The Making of the New Energy World Order

By `Lanre Okanlawon

At the fore front of the renewable energy technology development are committed men and women who are relentlessly seeking for the possibility of a world with an infinite, sustainable and ultimate energy solution to the pertinent energy crisis faced by mankind. In this clearly emerging new world order, the outcomes of several researches and technological developments all point to one obvious fact- that renewable energy is here to stay because it is safe, environmental friendly, feasible and worth investing in.

After spending over £1 billion in financing clean and sustainable energy technologies in the past 3 years, the UK government still sees the need to inject another £100 billion described as a “surge of investment in new energy sources” in the final version of the UK government’s Energy National Policy Statement published yesterday ahead of the much anticipated energy debate at the parliament. This is not because the governments of the 8 major economies of the world are pro-renewable energy. It is simply because the whole world has realized that we cannot continue to generate energy in the conventional manner (the business as usual approach) if we intend to tackle the present issues associated with energy supply, demand, pricing and, most importantly, energy security. The need for secure, low carbon and cost effective energy sources cannot be over emphasized at the moment.

Since the early 90s when the energy revolution actively “re-started”, the cost of renewable energy systems have been reducing as extensive research and development have contributed to increasing the efficiency and performances of different green energy technologies particularly solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, tidal and wave energy systems. The gospel of this new energy order has also been spreading like wild fire to the corners of the earth. All of this has been made very possible by scientists, engineers, investors, politicians, environmental activists and energy enthusiasts like you and I who understand the key role energy security and sustainability will play in the rest of the 21st century.

I really can’t describe the progress being made so far better than the International Energy Outlook 2010 which stated that renewable energy has the highest development indices in terms of electricity generation. It also states that the global energy generation from all sources will increase by 2.3% per year from 2007 to 2035 (the highest rate ever). These statistics indicate that renewable energy is significantly contributing to meeting the ever increasing global demand for energy. It is a common knowledge that the demand for oil will be surpassing the capacity for oil producing countries to supply oil resources on a long term basis. This simply means that the world is consuming oil quicker than it is producing. Since 1970, every global recession recorded has been characterized by dramatic increases in the prices of oil. This is should be a source of concern.

At present, it is quite hard to overstate the need for more hands on deck to spur the realization of a global sustainable and affordable energy system. As the story of the making of a new energy world unfolds, we can be sure that the solution to the world’s pertinent energy crisis rests our ability to emerge with efficient, secure and affordable energy resources to compete with oil.

Let’s bring it on!

Energy... Be the Difference!!!

By `Lanre Okanlawon


Loyal readers, it has been a full month since any update on this blog. My overloaded schedule is to blame and the fact that I have been spending a large amount of my time off the internet.

Last weekend, I thought to myself, “There’s so much fuss about the need for people to use energy considerably and “wisely”. But the truth is that most people are not bothered especially because they don’t realize the consequences of their actions when they use energy irrationally.

Our everyday activities often consist of the use of every appliance around us without considering the possibilities of any adverse effects on the national energy supply and demand system. Right from the minute you wake up in the morning, a lot of energy is used. Your typical morning routine is probably similar to this; wake up with the air conditioner (or heater) on, turn on the TV to listen to some morning news or cool music, do some laundry, grab some breakfast from the refrigerator, heat some water for tea, make sure your mobile phones are fully charged and check your email before heading off to start your day.

Have you ever wondered about the impact of your appliances on the country’s energy needs? For example, the number of refrigerators in America is estimated at 152 million units. An average refrigerator consumes 0.14kWh per hour. Following this, the total power consumption of American refrigerators is about 21,280,000kWh. Interestingly, the amount of energy these refrigerators consume is more than the same amount that could power more than 22,000 households in one month.

