According to the Earth Institute at Columbia University, [http://www.grestech.com/ Global Research Technologies, LLC] has demonstrated a prototype device capable of capturing 10 tons of carbon dioxide per square meter per year; a device of 10 meters by 10 meters would be able to capture 1,000 tons per year. It is estimated that 1 million such devices would be needed to capture the 1 billion tons per year stipulated in the conditions of the prize offered by Mr. Branson. The process uses proprietary sorbents to capture carbon dioxide molecules from free-flowing air and release those molecules as a pure stream of carbon dioxide for sequestration. According to GRT, one major advantage of this new technology is that it is not necessary to site the devices in immediate proximity to a major carbon source (such as a power station); for example, the CO2 emitted by traffic in Bangkok could be sequestered in Iceland by CO2 towers running on geothermal energy. Of course, the power source for the towers must not be a net CO2 producer, as this would partially offset the beneficial effects of the device. [http://www.physorg.com/news96732819.html Source: physorg.com]

Plastic trees

One approach that has been put forth attempts to catch carbon dioxide with artificial trees. The plastic trees are coated with a carbon-catching agent, allowing the carbon to be safely captured and sequestered, though the approach does have its limitations.

Energy Islands through OTEC

”This technology does not remove GHGs from the atmosphere.” In the article Energy Island: unlocking the potential of the ocean as a renewable power source Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion is discussed as a process that uses the temperature difference between surface and deep-sea water to generate electricity – and though it has an efficiency of just 1-3% – researchers believe an OTEC power plant could deliver up to 250MW of clean power, equivalent to one eighth of a large nuclear power plant, or one quarter of an average fossil fuel power plant. Architect and engineer Dominic Michaelis and his son Alex, along with Trevor Cooper-Chadwick of Southampton University are developing the concept with plans of putting the theory to the test on an unprecedented scale by building a floating, hexagonal Energy Island that will harness energy from OTEC, as well as from winds, sea currents, waves, and the sun. The OTEC technology is something of a green dream; not only is it clean and renewable, but so are its by-products. By subjecting the steam to electrolysis, large quantities of hydrogen can be produced, paving the way for cheaper hydrogen fuel cells. And by using an Open-cycle OTEC – where low-pressure containers boil seawater and condense the steam elsewhere after passing it through the turbo-generator – large amounts of fresh water can be created. Energy Island is also packed to the brim with other renewable energy collectors, with wind, wave, current and solar sources providing a total of 73.75 MW.

Architect and engineer Dominic Michaelis estimates it would take a chain of 4-8 Energy Islands to achieve the production levels of a nuclear power plant. To replace nuclear power entirely, Michaelis estimates a chain of 3708 modules would be required, stretched over a total length of 1928 kilometres, and consuming a total square area of roughly 30 by 30 kilometres. To shoulder the entire global energy consumption, based on 2000 figures, 52 971 Energy Islands would be needed, occupying a total area of 111 x 111 kilometres – described on the Energy Island site as “a pin point in the oceans.”

(http://www.gizmag.com/energy-island-otec/8714/)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Virgin Earth Challenge, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

No related posts.

Wind power is derived from uneven heating of the Earth’s surface from the Sun and the warm core. Most modern wind power is generated in the form of electricity by converting the rotation of turbine blades into electrical current by means of an electrical generator. In windmills (a much older technology) wind energy is used to turn mechanical machinery to do physical work, like crushing grain or pumping water.

Hydropower is energy derived from the movement of water in rivers and oceans (or other energy differentials), can likewise be used to generate electricity using turbines, or can be used mechanically to do useful work. It is a very common resource.

Geothermal power directly harnesses the natural flow of heat from the ground. The available energy from natural decay of radioactive elements in the Earth’s crust and mantle is approximately equal to that of incoming solar energy.

Alcohol derived from corn, sugar cane, switchgrass, etc. is also a renewable source of energy. Similarly, oils from plants and seeds can be used as a substitute for non-renewable diesel. Methane is also considered as a renewable source of energy.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Renewable resource, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

No related posts.

Mineral resources include iron, tin, lead, zinc, wolfram, uranium, diatomite, rock crystal. Wollastonite, lignite, and others.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Tengchong County, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

No related posts.

