Author Archive for Christian

The Future of Energy

Published
by
Christian
on June 23, 2008
in General and International Policy
. 0 Comments

This weeks issue of The Economist has a 20 page special report on the future of energy. It looks at wind, solar, Nuclear, CCS, electrical networks and all the usual suspects. The editorial leader also has energy as a focus.

“As these alternatives start to roll out in earnest, their rise, optimists hope, will become inexorable. Economies of scale will develop and armies of engineers will tweak them to make them better and cheaper still. Some, indeed, think alternative energy will be the basis of a boom bigger than information technology.”

A large part of the special report is available online but its well worth buying a copy to peruse it all.

Fuel Cells on Planes

Published
by
Christian
on May 2, 2008
in Energy Storage Technologies, Fuel Cell, International Policy and Transport
. 1 Comment

There is some very interesting research at the moment looking into replacing batteries with Fuel Cells. Being able to replace Lithium-Ion batteries in consumer electronics with a Fuel Cell powered by a Hydrogen or Methanol canister has many advantages including longer power reserves and much faster recharging times. But one of the main sticking points in further developing this technology has been the reluctance of commercial airlines and aviators to allow Fuel Cell canisters onto their flights. The fears being that the flammable gas contained inside the canister poses a risk to the aircraft if it somehow catches fire.

Well this week we have seen the first steps towards approving the carriage on aeroplanes of these (so far unavailable) power sources. The US Department of Transportation has just made a ruling that will let passengers carry approved methanol fuel cells and up to two spare fuel cartridges in their carry-on bags.

FTA:

“Fuel cells also can’t spontaneously burst into flames. A person would have to apply a flame to a fuel cell to ignite methanol, which is an alcohol. Presumably, security will take lighters and matches away from someone at the gate. Lithium-ion batteries in rare instances have blown up, but those instances have been alarming.

Fuel cell technology, though, isn’t easy and fuel cells have faced several delays. Lim says fuel cells will likely begin to come out in 2009. MTI is working with Samsung on fuel cells for phones.

Canada, China, Japan, and the UK already let passengers carry their nonexistent fuel cells onboard.”

http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9933408-54.html?tag=nefd.blgs

Websurfing the Pool

Published
by
Christian
on April 7, 2008
in General
. 1 Comment

The linked story is about a neat little system that recovers waste heat from a data center and uses it to warm a nearby swimming pool. Data centers pump out a lot of heat so being able to tap into that much energy and use it is a nice example of lateral thinking. Even my little laptop generates too much heat to leave it on my lap for very long so some of those big server rooms could no doubt provide a lot of energy. Makes you wonder if the current trend towards flash based hard drives is going to require redesigning of data centers

http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/cool-data-centre-used-to-heat-pool/2008/04/03/1206851071924.html

“A new computer centre in Switzerland is making novel use of the hot air thrown off by its servers and communications equipment: the heat is being funneled next door to warm the local swimming pool.

As in all data centers, air conditioners will blast the computers with chilly air - to keep the machines from exceeding their optimum temperature of around 21 degrees Celsius - and pump hot air out.

Usually, the hot air is vented outdoors and wasted. In the Uitikon centre, it will flow through heat exchangers to warm water that will be pumped into the nearby pool.”

Solar Cell Production Jumps 50 Percent in 2007

Published
by
Christian
on December 29, 2007
in General
. 0 Comments

Production of photovoltaics (PV) jumped to 3,800 megawatts worldwide in 2007, up an estimated 50 percent over 2006. At the end of the year, according to preliminary data, cumulative global production stood at 12,400 megawatts, enough to power 2.4 million U.S. homes. Growing by an impressive average of 48 percent each year since 2002, PV production has been doubling every two years, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy source.

http://www.earth-policy.org/Indicators/Solar/2007.htm 

New leadership on Climate Change

Published
by
Christian
on November 29, 2007
in General
. 0 Comments

Got an email from a friend of mine in the legal sector. It contains an examination of the Rudd govts environmental plans. Makes for interesting reading:

http://www.freehills.com/publications/publications_7084.asp

Renewable energy
Labor can also be expected to implement its announced policies on renewable energy: Labor’s 20 Per Cent Target For a Renewable Energy Future. Labor has promised to ensure that at least 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity supply (approximately 60,000 GWh) is generated from renewable sources by 2020. This will be a significant increase on the current target of 9.5 per cent (approximately 15,000 GWh). The aim is to combine existing and proposed state and territory renewable energy schemes and the national Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) scheme into a single national scheme.

Labor considers that renewable energy targets do not have a long-term future given the planned implementation of an ETS. It proposes a phase-out of renewable energy targets from 2020 to 2030 as domestic emissions trading matures and carbon prices become sufficient to ensure that mandatory renewable energy targets are no longer required.

Labor has also committed to providing (among other things) $50 million for geothermal drilling to assess the potential for hot, dry rock technologies.

