Chinese Company Offers Free Wind Power Training for Coal Miners in Wyoming

30.05.2017

Vetropark, Njiva, kukuruz — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

When we think of coal country in the United States, we think of West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. But Wyoming is where the majority of American coal comes from. In fact, the Cowboy State, as it calls itself, produces four times as much coal as West Virginia. That also means it has suffered a devastating loss of coal mining jobs in recent years as the use of coal to make electricity has declined. Now a Chinese company wants to retrain some of those unemployed miners to work in the wind power industry.

Goldwind Americas is the US arm of one of China’s largest wind turbine manufacturers. Of all the states in America, Wyoming is one of the best suited for wind energy because it has high average wind speeds and lots of wide open spaces. Nevertheless, Wyoming has been hostile to wind power. It is the only state that levies a special tax on electricity generated by wind.

That hasn’t deterred Goldwind Americas, however. Last week at an energy conference in Wyoming, Goldwind offered to provide free training to unemployed coal miners looking for work building and maintaining wind power farms and wind turbine technicians. Free retraining for unemployed workers is more than the state government is willing to do for its citizens.

The company has plans to install hundreds of state-of-the-art wind turbines in locations all across Wyoming. “If we can tap into that market and also help out folks that might be experiencing some challenges in the workforce today, I think that it can be a win-win situation,” David Halligan, chief executive of Goldwind Americas, told the New York Times.

Goldwind believes miners, with their experience working under difficult conditions and their expertise in mechanical engineering, are well suited to work in the wind energy industry. There are billions of dollar in federal subsidies available for wind farms, and wind power is generally the cheapest source of electricity around. Goldwind hopes the lure of stable, well paying jobs will overcome the resistance in the state capital to wind power.

Certainly, nothing could be more counterintuitive than putting hurdles in the way of businesses that want to create jobs and favoring those that are shedding jobs. Wyoming lost another 6,000 coal jobs in the past year alone. But ideology is hard to overcome. The state’s leaders are bought and paid for by fossil fuel interests and do their bidding even when doing so means shooting themselves and their voters in the foot.

The cowboy mystique is all about self-reliance and success through hard work, both of which are laudable traits. But historically, cowboys didn’t succeed by being stupid, something the state’s leaders fail to realize. If Goldwind is successful, perhaps the state government will start representing the people it was elected to serve rather than corrupt corporate interests who want to damage the state’s economy by keeping it chained to the past.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Portland (Oregon) Commits to 100% Renewable Electricity by 2035, 100% Renewable Energy by 2050

29.05.2017

The City of Portland, Oregon, and Multnomah County have locked in a commitment to obtaining 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2035 as the latest #CommitTo100 city to join the pledge.

Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune shared on his blog that the commitment by Portland represents a major milestone because of its holistic approach:

“Once approved by the city and county commissioners, the plan will make Portland the largest city in the country to commit to transition all energy sectors to 100 percent clean energy.”

The commitment of the City of Portland and Multnomah County to taking on the challenge of shifting energy generation to renewable sources serves as a stake in the sand for the Pacific Northwest, which was an empty desert in the map of communities committed to moving to 100% renewable electricity/energy that we featured earlier this month.

While top-level commitments to moving to 100% renewable energy generation represent major steps towards that goal, it will require an engaged community to course correct the entire electricity generation system.

City of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler called the community into action in his statement on the commitment: “we don’t succeed addressing climate change by government action alone. We need our whole community: government, businesses, organizations and households to work together to make a just transition to a 100 percent renewable future.” He went on to note that he is fully aware of how challenging it will be: “Getting our community to 100 percent renewable energy is a big goal.”

The city broke it goals out into milestones along the greater journey of moving to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

Phase out coal by 2032
Phase out natural gas by 2035
100% renewable electricity generation by 2035
100% renewable energy by 2050

Oregon Live quoted Dave Robertson, vice president of Public Policy and Corporate Resiliency at Portland General Electric, chiming in to confirm PGE support of the plan.

“If our resource strategy is approved by regulators, we will add significant amounts of renewable energy to surpass our 2025 renewable energy target more than five years early and at a reduced cost to our customers. The addition of these new renewable resources, combined with our existing wind, solar and hydroelectric facilities, will enable PGE to generate more than 50 percent of our energy from carbon-free sources by 2020.”

The commitment to securing 100% of its energy from renewable sources is a massive milestone for the city of Portland and truly sets the bar for other cities pursuing milestones of their own. The push to mitigate climate change is nothing new to the City of Portland, which was the first US city to adopt a carbon reduction strategy way back before it was cool in 1993.

Source: cleantechnica.com

84% of People Now Consider Climate Change a ‘Global Catastrophic Risk’

29.05.2017

A majority of people in eight countries say they are ready to change their lifestyles if it would prevent climate catastrophe, a survey on global threats released Wednesday found.

