Sunday, May 28, 2017
A new day in Powering Japan may take new ideas and funding, because of the Fukushima disaster.
From 2011...
From article, (Japan plans to build a floating wind farm near the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant as part of the country's disaster reconstruction effort, a government official said Thursday.
From article, (Japan plans to build a floating wind farm near the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant as part of the country's disaster reconstruction effort, a government official said Thursday.
Tokyo is seeking ways to reduce its reliance on atomic energy following the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl, and is eyeing the Pacific coast of Fukushima prefecture, the official said.
"This is part of the government's effort towards reconstructing the disaster area while promoting renewable energy," said an official at the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.
"Building wind power turbines on land would be more difficult, because of the problems of noise pollution and city planning regulations," said the official, who asked not to be named. "So we are looking at the space offshore.")
Me, "The Japanese governement is trying to calm fears on nuclear power. The only way it can succeed is by one relying more on Renewable energy, (which they are trying to do) and two either design safer nuclear reactors or give up on nuclear all together, (Which it seems Japanese people want) and find new ways of producing electricity. There are plenty of options out there ex, Kite Wind Power, Geothermal Power, Tidal Power, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion power. This could be the motivation Japan needs to invest in all kinds of new renewable energy technologies."
Japan plans floating wind farm near nuclear plant
Europe has an intriguing Solar Power option since it is so close to African deserts just across the Mediterranean sea.
From 2007...
From article, (The statistics are quite startling. Every year, each square kilometre of hot desert receives solar energy equivalent to 1.5 million barrels of oil. Multiplying by the area of deserts worldwide, this is several hundred times the entire current energy consumption of the world. It has been calculated that, if it was covered with CSP plants, an area of hot desert of about 254 km x 254 km—less than 1% of the total area of such deserts - would produce as much electricity as is currently consumed by the whole world. An area measuring 110 km x 110 km, a small fraction of the area of desert in North Africa and the Middle East, would produce the same amount of electricity as the European Union consumed in 2004. In a report published in January this year, the American Solar Energy Society says that “...analysts evaluated the solar resource in the Southwest [of the US] and ... found that CSP could provide nearly 7,000 GW of capacity, or about seven times the current total US electric capacity.” (emphasis added)
If electricity is what is needed at the destination, then in almost all circumstances it is very much more efficient to transmit solar electricity directly using high-voltage transmission lines. HVAC works well over relatively short distances but for longer distances, HVDC is the preferred option. With transmission losses at about 3% per 1000 km, electricity may for example be transmitted from North Africa to the UK with less than 10% loss of power.
in the period up to 2050, Europe could meet all its needs for electricity, make deep cuts in CO2 emissions from electricity generation, and phase out nuclear power at the same time. Compared with the situation now, there would be an increase in the diversity of sources of energy and there would be an overall reduction in imported sources of energy. Those two things together would mean an overall increase in the resilience and security of electricity supplies. CSP would be just one element in the mix - up to 15% of the total - and would be an exception to the rule of reduced imports.
The cost of collecting solar thermal energy equivalent to one barrel of oil is about US$50 right now (already less than the current world price of oil) and is likely to come down to around US$20 in the future. The MED-CSP report, published in 2005, suggests that CSP will need public support for a time (like other renewable forms of energy) but that, with economies of scale and refinements in the technology, the cost of CSP electricity is then likely to tumble relative to more traditional sources of electricity. The TRANS-CSP report calculates that CSP is likely to become one of the cheapest sources of electricity in Europe, including the cost of transmission.)
Me, "If Europe wants to drastically reduce CO2 emissions? It has to put money into not just small residential projects but big ones. And the desert right across from it in Africa may be the answer."
