Author: smadmin

First floating solar power plant in India

Tata Power is joining hands with the Sunengy Pty Ltd, an Australian solar power company to set up India’s first floating solar plant. It would be a low cost plant as the economic floating solar technology invented by Sunengy is going to be used. According to Mr.Banmali Agrawala, the executive director of Tata Power, India’s private electrical utility provider, Tata Power plans to set this floating solar unit on water that in the company’s quest for providing sustainable energy that is also eco-friendly. As this would be set on water surface land competition can be reduced considerably and it can be used for other purposes.
According to Mr.Phil Connor, executive director and chief technology officer of Sunengy, this plant would be built using their patented Liquid Solar Array (LSA) technology. LSA technology works by converting a large water source like a dam into a battery that can store solar energy. Such a setup would be a better method of water management and does not require acquisition of vast land.
Basically concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology will be used to make the solar cells floating on water. This floating reduces the cost of mounting solar cells on costly and strong supporting structures. This also makes the structure cyclone proof. Thus a lens and an array of solar cells would track sunlight throughout the day. In bad weather conditions the lens and cells would get submerged under water. However, this cooling would increase the life and efficiency of the cells and the lens.
The pilot plant in India would be commenced only in August 2011. Meanwhile, Sunengy would establish a larger LSA in the NSW Hunter Valley by mid 2012. Tests for the Indian units would be done at the CSIRO Energy Center in New Castle, New South Wales, Australia.
Thus by setting such a low cost solar plant, Tata Power can make a breakthrough by providing power at a reduced cost. The success of this plant can certainly be an eye-opener for using solar power extensively.
Source: www.ecofriend.com/entry/india-s-first-floating-solar-plant-by-tata-power-and-sunengy/

Energy provided by passing trains

Rail travel is one of the greenest means of traveling across the country, but it could be even more efficient if the infrastructure itself produced electricity. Companies have already come up with plans to harness energy from passing trains using piezoelectric pads, and now two designers have developed a device that could harness the wind energy produced by speeding trains.
Ale Leonetti Luparinia and Qian Jiang’s T-Box is a power generator that captures wind energy from passing trains. It is designed to be installed into the spaces between existing rail tracks – around 150 T-Boxes could hypothetically be installed over 1km of track.
A passing train travelling at 200 kph would produce a wind speed equivalent to 15 m/sec. The T-Box would be able to catch this wind and produce about 3,500 W of power. If the train was 200m long, going at a speed of 300 kph and travelled 1km in 18 seconds, the T-Boxes would be able to produce about 2.6 KWh. This energy could then be utilized to power remote areas that don’t have electricity or rail sub-systems.
Source:inhabitat.com/t-box-harnesses-wind-energy-from-speeding-trains/

Eco-friendly seagull

This Eco Solar-Powered Flapping Seagull Kit is a great way to teach children about the abilities of the eco-friendly energy source of solar power. The flapping seagull comes in kit form, once assembled the kit is a plastic seagull that flaps its wings in the sunlight.
The Solar Powered Flapping Seagull Kit is perfect for children who have little experience in creating toys from kit form. The kit includes an illustrated instruction guide and only has 12 parts to assemble but does require you to have diagonal cutters and a pair of scissors. The flapping seagull is created from high density plastic parts, coloured to look like a seagull. The solar panel on the seagull’s back is used to provide power to flap the wings, allowing the seagull to appear to be in flight on a sunny day.
The Flapping Seagull Kit can be used as an educational aid to help teach children about solar power. Due to the model being supplied in kit form the child can get full involved with it, learning how the parts go together and visually experiencing how effectively light energy is converted into electrical power that causes the wings to flap.
The Flapping Seagull Kit is supplied with a suction cup that allows you to secure the seagull to a sunny spot. It is best to place the seagull in direct sunlight to allow it to work in optimum conditions and to help demonstrate the abilities of solar power. The kit is a great way to get a child involved with science and to help them learn about solar energy while providing them with an entertaining toy that will never require batteries.
Source: www.ecosystemdiscovery.com/2011/02/eco-solar-powered-flapping-seagull.html

