out the budget on the installation of LED lights nationwide soon. State governments, agencies and departments may also receive a huge allocation to phase out conventional lights.

To help the nation reduce carbon emission, the State Government would take the LED lights installation as one of the steps towards the adoption of green technology. At the federal level, LED lights will be installed at Ministry of Health premises and streets under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department.

Teluk Likas street showered with LED lights? Maybe, soon.

TheGreenMechanics' two cents: Massive funding, don't screw it!

Do up some rough mathematical calculations and using 5 to 6 years of ROI, the total investment in the LED street lighting could cost the government a whopping RM2 billion to RM2.5 billion. But with the large number of lights to be replaced the amount should be much lesser than this. The intention is noble, so, don't screw this by turning the exercise into a national scandal.

LED lighting technology is still evolving and lamp manufacturing code has not been standardised yet, unlike the conventional lights.

What this means is that each manufacturer (e.g. Philips, Osram, GE, Siemens, etc) will have their own standard on fittings, rating, lifespan, build and so on, making compatibility a big issue.

For instance, when you buy a Philips LED bulb c/w fitting, 6 to 7 years down the road you would want to replace a faulty 'bulb'. You can only do so using a Philips 'bulb' and not Osram's or Siemens'. If you insist on other brand, you would then need to replace the whole fitting which is a very expensive affair.

In short, plan properly at the beginning and don't blow the budget halfway.


Reference: http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=81885

20 MW Apple's NC Solar Farm?

Read the title or mention Apple and you immediately think about iPhone and iPad. You are not to blame for such alignment. In fact, to the people outside of the US these two products are the closest they could relate the blooming company to. Little known is Apple's green initiative for sustainable energy source in solar PV. The company is initiating a solar farm in North Carolina.

Mention Samsung to anyone anywhere in the world and chances are the person knows at least one or two of their telecommunication products. Apple and Samsung are two electronics giants that are shaping the way we communicate today. In their own right, they should be the front-runners in terms of sending the go-green message to the world. Let's look at how environmental-friendly they are.

Samsung's Green initiatives

Samsung Electronics' green initiatives are enveloped in its company-wide commitment called PlanetFirst^TM, a commitment to become one of the world’s most environmentally friendly companies by 2013.

Samsung's green initiatives. Click image for large view.

In order to make this commitment a reality, Samsung targeted four specific areas: reducing greenhouse emissions, offering more eco-friendly products, building eco-management partnerships around the world, and investing in eco-friendly R&D design facilities. Obviously, this is a huge project, but we are proud to share some of the outcomes - by samsungtomorrow.

Check out Samsung's PlanetFirst™ short video clip here.

To summarise things for this company, Samsung Electronics' Green Initiative have accumulated green management investment to a total of US$1.90billion since 2009.

Apple's 20MW Solar Farm?

While Samsung focus its green initiatives on products and procedures, Apple seem to be a step ahead in harnessing renewable energy to power up its operations.

RenewableEnergyWorld carried a report in its magazine revealing Apple's plan for a big solar project at its new data farm in North Carolina.

In February,  Apple disclosed plans to partly power its giant new data farm in Maiden, NC, with a 20 megawatt (MW) solar system. Also part of the plan is a smaller fuel cell system. Early March, there was a new filing with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) that lays out more details about the proposed 100-acre project, including size, possible cost, and the main technology supplier.

Some of the information that can glean from the publicly available NCUC documents, filed under "SP-1642/Sub 0" are as follows:-

Size and scope: 
No of installations: 14 PV installations, though the final number is yet to be determined.
PV modules:  E20 435-watt photovoltaic modules, rated at 20% efficiency
Energy output: Planned  for 20MWl.

Timeline: 
Expected to start delivering power to the grid as early as October 2012,
Whole installation to go online by December 31.

What's not said:

The documents don't directly get into costs either for Apple or Duke, except to say that there will be no discernable impact on Duke Energy's expansion plans or costs. For Apple, all it reveals is that the project will be self-financed from both current assets and ongoing operations, and represents "less than a quarter of a percent of positive cash/securities balance." However, in Apple's latest public filing as of Sept. 2011 (also listed in the NCUC docs) that cash/securities number is listed as $97 billion, so 0.0025 percent out of that is roughly $242 million - source: RenewableEnergyWorld.com

TheGreenMechanics says: I believe it's their noble intention

Both Samsung and Apple have so far shown interest and investment (read commitments) in ensuring sustainable working environment, and products.  

On whether they are looking more at taking care of their bottom line, is remained to be seen but indications are that both electronics giants are also caring for a safer and sustainable environmental care.

Energy Efficient Singapore

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In my previous postings It Pays to Go Green and 5-Star Appliances and Rebates for You, I mentioned rebates of up to RM200 for energy-efficient appliances.

For the time being these rebates are for air-conditioners and refrigerators with 5-Star labels. This is one of the steps taken by Malaysia government towards wider usage of household appliances with high efficiency.

For Malaysia, energy-efficient equipment requirement is voluntary.

Singapore is a step further. The city state has imposed standards for minimum energy performance (MEPS) and it is now mandatory for exporters and manufacturers, including Malaysia, to comply with new standards if they want to continue selling these products there.

Among the specifications in these standards are types of goods, cooling capacity (in kW), minimum coefficient of performance, adjusted volume and maximum annual energy consumption (in kW).

What does that mean to our many manufacturing companies and consumers in Malaysia? A handful, both negatives and positives:

1. Higher production cost, product differentiation between export quality and 'local use'. Expect lower efficiency for local market. Remember, our carrots (rebates) are based on voluntary participation from manufacturers.
2. Accelerated acceptance of green technology. Manufacturers will now have to innovate to produce goods that are more efficient but cheaper in order to stay competitive.
3. Malaysia will have to come up with MEPS sooner than later. This should fulfill the government's pledge to reduce carbon emission.
   

My opinion: Incentives are good, it helps in many instances and no doubt it can spur the advancement of green technology on to certain feel-good level. But couple with regulatory measures, the pace of such growth will certainly be better.

Read about the imposition of new standards here.

FEW Willing to Pay to go GREEN

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Only 1 in 5 Malaysian consumers are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products.

That is according to a global study by analysis firm Nielsen, and it's pretty low an appetite for greener products on our part.

According to Nielsen’s 2011 Global Online Environment and Sustainability Survey, 9 out of 10 Malaysian consumers show awareness and concern for environment pollution but 20% would actually be willing to pay more towards contributing to a greener world if it cost more to purchase environmentally friendly products.

There were 51 countries worldwide surveyed online and Malaysia ranked 9th in terms of consumer worries about the impact of air pollution and global warming. In this respect, Malaysians have shown good improvement compared to the last poll conducted in 2009. But being aware and concern is useless if they are not coupled with a commitment of sort, and this is where we are still lagging behind other countries.

What this means to the green industry is that this findings will have big implications for retailers and manufacturers looking to invest in environmentally-featured products to meet consumer needs.

I remember a quote by our State Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun, "...that it is about time we start paying to view cultural shows and performances so that not only will our cultures be preserved but it will become a self-sufficient industry..." or thereabout, and I fully agree with him.

It is about time we pay a little more for eco-friendly products. Hopefully this, together with the incentives given by the government will bring down further the cost of producing such goods.

Read more about Nielsen's 2011 Global Online Survey here.

So there, for every five Malaysians out there, only one is willing to buy the more expensive green products. Could that person be you?