The Oil Drum: Europe | Concentrating Solar Power
From article, (The statistics are quite startling. Every year, each square kilometre of hot desert receives solar energy equivalent to 1.5 million barrels of oil. Multiplying by the area of deserts worldwide, this is several hundred times the entire current energy consumption of the world. It has been calculated that, if it was covered with CSP plants, an area of hot desert of about 254 km x 254 km—less than 1% of the total area of such deserts - would produce as much electricity as is currently consumed by the whole world. An area measuring 110 km x 110 km, a small fraction of the area of desert in North Africa and the Middle East, would produce the same amount of electricity as the European Union consumed in 2004. In a report published in January this year, the American Solar Energy Society says that “...analysts evaluated the solar resource in the Southwest [of the US] and ... found that CSP could provide nearly 7,000 GW of capacity, or about seven times the current total US electric capacity.” (emphasis added)
If electricity is what is needed at the destination, then in almost all circumstances it is very much more efficient to transmit solar electricity directly using high-voltage transmission lines. HVAC works well over relatively short distances but for longer distances, HVDC is the preferred option. With transmission losses at about 3% per 1000 km, electricity may for example be transmitted from North Africa to the UK with less than 10% loss of power.
in the period up to 2050, Europe could meet all its needs for electricity, make deep cuts in CO2 emissions from electricity generation, and phase out nuclear power at the same time. Compared with the situation now, there would be an increase in the diversity of sources of energy and there would be an overall reduction in imported sources of energy. Those two things together would mean an overall increase in the resilience and security of electricity supplies. CSP would be just one element in the mix - up to 15% of the total - and would be an exception to the rule of reduced imports.
The cost of collecting solar thermal energy equivalent to one barrel of oil is about US$50 right now (already less than the current world price of oil) and is likely to come down to around US$20 in the future. The MED-CSP report, published in 2005, suggests that CSP will need public support for a time (like other renewable forms of energy) but that, with economies of scale and refinements in the technology, the cost of CSP electricity is then likely to tumble relative to more traditional sources of electricity. The TRANS-CSP report calculates that CSP is likely to become one of the cheapest sources of electricity in Europe, including the cost of transmission.)
Me, "If Europe wants to drastically reduce CO2 emissions? It has to put money into not just small residential projects but big ones. And the desert right across from it in Africa may be the answer."
The Oil Drum: Europe | Concentrating Solar Power
A Laptop that is powered by your typing? A pacemaker powered by your blood pressure. It's possible.
From 2011...
From article, (What if you could power regularly used consumer electronics, like for say a laptop, just by using them? It’s an incredible prospect, one which Australian scientists from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) hope to turn into reality in the near future. Harnessing the power of piezoelectric technology, researchers successfully embedded a piezoelectric thin film whicn turns mechanical pressure into electricity, thus a laptop was powered by typing.
One of the current top priorities for laptop manufactures is to strive for an ever increased battery autonomy. Current leading edge laptops can last for up to 10 hours with a full charged battery, some companies have even successfully managed to create solar powered notebooks, but considering their cost and dependency on the sun waves they can’t be considered to be very effective. A reliable solution might comes from RMIT scientists, however.
Piezoelectricity was first discovered and used in the 19th century, one of the most common application being electric cigarette lighters, which use piezoelectric crystals to create a flame. Piezoelectric bulk or block materials (like crystals or ceramics) have been studied thoroughly, but research on thin films is relatively new, according to the lead co-author of the research, Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran.
She believes it is possible to implement the discovery into consumer electronics on a wider scale. “The power of piezoelectrics could be integrated into running shoes to charge mobile phones, enable laptops to be powered through typing or even used to convert blood pressure into a power source for pacemakers – essentially creating an everlasting battery.”
Nanotechnology is still not accessible for consumer electronics at a large scale because of its high cost, still the thought that you can have your laptop power up simply by typing is incredibly exciting alone. Knowing that his is possible and has been already proven is even more overwhelming.)
In the future: laptops powered by typing
Another product from the Hydrocarbon Industry has been making the rounds.
From 2008...
From article, (Ice cream lovers of the United States, rejoice. Greenpeace and Ben & Jerry’s have teamed up to bring the first climate-safe ice cream freezer to the USA. The Greenfreeze refrigerator eliminates the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), an extremely potent greenhouse gas that has 1,400 times the global warming impact of CO2.
Greenfreeze technology has been around since 1992 and is installed in over 300 million refrigerators worldwide. But it wasn’t allowed into the United States until earlier this year when the Environmental Protection Agency gave Ben & Jerry’s the go-ahead to test 2,000 Greenfreeze units.