In Tanzania, Dalberg is advising on strategies to meet Millennium Development Goals energy targets by 2012. A new drug, known as the Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), was available to combat malaria, but was largely inaccessible to the masses because of cost and distribution challenges. The World Bank commissioned Dalberg to design a mechanism to reduce the cost of ACTs. In November 2007, the design for the Affordable Medicines Facility – malaria (AMFm) was approved by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership Board. Other projects in this sector have included designing initiatives to support people with chronic diseases in developing countries and advising pharmaceutical companies in Venezuela on profitable growth.

In 2006-2007, the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, asked Dalberg to study poverty reduction. Dalberg presented Sirleaf and the Liberian Cabinet case studies of similar African countries such as Rwanda and Mozambique and highlighted the potential trade-offs that Liberia had to make to overhaul of its economy in the wake of the second civil war.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Dalberg Global Development Advisors, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

No related posts.

Obtaining results of current energy research efforts.

Access subject specific information on energy sources, use, and conservation; environmental effects; waste processing and disposal; regulatory consideration, as well as basic scientific studies.

Review energy information from a wide variety of sources, including journal literature, conference, patents, books, monographs, theses, and engineering and software materials.

Access historical records of the US Atomic Energy Commission, and US Energy Research and Development Administration.

Review subject specific information on nuclear science from a wide variety of sources, including books, conference proceedings, papers, patents, dissertations, engineering drawings, and journal literature.

Subject coverage

Subject coverage includes:

*Biology

*Biomedicine

*Chemistry

*Coal, Gas, Oil, Hydroelectricity

*Conservation technology

*Energy Conversion

*Energy Policy

*Engineering

*Environmental Science

*Geosciences, Geothermal Energy

*[http://energyfiles.osti.gov/cgi-bin/dexpldcgi?qry1122702127;292 Hazardous waste management]

*Human Genome Project Methodology

*Isotope / Radiation technology

*Materials Handling

*Metals and Ceramics

*Renewable Energy Sources

*Nuclear and Thermonuclear Power

*Physics

*Synthetic fuels

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Energy Science and Technology Database, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

No related posts.

New Zealand suffers from a geographical imbalance between electricity production and consumption. The most substantial electricity generation (both existing and as remaining potential) is located on the South Island and to a lesser degree in the central North Island, while the main demand (which is continuing to grow) is in the northern North Island, particularly the Auckland Region. This requires electricity to be transmitted north through a power grid which is reaching its capacity more often. While initiatives are underway to build new transmission power lines, most notably from the South Waikato to the Auckland Region, there is substantial local protest against these initiatives.

Regulation of the electricity industry is the responsibility of the Electricity Commission. Control is also exerted by the Minister of Energy in the New Zealand Cabinet, though the Minister for State-Owned Enterprises and the Minister for Climate Change also have some powers by virtue of their positions and policy influence in the government.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Electricity sector in New Zealand, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

No related posts.

At present, the penetration of intermittent renewables in most power grids is low, but wind for example generates 11% of electric energy in Spain and Portugal, 9% in the Republic of Ireland, and 7% in Germany. Wind provides nearly 20% of the electricity generated in Denmark , however this percentage forces Denmark to import and export large amounts of energy to and from the EU grid, to balance supply with demand.

The use of small amounts of intermittent power has little effect on grid operations. Using larger amounts of intermittent power may require upgrades or even a redesign of the grid infrastructure.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Intermittent energy source, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

No related posts.

It typically includes three key provisions: 1) guaranteed grid access, 2) long-term contracts for the electricity produced, and 3) purchase prices that are methodologically based on the cost of renewable energy generation and tend towards grid parity. Under a feed-in tariff, an obligation is imposed on regional or national electric grid utilities to buy renewable electricity (electricity generated from renewable sources, such as solar power, wind power, wave and tidal power, biomass, hydropower and geothermal power), from all eligible participants..

