Posts from — July 2009

In the months since the inauguration of the Obama administration many people, myself included, have been waiting to see how all the campaign talk about green jobs, green economies, alternative energy, etc. will actually be turned into laws.

In this photo taken Wednesday, July 1, 2009, a woman rides a bicycle near the electric bicycles and mopeds parking in Shanghai, China. Industry estimates put the number of electric bikes and scooters on the roads at more than 65 million. It

Per capita, the United States is by far the largest polluter of the global climate. Naturally we don’t want to keep this title and rather establish a leadership role that changes the world economy from a recession shaken state into a growth state with new energy alternatives and the ET (Energy Technologies) that Thomas Friedman demands in his latest book “hot, flat, and crowded”

It is interesting to pause and take a look at where we stand right now:
The 2009 G8 Summit has been held on July 10th in L’Aquila, Italy, as a mark of solidarity with the people of Abruzzo after the recent terrible earthquake. The leaders of the G8 agreed that the increase in global average temperatures should not exceed 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels by 2020. The media has turned its attention to the Copenhagen Climate Conference which will be in session from 7th to 18th December 2009 of this year in Copenhagen, Denmark, but what is this conference and what issues will it cover?

In 1990, the United Nations General Assembly decided to start work on a climate change convention. This lead to 154 countries signing the United Nations Framework Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) at the UN Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Since then, 192 countries including the USA and UK have ratified (To approve and make valid) the convention.

Now every year since the convention was established, a conference takes place called Conference of the Parties or COP for short, where the countries which have ratified the convention meet to discuss how they can meet the objective of the convention, which is to prevent global warming. Most people are referring to this years conference as the Copenhagen summit/conference. Officially it is called COP-15, COP being Conference of the Parties and the 15 meaning the fifteenth annual conference since its establishment with the first being held in Berlin, 1995.

“The overall goal for the 2009 (COP15) United Nations Climate Change Conference hosted by Denmark is to establish an ambitious global climate agreement for the period from 2012.” (From COP-15 official site, provided by Governing Dynamo)

In this photo taken Tuesday, June 30, 2009 photo, commuters ride bicycle, mopeds and electric bicycles in the rain in Shanghai, China. Industry estimates put the number of electric bikes and scooters on the roads at more than 65 million. It

In 2012 the Kyoto Protocol to prevent climate changes and global warming runs out. To keep the process on the line there is an urgent need for a new climate protocol. At the conference in Copenhagen 2009 the parties of the UNFCCC meet for the last time on government level before the climate agreement needs to be renewed.

Presiedent Bush did not sign the Kyoto protocol and claimed that there would be better methods for the United States to take on a leading role. As we know now, about 8 years later, that leading role has not been established, the economy is in recession and credit is so tight that very little innovation is happening. The Obama administrant has indicated that it is interested to re-join the world community and coordinate efforts on behalf of climate change. It even wants to take a leading role.

Any time regulations are negotiated, all countries try to preserve their claims, make sure that they are not impacted un-proportionally harsh, and preserve their ability to grow and advance. While the positioning is occurring, those with funds and the political will to change are fast working on new alternatives. IN the process position of dominance comparable to the Microsoft Windows dominance in computer operating systems is the vision for many of the players.

In the world of transportation, it is not always the glorious and expensive super car that drives the developments forward. Elaine Kurtenbach shows in her recent article tilted: “The bicycle kingdom is going electric” how a green transportation industry is emerging, based on the very old, traditionally human powered bicycle:

It’s a simple pleasure, but Xu Beilu savors it daily: gliding past snarled traffic on her motorized bicycle, relaxed and sweat-free alongside the pedal-pushing masses.
China, the world’s bicycle kingdom _ one for every three inhabitants _ is going electric.

In this photo taken on Friday, July 3, 2009, workers assemble electric scooters at the Hanma Electric Bicycle Co. Ltd in Tianjin, China. Industry estimates put the number of electric bikes and scooters on the roads at more than 65 million. It

Workers weary of crammed public transport or pedaling long distances to jobs are upgrading to battery-powered bikes and scooters. Even some who can afford cars are ditching them for electric two-wheelers to avoid traffic jams and expensive gasoline.

The bicycle was a vivid symbol of China in more doctrinaire communist times, when virtually no one owned a car. Even now, nearly two decades after the country began its great leap into capitalism, it still has 430 million bicycles by government count, outnumbering electric bikes and scooters 7-1.

But production of electric two-wheelers has soared from fewer than 200,000 eight years ago to 22 million last year, mostly for the domestic market. The industry estimates about 65 million are on Chinese roads.