The poll of 8,000 people in eight countries—the U.S., China, India, Britain, Australia, Brazil, South Africa and Germany—found that 84 percent of people now see climate change a “global catastrophic risk.”

It comes as President Donald Trump goes to Italy for his first conference with the Group of 7 (G7) to discuss inequality and the environment. Anti-poverty groups are urging the president not to pull out of the Paris climate deal, as he has threatened to do.

On climate, “there’s certainly a huge gap between what people expect from politicians and what politicians are doing. It’s stunning,” Mats Andersson, vice chairman of the Global Challenges Foundation, which commissioned the survey for its annual Global Catastrophic Risks report, told the Thompson Reuters Foundation on Wednesday.

Many people now see climate change as a bigger threat than other issues like population growth, weapons of mass destruction and artificial intelligence, among other concerns, the poll found.

Still, those fears also ranked high, and the survey found that about 70 percent of respondents would support a new global organization designed to address international risks.

“Whether it’s the specter of nuclear conflict over North Korea or the planet tipping into catastrophic climate change, the need for effective global cooperation has never been greater,” Andersson said.

Source: ecowatch.com

NASA Finds New, Frightening Way Glaciers Are Melting in Greenland (PHOTO) (VIDEO)

29.05.2017

Scientists have had their eyes on Greenland as its iconic glaciers have begun disappearing due to a warming climate. But, what they didn’t expect to see was a whole new type of melting.

The Rink Glacier, the largest glacier on the west coast of Greenland, was exhibiting some strange melting behaviors during the hot summers of 2010 and 2012 that can only be described as a “warmed freezer pop sliding out of its plastic casing.” This kind of mass melt lasted four months between June and September in 2012 with a loss of 6.7 gigatons of mass.

The mass moved 2.5 miles every month for the first three months, then 7.5 miles all at once in September. That’s actually pretty speedy considering the Rink Glacier usually melts at a speed of one to two miles a year. But, still, it was slow enough that NASA had to use aerial GPS data to measure the movement.

“You could literally be standing there and you would not see any indication of the wave,” said Eric Larour of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and coauthor of the research. “You would not see cracks or other unique surface features.”

Witness Greenland’s rapidly declining ice mass since 2002, as observed by NASA’s twin GRACE satellites: https://t.co/73r3hcd7sa pic.twitter.com/8Ciu95P1lg
— NASA Sea Level (@NASASeaLevel) May 23, 2017

There was also a similar melting pattern in the summer of 2010, but scientists didn’t recognize it on first glance and had to go back and quantify it with the data from that period. Sure enough, there was a wave in 2010 as well, smaller than the one in 2012, but it moved at the same speed.

NASA scientists aren’t quite sure why this is happening but they suspect it has something to do with surface melting. During these two summers, there was more standing water due to melting than ever before. In fact, in 2012, more than 95 percent of the surface snow and ice was melting, creating giant lakes on top of the Rink Glacier. The water had to flow somewhere, so it might have carved channels through the ice, weakening the infrastructure of the glacier. This lubricated the ice mass, allowing it to slide out of its pocket, slowly, over the course of the summer.

“Intense melting such as we saw in 2010 and 2012 is without precedent, but it represents the kind of behavior that we might expect in the future in a warming climate,” said coauthor Erik Ivins of JPL. “We’re seeing an evolving system.”

Understanding how and why the ice melts is essential to understanding how climate change is affecting the glaciers over time. This ultimately helps scientists calculate sea level rise and changes to the global carbon cycle.

Source: ecowatch.com

UK Smashes Solar Power Record

29.05.2017

Solar power has broken records in Britain in Friday as the country basked in temperatures as high as 28 degrees.

According to the National Grid solar generation hit its highest ever level in Friday, delivering 8.7GW, the equivalent of 24.3 per cent of national demand.

That day figures sail past the previous record of 8.48GW for a half hourly period of solar output, set earlier this month.

It marked a day of record low-carbon generation, with experts suggesting 60 per cent of Britain’s lunchtime power use came from low-carbon sources.

The UK has 12GW of solar capacity installed and on sunny days regularly provides between 10 and 20 per cent of UK electricity demand.

National Grid’s Duncan Burt, who is responsible for control room operations, insisted the system is well equipped to handle the high volume of renewable power on the grid.

“We have planned for these changes to the energy landscape and have the tools available to ensure we can balance supply and demand,” he said in a statement. “It really is the beginning of a new era, which we are prepared for and excited to play our part”.

In Friday was the first time solar generated more power than nuclear energy, according to the Solar Trade Association (STA). “We were delighted that at around midday today 8.75GW was generated by solar, supplying nearly 25 per cent of the UK’s total demand,” STA CEO Paul Barwell said. “This is the first time that solar has generated more than nuclear, second only to gas.”

