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.

Controllable rubber trailing edge flap for wind turbine blades

The photograph shows the two sensors for measuring wind speed and direction. The nearest sensor resembles a small blade, and by measuring the wind load on the sensor, a control signal can be derived and sent to the rubber trailing edge. The other sensor is a so-called five-hole pitot tube, which can measure wind speed and wind direction, and which can also be used to control the rubber trailing edge. For some years, the Wind Energy Division at Risø DTU has been working to develop a method for controlling the loads on large wind turbine blades using a flexible trailing edge made of an elastic material which can be controlled by means of compressed air or hydraulics. Now, the invention, which has been called CRTEF (Controllable Rubber Trailing Edge Flap), has been tested in a wind tunnel with promising results.

Today’s wind turbine blades, which can measure more than 60 metres in length, are subjected to enormous loads, which means that a blade can flex as much as 4-6 metres during strong gusts. However, the blades are also so long that there can be considerable differences in the loading from the gusts along the blade. In wind farms, surrounding wind turbines also exert considerable influence and generate turbulence, which has a more localised effect.

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.

'Smart Grids' – climate infrastructure for the 21st century

There's no need to worry that renewable energy can't keep the lights on, concludes a new study by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC).

The report: Renewables 24/7 – Infrastructure needed to save the climate shows how the world’s power grids could be transformed to support a power mix comprising 90% renewable energy by 2050. The transformation would be achieved at a modest level of investment, presents a huge market opportunity for ICT companies, and would enable huge cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

Malaysia’s 1MDB to explore development potential of carbon neutral city with Masdar

Masdar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mubadala Development Company focused on renewable energy and sustainability, and 1Malaysia Development Berhad (“1MDB”) have signed a cooperation agreement to explore clean technology projects and investments, including the possibility of building Malaysia’s first carbon-neutral city.

Masdar and 1MDB also intend to cooperate and invest in carbon reduction projects, under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (“CDM”) and clean technology venture capital. If fully implemented the cooperation agreement would lead to the development of new catalytic projects, with an estimated value of USD100 million.

Masdar begins research and development phase for new solar tower ‘beam down’ facility

Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s multifaceted renewable energy initiative, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Japan’s Cosmo Oil Company and the Tokyo Institute of Technology have launched an advanced concentrated solar power (CSP) Central Tower research and development project at Masdar City.

The state-of-the-art, collaborative research project will test an innovative ‘beam down’ technology, which has the potential to convert solar irradiation into electricity in a more efficient way than other technologies - producing a commercially viable ‘beam down’ process would represent a significant breakthrough in (CSP) technology.

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.

The SMart Wind consortium to develop 4GW of wind farms off the UK coast

The SMart Wind consortium, led by Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Project Ventures (SPV), a division company of Siemens Financial Services, has been awarded a contract to develop 4GW of wind farms by 2020 as part of The Crown Estate’s Round 3 offshore wind farm programme.

SMart Wind will develop projects in the “Hornsea” zone, comprising 4,735 square kilometres off the UK’s Yorkshire coast. Hornsea is one of nine zones to be developed in the seas around Great Britain as part of The Crown Estate’s Round 3 programme, and with a total planned installed capacity of 32GW this is enough to meet a quarter of the UK's electricity needs.

Solar-powered irrigation significantly improves diet and income in rural sub-Saharan Africa

Solar-powered drip irrigation systems significantly enhance household incomes and nutritional intake of villagers in arid sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new Stanford University study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The two-year study found that solar-powered pumps installed in remote villages in the West African nation of Benin were a cost-effective way of delivering much-needed irrigation water, particularly during the long dry season. The results are published in the Jan. 4, 2010, online edition of PNAS.

"Significant fractions of sub-Saharan Africa's population are considered food insecure," wrote lead author Jennifer Burney, a postdoctoral scholar with the Program on Food Security and the Environment and the Department of Environmental Earth System Science at Stanford. "Across the region, these food-insecure populations are predominantly rural, they frequently survive on less than $1 per person per day, and whereas most are engaged in agricultural production as their main livelihood, they still spend 50 to 80 percent of their income on food, and are often net consumers of food."

