Sunday, July 8, 2012

Renewable energy from acacia tree

The Acacia Manguim is believed to have originated originated from Australia but later distributed to many South East Asian countries, including Malaysia. The plant is highly adaptable and it can invade secondary forests very fast. In some instances this tree species was blamed for erosion of other hardwood specie in Sabah forest.

If you travel from Tamparuli to Ranau this plant is a common sight along the road and in particular as you start ascending and nearing Pekan Nabalu, the site to get your first close up view of the beautiful Mount Kinabalu.


Flower of the Acacia Mangium. | 6mm | f/4.5 | 1/250 sec |


1MW renewable energy

Recently a local daily carried a special report about Sabah Softwood Berhad's (SSB) effort to generate 1 megawatt (MW) of renewable energy from the burning of acacia mangium woodchips. The 1 MW is enough to power the entire operations of one of the estates belong to SSB.

The 1 MW renewable  energy Gasification Plant managed by SSB has been in operation since 2010 and the use of acacia woodchips and  other wastes ensure that the company's operation sites, such as Dumpas Estate achieve almost zero waste.


More than 25,000ha have been planted with tree species, mainly on acacia mangium
[Source: SSB website]


SSB's chipmill is the region's most sophisticated and it is the largest integrated woodchip mill in Sabah and Malaysia. The chipmill is the only mill in the country designed to process high volume of man made forest plantation timber at low cost. The woodchips are mainly exported to Japan, China and a few other countries in South East Asia.

With a well managed operation, SSB's chipmill received the globally recognised Forest Stewardship Council  - "Chain-Of-Custody" (COC) certification for woodchip manufacturing in Accacia Mangium woodchip products. This COC certification provides a guarantee that the production procedures are in place to track raw materials from the source, all stages of processing and eventual distribution.


Gasification Plant

Gasification is a process that converts timber - in the SSB case woodchips - into wood gas, a syngas consisting of atmospheric nitrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, traces of methane, and other gases, which can then be used to power an internal combustion engine or for other purposes.

In the absence of petroleum, gasification plants can be used to run internal-combustion engines, or gas turbines, using wood which is a renewable resource.


After Fukushima: Japan eyes clean energy revolution

Last year Japan was devastated by a massive earthquake, followed by tsunami and the failure of nuclear reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. This was the second largest nuclear disaster after Chernobyl in 1986. As what happened during the WW2, Japan quickly get back on its feet and recovered.

Landscape of energy production has taken a relook and the Japanese government was quick to look at renewables to supplement the reduced amount of energy obtained from nuclear plants.


Large-scale solar PV plant in Kyoto. AFP photo through mysinchew.com


Like many other countries, including Malaysia, under the new policy utilities in Japan must buy all electricity produced from green sources such as, wind, geothermal, and solar at premium rates for the next twenty years. This should be good news as Japan, as a big economy, could spur the renewable energy industry particularly solar PV. The expected sudden increase demand could bring down the cost to produce renewable energy.


Look East Policy is still relevant

The look east policy during Dr Mahathir's premiership is still very much relevant. The work culture that brought Japan to where it is today must be emulated in order for Malaysia to achieve its high-income, developed nation goal.

Our Feed-in tariff under the Renewable Energy Act 2010 is 'older' than Japan's similar policy. But while we are still crawling in implementation, Japan is already gearing for massive investment in renewables, and in solar PV alone, there is already indication that Japan is poised to quickly overtake Germany and Italy to become the world's second-biggest market for solar power by creating an estimated $9.6 billion market.

So, don't just watch them. Take action!


For further readings:

Japan eyes clean energy revolution
-as reported by AFP in mysinchew.com, 5/7/2012

TOKYO, July 4, 2012 (AFP) - Even as Japan begins cranking up its nuclear reactors again, Tokyo has launched a scheme it hopes will spark a green-energy revolution and put the country at the leading edge of renewables.

The scheme comes as Japan debates its future energy policy, and is squarely aimed at forcing change in the way Japan's enormous -- and powerful -- utility companies operate. The tsunami-sparked meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant in March last year led to the shuttering of Japan's entire stable of reactors.

They forced Tokyo to turn to expensive fossil fuels to replace the third of the country's electricity the atomic plants had produced. Analysts say despite public fears, nuclear is here to stay for the foreseeable future, but resource-poor Japan must rebalance its energy mix and make greater use of renewables.

The so-called feed-in tariff could spur a whopping 85-percent rise in solar cell demand in Japan this year alone, according to Nomura Securities, and "trigger a full-scale launch of large solar farms in Japan".

"New solar cell installation could expand further if the uptake of inexpensive, Chinese-made solar cells accelerates," Nomura analyst Kyoichiro Yokoyama said in a research note. The amount of new solar power capacity that Nomura predicts for Japan this year is equal to about two nuclear reactors.