HFCs and other fluorinated gases are the most dangerous greenhouse gases that you’ve probably never heard of. Together, they are responsible for 17 percent of global warming pollution in the atmosphere.
It’s sad that the USA has had to wait 16 years to receive such a widely-used technology, especially since Greenfreeze refrigerators make up 40 percent of all refrigerators produced worldwide each year. But with the US on board, perhaps that number will jump even higher.)
Me, "What isn't stated in this article is that the Hydrocarbon refrigerators use Isobutane for noncommercial refrigerators, and for commercial refrigerators Propane. These are flammable hydrocarbon fuels, but these refrigerators use 3 butane lighters worth of the stuff, making them highly safe, since so little is used.
This isn't new technology. In fact the whole reason CFC's and their less troubling fluornianted gas cousins were originally used, as refrigerants, was because early Hydrocarbon refrigerators were dangerous. Where Hydrocarbon refrigerators were flammable CFC's weren't.
So, what exactly are we doing? We went back in time, technology wise. We are substituting a green house gas and ozone depleting refrigerant CFC to HFC with a now safer older technology slightly flammable Hydrocarbons. Its amazing what time and re branding can do." First Greenfreeze Climate-Safe Freezer Launches in the United States
From article, (Ice cream lovers of the United States, rejoice. Greenpeace and Ben & Jerry’s have teamed up to bring the first climate-safe ice cream freezer to the USA. The Greenfreeze refrigerator eliminates the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), an extremely potent greenhouse gas that has 1,400 times the global warming impact of CO2.
Greenfreeze technology has been around since 1992 and is installed in over 300 million refrigerators worldwide. But it wasn’t allowed into the United States until earlier this year when the Environmental Protection Agency gave Ben & Jerry’s the go-ahead to test 2,000 Greenfreeze units.
HFCs and other fluorinated gases are the most dangerous greenhouse gases that you’ve probably never heard of. Together, they are responsible for 17 percent of global warming pollution in the atmosphere.
It’s sad that the USA has had to wait 16 years to receive such a widely-used technology, especially since Greenfreeze refrigerators make up 40 percent of all refrigerators produced worldwide each year. But with the US on board, perhaps that number will jump even higher.)
Me, "What isn't stated in this article is that the Hydrocarbon refrigerators use Isobutane for noncommercial refrigerators, and for commercial refrigerators Propane. These are flammable hydrocarbon fuels, but these refrigerators use 3 butane lighters worth of the stuff, making them highly safe, since so little is used.
This isn't new technology. In fact the whole reason CFC's and their less troubling fluornianted gas cousins were originally used, as refrigerants, was because early Hydrocarbon refrigerators were dangerous. Where Hydrocarbon refrigerators were flammable CFC's weren't.
So, what exactly are we doing? We went back in time, technology wise. We are substituting a green house gas and ozone depleting refrigerant CFC to HFC with a now safer older technology slightly flammable Hydrocarbons. Its amazing what time and re branding can do." First Greenfreeze Climate-Safe Freezer Launches in the United States
It's not the worlds largest wind turbines killing birds. It's the smaller ones.
From 2008....
From article, (The world’s largest wind turbine is now the Enercon E-126. This turbine has a rotor diameter of 126 meters (413 feet). The E-126 is a more sophisticated version of the E-112, formerly the world’s largest wind turbine and rated at 6 megawatts. This new turbine is officially rated at 6 megawatts too, but will most likely produce 7+ megawatts (or 20 million kilowatt hours per year). That’s enough to power about 5,000 households of four in Europe. A quick US calculation would be 938 kwh per home per month, 12 months, that’s 11,256 kwh per year per house. That’s 1776 American homes on one wind turbine.
The turbine being installed in Emden, Germany by Enercon. They will be testing several types of storage systems in combination with the multi-megawatt wind turbines.
I don’t understand how people can be so concerned about birds becoming mush with modern wind turbines, especially ones this big. It only turns at 12 rpms. That means it takes five seconds to complete one revolution. That is slow but this is much bigger and easy to see compared to the whirring blades of old. The Altamont Pass turbines gave wind turbines such a bad name because they were built in the middle of the natural habitat of rare birds, the turbines were the small fast spinning type, and they were built using lattice towers, the kind birds love to nest in. These are slowly being replaced and all of the new ones are of the slower rotating kind. In the end, it comes down to this. Stationary buildings and moving cars kill literally millions of times more birds than wind turbines. And things like the Exxon Valdez spill kill millions of everything. So let’s go with the best option.)New Record: World's Largest Wind Turbine (7+ Megawatts)
Even a Pedal Bike can have an RV.
