Archive for Energy New

New Batteries Change Renewable Energy

by admin
January 9th, 2012

Football Pitch-Sized Batteries Could Change the World of Renewable Energy

2011 saw huge advances in solar, wind and other renewable energy sources, and these advancements will continue into 2012. In fact 2012 could be the year that renewable energy sources start to seriously compete with traditional fossil fuels, at least that is the hope in the battle to reduce carbon emissions and our dependence on dwindling oil stocks. However a major problem with renewable energy sources is that they can rarely provide consistent power levels, due to a myriad of factors outside of human control.

Eric Wesoff, an industry analyst with Greentech Media, explains that, “A wind farm only works when the blades are spinning. It might have a nameplate capacity of 100 megawatts, but it never puts out that much. Sometimes it’s 70; sometimes it’s nothing. To a grid operator, that kind of resource is a headache rather than an aspirin.” To overcome these fluctuations energy storage systems can be used to store excess power at peak generating times and release it when needed to provide a more constant level. “So now that 100-MW wind farm can say, ‘We’re a 40-MW, steady-state, 24/7 energy source’—more like a coal plant. That’s more valuable to society.”

The most abundant energy storage system in use around the world is the battery, but producing giant batteries for the electrical grid has always been very expensive. Lots of research has been done into small batteries for mobile phones and MP3 players, etc. and now, according to Haresh Kamath, program manager for energy-storage research at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). “The research applied to those industries is now being applied to batteries for the grid.” In fact the world’s largest battery array, a $500 million system capable of storing 36 megawatt-hours of electricity, has recently been completed in China by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) and the electric car maker BYD. As part of China’s push toward a smart grid system for renewable energy, the battery has been hooked up to 140 megawatts of solar and wind power generation as well as a smart grid transmission system. And we can expect more of these battery facilities after the Deputy Director of China’s National Energy Administration called it the model for the future of Chinese renewable energy development.

As one of the first large battery systems for grid-level energy storage it will prove an intriguing test-bed for the rest of the world to watch and learn from. However we could also have a new, bigger example to study in a few years after Rubenius, the Dubai-based company, finalised plans to build an unprecedented energy-storage facility in Mexicali. Being positioned near the border it will help improve the reliability of both the US and Mexican grids, paving the way for more solar and wind power in both countries.

Giant Batteries for the grid have been seriously discussed for several years and are a very popular idea. In fact, Rubenius estimates that the grid battery market will be worth US $30 billion per year, “plus or minus $5 billion,” says Jacob Rikard Nielsen, vice president of business development. “Of course, that’s not going to materialize tomorrow. But as the technology matures and utilities gain experience, we’ll get to that market status in the next 10 years. I’m quite optimistic.”

It will be interesting to see how the new battery arrays in China and Mexicali fair. If both prove to be a resounding success it really could change the face of renewable energies the world over. Not to mention the huge market that it could create in the development and construction of the facilities.

By. James Burgess of   www.Oilprice.com  

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Green Energy News

by admin
January 6th, 2012

Interview with co-founder of Tenrate  Jennifer Indovina. Tenrehte (pronounced TEN-rate) is “Ethernet” spelled backwards. We decided to call it that because the whole crux of the company is to rethink new applications for wireless technology and Internet connectivity. And the third idea was green technology: energy management, energy efficiency. So our team started making prototypes, and one of the prototypes was an outlet adapter that could communicate with the Internet. From your smartphone, you could tell the outlet to shut on and off devices from anywhere in the world. So if you’re traveling, and you can’t remember if you turned off your light, you could turn it off. We called the product the PICOwattTM. It’s an outlet-based device, which means it’s retrofit, so you don’t have to rip open your whole house or whole office just to make your appliances smart. We thought it was a very fundamental, simple solution. PICO stands for Portable Intelligent Communicator – portraying a sense of a vision for the future of sensors. The “watt” part of the name reminds us that solutions need to be practical, with applications for affecting change now. Right now we’re in the process of making sales to corporate customers, governments, and institutions. They are trying to understand the energy use of buildings, and understand how energy efficiency really is the catalyst for the green movement. Without saving energy, we will never get to the point of being 100% renewable. We just don’t have the infrastructure to support full solar, full wind, off-grid, without energy efficiency. Right now we’re in the process of making sales to corporate customers, governments, and institutions. They are trying to understand the energy use of buildings, and understand how energy efficiency really is the catalyst for the green movement. Without saving energy, we will never get to the point of being 100% renewable. We just don’t have the infrastructure to support full solar, full wind, off-grid, without energy efficiency. One of the big concerns are blackouts. In countries such as South Africa blackouts can be life threatening and more expensive to fix. Because PICOwattTM is Internet-enabled, it can give a real-time alert of an outage or peak power usage. I do thoroughly believe that the change that happens in Africa is going to come from local solutions to local problems. Key point here is we take energy useage for granted in North America and many parts of Europe so there is a massive amount of wasted expended energy that we just pay for without having to think about it. Our way of life just expects to turn on a switch and have unlimited electricity so all those who have grown up with this sense of entitlement will be hard pressed to make any drastic changes to their current habits. Not so for those countries who do not have much in the way of power generation in mass quantities so they rely on whatever their local village can supply through technologies such as Solar and Wind. Wheny you have this small amount of power being produced then everyone must participate in smart usage and conservation. Our current mindset is not one of conservation but of simple use and pay for it however the children when shown how this can be more effecient will buy into energy conservation and allow it to become part of their lifestyle without a second thought.