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."

Deutsche Bank completes 250-kw solar project at Piscataway facility

New Jersey Project Part of Deutsche Bank's Commitment to be Carbon Neutral by 2012

Deutsche Bank has announced the completion of a 250-kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) system at its Piscataway, NJ, office. The roof-mounted array will offset a portion of the facility's electricity consumption and reduce its carbon emissions by 143 metric tons annually, equivalent to 16,232 gallons of gasoline.

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.

Solar energy can ramp up quickly to help meet global CO2 challenges

Global solar industry leaders have come to COP15 to showcase the immediate capability of solar power to deliver clean energy and reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions (CO₂).

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and the U.S.-based Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) are spearheading the SolarCOP15 initiative in Copenhagen, supported by over 40 solar trade associations from around the world.

Solar energy powers marines on battlefield

A year ago, U.S. Marines operating in the Arabian Desert only viewed the sun as the source of the region's relentless heat. Recently, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Advanced Power Generation Future Naval Capabilities program introduced technology that allows the Marines to harness some of that sunshine to help power their field equipment.

Fuelled by the sun, the Ground Renewable Expeditionary ENergy System (GREENS) is a 300-watt, photovoltaic/battery system that provides continuous power to Marines in the field. ONR began exploring the GREENS idea in fall 2008 in response to a Marine Corps requirement from Iraq for an expeditionary renewable power system.

No widespread impact of wind power projects on residential property values

Photo:Berkeley LabOver 30,000 megawatts of wind energy capacity are installed across the United States and an increasing number of communities are considering new wind power facilities. Given these developments, there is an urgent need to empirically investigate typical community concerns about wind energy and thereby provide stakeholders involved in the wind project citing process a common base of knowledge.

A major new report released today by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory evaluates one of those concerns, and finds that proximity to wind energy facilities does not have a pervasive or widespread adverse effect on the property values of nearby homes.

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.

A step towards zero emission communities

The CSIRO Renewable Energy Integration Facility is multi-tiered with diverse generation and load types. Photo: CSIRO
A new CSIRO research centre to help transform Australian electricity networks and lower greenhouse gas emissions was opened today at the CSIRO Energy Centre in Newcastle, NSW.

CSIRO has established the Renewable Energy Integration Facility to develop new grid management technologies that will allow greater penetration of renewable, low-emission energy resources into electricity networks.

The facility will also be used to develop automatic fault detection techniques to help improve electricity supply reliability and reduce blackouts.

The official opening was attended by Ms Sharon Grierson MP Federal Member for Newcastle, representing Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator the Hon. Kim Carr.

"This project is yet another example of the important and valuable work happening at the CSIRO Energy Centre in Newcastle to help Australia reduce its greenhouse gas emissions," Ms Grierson said.

CSIRO scientist Dr David Cornforth said the AUD1 million facility represents a major upgrade of CSIRO's experimental capability in energy management, and electricity grid operation and planning.


"The facility is state-of-the-art in its diversity of resources and experimental range," Dr Cornforth said.

"It incorporates a large range of electrical generators and replicates the way electrical load for an entire complex changes during the day."


"This means researchers at the facility can test new grid design and operation techniques in a real-world environment using a variety of electrical generators and loads."

The Renewable Energy Integration Facility is connected to solar photovoltaics, wind and gas turbines, battery storage and a load bank. The technologies being developed are designed to be used on any generation method, now and into the future.

"The facility demonstrates how electricity networks will work in the future where the electricity supply mix will include greater numbers of small power sources in conjunction with large, centralised power sources," Dr Cornforth said.

"This research will not only benefit developed countries with existing electricity networks, such as Australia, but also assist in the low-emissions electrification of developing countries."

New design and operation techniques have the capacity to transform electricity networks by increasing electricity reliability, improving system efficiency, removing common failure points, boosting renewable energy resource integration and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Renewable Energy Integration Facility will be used for in-house research, as well as collaborative projects with industry and other researchers.