Car sales are also booming but there are still only 24 million for civilian use, because few of the 1.3 billion population can afford them. And unlike in many other developing countries, Chinese cities still have plenty of bicycle lanes, even if some have made way for cars and buses.

“E-bike” riders are on the move in the morning or late at night, in good weather or bad. When it’s wet, they are a rainbow army in plastic capes. On fine days, women don gloves, long-sleeved white aprons and face-covering sun guards.

One of them is Xu, on her Yamaha e-bike, making the half-hour commute from her apartment to her job as a marketing manager. She had thought of buying a car but dropped the idea. “It’s obvious that driving would be more comfortable, but it’s expensive,” she says.

“I like riding my e-bike during rush hour, and sometimes enjoy a laugh at the people stuck in taxis. It’s so convenient and helpful in Shanghai, since the traffic is worse than ever.”

In this Tuesday, June 30, 2009 photo, a man parks his electric bicycles at a parking slot in Shanghai, China. Industry estimates put the number of electric bikes and scooters on the roads at more than 65 million. It

The trend is catching on in the U.S. and elsewhere.

In Japan, plug-in bicycles are favored by cost-conscious companies and older commuters. “Many company workers are beginning to use them to visit clients instead of driving, to save fuel costs,” says Miyuki Kimizuka of the Japan Bicycle Promotion Institute, a private industry group.

Australians use electric bicycles in rural towns without bus and train service. Tony Morgan, managing director of The Electric Bicycle Co. Pty. Ltd., the continent’s largest manufacturer and retailer of e-bikes, says he has sold about 20,000 in the past decade, priced at 1,000-2,000 Australian dollars (about $800-$1,600).

In the Netherlands, an especially bicycle-friendly country, the industry says sales passed 138,800 last year.

In India, Vietnam and other developing countries, competition from motorcycles, as well as a lack of bike lanes and other infrastructure, are obstacles.

Indian sales have risen about 15 percent a year to 130,000 units, thanks in part to a 7,500 rupee ($150) government rebate that brings the cost down to about the cost of a conventional bicycle. But they are far outnumbered by the millions of new motorcycles taking to India’s roadways.

In China, electric bikes sell for 1,700 yuan to 3,000 yuan ($250 to $450). They require no helmet, plates or driver’s license, and they aren’t affected by restrictions many cities impose on fuel-burning two-wheelers.

Worker assembling E-Bike in Chinese factory

It costs a mere 1 yuan (15 U.S. cents) _ about the same as the cheapest bus fare _ to charge a bike for a day’s use, says Guo Jianrong, head of the Shanghai Bicycle Association, an industry group.

They look like regular bicycles, only a bit heavier with the battery strapped on. Some can be pedaled; others run solely on battery. In China, their maximum weight is about 40 kilograms (90 pounds), and maximum legal speed is about 20 kph (12 mph).

“For us, these are tools for transportation,” Guo said. “We’re not like Americans and Europeans, who tend to bicycle for fun or exercise.”

The e-bike doesn’t emit greenhouse gases, though it uses electricity from power plants that do. The larger concern is the health hazards from production, recycling and disposal of lead-acid batteries.

Although China is beginning to turn out more electric bikes equipped with nickel-meter-hydride and lithium-ion batteries, 98 percent run on lead-acid types, says Guo.

In this photo taken on Friday, July 3, 2009, electric scooters are seen before being shipped to the United States, at the Hanma Electric Bicycle Co. Ltd in Tianjin, China. Industry estimates put the number of electric bikes and scooters on the roads at more than 65 million. It

A bike can use up to five of the batteries in its lifetime, according to Christopher Cherry, a professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville who researches the industry. A Chinese-made battery containing 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of lead can generate nearly 7 kilograms (about 15 pounds) of lead pollution, he says.

“Electric bikes result in far more emissions of lead than automobiles. They always use more batteries per mile (1.6 kilometers) than almost any other vehicle,” Cherry said in a phone interview.

In China, owners are paid about 200 yuan ($30) to recycle old batteries but the work is often done in small, under-regulated workshops.

With price competition brutal among China’s 2,300 electric bike and scooter makers, manufacturers have shied away from embracing costlier, cleaner technology. But bigger foreign sales and demand for better batteries may speed improvements.

“We are trying to upgrade to lithium battery technology to be able to sell internationally,” said Hu Gang, a spokesman for Xinri E-Vehicle Group Co., the country’s biggest e- bike manufacturer, with sales of more than 2 million units last year.

The goal is to boost production to more than 5 million units by 2013, he said.