It is the latest in a string of clean energy landmarks this year for the electricity grid. In March the amount of electricity demanded by homes and businesses on one weekend afternoon was lower than it was in the night time for the first time ever, thanks to customers switching to using rooftop solar power instead of grid power.

Then in April the UK experienced another record-breaking weekend for clean power, with solar generating 26 per cent of grid electricity in England and Wales and wind generation hitting a peak of 20.59 per cent. Total renewable electricity generation also hit a record peak on the same weekend.

Source: businessgreen.com

Natural Gas Facilities With No Carbon Dioxide Emissions

28.05.2017

air-pollution — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

How can we burn natural gas without releasing CO2 into the air? This feat is achieved using a special combustion method that TU Wien has been researching for years: chemical looping combustion (CLC). In this process, CO2 can be isolated during combustion without having to use any additional energy, which means it can then go on to be stored. This prevents it from being released into the atmosphere.

The method had already been applied successfully in a test facility with 100 kW fuel power. An international research project has now managed to increase the scale of the technology significantly, thus creating all the necessary conditions to enable a fully functional demonstration facility to be built in the 10 MW range.

Isolating CO2 from other flue gases

It is much cleaner to burn natural gas than to burn crude oil or coal. However, natural gas has the huge disadvantage that it generates CO2 during combustion, which has a detrimental effect on the climate. The CO2 is usually part of the flue gas mixture, together with nitrogen, water vapour and other substances. In this mixed form, the CO2 can neither be stored nor feasibly recycled.

– In the facilities we are working with, however, the combustion process is fundamentally different – explains Stefan Penthor from the Institute of Chemical Engineering at TU Wien.

– With our combustion method, the natural gas does not come into contact with the air at all, because we divide the process into two separate chambers.

A granulate made of metal oxide circulates between the two chambers and is responsible for transporting oxygen from air to fuel.

– We pump air through one chamber, where the particles take up oxygen. They then move on to the second chamber, which has natural gas flowing through it. Here is where the oxygen is released, and then where flameless combustion takes place, producing CO2 and water vapour – explains Penthor.

The separation into two chambers means there are two separate flue gas streams to deal with too: air with a reduced concentration of oxygen is discharged from one chamber, water vapour and CO2 from the other. The water vapour can be separated quite easily, leaving almost pure CO2, which can be stored or used in other technical applications.

– The large-scale underground storage of CO2 in former natural gas reservoirs could be very significant in the future – believes Stefan Penthor.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also sees underground CO2 storage as an essential component of any future climate policy. However, CO2 can only be stored if it has been separated as pure as possible – just as it is with the new CLC combustion method.

By separating the two flue gas streams, there is no longer any need to scrub the CO2 from the flue gas, thus saving a great deal of energy. Despite all this, electricity is generated in the usual way and the amount of energy released is exactly the same as that produced when burning natural gas in the conventional manner.

Successfully scaled up

Several years have passed since TU Wien was first able to demonstrate on a test facility that the CLC combustion method works. Now the big challenge was to redesign the process so it could be transferred to large-scale installations that would also be economically viable. Not only did the entire facility design have to be revised, new production methods for the metal oxide particles had to be developed too.

– You need many tonnes of these particles for a large facility, so the economic feasibility of the concept depends significantly on being able to produce them easily and to a sufficiently high degree of quality – says Stefan Penthor.

The SUCCESS research project has been working on issues like this one for three and a half years now. TU Wien has coordinated the project, involving 16 partner establishments from across the Europe, and between them, the group has managed to resolve all the important technical questions. The revised facility design was based on two fluidised bed technology patents held by TU Wien.

– We’ve reached our goal: we’ve developed the technology to such a degree that work on a demonstration facility in the 10 MW range can begin any day now – says Stefan Penthor.

However, that next step is not one for the research institutes; what is needed now are private or public investors. The technology’s success will also depend on political will and on the prevailing conditions within the energy industry of the future. Additionally, this next step is also important because it is the only way to gain the experience necessary to be able to use the technology on an industrial scale in the long term.

In the meantime, the TU Wien research team has already set its sights on its next scientific goal.

– We want to develop the method further so it can burn not just natural gas, but biomass too – says Penthor.

– If biomass were combusted and the CO2 separated out, not only would that be a CO2-neutral process, it would even reduce the total amount of CO2 in the air. So you could produce energy and do something good for the global climate at the same time.

Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Climate Change to Reduce Global Yields of Staple Crops 23% by 2050s

28.05.2017

Global production of the 4 most important staple crops in the world — maize/corn, wheat, rice, and soybeans — will be reduced by around 23% by the 2050s as a result of worsening anthropogenic climate change, according to new research published in the journal Economics of Disasters and Climate Change.