A universally established unexploited solution to the current issues of energy security, fossil fuel diminution, climate change and environmental pollution is making residential homes, offices, factories and our different means of transportation more energy efficient. Recent energy-efficient appliances such as refrigerators, laundry machines, fridges, ovens, kitchen cookers and dishwashers utilize notably less energy than older electronic appliances. Modern energy efficient refrigerators, for example, use 40 percent less power than conventional models did in 2001. As a result of this, if all households in Europe changed their more than ten year old appliances into new ones, 20 billion kWh of electricity would be saved annually, hence reducing CO₂ emissions by almost 18 billion kg. The impact of energy efficiency on peak demand depends on when the appliance is used. For example, an air conditioner uses more energy during the afternoon when it is hot. Therefore, an energy efficient air conditioner will have a larger impact on peak demand than off-peak demand. An energy efficient dishwasher, on the other hand, uses more energy during the late evening when people do their dishes. This appliance may have little to no impact on peak demand.

The gospel of energy efficiency goes beyond creating a justification for people to reduce the burden on existing power generation facilities and energy sources at any given time. It is actually more of a campaign for a responsible cultural paradigm shift towards reducing the amount of energy needed to meet our everyday power needs. Efficient (consequently cheaper) and responsible daily energy use invariably translates to more rapid economic growth and development. We all want to see positive changes and experience better living conditions. This is not impossible, let the positive change start with you and spread this gospel. I’m doing exactly the same thing! 

Towards a 'Green Grid' for Delivering Solar and Wind-Based Electricity

After years of neglect, scientists and policy makers are focusing more attention on developing technologies needed to make the so-called "green grid" possible, according to an article in ACS' Chemical Reviews. That's the much-needed future electrical grid, an interconnected network for delivering solar and wind-based electricity from suppliers to consumers.

Electricity Network Grid

Zhenguo (Gary) Yang and colleagues point out that concerns over the use of coal, oil, and other fuels that contribute to global warming and are in limited supply, have spurred interest in generating electrical energy from clean, renewable resources such as solar and wind power. But solar and wind are not constant and reliable sources of 
power, since wind power fluctuates from moment to moment and solar power is generated only in the daytime.
This situation poses a significant challenge for electrical grid operators because other power plants need to compensate for this variability and the U.S. power grid currently has little energy storage capability. To enable a significant level of penetration and effective use of renewable energy sources amid growing energy demands, electrical grids of the future will need a low-cost, efficient way to integrate and store this electrical energy, the scientists note.

The scientists analysed the conclusions of more than 300 scientific studies and identified several technologies that can be used for energy storage for the green grid. These include high-tech batteries now in development that can efficiently store electricity in the form of chemicals and reversible release it on demand. Among the promising technologies are so-called redox flow and sodium-ion batteries, which could provide a low cost, high efficiency way to store energy. In addition to the United States, several other countries such as China and countries in Europe are planning to increase research activities related to energy storage and development.

"The growing interests as well as worldwide research and development activities suggest a bright outlook for developing stationary energy storage technologies for the future electric grid," the article concludes.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com

Celebrate the Royal Wedding

By Vicki Felgate, Freinds of the Earth (Publishing & New Media Team)

I blogged about the royal wedding last month, speculating about how green it will be.

A few things have happened since then.

William and Kate announced an alternative wedding list, asking people to donate to charity instead of giving presents. 26 charities will benefit. Sadly Friends of the Earth didn't make the cut. But loads of great charities did.

And we're all being encouraged to organise street parties to celebrate the wedding. Now I like a good party as much as the next person. But I keep thinking about all the plastic cups and plates that will get used once and then thrown in the bin. And most of it will end up in landfill.

I'm not organising a party. But if I was, I'd make it a green one:

Ask people to bring their own crockery, cutlery and glasses.
Use cloth table covers instead of paper ones.
Serve tap water not bottled.
Buy local, organic food and fair-trade chocolate for the cakes.
Make decorations from old paper and fabric.
Use biodegradable balloons.
I might even go the extra mile and hire in a cycle-powered sound system.

Whatever you decide to do for the royal wedding, have fun and keep it green.

Earth Day 2011... Celebrate!!!

For over four decades, Earth Day—April 22—has inspired and mobilized individuals and organizations worldwide to demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection and sustainability. This year's celebrations will be marked by thousands of the planet's loyalists from every continent who continue to discuss and search for solutions in the fight to save the planet from environmental issues.