"I want to use it as a trigger to fuel the use of renewable energy," Industry Minister Yukio Edano said recently.

"It is clear that additional cost is necessary to promote greater use of renewable energy and to end our reliance on nuclear plants as soon as possible," he added.

Japan gets less than two percent of its power from renewable sources, rising to about 10 percent including hydroelectric power, but still below other industrialised nations. As of 2010, Japan's solar power output was about one-fifth that of Germany, while Tokyo was in 12th place globally in terms of wind-power generation.

Some Japanese firms have already made their move, including electronics giant Toshiba, which said it would build a huge solar plant on the country's disaster-struck northeastern coastline.

Rival Panasonic said it expected a boost in its solar-power system sales on the back of the new programme, which puts Japan on track to leapfrog Italy as the world's fourth-largest solar market by 2014, behind China, the United States and India, according to Nomura.

Mobile phone operator Softbank opened a plant in Kyoto at the weekend and has plans to build Japan's biggest solar plant -- in the northern island of Hokkaido.

"If we keep building solar panels and invest in solar energy, within 20 years it will not only become the safest and the cleanest source of electricity but also the cheapest," Softbank chief Masayoshi Son told reporters.

A group of Japanese firms led by trading house Marubeni plan to build a large floating experimental wind farm that could supply power for over 100,000 households, Jiji Press has reported. Under the scheme, premiums for different forms of renewable energy vary, but utilities must pay 42 yen (53 cents) per kilowatt hour for solar power, over twice the rate paid to operators in Germany, with generation costs in Japan less than 30 yen per kilowatt hour, Nomura said.

Those costs are at least three times those of nuclear and fossil-fuel energy, according to government estimates. However nuclear power costs are expected to spike amid heavy compensation and clean-up bills after Fukushima, the world's worst atomic accident in a generation. 


Critics have opinion of their own

Critics of the scheme, which came into effect Sunday, say it is too expensive, with most of the extra costs heaped on businesses and households. They say the new contracts are too generous and benefit a small number of green power operators, with few guarantees that they can make it a profitable enterprise and usher in a massive shift for Japan's energy mix. 


"The 20-year guarantee seems a bit too sweet a deal", said Yasuchika Hasegawa, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives.

"The initial incentive is necessary. But five to 10 years should suffice... I hope they will review this plan."


Saturday, July 7, 2012

Google Nexus 7: The best 7-inch tablet yet for $199

From the many online reviews, the Nexus 7 has got to be the tablet to beat in the 7-inch category. For mere $199 you get to own a highly specced Android tablet produced by Asus in collaboration with Google.


Nexus 7 by PC World
Image credit: PC World


Nexus 7 Specifications

Tablet name              : Google Nexus 7
Dimensions               : 198.5 x 120 x 10.45 mm
Display                      : 7", TFT active matrix (LED backlight)
Display Resolution    : 1280 x 800 (216 ppi)
Weight                      : 340g
OS                             : Android 4.1 - Jelly Bean

Processor                 : 1.3GHz, NVidia Tegra 3, Quad-Core
Storage                    : 8 GB and 16 GB
RAM                         : 1 GB
Communications      : NFC, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
Camera                    : Front-facing only - 1.2 MP
Location navigation : GPS receiver
Multimedia               : Audio Microphone , Speaker
Interface                  : 1 x Micro-USB
Battery Capacity      : 4325 mAh, about 10 hours run time
Other features          : Gyro sensor, Accelerometer, Magnetometer

Announced               :  27 June 2012
Available                  : TBA (probably third quarter of 2012)

This will be much more affordable than the locally produced but yet to be release 1Mpad, or 1Malaysia Pad which is priced at RM999 (US$330).

The Nexus 7 is priced at $199 (RM630) for the 8GB storage and $249 (RM790) for the 16GB variant. With the increasing size of apps in the market, the 16GB is a better option considering the fact that this tablet has no SD expansion slot. But for the budget conscious the 8GB unit should do just fine.

I mentioned not too long ago that that in future heavy school bags could be replaced by affordable tablet computer. This may just pave the way to have the idea a go.


Nexus 7 by wptv
Any resemblance to the iPad? Image credit: wptv.com


Specification-wise, this seem to be the best Android tablet yet, but until you get to touch and fiddle with the gadget yourself, this is just a paper claim. If industry norm is to be followed by Google-ASUS, the tablet should be available in two to three weeks from now.

Con:
Having no rear-facing camera is not a good news when most tablets offer it. But 3G connectivity is a deal breaker for me as WiFi is not yet widely available here, especially when you travel outside of the city. So, I may just pass this one.

But for RM599, it is very tempting to get the 8GB version as a second/backup tablet.