Notably, even by the 2030s — not that long from now — production of the staple crops mentioned above are expected to fall by ~9%, owing to rising temperatures (both rising minimums and maximums), increasingly extreme weather, and drought.

It should be noted that the findings don’t take into account rising soil depletion/erosion problems, the possibility of synthetic fertilizer shortages, or the possibility of large-scale wars or social breakdown. In other words, things could get notably worse than the figures above, which are already quite extreme.

Climate Central provides more: “The negative impacts of climate change to farming were pretty much across the board in the new analysis. There were small production gains projected for Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine in the 2030s, but by the 2050s, the models ‘are negative and more pronounced for all countries,’ the researchers wrote in the study.”

That matches the findings of many earlier studies.

The lead author of the new study, Mekbib Haile of the University of Bonn, noted that increases to average temperatures during the growing season don’t impact the staple crops mentioned above much until a “tipping point” is reached — which is apparently around 89° Fahrenheit for the crops in question.

Haile stated: “Rising temperature at the two extremes — minimum temperature in the case of rice and maximum temperature in the case of corn — are detrimental to production of these crops.”

This work follows other recent work published in the journal Environmental Research Letters that predicted that by the end of the century France’s production of winter wheat was likely to fall by around at least 21% — with winter barley production there falling by ~17% and spring barley production there falling by ~33% by the end of the century as well.

It should be realized that, as with the ICCT’s climate change predictions, these estimates may well be underestimates, depending on how fast anthropogenic warming and associated changes occur over the coming decades.

It should also be realized here that there are already some ~2 billion people around the world who subsist on diets that result in a nutrient-deficient state of health — as this problem worsens in the coming years owing to dropping crop yields, nutrient deficiencies will become even more common, and so will a wide variety of diseases and infections as a result.

Source: cleantechnica.com

By 2020 a Thousand Electric Charging Stations will be on Serbian Roads

28.05.2017

car-chargers — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

At the public discussion on the strategy of charging stations installation for electric vehicles in Serbia, held at the Building Trade Fair, it was stated the strategy should be planned and executed by Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, using good European experiences.

Since Serbia is a transit country, by 2020, about a thousand charging stations for various vehicles types should be installed in the cities and on the road corridors, as estimated by the experts. The action holders may be local self-Governments and individuals and the licenses for the charging station installation will be simplified, since Ministry of Infrastructure wants to mass the transit traffic – the interested companies and individuals will be able to request them through the Internet.

– As regarding the legal regulations, we can install the first charging station already tomorrow. Ministry manages all road directions and it is interested in the installation of as many charging stations as possible on specific points at the Corridors 10 and 11 – said Aleksandra Damjanović, State Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.

From the Faculty of Electrical Engineering it was stated the existing electric power network is not ready for high loading, but Serbia was rich with renewable energy sources, which could also charge cars.

– Solar panels with direct current and batteries gave excellent results in the rural parts of Serbia and in Belgrade, pointed out Nikola Rajaković from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade.

The electric vehicle sellers said they were ready to invest money into the network, but the development strategy was necessary, since it was a complex project. Aleksandra Đurđević from Delta Auto – BMW said Croatia already had a thousand public charging stations for the cars, it was necessary to start that process also in Serbia and she hoped it would happen soon.

IEEG Institute in Stara Pazova will be the first local manufacturer of the charging stations.

Source: sajam.rs

OUR CITIES BOOMERANG CHALLENGE: Can you make a #Loop4Dev? (VIDEO)

27.05.2017

green-cities — Photo - illustration: Pixabay

Ever notice how cities can really encapsulate many of the things that make life enjoyable? Green spaces to enjoy the outdoors, access to jobs, affordable housing for all, a well-connected public transportation system, access to healthy food, schools for all children, and so on. Some cities achieve this better than others, but creating a city that works for all of its citizens can be a challenge for governments and communities alike.

Why? Let’s look at some numbers: Up to 1 billion people living in slums in the cities of the world are in need of better services; Cities consume 2/3 of the world’s energy and account for 70% of greenhouse gas emissions; 66 out of 100 people will live in cities by 2050, which tells us the global population is becoming increasingly urban.

Every city is a work in progress in this sense and for organizations like the World Bank, cities offer opportunities to help people raise themselves out of poverty. With so many people concentrated geographically, it’s possible to make improvements that benefit many, and with investments across multiple sectors in cities , governments can really make an impact on the lives of their citizens.

So, with this in mind, we have launched a new social media campaign – the #Loop4Dev Boomerang Challenge – to raise awareness about how cities can be a major driver in ending poverty. We’re challenging all of you creative social media mavens to show us what makes a city inclusive, resilient, livable, and sustainable in a Boomerang!