“It’s not that we’re that ambitious,” Hu said. “It’s just that the industry is growing so quickly.”

Article about e-bikes by ELAINE KURTENBACH, Associated Press, 2009-July-26

Here we are, another week later with the next part of our PopSci series about green energy alternatives. In June 2009 David Roberts provided an article about Solar development for PopSci.

Solar Panel farm

Here are some of the findings based on what the experts have to say: 

Solar paneling: Nick Kaloterakis and Kevin Hand
The Big Picture: “Solar power” no longer refers just to chunky photovoltaic panels. A variety of tools for turning sunlight into usable energy — thin-film solar, solar thermal, solar heating, and more — are undergoing a burst of technological acceleration. Whether it’s powering an entire housing development or simply heating your house, taken together, their potential is huge

A shortage of low-carbon power sources seems absurd when you consider that a nearby star bathes the planet in 85,000 terawatts of energy every year. We just have to capture it.

The Google-funded start-up eSolar has devised a relatively cheap and efficient form of solar power by refining concentrating solar thermal (CST), in which large mirror arrays focus light to create heat and ultimately electricity. Proponents say CST can make solar cost-competitive with coal within a decade. It is “probably the only thing that can be done at a big enough scale to produce terawatts,” says Bill Gross, eSolar’s CEO.

At the first eSolar power plant, a five-megawatt facility called Sierra situated northeast of Los Angeles, 24,000 mirrors gather the sunlight falling on 20 acres of land and train it on water-filled boiler units perched on top of towers. This creates temperatures of approximately 850°F, producing steam that turns an onsite turbine to generate electricity.

CST has been around since 1980, but in the 1990s a lack of public interest sent it into hibernation. Now public interest is back in a big way, and CST has awoken with a vengeance. One new megawatt of CST hardware was installed worldwide in 2006; in 2007 there were 100. The Earth Policy Institute projects that the installation of CST worldwide will double every 16 months, from 457 megawatts in 2007 to 6,400 megawatts by 2012. At least 13 plants are in advanced planning stages in the U.S.

ESolar’s approach is comparatively cheap because, unlike most of its competitors, which use large, custom-built parabolic mirrors to capture sunlight from all angles, eSolar uses small, flat mirrors, each about the size of a big-screen television. Computerized tracking keeps each mirror focused at the optimal angle throughout the day. The mirrors are easy to manufacture, and it takes just two workers to attach them to relatively light scaffolding on-site. ESolar’s standard 46-megawatt array, which makes enough juice to power about 30,000 homes, occupies only a quarter of a square mile, which will allow the company to avoid the land-use fights that have ensnared other solar companies.

Sierra is a demonstration project, but in February eSolar signed a deal to build 11 46-megawatt plants in the Southwest United States, and it is set to build a full gigawatt’s worth of plants in India. “Efficiency wins in every industry,” Gross says, “and it’s going to win in solar as well.”

Below is an example that solar is not just an opotion for ares with lots of sun. The new BMW museum in Munich, Germany, has a complete solar roof providing surplus energy to the facility as well as the adjacent factory.

BMW Museum Solar Roof

Floating Wind Generators

Wind Power Turbines to take root in the sea
By Hillary Rosner Posted 06.11.2009 at 6:26 am 2 Comments

Virgin Waters: The Hywind project aims to perfect technology for floating windmills in the deep ocean, opening up new room for wind power to breathe Stephen Toner/Getty Images
The Big Picture: Wind power is all about location — getting turbines where the breeze blows steady and strong. One of the best places for that is far out at sea. And because one of the biggest obstacles to expanding wind power is overcoming the objections of residents who don’t want wind farms blocking their views, deepwater wind, which is invisible from shore, has dual appeal.

Where We Are: 94 GW
What We Need by 2050: 2,000 GW
Tech to Watch: Deepwater Wind

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, seabound wind farms off the Pacific coast could generate 900 gigawatts of electricity every year. Unfortunately, the water there is far too deep for even the tallest windmills to touch bottom. An experiment under way off the coast of Norway, however, could help put them anywhere.

The project, called Hywind, is the world’s first large-scale deepwater wind turbine. Although it uses a fairly standard 152-ton, 2.3-megawatt turbine, Hywind represents “totally new technology,” says Walter Musial, the principal engineer for ocean renewable energy at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. The turbine will be mounted 213 feet above the water on a floating platform, or spar — a technology Hywind’s creator, the Norwegian company StatoilHydro, draws from its experience as Scandinavia’s largest gas and oil company. The steel spar, which is filled with ballast and extends 328 feet below the sea surface, will be tethered to the ocean floor by three cables; these will stabilize the platform and prevent the turbine from bobbing excessively in the waves. Hywind’s stability in the turbulent, wintry Scandinavian sea would prove that even the deepest corners of the ocean are suitable for wind power. If all goes according to plan, the turbine will start generating electricity six miles off the coast of southwestern Norway as early as September.