From 2009...
From article, (Originally envisioned as weighing just 50 pounds, and with a pullout drawer to extend its length for sleeping; inventor Paul Elkins‘ camper was designed for maximum efficiency. It had to endure winds of 60 mph, heat of 100+ degrees. And it’s not merely fuel efficient. It uses no fuel at all.
Tiniest RV Ever is a Zero Carbon Camper - Gas 2
From article, (Originally envisioned as weighing just 50 pounds, and with a pullout drawer to extend its length for sleeping; inventor Paul Elkins‘ camper was designed for maximum efficiency. It had to endure winds of 60 mph, heat of 100+ degrees. And it’s not merely fuel efficient. It uses no fuel at all.
You’d get it out of town on pedal power alone. Set up under the stars with just renewable power.)
Me, "For you biking/camping enthusiasts? This is a new idea, that if your not claustrophobic, you might enjoy. In fact it is the solution to going from U.S. coast to coast on a bike."
Me, "For you biking/camping enthusiasts? This is a new idea, that if your not claustrophobic, you might enjoy. In fact it is the solution to going from U.S. coast to coast on a bike."
Living in a Tree, Apartment, house.
From 2015...
From article, (Would you ever live in a tree? That's a question one Italian architect is looking to answer. With 25 Verde, designer Luciano Pia is attempting to combine modern construction with green technology.
Pia's apartment complex sits among some 200 trees, which are maintained with recovered rainwater, and uses a system of pumps and geothermal energy to provide hot water and heat in the winter. According to the architect's website, 25 Verde aims to be a "living forest" that allows its residents to meld distinctions between external and internal environments. The living building grows and ages with its occupants. With apartments costing roughly 5,500 Euros per square meter, the complex is actually less expensive than the Italian average. The 63-unit block went up in Turin, Italy, two years ago and is now almost fully occupied.)
Me, "It's an interesting apartment building design. It's like going back to nature. You keep the apartment looking like nature while it keeps you supplied with all of present day apartment technology, a hot shower, and heat in the winter, Who wouldn't want to live in a tree house?"
This "Living" Apartment Building Is Basically a Giant Treehouse for Adults
From article, (Would you ever live in a tree? That's a question one Italian architect is looking to answer. With 25 Verde, designer Luciano Pia is attempting to combine modern construction with green technology.
Pia's apartment complex sits among some 200 trees, which are maintained with recovered rainwater, and uses a system of pumps and geothermal energy to provide hot water and heat in the winter. According to the architect's website, 25 Verde aims to be a "living forest" that allows its residents to meld distinctions between external and internal environments. The living building grows and ages with its occupants. With apartments costing roughly 5,500 Euros per square meter, the complex is actually less expensive than the Italian average. The 63-unit block went up in Turin, Italy, two years ago and is now almost fully occupied.)
Me, "It's an interesting apartment building design. It's like going back to nature. You keep the apartment looking like nature while it keeps you supplied with all of present day apartment technology, a hot shower, and heat in the winter, Who wouldn't want to live in a tree house?"
This "Living" Apartment Building Is Basically a Giant Treehouse for Adults
Solar Power Plants keep getting planned and built.
From 2008...