What’s a Boomerang? It’s a mini video that plays in a loop and is fast becoming a major form of creative expression on Instagram. Participating is easy:

– Install the Boomerang app on your smartphone – press a button and the app does the rest!
– Post your Boomerang on Instagram (don’t forget to make your account public);
– In your caption, tell us how the Boomerang shows a city that works for its people;

– Use the hashtag: #Loop4Dev, and also add the hashtags #ItsPossible, #EndPoverty, #boomerangoftheweek.

So whether you live or work in a city, or even just occasionally travel to cities in and outside your country, you can participate. We’re looking for your best Boomerangs that depict things you see in cities that help improve people’s lives. Things like affordable housing, water and sanitation, accessible buildings and transport, urban agriculture, schools and facilities for refugees, climate and disaster-resilient infrastructure, or any other image that shows how your city, or the city you’re visiting, is transforming into a livable place for all citizens. And remember, Boomerangs are great for showing action, so be creative!

So don’t wait! Get out there and show us what makes a city a great place for its people. With your help, we can raise awareness of the goal to end extreme poverty by 2030, and how cities can be a major driver in achieving that.

Interested in helping us achieve the goal of ending poverty by 2030? Join the Movement to #EndPoverty and stay informed of ways you can get involved, like this challenge.

What makes a city inclusive and resilient? Show it in our #Loop4Dev @Instagram #Boomerang challenge https://t.co/gVXfOhgMfe pic.twitter.com/7KTAmd06zb
— World Bank (@WorldBank) May 24, 2017

Source: blogs.worldbank.org

Traffic Air Pollution Directly Damages DNA In Children, Research Finds

27.05.2017

Zagađenje, Auspuh, Automobil — Photo: Pixabay

Exposure to high levels of traffic-related air pollution is seemingly a direct cause of the type of DNA damage that is known as telomere shortening, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley.

Notably, young people with asthma also show evidence of telomere shortening, according to the researchers, meaning that: “Our results suggest that telomere length may have potential for use as a biomarker of DNA damage due to environmental exposures and/or chronic inflammation.”

The research was focused around 14 children and adolescents residing in the second-most-polluted city in the US — that is to say, in Fresno, California.

The press release provides details: “The researchers assessed the relationship between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a ‘ubiquitous’ air pollutant caused by motor vehicle exhaust; and shortening of telomeres, a type of DNA damage typically associated with aging.

“As the exposure to PAHs increased, telomere length decreased in linear fashion. Children and teens with asthma were exposed to higher PAH levels than those without asthma. The relationship between PAH level and telomere shortening remained significant after adjustment for asthma and other factors (age, sex, and race/ethnicity) related to telomere length.

“The study adds to previous evidence that air pollution causes oxidative stress, which can damage lipids, proteins, and DNA. Research has suggested that children may have different telomere shortening regulation than adults, which might make them more vulnerable to the damaging effects of air pollution.”

John R Balmes, MD, of UC–Berkeley, and other report authors summarized: “Greater knowledge of the impact of air pollution at the molecular level is necessary to design effective interventions and policies.”

Well, perhaps. But at this point it’s not actually news to anyone who doesn’t have their hands over their ears that the world’s growing air pollution problems are having a very negative effect on human health. So, it’s more a matter of political will at this point than of evidence.

The new findings are detailed in a paper published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Could Biomimicry Revolutionise Renewable Energy?

27.05.2017

A host of new technologies have been inspired by the natural world, as designers increasingly look to biomimicry when to creating new ideas for wind turbines, solar cells and hydropower. So could nature hold the answer to unlocking renewable energy?

Nature has been inspiring scientists for millennia and the latest buzz of creativity is around the search for renewable and sustainable sources of energy.

Biomimicry, the imitation of natural structures or processes, has already led to a number of technological advancements, from aerodynamic vehicle and building design to sophisticated surface membranes. It’s a field which continues to grow and has much to offer the energy sector. For instance, solar technology owes a debt to leaf and plant systems, and researchers are still learning lessons from whales and hummingbirds on how drag affects wind turbine blades.

So what new technologies are coming out of biomimicry?

Humpback whale fins reduce blade turbulence

Humpback whales move through water with a grace that belies their size, angling their fins precisely to minimise drag and increase control. While at first glance the movements of a whale and a wind turbine seem unrelated, these giant mammals have inspired a breakthrough in renewable technology.

This species of whale has flippers with scalloped edges, called tubercles, which are responsible for reducing turbulence. Scientists at West Chester University mimicked these tubercles on a number of fans and turbines, to demonstrate that a turbine with scalloped blades can produce the same about of energy at 10mph as a smooth one at 17mph.

These tubercles delay stalling as they increase a wind turbine’s angle of attack by around 40%, lowering drag. Research continues with the hope that, one day, wind turbines with scalloped blades could operate effectively in areas previously ruled out due to low wind speeds.