The cost-based prices therefore enable a diversity of projects (wind, solar, etc.) to be developed, and for investors to obtain a reasonable return on renewable energy investments. This principle was first explained in Germany’s 2000 RES Act:

“The compensation rates…have been determined by means of scientific studies, subject to the provision that the rates identified should make it possible for an installation – when managed efficiently – to be operated cost-effectively, based on the use of state-of-the-art technology and depending on the renewable energy sources naturally available in a given geographical environment.” (RES Act 2000, Explanatory Memorandum A)

As a result, the rate may differ among various source of power generation, installation place (e.g. rooftop or ground-mounted), projects of different sizes and, sometime, by technology employed (solar, wind, geothermal, etc.). The rates are typically designed to ratchet downward over time to track technological change and overall cost reductions. This is consistent with keeping the payment levels in line with actual generation costs over time.

In addition, FITs typically offer a guaranteed purchase for electricity generated from renewable energy sources within long-term (15–25 year) contracts . These contracts are typically offered in a non-discriminatory way to all interested producers of renewable electricity.

As of 2009, feed-in tariff policies have been enacted in 63 jurisdictions around the world, including in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Republic of Ireland,

Israel, Italy, the Republic of Korea, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal,

South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and in some (nowadays, a dozen) states in the United States , and is gaining momentum in other ones as China, India and Mongolia.

In 2008, a detailed analysis by the European Commission concluded that “well-adapted feed-in tariff regimes are generally the most efficient and effective support schemes for promoting renewable electricity”, going to grid parity.. This conclusion has been supported by a number of recent analyses, including by the International Energy Agency ,, the European Federation for Renewable Energy , as well as by Deutsche Bank .

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Feed-in tariff, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

No related posts.

As leader of Southampton City Council in 1986, Dr Whitehead proposed that the city council take measures to become a ‘self sustaining city’ with regard to energy generation [http://www.alan-whitehead.org.uk/pr/pr2455.htm]. One such measure was the conversion of Southampton Civic Centre to being heated by local reservoirs of geothermal energy. The scheme recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. In a recent survey of carbon emissions in major UK cities conducted by British Gas, Southampton was ranked as being one of the lowest carbon emitting cities in Britain [http://www.britishgasnews.co.uk/index.asp?PageID=16&Year=2006&NewsID=686].

Dr Whitehead sits as a non-executive director of a non-profit making company called SSEL Ltd, formed to deliver a Combined Heat and Power project, which was partially funded by the Government as part of the regeneration of outer Shirley [http://www.southampton.gov.uk/environment/energy/default.asp]. The CHP system recycles the by-product ‘low grade heat’ made during the electricity generation process and uses the by-product to heat water which is piped to local homes. This scheme has been criticised by the current Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Environment & Transport, Matthew Dean, for being unviable and the Council’s involvement in the project has now ended.

Dr Whitehead’s Private Members Bill [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmbills/022/2006022.htm Management of Energy in Buildings], was ‘talked out’ by Conservative backbenchers in 2005, but many of the Bill’s most important aspects were incorporated into the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006, sponsored by Mark Lazarowicz MP. The Act received royal assent in 2006 [http://www.alan-whitehead.org.uk/pr/pr2464.htm].

Dr Whitehead’s amendments to the bill included:

* requiring better compliance of building regulations for energy efficiency

* the removal of planning permission for microgeneration in homes

* new regulations to ensure a minimum energy standard in new homes including microgeneration

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Alan Whitehead, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

No related posts.

On January 16, 2009 the USDA also announced the first loan guarantee for a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant. Cellulosic ethanol is derived from the non-food portion of plants. Cellulosic ethanol may be the fuel of the future because it does not require fertilizers and pesticides. Additionally, economic issues involving food and land demand are less likely to arise as a result of the production of cellulosic ethanol. While the production of Cellulosic ethanol is more complex than ethanol derived from corn, the net energy yield is higher.

Section 9003 allowed the USDA Rural Development office to approve this $80 million loan to Range Fuels Inc. Range Fuels produces low carbon biofuels from any and all biomass. The $80 million loan is dedicated to building a facility that will produce cellulosic ethanol from woodchips. In 2010 the plant is expected to achieve an output level of 20 million gallons of ethanol per year. Other benefits of the plant include an estimated 63 jobs that will be created to build and operate the facility>.

The grants and loans are awarded through the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program of the USDA Rural Development office. The program was created by Section 9006 of the 2002 Farm Bill and expanded under the 2008 Farm Bill.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

No related posts.