From article, (At the risk of sounding like a cheerleader, the scale of some of the new solar power plants being announced over the past few weeks are just astounding. PG&E; has contracted with a 250 MW and a 500 MW solar plant in California, a 250 MW integrated solar plant/manufacturing facility is being built in India, and the Clinton Foundation is discussing building a similar 5,000 MW facility in a different part of India. At the beginning of the summer a new 10 MW thin-film facility was claiming the record for that category and a 400 MW solar thermal plant in the Mojave Desert was big news. Furthering the great solar scale-up:
BrightSource Energy as announced that it will be developing a 1200 MW solar thermal power facility at a site northeast of Las Vegas, with 2012 being the target date for completion. According to The Desert Valley Times Online the facility would consist of three 400 MW plants near Overton Airport, as well as upgrading the transmission infrastructure needed to bring the power to the grid. Regulatory Hurdles Yet to Be Cleared
Solar Thermal Really Heats Up in Nevada: BrightSource Plans 1200 MW Facilty Outside Las Vegas
From article, (At the risk of sounding like a cheerleader, the scale of some of the new solar power plants being announced over the past few weeks are just astounding. PG&E; has contracted with a 250 MW and a 500 MW solar plant in California, a 250 MW integrated solar plant/manufacturing facility is being built in India, and the Clinton Foundation is discussing building a similar 5,000 MW facility in a different part of India. At the beginning of the summer a new 10 MW thin-film facility was claiming the record for that category and a 400 MW solar thermal plant in the Mojave Desert was big news. Furthering the great solar scale-up:
BrightSource Energy as announced that it will be developing a 1200 MW solar thermal power facility at a site northeast of Las Vegas, with 2012 being the target date for completion. According to The Desert Valley Times Online the facility would consist of three 400 MW plants near Overton Airport, as well as upgrading the transmission infrastructure needed to bring the power to the grid. Regulatory Hurdles Yet to Be Cleared
Though construction of the facility is expected to take 18-24 months, state and federal permitting is expected to take an additional two years. Additionally, the plant does not yet have a power outtake agreement in place. The gist of which is that there’s a lot of solar power on tap but there are still hoops to jump through before it comes online.
BrightSource estimates that the power generated by this facility would be enough to power 900,000 homes.
Scale is Key for Solar to Displace Fossil Fuels
It's really good to see that solar power plants are finally being scaled to the size of fossil fuel-based power plants. This is the sort of expansion needed, especially when combined with decentralized power generation on people's homes and businesses, that will make a significant dent in fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions.)
It's really good to see that solar power plants are finally being scaled to the size of fossil fuel-based power plants. This is the sort of expansion needed, especially when combined with decentralized power generation on people's homes and businesses, that will make a significant dent in fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions.)
Are Green Walgreen Stores the best use for their building funding?
From 2013...
From article, (We hear about green construction practices all the time, but it’s often surrounding facilities such as data centers rather than retail stores. However, Walgreens is determined to go as green as possible, and to that end, the company announced plans for the first net zero energy retail store.The store is slated to be built at the corner of Chicago Avenue and Keeney Street in Evanston, Illinois, where an existing Walgreens is currently being demolished. The technologies Walgreens is plotting to implement in this new super-green store will include solar panels and wind turbines to generate power; geothermal technology for heat; and efficient energy consumption with LED lighting, daylight harvesting, and “ultra-high-efficiency” refrigeration.
“We are investing in developing a net-zero store so we can learn the best way to bring these features to our other stores,” said Walgreens vice president of facilities development Thomas Connolly in a statement. “Because we operate 8,000 stores, we believe our pursuit of green technology can have a significant positive impact on the nation’s environment.”
Kudos and good luck to Walgreens; hopefully this innovative store will help pave the way for more retailers to follow suit. And we’ll resist the urge to say that this company is putting the “green” back in “Walgreens”; we wouldn’t dare make that pun.)
Me, "With Walgreens closing many stores around the NYC area, literally weeks after they have just opened, was this rally the best use of their money? I would think for the amount of money it took to develop this green store, they could have kept more Walgreens stores open. Walgreens To Build First Self-Powered Retail Store with Solar, Wind, and Geothermal Technologies
While the CityCharge is a good idea. It is also a prime spot for lurking electronics Thieves.
From 2014...
From article, (CityCharge is an urban project in which solar powered charging stations were placed throughout New York City's Bryant Park. Gone are the days of having to buy an expensive coffee in order to use an outlet to charge your smartphone!
These free, innovative stations are a collaborative project between Bryant Park Corporation, solar company Green Barrel Energy Inc., and high quality street furniture manufacturer Landscape Forms. Each table has six different charging cables that can fit most electronic devices. The stations are set on five swiveling wheels with locks so that they can be moved around the park as needed to make space during public events. Additionally, the solar panel overhead can be manually rotated to point directly towards the sun.)