Fern leaves provide clues to energy storage

Leaves are nature’s power plants and have already inspired solutions for projects seeking the most effective models to capture and use energy from the sun. The most recent comes from Australia’s RMIT University, where a team used fern leaf structures to develop a new type of electrode, which it claims could boost the capacity of existing storage technologies by as much as 3,000%.

– The leaves of the western swordfern are densely crammed with veins, making them extremely efficient for storing energy and transporting water around the plant – said Professor Min Gu, leader of the Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence Nanophotonics and associate deputy vice-chancellor for research innovation and entrepreneurship at RMIT.

“Our electrode is based on these fractal shapes – which are self-replicating, like the mini structures within snowflakes – and we’ve used this naturally efficient design to improve solar energy storage at a nano level,” Gu adds.

This research is still in a relatively early stage, but the RMIT team is aiming to expand the technology to create a flexible, thin, all-in-one solar capture and storage solution. If successful, these graphite electrodes could conceivably be used with supercapacitors to capture and store energy in everything from cars to phones.

Hummingbirds master energy efficiency

Windfarms are becoming a common sight worldwide and their distinctive turbine blades gradually seen as part of the landscape. But one company has re-designed their entire shape in order to mimic the hummingbird, which uses energy so efficiently it can flap its wings between 50 and 200 times a second.

TYER Wind used biophysics to analyse and simulate the motion of a hummingbird, then applied Aouinian 3D kinematics which allowed the conversion of linear motion into rotational. Building on this insight, the Tunisian start-up was able to create a vertical axis wind converter, therefore a wind turbine that, instead of spinning, flaps its blades in the wind.

Both the upward and downward motions of the turbines create movement which is convertible into energy, maximising their efficiency whilst limiting the drag. This, in turn, has the advantages of ensuring the turbines can perform in high wind speeds and be more closely grouped than traditional turbines. It is even possible to install multiple sets of blades on a single pole.

These turbines require a smaller sweep area without a reduction in efficiency, the company claims. And while it’s unlikely they will ever compete with the scale of vast, offshore windfarms, it’s entirely possible that biomimicry-enhanced blades could transform small, off-grid wind power stations.

Seaweed-inspired hydropower

Off the coast of Port Fairy in Australia, BPS’s bioWAVE project is mimicking seaweed and other underwater plants to create grid-quality energy from the motion of the waves.

The bioWAVE unit is submerged and fixed to the seafloor, and as the swell of the ocean moves around it the resultant force activates air-filled cylinders which pivot on an axis. These then push fluid through the O-Drive, BPS’s own power-conversion module, generating energy. The O-Drive is specifically designed to deal with the irregularity of hydropower. The energy is then fed through subsea cables to power homes and businesses in nearby towns.

BioWAVE is much lighter than conventional wave energy designs and as it is modular it is also cheaper and easier to install. Plus, it converts power on-board, unlike many alternatives.

In order to protect itself during periods of rough seas and storms bioWAVE also has a ’lay-down’ mode, where the large, air-filled cylinders lie flat against the seafloor to steady the unit .

Currently, the project is a prototype which BPS is hoping to roll-out around Australia and later worldwide.

Schools of fish teach organisation

It is not only technology that’s evolving; its implementation is also developing through biological mimicry. The California Institute of Technologies Center for Bioinspired Engineering (Caltech) has been researching whether fish schooling formations can be applied to the arrangement of wind turbines to maximise the potential energy harvested from the smallest area.

As a fish swims it sheds vortices – areas where the water rotates around an axis line. It is thought that when fish swim in schools, they can use these vortices to their advantage, allowing them to expel less energy when moving in a group.

This concept is being applied to vertical axis wind turbines to see if it is possible for the vortices created by the turbines to aid those around them, rather than causing drag. Caltech scientists believe that creating constructive aerodynamic interference by reorganisation of turbines could increase their energy efficiency.

Source: www.power-technology.com

SoftBank Joint Venture Secures 400 Megawatts Of Solar Capacity At Record Low Tariffs In India

26.05.2017

photovoltaic-solar — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

A joint venture between SoftBank, Foxconn Technologies and Bharti Enterprises has received a huge boost in its standing in the rapidly growing Indian solar power market.

SB Cleantech secured 400 megawatts of solar power capacity in two auctions that offered a total of 750 megawatts of capacity at the Bhadla solar power park in Rajasthan, India. The company bid the lowest-ever tariffs for solar power projects in India in both the auctions.

The company secured rights to develop 100 megawatts of capacity out of the 250 megawatts offered by Adani Enterprises at the Bhadla solar power park. The capacity was allocated to SB Cleantech at Rs 2.63/kWh (4.1¢/kWh), one of the lowest tariffs in India at the time. Two days later, the company also won 300 megawatts of capacity offered by IL&FS, an infrastructure company at the same solar power park at Rs 2.45/kWh (3.8¢/kWh) another record low in India.