Clean energy funds
Labor can also be expected to implement its announced policies on ‘clean’ energy: Federal Labor’s Clean Energy Plan To Help Tackle Climate Change. Labor has promised to provide: $500 million for a Renewable Energy Fund, $150 million for an Energy Innovation Fund, and $240 million for a Clean Business Fund.

Spending under the Energy Innovation Fund will include: $50 million for an Australian Solar Institute based on an existing CSIRO centre in Newcastle, $50 million towards solar PV research and development, and $50 million towards ‘general clean energy research’.

Spending under the Clean Business Fund will include: $90 million for a Green Building Fund to subsidise 50 per cent of the cost of retrofitting commercial office buildings, with a maximum of $200,000 provided for each building. It will also include $75 million for grants of up to $500,000 to help small- and medium-sized manufacturers retool their production processes, reduce their environmental footprint and cut carbon emissions. Another $75 million will go to a program to support development and commercialisation of ‘clean, green technologies’.

The existing Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund scheme and the Greenhouse Gas Abatement Program will be abolished.

More Good News

Published
by
Christian
on November 20, 2007
in General
. 0 Comments

George Monbiot is so alarmed by recent scientific findings that he has released an update to his book Heat.

—

The last time we had two degrees of warming in the Pliocene 55 millionyears ago, the ice sheets at the poles did not melt - as the IPCC proposes -over a millennia, but within the course of one century. And they did not cause a maximum sea level rise within the course of one century - as predicted by the IPCC - of 59 centimeters, but of 25 meters.

And Hansen proposes that through a series of factors - the collapse of the buttresses that prevent the ice from sliding into the sea, the melt water trickling down through crevasses and lubricating the base of the ice sheets, and melt water on the surface of the ice sheets changing the albedo, making the ice darker and therefore absorbing more heat, will lead to the sudden and - certainly in geological terms - almost immediate collapse of both the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets within the course of one a century at somewhat less than two degrees of warming.

Continue reading ‘More Good News’

Nanosolar

Published
by
Christian
on November 15, 2007
in General, Solar PV and Wave
. 8 Comments

Cost has always been one of solar’s biggest problems. Traditional solar cells require silicon, and silicon is an expensive commodity (exacerbated currently by a global silicon shortage). What’s more, says Peter Harrop, chairman of electronics consulting firm IDTechEx, “it has to be put on glass, so it’s heavy, dangerous, expensive to ship and expensive to install because it has to be mounted.” And up to 70 percent of the silicon gets wasted in the manufacturing process. That means even the cheapest solar panels cost about $3 per watt of energy they go on to produce. To compete with coal, that figure has to shrink to just $1 per watt.

Nanosolar’s cells use no silicon, and the company’s manufacturing process allows it to create cells that are as efficient as most commercial cells for as little as 30 cents a watt. “You’re talking about printing rolls of the stuff—printing it on the roofs of 18-wheeler trailers, printing it on garages, printing it wherever you want it,” says Dan Kammen, founding director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley. “It really is quite a big deal in terms of altering the way we think about solar and in inherently altering the economics of solar.”

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/flat/bown/2007/green/item_59.html

Oil breaks $100 a barrel

Published
by
Christian
on November 7, 2007
in Oil
. 2 Comments

This afternoon the price for a barrel of Oil reached $100 on the Tapis Index (exchange that sets Australian petrol prices).

http://www.upstreamonline.com/market_data/?id=markets_crude

Currently it is at 100.36

The Oil Drum has some interesting charts showing the rise: http://anz.theoildrum.com/node/3209

Talkin’ About Growth

Published
by
Christian
on October 23, 2007
in General
. 18 Comments

A few of us were fortunate enough to join John at the Lincoln after class tonight for a few drinks. The talk got around to how the notion of Sustainability seems to oppose with the overwhelming economic paradigm of Growth.

This reminded me of something I had read recently that seemed to tie in with what we were discussing. Its a transcript of a lecture by Dr Albert Bartlett who is professor of Physics at the University of Colorado in the USA. His lecture concerns energy consumption and resource depletion and how it all ties together with the growth of human civilization. Despite its length (~10,000 words) most people find it enlightening, engaging and easy to absorb. Dr Bartlett has a light touch and his lecture is peppered with interesting anecdotes and a wry sense of humour.

-Christian

For those people that would rather watch or listen to the lecture it is available here:

http://globalpublicmedia.com/lectures/461

Continue reading ‘Talkin’ About Growth’

RMIT staff and students in Asbestos dust scare

Published
by
Christian
on October 12, 2007
in General
. 0 Comments

A heads up for anyone thinking of heading in to Uni in the next few days. Apparently the asbestos dust is circulating in building 11 which is on Latrobe Street so hopefully will not affect us too much.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22574041-661,00.html

Trying to get back on topic here is an interesting Website about Energy Storage Systems. It covers Dams, Compressed Air and Thermal Underground storage as well as capacitors, fuel cells and a few others.

http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~matti/ise2grp/energystorage_report/storage.html