Me, "I'd keep an eye on your electronics, just in case. You never know what thief is lurking near by, ready to unplug and run off with your electronics. This is NYC, we are talking about."
Solar Powered Charging Tables Installed in NYC's Bryant Park
You thought you were paranoid before? Meet The Mother of all Spy Bugs.
From article, (Today, the biggest hurdle when it comes to designing new gadgets is battery technology. These big, bulky things restrict the forms our smartphones, computers, and wearables can take, and unfortunately, battery technology is so stagnant that there’s no promise of things getting better any time soon.
But what if you could leave the battery out of the equation entirely? That’s just what the University of Washington’s Sensor Lab has done. Researchers there created the WISP, or Wireless Identification and Sensing Platform: a combination sensor and computing chip that doesn’t need a battery or a wired power source to operate. Instead, it sucks in radio waves emitted from a standard, off-the-shelf RFID reader–the same technology that retail shops use to deter shoplifters–and converts them into electricity.
The WISP isn’t designed to compete with the chips in your smartphone or your laptop. It has about the same clock speed as the processor in a Fitbit and similar functionality, including embedded accelerometers and temperature sensors. “It’s not going to run a video game, but it can track sensor data, do some minimal processing tasks, and communicate with the outside world,” says Aaron Parks, a researcher at the University of Washington Sensor Lab.)
Me, "So, if this technology is real? It means that the U.S. government, which is usually 10 to 20 years ahead of anything commercially sold, in tech gear, has the technology to spy on you, with bugs, placed in your home, that operate on any radio frequencies, emanating from your house, or from outside your house. Think WiFi, or anything that admits radio waves. Meaning they would operate indefinitely as long as it had access to radio waves. Very nice. Like we weren't paranoid before."
Wind Power could power a great deal of China's electricity portfolio.
From 2009...
From article, (The analysis indicated that a network of wind turbines operating at as little as 20 percent of their rated capacity could provide potentially as much as 24.7 petawatt-hours of electricity annually, or more than seven times China's current consumption. The researchers also determined that wind energy alone, at around 7.6 U.S. Cents per kilowatt-hour, could accommodate the country's entire demand for electricity projected for 2030.
"Wind farms would only need to take up land areas of 0.5 million square kilometers, or regions about three quarters of the size of Texas. The physical footprints of wind turbines would be even smaller, allowing the areas to remain agricultural," said Lu.
By contrast, to meet the increased demand for electricity during the next 20 years using fossil fuel-based energy sources, China would have to construct coal-fired power plants that could produce the equivalent of 800 gigawatts of electricity, resulting in a potential increase of 3.5 gigatons of CO2 per year. The use of cleaner wind energy could both meet future demands and, even if only used to supplement existing energy sources, significantly reduce carbon emissions.)
Under A Republican President, The U.S. becomes the largest producer of wind power?
From 2008...
From article, (The United States has overtaken Germany to become the largest producer of wind energy in the world, generating enough capacity to eliminate the burning of 91 million barrels of oil per year.
According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), US wind producers enjoyed another record year of growth in 2008—the third in a row. The country now has an installed wind power capacity well in excess of 21,000 megawatts (MW), enough to supply electricity to over 5.5 million American homes.
US Becomes Largest Wind Power Producer in the World
From article, (The United States has overtaken Germany to become the largest producer of wind energy in the world, generating enough capacity to eliminate the burning of 91 million barrels of oil per year.
According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), US wind producers enjoyed another record year of growth in 2008—the third in a row. The country now has an installed wind power capacity well in excess of 21,000 megawatts (MW), enough to supply electricity to over 5.5 million American homes.
According to Randall Swisher, AWEA Executive DIrector, “Wind energy installations are well ahead of the curve for contributing 20% of the U.S. electric power supply by 2030 as envisioned by the U.S. Department of Energy.”
Amazingly, this rapid progress was achieved under a governing administration that to many seemed, at best, indifferent to the plight of the renewable energy industry. If the US wind power industry is capable of becoming a world-leader during such times, it seems quite likely that the picture could improve even further with a more sympathetic leader at the helm.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)