SoftBank has been bullish on the Indian solar power market and has pledged to invest $20 billion in developing solar power projects. The company secured its first solar power project in India in late 2015. The project was auctioned in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The company recently commissioned this project which, at 350 megawatts, is one of the largest solar power projects in India developed by a single company.

SoftBank is among several foreign companies that are looking to grab a large chunk of the Indian solar power market, which is expected to become the third largest in the world this year. Perhaps one of the factors that favors foreign developers is that they may find it easier to secure debt finance at much cheaper rates.

Indian banks continue to provide funding at interest rates that would render new solar power projects in the country financially unviable. Foreign development banks and multi-national banks like the Asian Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation offer loans at very cheap rates.

Thus, foreign developers could lead the Indian solar power market to even lower tariff bids in the near future.

Source: cleantechnica.com

India Cancels Nearly 14 Gigawatts Of Proposed Coal Plants

26.05.2017

The transformation of India’s electricity market continues to deliver, as shown this month by the cancellation of 13.7 gigawatts of proposed coal-fired power plants, an admission that 8.6 gigawatts of operating coal is already non-viable, and the parallel move of ever-decreasing solar costs helped along by the country’s record low solar tariffs.

Keeping an eye on the goings-on in India has been an interesting experience over the last few years, given that the country has not only set itself increasingly lofty expectations and targets, but seems for all intents and purposes as if it is actively going to reach its aims. The country has definitely appeared to be stuck at a crossroads — not knowing whether to commit wholly to renewable energy, or to keep a foot in the fossil fuel camp as well. Late last year India had plans to build more than 300 gigawatts (GW) of new coal capacity by 2030 — a move which was found to be almost entirely unnecessary and wasteful, considering that 94% of the planned new coal capacity would probably lay idle in and past 2022. Conversely, the country has been working hard to decrease its coal imports, and in January this year coal imports declined by 21.7%.

Just this month, the Indian state of Gujarat announced the cancellation of a proposed 4 GW coal ultra-mega power project due to what the government said was an existing surplus and a desire to transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy.

The good news just keeps on coming, as well, according to reports from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a research firm that has long been analyzing the world’s fossil fuel industry. Tim Buckley, its Director, wrote earlier this month that India has in March alone already cancelled 13.7 GW of proposed coal-fired power plants across the country, and admitted that 8.6 GW, or around $9 billion worth of operating import-coal-fired power plants are potentially already beyond their use-by date.

Combine this with record low solar tariff prices in India and the global decrease of solar costs, and Buckley believes that the transformation of India’s electricity sector is already underway.

“India solar tariffs have been in freefall for months,” Buckley explained earlier this month. “A new 250MW solar tender in Rajasthan at the Bhadla Phase IV solar park this month was won at a record low Rs2.62/kWh, 12 percent below the previous record low tariff awarded across 750MW of solar just three months ago at Rs2.97/kWh.”

“The Bhalda Phase record lasted two days, with a more recent 500MW Indian solar auction coming in at Rs2.44/kWh, 7 percent below Bhalda Phase.”

The news plays an important part in several much larger stories, as well. Not only do these moves “speak as well to a worldwide transition in progress,” as Buckley suggests, but India’s concerted efforts to step away from its reliance upon coal-fired electricity generation puts yet another black mark against the Adani Group’s planned Carmichael coal mine in north-east Australia — a move which has already been indefinitely deferred due to what some environmental analysts are calling “blackmail” on the part of Adani. A report this week by Lock the Gate Alliance reveals that it would cost at least AUD$1.5 billion “to rehabilitate the Adani Carmichael coal mine in Central Queensland.”

“There is a massive risk that Australian taxpayers will be left to cover the costs of part or all of the rehabilitation of the Adani coal mine,” said Carmel Flint, spokesperson with Lock the Gate Alliance. “We estimate that the financial assurance required for the first five years of the full 60Mtpa mine plan should be at least $1.5 billion in order to protect taxpayers from financial risks.”

On top of that, a report published by international poverty organization Oxfam reveals that more coal plants such as the Carmichael coal mine only lead to ever-more poverty.

“The Federal Government’s failure to curb Australia’s carbon pollution and obstinate push to expand the nation’s coal exports continues despite the overwhelming evidence that coal and climate change is putting communities in Australia and around the world at increasing risk of harm,” said Oxfam Australia Chief Executive Dr Helen Szoke.

Australian politicians, and others beholden to the global fossil fuel industry, will continue to keep their heads stuck firmly in the sand as the world continues to change around them, surfacing only to spout the same old lines that might have been relevant 30 years ago, but have long since fossilized and become irrelevant in a world which is quickly speeding along an electricity transformation.

