Water for Saudi Arabia through Solar Power and Nanotech
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
Saudi Arabia meets its water requirements through desalination of sea water. The desalination is done using an 80-year old oil-powered technology. The desalinated water is pumped through 4157 kilometers of pipelines and employs 29 pumping stations and 168 reservoirs.
The oil needed to generate the electricity for operating this huge setup is considerable and tends to deplete the country’s oil reserves. To eliminate this problem, Saudi Arabia wants to employ concentrated solar power to replace oil-powered desalination.
Another innovation visualized is the use of nanotech membranes in the desalination process. Researchers at California University in the U.S. have designed nanoparticles to create a membrane that does not clog easily. Using such membranes for water purification can cut energy use significantly.
Saudi Arabia is setting up facilities at the country’s universities for nanotech research. It wants to develop the technology for petrochemical and desalination industries in particular. In fact, the country has already launched its first nanotech company for producing nano-membranes for these industries.
Saudi Arabia hopes to develop skilled nanotech researchers locally so that the country need not depend on foreign technology for its two key requirements, petrochemicals for revenue generation and desalinated water for it survival.
Read about the developments at the Green Prophet Website.
Tags: nano-membrane, saudi universities, solar power
Posted in energy efficiency, environment, nanotechnology | 2 Comments »
Electric Vehicles: Why they are Superior
Sunday, October 24th, 2010
The energy needed by Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) in our cars comes from fossil fuels, which are not only getting exhausted but are also causing harm to the environment through their emissions. Electricity, on the other hand, can be generated from many sources, including sustainable sources such as sunlight, wind and ocean tides. Vehicles that are powered by electricity are thus superior in terms of sustainability to ICE powered vehicles.
Electric vehicles cover a wide range of vehicles that use electric motors (rather than ICEs) for propulsion. The range includes not only cars and trucks but everything from smaller material handling vehicles through trains to spacecraft. Actually, it is only the cars and trucks that are still dominated by ICE power.
Electric vehicles have also the added benefit of converting the energy used in braking to electricity for further use.
Nations are trying to develop economic and convenient electric cars that can perform as well as ICE vehicles. Electric cars are non-polluting and can also free us from dependence on the depleting petroleum resources. As supply of fossil fuels decline, its price can shoot up, as we have already experienced.
An Electric Vehicles Market Research Report analyzes the market for electric vehicles segmented into Battery Powered Electric Vehicles (BPEVs), Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs). It includes a historic analysis of electric vehicles market and forecasts to 2015.
Tags: electric car, electric vehicles, energy, renewable energy
Posted in business, clean technology, energy efficiency, energy generation, environment | No Comments »
Smart Electricity Grids and Energy Efficiency
Friday, October 15th, 2010
A huge amount of energy generated at power stations is lost at various points. There are losses during transmission of the energy to consumers, wasteful use of energy at the consumer ends and even theft of energy leading to unaccounted losses. Any effort at efficient use of energy, a scarce resource, can benefit communities significantly.
Smart Electricity Grids employ several means to achieve the final goal of efficient use of available energy. Sensing, measurement and control devices are used to automatically regulate energy consumption etc in response to specific conditions. Superconductive transmission lines might be used to reduce losses during transmission of power. Advanced Metering Systems is typically an essential component of smart grids.
Advanced Metering Systems (AMI) not only measure energy usage as conventional metering systems do but also analyze energy usage patterns and communicate relevant information to those involved, including suppliers and customers. Two-way communication allows information recipients to respond with actions that lead to solutions. For example, customers become aware of unexpectedly heavy energy usage and can respond with actions that lead to lowering of their energy bills.
Suppliers can tailor their charging pattern in ways that discourage energy use during peak load times. Advanced Electric Meters can record separately the energy usage in differentiated registers for each time period.
Read about a seminar on smart grid development in the Taiwan.
Tags: energy efficiency, information technology, smart grids
Posted in energy distribution, energy efficiency, energy generation, information technology, sensors | 1 Comment »
Fuel Cells: Significance and Markets
Monday, September 13th, 2010
Fuel cells can theoretically provide energy for everything from running a power plant to running your computer. And they provide it with high efficiency, low emissions and quietly, with the byproducts being heat and water, not carbon dioxide. It is no wonder that governments, businesses and academic institutions are working towards producing this green source of energy.
In essence, a fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to make water, and generates electricity in the process. And unlike a battery, the chemicals needed for a fuel cell, viz. hydrogen and oxygen, do not get exhausted all that easily. What this means is that the fuel cell is not likely to go dead, unlike the battery.
Fuel cell technologies come in different varieties such as PEMFC, SOFC, AFC, MCFC, PAFC and DMFC. Some are more suited for one purpose while others are best in other contexts, such as transportation systems, large power plants and stationary power generators.
Honda’s concept car based on fuel cells has a reported energy efficiency of 60 percent, i.e. 60 percent of the energy that goes in comes out in the form of moving the car. Compare this to the 20 percent efficiency of the fossil fuel burning car, where most of the energy is wasted as heat and for powering incidentals.
Though a battery-powered electric car has an efficiency of 72 percent, the battery has to be charged using AC power, which has a low efficiency, and the charging process itself causes some loss of efficiency. Compared to the 60 percent overall efficiency of the fuel cell, the net battery efficiency is just 26 percent.(See How Fuel Cells Work).