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Industry insights AREVA

by admin
January 4th, 2012

Energy News

AREVA supplies carbon-free power generation solutions. As the global nuclear industry leader, its unique offer covers every stage of the fuel cycle, nuclear reactor design and construction and related services. The group is taking the lead in low carbon solutions – wind, solar, bioenergy, hydrogen and energy storage – and aims to be one of the sector’s global top three in 2012.

What is AREVA’s current position and competitive advantage in the renewable market?

Renewable energy technologies are integral to the low carbon power generation solutions AREVA offers alongside nuclear. Committed to renewable energy since 2005, the group has bought advanced technologies, particularly in offshore wind and CSP.

AREVA’s goal is to become a major international player by supplying competitive technologies. It was one of the first to enter the offshore wind market, and the Alpha Ventus wind farm is proof the technology works. Today, AREVA has over 600MW in confirmed pipeline and 1GW under negotiation, putting us in second position in Europe behind Siemens, and in the industry’s top three globally.

We are the leader in bioenergy, with almost 3GW installed and an expanded market position (from a pure engineering, procurement and construction provider to technological solution provider).

AREVA Solar’s Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector CSP technology is delivering direct, superheated steam at California’s Kimberlina power station in Bakersfield, and several large-scale projects are under construction in Australia.

What do you think of offshore wind market dynamics in Europe?

For EU Member States committed to meeting 20% of final energy consumption from renewable energy by 2020, offshore wind is becoming a viable and reliable source. AREVA Wind’s operations include design, manufacture, assembly and commissioning of high-power turbines specially adapted for marine use, notably the M5000.

http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Industries/Power—Utilities/RECAI—Industry-Insights—Areva

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Energy News

by admin
January 3rd, 2012

Sustainable energy is the provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable energy sources include all renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal energy, bioenergy, and tidal power. It usually also includes technologies designed to improve energy efficiency.
Energy efficiency and renewable energy are said to be the twin pillars of sustainable energy. Some ways in which sustainable energy has been defined are:
“Effectively, the provision of energy such that it meets the needs of the future without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. …Sustainable Energy has two key components: renewable energy and energy efficiency.” – Renewable Energy and Efficiency Partnership (British)
“Dynamic harmony between equitable availability of energy-intensive goods and services to all people and the preservation of the earth for future generations.” And, “the solution will lie in finding sustainable energy sources and more efficient means of converting and utilizing energy.” – Sustainable energy by J. W. Tester, et al., from MIT Press.
“Any energy generation, efficiency & conservation source where: Resources are available to enable massive scaling to become a significant portion of energy generation, long term, preferably 100 years..” – Invest, a green technology non-profit organization.
“Energy which is replenishable within a human lifetime and causes no long-term damage to the environment.” – Jamaica Sustainable Development Network
This sets sustainable energy apart from other renewable energy terminology such as alternative energy and green energy, by focusing on the ability of an energy source to continue providing energy. Sustainable energy can produce some pollution of the environment, as long as it is not sufficient to prohibit heavy use of the source for an indefinite amount of time. Sustainable energy is also distinct from Low-carbon energy, which is sustainable only in the sense that it does not add to the CO2 in the atmosphere.
Green Energy is energy that can be extracted, generated, and/or consumed without any significant negative impact to the environment. The planet has a natural capability to recover which means pollution that does not go beyond that capability can still be termed green.
Green power is a subset of renewable energy and represents those renewable energy resources and technologies that provide the highest environmental benefit. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines green power as electricity produced from solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, biomass, and low-impact small hydroelectric sources. Customers often buy green power for avoided environmental impacts and its greenhouse gas reduction benefits.

 

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