Source: cleantechnica.com

EBRD Offers $458 Million In Loans For 750 Megawatts Of Solar Projects In Egypt

26.05.2017

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has offered more than $450 million to various project developers planning to set up utility-scale solar power projects in Egypt.

The Bank has offered loans worth $458 million to a total of 16 project developers that represent 750 megawatts of capacity. The projects were allocated to these developers through a tendering process. Some of the major project developers planning to set up projects are ACWA Power, Scatec Solar, and EDF.

ACWA Power plans to set up a total of 120 megawatts of capacity, for which it has been offered debt funding worth $28.7 million. Scatec Solar will set up six projects of 50 megawatts each and will be eligible for $243 million of debt funding from EBRD. European energy major EDF could get $29 million to set up a 50 megawatt project.

Scatec Solar signed an agreement with the Egyptian authorities to set up 400 megawatts of solar power capacity in the Ben Ban region. The company will pour $50-70 million in these projects itself as equity investment.

More than three dozen project developers signed agreements with the Egyptian government to set up 1.8 gigawatts of solar power projects in the Ben Ban region, Aswan. The total investment for this solar power park is expected to be around $3 billion.

Source: cleantechnica.com

New Solar Projects In India Are Cheaper Than 92% Of All Thermal Power Plants In The Country

26.05.2017

Media outlets are abuzz with the collapse in solar power tariff bids in India last week when 750 megawatts was allocated at the cheapest tariffs ever. The tariffs range between Rs 2.44/kWh (3.8¢/kWh) and Rs 2.62/kWh (4.1¢/kWh).

India’s minister for coal, power and renewable energy has repeatedly tweeted that the solar power tariffs are now lower than the cost of thermal power. Media reports have also noted that these new bids are much lower than the average tariff of India’s largest power generation company NTPC Limited.

The government-owned NTPC Limited owns more than 42.7 gigawatts of thermal power capacity based on coal and gas. According to reports, the average tariff for these projects is Rs 3.20/kWh (5.6¢/kWh), about 24% higher than the lowest solar power tariffs.

We decided to check to see exactly how cheap the new tariffs are. The Central Electricity Authority is a rich source of data on power generation costs of every conventional power plant in India. Although the latest data reported by this government body is for 2014-15, it is still worth taking a look at.

According to the data for 2014-15, there are 248 thermal power plants in India based on a variety of fuels including coal, lignite, imported coal, diesel and different forms of petroleum-based fuels. The new low of solar power tariffs — Rs 2.44/kWh — is less than the tariff of 227 of the 248 thermal power plants.

Most of the cheaper 21 thermal power plants are based on domestic coal while a few are based on lignite and one uses imported coal. Another thermal power plant that is not listed among the 248 is India’s largest thermal power plant, Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant which has an installed capacity of 3,960 megawatts. This is also among the cheapest thermal power plants in India.

Solar power tariffs in India have reached a level where many are questioning the financial viability of new projects. India’s installed solar power capacity stood at 12.3 gigawatts at the end of 2016-17 with a target capacity of 100 gigawatts by the end of 2021-22. Thus, a huge potential for further decline in tariffs remains over the next few years.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Smart Cities Hub Launches to ‘Bridge Gap’ Between Cities and Innovators

26.05.2017

Our cities may soon be greener, cleaner and more efficient thanks to the launch of a new initiative yesterday to match urban centres with smart technology.

The Sustainable Smart Cities Hub, launched by the Environmental Industries Commission (EIC), hopes to help cities facing environmental challenges to identify and implement smart technology that can boost efficiency and cut pollution across cityscapes.

The new platform will act a forum for cities, companies and innovators to discuss ideas, secure investment, lobby governments and collaborate on trial projects, explained EIC executive director Matthew Farrow.

“This initiative meets a real need: bringing together a disparate market; matching cities facing environmental challenges with new, innovative solutions; and providing an evidence base to unlock investment,” he said in a statement. “As a neutral industry broker, EIC is bringing together all the key stakeholders that make this market work, to share best practice, open up new collaborations, and improve the quality of life of citizens living in cities at home and around the world.”

‘Smart cities’ is the broad term given to urban areas where technology is used to maximise efficiencies, reduce pollution and help services run more smoothly. For example, technologies including water-saving sensors, “living” air quality labs and real time EV mapping have all been trialled or deployed across UK cities in recent years.

The new hub is sponsored by engineering giant Aecom, law firm Bird & Bird and the Institute for Environmental Analysis. Alex Tosetti, head of smart cities and operations director at Aecom, said he hoped the initiative would “help bridge the distance between pockets of knowledge, practical experience, strategic investments [and] political support”.

Source: businessgreen.com

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