The research report Fuel Cell Technologies Worldwide provides insights into the end user markets for fuel cells and also the various technologies used for making fuel cells.
Tags: energy efficiency, fuel cell technology, green energy, nanotechnology
Posted in business, clean technology, energy efficiency, energy generation, environment, innovation, nanomaterials, renewable energy | No Comments »
Energy Efficient Cars: A Focus Area in China
Thursday, September 9th, 2010
With its emission reduction commitments, China is exploring different ways to enhance energy efficiency. Recently, the government had ordered the shutting down of energy inefficient factories. The latest news report is that China is now working on new energy vehicles and energy efficient automobiles, with the prospect of 200 million autos on the roads by 2020.
Wang Fuchang, deputy director-general of the equipment industry with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), stated the goal thus: “In the coming 10 years, China should attach great importance to the research and development of core technologies in green vehicles, aiming for a global lead in this field by 2020.”
In pursuit of the goal, China plans to increase the market share of electric vehicles, both pure and plug-in, and also to enhance the competitiveness of energy-efficient automakers and parts producers. According to ministry spokesperson, China now has a head start “in transitioning from research and development to industrialization in the electric vehicle sector.”
In cooperation with MIIT, the ministry is mapping out industry standards and regulations for new energy vehicles, especially electric vehicles.
According to Chen Bin, director of Industry Coordination for the National Development and Reform Commission, China might be faced with an overcapacity in the automobile industry.
Read the full report at People Daily.
Tags: electric cars, emission reduction, energy efficiency, energy efficient vehicles
Posted in business, clean technology, energy efficiency, environment | No Comments »
Power Grids: Making them smart and smarter
Sunday, August 8th, 2010
With increasing demand for power, it becomes necessary to optimize the utilization of electricity grid capacity. This is sought to be done by incorporating information technology solutions to measure and report, and to sense and self-heal into the grid. R&D in this area also seeks to increase the quantity of power transmitted through the lines.
Superconductive transmission lines can reduce power loss, and tackling bottlenecks in transmission where certain lines remain under-utilized owing to full capacity utilization of connecting lines can increase overall capacity. Instabilities in the system is another area that R&D focuses upon as these can reduce the effective capacity compared to the technical one.
Integrating power from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power generators pose its own problems owing to the differing nature of current flow. Technical issues resulting from intermittency, ramp rates, over supply and inertia are the problems in this area, according to an article on integrating renewables at intelligentutility.com.
Smart meters that report power consumption levels to the supplying utility automatically, programmable thermostats that can automatically adjust power utilization and smart home appliances that reduce power consumption can all be part of the overall campaign for creating a smart grid.
The intelligentutility.com website has resources on the practical issues of smart grids.
Tags: energy efficiency, energy generation, information technology, power transmission
Posted in energy distribution, energy efficiency, energy generation, energy storage, information technology | No Comments »
Miniaturization Applications with Nanotechnology
Monday, July 19th, 2010
A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter and objects of nanoscale are invisible to the human eye. Yet these invisible objects could be of immense use in different areas. Some recent developments at the University of Utah point to some of these possibilities.
One researcher is developing a nanotech torch that is invisible but could make it possible to avoid the waste incurred during the production of electronic chips. By depositing and erasing materials at the precise locations where they are needed, not only is waste avoided but the size of the chip also gets much smaller.
With these small chips, it becomes possible to develop much more compact devices such as GPS units and cell phones.
The Utah University team is also developing a nano tuning fork that can help reduce power consumption. These are nanoscale mechanical switches that can, for example, prevent laptop computers from overheating, eliminate wasted energy and keep the battery charged for longer periods.
The research team at the university has received a $3 million, three year federal DARPA grant for nanotechnology research and the faculty in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering working on these projects constitute the Wireless Nanosystems research team.
Read the news at UtahPulse.
Tags: eliminating waste, energy efficiency, nano device, nanotechnology
Posted in energy efficiency, nanotechnology | No Comments »
Challenge to develop the next Generation Power Grid
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
General Electric, in partnership with venture capital firms Emerald Technology Ventures, Foundation Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and RockPort Capital have announced a $200 million innovation challenge. The challenge asks technologists, entrepreneurs and startups to share their best ideas for an electric power grid that will meet the needs of the 21st century. The challenge, announced on July 13, 2010, is named as “GE ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid.”
The challenge, open immediately at Ecomagination Website is reportedly one of the largest of challenges ever announced.
The goals are to find ways to reduce the carbon footprint during electricity generation, optimize the flow of energy through distribution systems to minimize power losses and use energy more efficiently through better designed buildings and in other ways.
GE is already offering digital energy grids and wants to make it a comprehensive one by working with ideas generated globally. By accelerating the development of a cleaner, more efficient and economically viable grid through collaboration, GE hopes to “jump-start new ideas and deploy them on a scale that will modernize the electrical grid around the world.”
The fund of $200 million will be invested globally into promising startups and ideas. GE will also help the entrants in other ways. Read the news release at MarketWatch.
Tags: cleaner energy generation, digital electricity grids, energy efficiency, power transmission losses
Posted in business, clean technology, energy distribution, energy efficiency, energy generation, environment, information technology, innovation | 1 Comment »