CSIRO has already established a research collaboration with The Energy Resources Institute of India (TERI) to assist with the low-emissions electrification of rural areas in India.

CSIRO will share information to help TERI develop its own technology suited to Indian conditions.

New alternatives of renewable energy sources to produce water

Solar desalination plant at Hameem. Photo: EADThe Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) is studying new alternatives of renewable energy sources to produce water, in order to meet the rising demand for water and to enable water security in the future.

H.E Majid Al Mansouri, EAD's Secretary General, said that finding new renewable and environmental friendly energy resources to produce water is no longer an option but a necessity since the demand for freshwater resources is increasing. Al Mansouri added that EAD's efforts in this regard are in line with EAD's strategy to pursue the latest developments in the field of water production and to adopt the best economical and environmental methods and techniques.

He said, "H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Honorary Chairman of EAD, wisely directed us to find environmentally friendly, low cost and highly efficient alternatives to produce water of adequate quality for domestic and industrial use."

Al Mansouri added that EAD had launched two pilot projects to produce desalinated water from brackish and saline groundwater using solar energy. So far, the preliminary results have indicated the success of the experiment and tangible results were achieved. He added that these results have encouraged the Agency to continue its efforts to develop more stations and reduce the cost of its capital cost to about 10 per cent in the future and increase efficiency at the same time.

Disposal of brine water from these desalination unites should be carefully considered. EAD is currently developing a mechanism for harvesting this brine rejected water to rehabilitate the existing natural vegetations. Evaporation ponds are especially suitable to dispose of reject brine from inland desalination plants in arid and semi-arid areas due to the abundance of solar energy whoever guidelines are needed for the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of evaporation ponds for reject brine disposal in an economical and environmentally-sensitive manner.

More efforts in the future will be done to increase the efficiency of the desalination recovery the more than 80 per cent and using to such brine water in the production of salt or animal fodder or fertilisers. This is expected to improve the economics of such systems in the future and reduce the environmental impact of disposing such brine water on the Arabian Gulf.

To raise awareness about the importance of making desalination and water reuse more sustainable and affordable, EAD recently participated in the International Desalination Association World Congress, which was held in Dubai under the theme "Desalination for a Better World." During the conference, Dr. Mohammed Dawoud, Manager of the Water Resources Department at EAD, delivered a presentation on the future use of renewable energy in the production of water, especially in areas where groundwater is very salty.

Dawoud said that "the use of renewable sources of energy in desalination is an essential part in the future of desalination in the region to reduce costs and increase efficiency, where technology to collect solar energy from solar cells and desalination plants based on reverse osmosis membrane technology".

He said that the real challenge is to increase the efficiency of solar energy collection system and reduce environmental impact, noting that EAD is currently developing a mechanism for safe disposal of water brine from these stations to increase the efficiency of the plant to more than 80 per cent and access to such high salinity water in the production of salt or animal feeds or fertilisers, which will improve the economics of such systems in the future and reduce the environmental impact of waste brine water in the Arabian Gulf or use it for injection into deep aquifers.

Home-brewed electricity with 'personalised solar energy'

A rooftop solar panel converts sunlight to electricity. In a new study, an expert describes progress toward an efficient and inexpensive method for storing and distributing solar energy in the home. Photo: WikimediaNew 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 scheduled for the November 2 issue of 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.

Daniel Nocera explains that the global energy need will double by mid-century and triple by 2100 due to rising standards of living world population growth. Personalised solar energy - the capture and storage of solar energy at the individual or home level - could meet that demand in a sustainable way, especially in poorer areas of the world.

The report describes development of a practical, inexpensive storage system for achieving personalised solar energy. At its heart is an innovative catalyst that splits water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen that become fuel for producing electricity in a fuel cell. The new oxygen-evolving catalyst works like photosynthesis, the method plants use to make energy, producing clean energy from sunlight and water. "Because energy use scales with wealth, point-of-use solar energy will put individuals, in the smallest village in the nonlegacy world and in the largest city of the legacy world, on a more level playing field," the report states.