Small Dams Yield Smart Energy

Small is beautiful in hydroelectric power plant design, and good for the environment

Hydroelectric power is the oldest and the "greenest" source of renewable energy. In Germany, the potential would appear to be completely exploited, while large-scale projects in developing countries are eliciting strong criticism due to their major impact on the environment.

Nearly 15,000 oppose Montenegro plan to drown wild beauty

Moraca River, MontenegroThe Montenegro government was yesterday handed a 14,764 signature petition asking it to consider alternatives to its four dam plan for the country’s second most important and most scenic River. The plan for multiple dams on the Moraça River, which will inundate areas of the Montegnegro capital’s natural and cultural heritage and threatens flows into the Balkan’s largest lake and its fisheries and bird migration reserves, was drawn up 40 years ago.

Waste could generate up to 7 per cent of electricity in Spain

Sewage treatment plant of Monfragüe (Cáceres, Spain).

Credit: Naturaleza Fragüe.Researchers from the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR) have calculated the energy and economic potential of urban solid waste, sludge from water treatment plants and livestock slurry for generating electricity in Spain. These residues are alternative sources of renewable energy, which are more environmentally friendly and, in the case of solid urban waste, more cost effective.

Using waste to generate electricity has economic and environmental advantages. "It gives added value to waste, because it can be seen as a type of fuel with zero cost, or even a negative cost if taxes are paid to collect it", Norberto Fueyo, lead author of the study and a researcher at the Fluid Mechanics Group of the UNIZAR, tells SINC.

More, better biodiesel

The safflower is one of the plants can be made into a fuel cocktail that performs better at low temperatures than conventional biodiesel. (Jack Kelly Clark/UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resource) Yields of biodiesel from oilseed crops such as safflower could be increased by up to 24 percent using a new process developed by chemists at UC Davis. The method converts both plant oils and carbohydrates into biodiesel in a single process, and should also improve the performance characteristics of biodiesel, especially in cold weather.

A paper describing the method, which has been patented, is online in the journal Energy & Fuels.

Conventional biodiesel production extracts plant oils and then converts them into fatty acid esters that can be used to power engines, said Mark Mascal, professor of chemistry at UC Davis and co-author of the paper with postdoctoral researcher Edward Nikitin. That leaves behind the carbohydrate portion of the plant — the sugars, starches, and cellulose that make up stems, leaves, seed husks and other structures.

A second hydrocarbon boom threatens the Peruvian Amazon

A rapid and unprecedented proliferation of oil and gas concessions threatens the megadiverse Peruvian Amazon. The amount of area leased is on track to reach around 70% of the region, threatening biodiversity and indigenous people. This is one of the central conclusions from a pair of researchers from the Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA) of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and the Washington DC-based NGO Save America's Forests, who have, for the first time, documented the full history of hydrocarbon activities in the region and made projections about expected levels of activity in the near future.

The study, conducted by Martí Orta and Matt Finer, researchers at ICTA and Save America's Forests, respectively, and published in Environmental Research Letters, reconstructs the full history of hydrocarbon activities in the region and makes projections for the next five years. Researchers have found that more of the Peruvian Amazon has recently been leased to oil and gas companies than at any other time on record.

Nanotechnology could help Arab region

"Nanotechnology could aid the future of development of the Arab region," says Mohamed H.A. Hassan, executive director of TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world, and president of the African Academy of Sciences. Hassan made his remarks at a panel session, "Re-emergence of Science, Technology and Education as Priorities in the Arab World," taking place at the AAAS's annual meeting in San Diego.

"The Arab region, home to some 300 million people, faces a host of daunting development challenges," Hassan notes. "Three of the most fundamental involve ensuring adequate supplies of water, energy and food." Advances in nanotechnology, he says, "could help achieve progress by helping to address each of these challenges."

Fueling the future with fish tank residue

As Americans demand new and cleaner ways to meet the country's energy needs, researchers are turning to algae as a promising new fuel source. The approach has the potential to significantly reduce the nation's reliance on imported oil while contributing to rural economic development and lowering greenhouse emissions.

Experts project that algae-based biofuels could displace large volumes of diesel and jet transportation fuels. One of the field's leading experts, Sandia researcher Ron Pate, will present an overview of the current state of research and development and associated opportunities and challenges for algal biofuels during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego on Feb. 19.

Energy consumption monitors installed in two residential colleges

c a p t i o nMonitors that will provide students with real-time information about energy consumed have been installed in Yale’s Pierson and Silliman residential colleges, the Yale Office of Sustainability has announced.

Accompanied by an educational campaign about residential energy consumption at Yale and nationwide, the monitors aim to provide students with direct and immediate awareness of the effects of their consumption decisions. Designed by Lucid Design Group, the system displays real-time data on energy used for electricity, heating, and cooling. Large, interactive touch-screen monitors that have been installed near the Pierson and Silliman dining halls allow viewers to see energy consumption patterns over time, compare between colleges, and display in unit equivalencies such as gallons of gasoline, hours of use for hairdryers, microwaves and laptops as well as the monetary. The information is also available online through a live website at: www.yale.edu/energydashboard.

eSolar to develop 2GW solar thermal power plants in China

eSolar, a global provider of reliable and cost-effective concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, and Penglai Electric, a privately-owned Chinese electrical power equipment manufacturer, today announced a master licensing agreement to build at least 2 gigawatts(GW) of solar thermal power plants in China over the next 10 years.