Vestas has plans for building a giant turbine in UK

Vestas has hinted it is considering building a new manufacturing facility in the UK, after unveiling the long-awaited design for its first wind turbine designed specifically for the next generation of offshore North Sea projects.
The world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer today launched the new V164-7.0MW turbine, which is 1MW larger than anticipated – and 1MW larger than the offshore turbines planned by rivals Siemens and General Electric.
Speaking at the launch of the turbine design in London today, Vestas chief executive Ditlev Engel said the company will require a new production facility for the 7MW machine at an undecided coastal location if it secures enough orders.
“This is an investment we are ready to make, but only if we see firm commitment from our customers,” he said. “A commitment that is backed by the political framework.”
Vestas Offshore president Anders Søe-Jensen confirmed the company’s Isle of Wight research and development centre will produce the V164’s 80 metre blades, each weighing 35 tonnes.
He also hinted the UK would be a strong contender for any new manufacturing site for the remaining components.
“[In order to lower costs] we need to build offshore where the wind resources are best, and that happens to be right here at our doorstep in the North Sea,” he said. “The ambitions and the volume definitely seem to be in the UK, but it is vital for the UK not to lose the first-mover momentum. Not least to address the energy gap at the end of the decade, but also to maximise possible job creation benefits.”
Weighing about 800 tonnes and standing at 187 metres high, the giant turbine constitutes Vestas’ largest ever research and development investment. It is expected to be able to produce enough electricity in one hour to supply one and a half households for a year.
The first prototypes are slated for construction in the fourth quarter of 2012, with serial production expected to start during the first quarter of 2015.
Source: www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2038728/vestas-manufacture-giant-7mw-wind-turbine-uk

Using cerium oxide to create solar energy

Newer and more exciting devices are being invented to harness renewable energy – especially solar energy. One such device is a prototype which uses one of the rare earth metals – ceria, otherwise known cerium oxide – utilizing its natural propensity of alternatively exhaling and inhaling oxygen as it heats up or cools down.
Formulated by US & Swiss researchers, this prototype has a quartz window and a small cavity to focus sunlight on a ceria-filled cylinder. With water and/or carbon dioxide being pumped into the vessel, hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide are created. Hydrogen by itself is used in hydrogen cells and by mixing hydrogen and carbon monoxide, fuel syngas can be produced.
As against the conventional photovoltaic cells, hydrogen and syngas are fuels which can be stored, are portable and can be used any time. The metal ceria is abundantly available being the most commonly found rare-earth metal. Professor Sossina Haile, from California Institute of Technology, has claimed that ceria is most suited for this process and fit for massive-scale production of fuels like hydrogen and syngas. She also said that saying that this prototype mimics plants’ photosynthesis is too generalized and over simplistic though the basic ingredients and working may be the same.
Daniel Davies, from Solar Century, a British firm called the research as ‘exciting’. The possibility of large-scale production and portability of the fuel are the plus points of this device according to him. But Professor Haile strongly contends that making or marring of this and other such prototypes depends very much on national and state-level carbon policy.

Source: www.alternative-energy-news.info/ceria-mimics-plant-life/

The new Wave Power Device

Ocean Power Technologies Inc. has announced that it has completed the first of its new generation utility-scale PowerBuoy device, the PB150. The PB150 Powerbuoy has a peak-rated power output of 150 Kw and is the largest, most powerful wave power device build by the company.
Ocean Power Technologies Inc. is a leader in wave energy technology. The PB150 PowerBuoy will have the equivalent to the energy consumption of approximately 150 homes – the PB150 is designed for use in arrays for grid-connected power generation projects worldwide, according to a press release.
The device is currently being prepared for ocean trials at a site approximately 33 nautical miles from Invergordon, off Scotland’s northeast coast. These sea trials are expected to commence as soon as weather conditions permit. The company is seeking additional financing for the commercial utilization of the buoy after the trial phase is completed, including its possible deployment at various potential sites.
A second PB150 is already under construction in the US for a proposed utility-scale project in Oregon, and the company is involved in other planned projects in Australia, Japan and Europe that may utilize the PB150.
Source: http://www.tomorrowisgreener.com/the-next-generation-wave-power-device/