The Environment, deepwater wind, future of energy, july 2009, undersea turbines, wind power
To produce electricity on a large scale, a commercial wind farm will have to use bigger turbines than Hywind does, but it’s difficult enough to balance such a large turbine so high on a floating pole in the middle of the ocean. To make that turbine heavier, the whole rig’s center of gravity must be moved much closer to the ocean’s surface. To do that, StatoilHydro plans to engineer a new kind of wind turbine, one whose gearbox (the mechanism that transfers power between the rotor and the generator) sits at sea level rather than behind the blades.

Hywind is a test run, but the payoff for perfecting floating wind-farm technology could be enormous. Out at sea, the wind is often stronger and steadier than close to shore, where all existing offshore windmills are planted. Deep-sea farms are invisible from land, which helps overcome the windmill-as-eyesore objection that has derailed wind farms in the past. If the technology catches on, it will open up vast swaths of the planet’s surface to one of the best low-carbon power sources available.

During the last 12 months we have heard a number of influential people, including the president, speak about the coming green economy, green jobs, and alternative energy. Many states have already passed regulations demanding that the powercompanies are generating more energy from alternative sources. New energy legislation is making its way through Congress and the US Senate. What we need to ask ourselves is where the opportunities and hurdles to these ideas can be found.

The United States has amazing potential for solar energy in the Southwest and at the same time the largest area of usable wind in the Midwest. What will be needed for us to harness this amazing richness is a distribution system. In my subscription to the magazine Popular Science I found some interesting material that I want to bring to my readers in the next few weeks. Here is the first part, originally written by David Roberts on 23 June 2009:

Please click on the picture to enlarge and read all the details

New Power Grid

The American electric grid is an engineering marvel, arguably the single largest and most complex machine in the world. It’s also 40 years old and so rickety that power interruptions and blackouts cost the economy some $150 billion a year. The idea of building a connected “smart” grid that can route power intelligently is beyond daunting, no matter how much stimulus money gets thrown at it. But if we want to cut carbon, we have no choice. Today’s grid simply cannot handle a large-scale rollout of the clean-energy sources outlined in this series.

In part that’s because we need new high-voltage power lines to connect parts of the country where renewable resources are abundant (the sunny Southwest deserts, the windy Great Plains) to the cities and suburbs where more people live. But the more fundamental problem is that most renewable power sources don’t behave like fossil-fuel sources — they can’t be turned on and off on demand. Wind farms produce power only when the wind blows; solar, only when the sun shines.

This is problematic, because power demand is twofold: We need “baseload” power that’s predictable and steady, and “peak” power for daily spikes in demand (when, say, everyone arrives home and turns on their air conditioning). Intermittent renewables are not well suited to either. But with more power lines connecting power sources over a broader geographical area, renewables can simulate baseload power. (The wind is always blowing somewhere.) And a smarter grid cleverly shifting power demand around can redirect enough clean electricity to handle it when demand increases suddenly.

Smart Control

The idea behind the smart grid is to embed the system with sensors and computers so that utilities and consumers can precisely control power usage and delivery. Wireless nodes (on substations, transformers and wires) and smart meters (on homes and businesses) will communicate over the Internet to you and your electrical supplier. That way, when everyone turns on the A/C, the electric company can lower the power headed for other appliances, or even draw electricity stored in the battery of your plug-in hybrid, which, when parked, would act as a backup power source.
The Environment, electricity, energy, future of energy, july 2009, power, power grids, smart grids
Rebuilding the entire grid and all its components could cost trillions, and it will require the coordinated efforts of hundreds of state and regional agencies, power-plant owners and electrical utilities. But the smart grid is already appearing piecemeal. By 2012, Southern California Edison, one of the country’s largest electrical utilities, will install 5.3 million smart meters throughout San Diego and Los Angeles that will tell homeowners exactly how much power they’re using at any given time — an important first step.
The city of Boulder, Colorado, will soon finish building the country’s first smart grid, with smart metering and a variety of sustainable energy sources. And President Obama’s stimulus package includes $11 billion for smart-grid technology, to be used for research and demonstration projects.

Finally, a smart grid and a new network of high-voltage power lines to support it will make rolling brownouts a thing of the past. Let’s get to it.