The deal was signed in the Chinese State Council building with government officials in attendance and represents the country's largest CSP project. Groundbreaking of the first 92 megawatts (MW) will take place in 2010.

Coal and Lung Cancer

Coal from China's Xuan Wei County, widely used for cooking and heating, may contribute to unusually high rates of lung cancer among women in the region.Coal from mass extinction era linked to lung cancer mystery.

The volcanic eruptions thought responsible for Earth's largest mass extinction — which killed more than 70 percent of plants and animals 250 million years ago — is still taking lives today. That's the conclusion of a new study showing, for the first time, that the high silica content of coal in one region of China may be interacting with volatile substances in the coal to cause unusually high rates of lung cancer. The study, which helps solve this cancer mystery, appears in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, a semi-monthly publication.

Panasonic develops direct methanol fuel cell system

The high power output 100 W-class portable generator to be developed and field tested in fiscal 2012

Panasonic has developed a direct methanol fuel cell system which can produce an average power output of 20 W by increasing the output per cubic centimeter twice that of its previous prototype. Using this technology, Panasonic aims to develop a 100 W-class portable generator and start field testing in fiscal 2012 ending in March 2012.

Winter winds will generate electricity for Ames, ISU

The winds of January are a good thing if you're getting electricity from a wind farm, and that's the case for the City of Ames and Iowa State University. The city and university will begin buying wind-generated electricity from a new wind farm north of Zearing. Around the first of the year, local appliances, lights, and computers may be powered by a new, eco-friendly energy source.

The timing is excellent, says ISU assistant director of utilities Jeff Witt, because "winter is the best time for wind energy in Iowa and January is probably the peak month."

Shell awarded permit to study natural gas potential in central South Africa

The South African Petroleum Authorities (Petroleum Agency SA) today awarded Shell a Technical Cooperation Permit for a one-year study to determine the hydrocarbon potential in parts of the Karoo Basin in central South Africa.

The permit covers an area of approximately 185,000 square kilometres. The study will provide a better understanding of the area's geology and shale gas potential, establishing the scope to pursue natural gas exploration. Shell will have the exclusive right to apply for exploration permits following completion of the study.

Toward home-brewed electricity with 'personalised solar energy'

New scientific discoveries are moving society toward the era of "personalised solar energy," in which the focus of electricity production shifts from huge central generating stations to individuals in their own homes and communities.

That's the topic of a report by an international expert on solar energy published in the ACS' Inorganic Chemistry, a bi-weekly journal. It describes a long-awaited, inexpensive method for solar energy storage that could help power homes and plug-in cars in the future while helping keep the environment clean.

Solar energy: Key solution to CO2 challenges in the developing world

Intense debate at COP15 centres on the challenge of reducing CO₂ emissions in developing countries without limiting their economic growth and ability to make life better for their citizens. EPIA (the European Photovoltaic Industry Association) is in Copenhagen to make the case that solar provides the opportunity for developing countries to leapfrog traditional energy dependence on fossil fuel to producing clean energy.

"Solar energy offers a decentralised solution, easily adapted to poor infrastructures and ready for an expanded energy access to meet fast growing demand," says EPIA's Vice-president, Murray Cameron.

A greener way to get electricity from natural gas

Proposed system uses solid-oxide fuel cells to produce power without sending greenhouse gases into the atmosphere

A new type of natural-gas electric power plant proposed by MIT researchers could provide electricity with zero carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, at costs comparable to or less than conventional natural-gas plants, and even to coal-burning plants. But that can only come about if and when a price is set on the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases – a step the U.S. Congress and other governments are considering as a way to halt climate change.

ORNL "deep retrofits" can cut home energy bills in half

ORNL’s Jeff Christian points out the insulating foam used to seal the attic in a deep retrofit house. Photo:ORNLOak Ridge National Laboratory has announced plans to conduct a series of deep energy retrofit research projects with the potential to improve the energy efficiency in selected homes by as much as 30 to 50 per cent.

The projects will be supported by up to USD1.4 million from the Department of Energy's Building America Program, which has received additional funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Generating electricity from air flow

A group of researchers at the City College of New York is developing a new way to generate power for planes and automobiles based on materials known as piezoelectrics, which convert the kinetic energy of motion into electricity. They will present their concept later this month at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics will take place from November 22-24 at the Minneapolis Convention Centre.

About a half-inch by one inch in size, these devices might be mounted on the roof or tail of a car or on an airplane fuselage where they would vibrate inside a flow, producing an output voltage. The power generated would not be enough to replace that supplied by the combustion engines, but it could run some system – such as batteries that would be used to charge control panels and other small electronic devices such as mobile phones.

One and a half million people worldwide live in darkness

With the United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen just 13 days away, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has highlighted the need to ensure that the energy needs of developing countries are central to any new climate agreement, after a new report found that almost a quarter of the world’s 6 billion people live without electricity.

The majority of the 1.5 billion people who live in the dark are in the least developed countries (LDCs) of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, according to the report, The Energy Access Situation in Developing Countries: A Review Focusing on the Least Developed Counties and Sub-Saharan Africa.

DEWA Establishes Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence

In execution to the vision of HH Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president, prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has celebrated the signing of a MoU with UNDP to establish the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence.

The MoU was signed in the presence of HH Sheikh Saeed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairman of the Supreme Council of Energy, HE Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahd, minister of environment & water, members of the Supreme Council of Energy together with a number high official of the Government and Senior employees of DEWA.