Using wing waves to produce electricity

Just like wind mills and wind turbines that generate power and electricity from the wind, scientists are now working to generate power from the sea. Stephen Wood, an assistant professor of marine and environmental systems at Florida Institute of Technology’s College of Engineering is working on this technology for its advance and proper use. This technology will use Wing waves in a very efficient way to generate electricity and power from the sea.
The wing waves technology to produce electricity and power from sea is a project initiated by a renewable energy firm from Tallahassee called the Clean and Green Enterprises. This firm has been working in this area since the past five years.
According Wood, about 200,000 houses can be lit with the help of one square miles of wings that produce around 1000 units of electric power. Power is generated by changing elliptical motion wave into mechanical energy after trapping it 30 feet to 60 feet below the sea.
To use Wing waves to produce electricity from the sea, there are two basic requirements: depth of 40 to 50 feet and a sandy bottom. Sea fans are placed on the sandy base. Though, bigger wings can be used to tap water to make electricity but for that the plant to make these wings has to be situated near the ocean. Till then, the fans having trapezoid-shaped wings that are 8 feet tall and 15 feet wide will continue to be used and they will be transported through road. The height and the width of the wings are carefully made so that they can be transported by the road and can be easily placed under the sea.The chief executive with Clean and Green Enterprises Inc., Terence Bolden says that the wings sway 30 degrees from side to side. They take 8 to 10 seconds to complete every arc. In this process, they produce electricity.
Source: www.alternative-energy-news.info/electricity-from-wing-waves/

The Risø energy report regarding RE

It is now certain that the current energy systems and technological advancements available in the world are not sufficient to make the planet free from the carbon dioxide that is emitted from those resources. To solve this problem, there is a scope to build new technologies and to bring the existing technologies together to get maximum benefit from the entire energy system including energy production, transformation, to energy transportation and distribution. Work in this direction will have to be taken at both macro and micro level.
The world will have to switch to renewable energy resources very fast, because despite the availability of renewable energy resources, a large part of the world is still dependent on traditional energy sources such as coal and gas. This over-dependence of these traditional resources will lead to a situation where by the end of 21st century, resources like coal and gas will become extinct from the world. Thus, continuous efforts need to be made to switch over to renewable energy resources. This switch can help many countries make a successful environment policy and reduce the consumption of imported oil and gas.
If Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy is to be believed, by the year 2050, the world will be in a position to use sources of energy with very low or no carbon emissions. The global energy system with low emissions will now have to use this new energy system in such a way that the cost of using these resources is also reduced.
The Risø energy report 9 gives a list of a number of energy technologies that will be commercially available for use in times to come. These technologies with no emission of greenhouse gases will help in reducing pollution.
The Risø energy reports, which have been prepared by the joint efforts of Danish and international experts look at energy issues of today and tomorrow from the perspective of the needs of Danish people, the region and the world. These reports are monitored by an independent panel of international experts and are based on scientific material that is internationally recognized.
Source: www.alternative-energy-news.info/renewable-energy-macro-micro/

The first wave power farm sets sail

Wave energy is among the impressive list of renewable energy resources that is being developed in the United States. New Jersey-based developer, Ocean Power Technologies has launched a project that features the nation’s first commercial wave power farm off the coast of Reedsport, Oregon.Once the project is completed, wave energy will generate power for several hundred homes in Oregon. The wave power farm operates on the wave energy that is created when a float on a buoy flows with the natural up and down movement of the waves.
This action subsequently causes an attached plunger to follow the same kind of ebb and flow movement. The plunger is attached to a hydraulic pump that changes the vertical movement to a circular motion, which drives an electric generator to produce electricity that is sent to shore through submerged cables.
When the initial project is finished, the first $4 million dollar buoy will measure 150 feet tall by 40 feet wide, weighing 200 tons. Nine more of these crafts will be set in motion by the year 2012 for a total cost of $60 million dollars. About four hundred homes will receive electricity from Oregon’s wave power farm by the completion of the project.
Solar: www.alternative-energy-news.info/wave-power-farm-sets-sail/

Biblio Leaf: solar-powered e-reader

Glad tidings for book lovers with green ethics! Maybe the e-reader does not consume much power. But if you love to read online and think you should do your bit towards using renewable energy, you have Toshiba and KDDI joining the ranks of LG to provide solar-powered e-readers. Biblio Leaf is the new kid in the e-reader block to match LG’s Solar eReader.
Biblio Leaf has a six-inch e-ink display and 2 GB memory that can be enhanced with a microSD card. With 3G & Wi-Fi connectivity, touch pad and buttons to turn pages etc, there is a battery onboard which can be recharged by a solar panel. Once charged fully, some 7500 pages can be read non-stop.
Biblio Leaf is to be released only in Japan presently as an add-on with the 3G wireless two-year contract at a $20 monthly cost. The smaller sized solar panel of Biblio Leaf may need more time for recharging as against the 4 hours needed by LG! The reader has to be careful not to cover the solar panel while holding the Biblio Leaf and reading from it.
Source: www.alternative-energy-news.info/e-reader-biblio-leaf/