Save the Planet

Global warming, climate change, large scale pollution and deforestation (to mention a few) have plagued the Earth at alarming rates for decades but there is great hope as environmental awareness by seem to be gaining grounds. Today, the Earth Day, is a time for celebration and appreciation for the great environmental work that have been done so far. Earth Day is an opportunity for people around the world to rejoice in the beauty of our wondrous planet.

I have made a commitment to the 3 R's; Reduce, Re-use and Recycle.

Millions of people have also pledged to help our planet. What will YOU do??? I hope the list below helps...

1 Slow down. Driving at 50mph uses 25% less fuel than 70mph.

2 Wash your clothes with your flatmates' instead of wasting water on half-empty loads.

3 Turn down your central heating and put on a jumper.

4 Take a brisk shower, not a leisurely bath, to save water.

5 Hold a Tupperware party. Airtight food containers can be reused; sandwich bags and plastic wrap cannot.

6 Choose energy-efficient appliances when you replace old ones.

7 Buy compact fluorescent light bulbs. They last eight times as long and use a fraction of the energy.

8 Join a library instead of buying books.

9 Get to know your neighbours; they are more likely to keep your home safe than energy-guzzling security lamps.

10 Recycle your car oil at a recycling depot or petrol station; it contains lead, nickel and cadmium.

Apple Named Least 'Green' Tech Company

While Apple celebrates a surge in profits, a report by Greenpeace has ranked it as least ethical among tech companies.
Apple's quarterly earnings have grown 95% to $6bn, but the company has also been accused of heavily relying on pollution-inducing coal power to support its banks of data servers.
The report, How Dirty is Your Data?, highlights the company's investment in a new North Carolina facility which will triple its electricity consumption, using up the same electricity required for 80,000 average U.S. homes.

Apple

North Carolina is known as the "dirty data triangle" used by Apple, Google and Facebook. And they are likely to use it because it's cheap and offers tax incentives. But it comes at a high price: only 4% of its energy comes from renewable sources; 61 percent comes from coal.
"Consumers want to know that when they upload a video or change their Facebook status that they are not contributing to global warming or future Fukushimas," said Gary Cook, Greenpeace's IT policy analyst and lead author of the report.
Apple's data centers' dependence on coal is estimated to be at 54.5%, followed by Facebook at 53.2%, IBM at 51.6%, HP at 49.4%, and Twitter at 42.5%. On the report's good books are Yahoo, Google and Amazon for their use of clean energy; however Google and Amazon both scored an F for transparency.
Greenpeace was able to do its research for the report by relying on publicly accessible data, but there are concerns that tech companies aren't transparent enough. In the US, companies are not required to disclose their energy use.
The authors emphasize that the internet needs growing amounts of energy, but secrecy in the IT industry means that it's difficult for us to know how it is affecting the world.
Greenpeace predicts shocking figures; the electricity demand of the web is estimated to be greater than the total electricity demands of France, Germany, Canada and Brazil put together.
Now doesn't that make you feel like switching off your broadband?
Correction appended: The original version of the article incorrectly placed quotes around the words "least ethical" in the first sentence.


Read more: http://techland.time.com/2011/04/21/apple-named-least-green-company/#ixzz1KBjtwcbw

ENERCON E126 - The World's Largest Capacity Wind Turbine

This is the Enercon E-126, the first wind turbine with 7.58MW rated power, rotor diameter: 126m (413ft), hub height: 135m(450ft). Two of these giant wind power units have been built for testing at an onshore location, Rysumer Nacken, near Emden, in the northwest of Germany.

Here each WPU is expected to produce about 18 Mio kWh per year, enough for more than 4,500 homes.

These turbines are equipped with a number of new features: an optimized blade design with a spoiler extending down to the hub, and a pre-cast concrete base. Due to the elevated hub height and the new blade profile, the performance of the E-126 is expected to by far surpass that of the E-112  (the world’s former  largest wind turbine rated at 6 megawatts).

Source:www.youtube.com, http://www.enercon.de/p/downloads/EN_Produktuebersicht_0710.pdf


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