Large Californian rooftops to become solar powerhouses

In its quest to achieve 20% energy production from clean sources by 2010, Southern California Edison wants to turn large flat Californian rooftops into useful solar producing spaces. This new project is a followup to a massive wind project. It will eventually produce 250 MW, and installation will be on large commercial buildings at a rate of 1 MW per week starting this august.

Are OTEC energy islands the answer to our energy needs?

Source: Telegraph

Big problems require large scale innovative solutions. ElectronRun has so far covered solar proposals for the energy needs of the EU and the US. Now OTEC artificial energy islands come as another large scale idea whose main energy source is water temperature differences. The idea is that when we have a difference of about 20 degrees Celsius between warm sea surface water and cold water from large depths, it is possible to drive turbines for energy production.

OTEC means Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and is a method that was thought by French physicist Jacques-Arsene d’Arsonval. In fact, Georges Claude, a French inventor, proved the validity of the theory with his tests in the 1920s, but unfortunately did not manage to develop further.

There is two OTEC cycle types. The closed cycle uses ammonia that is vaporised by warm surface water, then drives turbines for energy production and is finally converted to liquid by cold water. The open cycle has an extra advantage, that of producing huge amounts of drinking water. There is quite a few ocean areas that offer the minimum required temperature differences, mostly around the equator.

IR radiation solar panel uses tiny antennas, has 80% efficiency

Source: Idaho National Laboratory 

There is all sorts of ways to produce clean energy, but the smartest and cleanest of all is definitely solar panels. There is absolutely no moving parts, noise or intermediate materials. Just beautiful clean energy. The catch? Low efficiency that in reality is far from the theoretical 20%, high manufacturing costs and productivity only during daytime -preferably with lots of sunshine. The researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory are addressing all these shortcomings. By putting loads of nanoantennas on cheap base material, they manage to collect energy in infra-red frequencies by day and night.

How solar energy could make the US energy independent

 

We have already written about Desertec and how it could change the energy scene in Europe. Now the January issue of Scientific American describes a project that aims even higher, by using solar energy to produce up to 3 terawatts of energy and cover 69% of US electricity and 35% of its total energy by 2050. And all on US soil, in the sun drenched states of the southwest.

The numbers might sound optimistic but the whole plan has a firm basis and every one of its aspects is convincing. Geographically, the southwest states are perfect as they provide year-round sunny conditions and have large uninhabited public areas without competing uses. By 2050 and at full deployment, solar stations will require 46,000 square miles of land, a large area by any standard but feasible bearing in mind that the states of interest already have this land available and there would be zero burden on local ecosystems.

The Tindo = solar powered bus = new hope!

We want to finish 2007 in a really positive note. It has been a year of black predictions for the environment but new forward looking people and technologies are promising to reverse that trend. The Tindo is such a wonderful project. It marries two clean technologies:

1. Electric motors driven by 11 onboard batteries.
2. Photovoltaic panels at the Adelaide central bus station that charge the bus batteries.

This translates in two equally hyperimportant benefits:

1. Zero emissions during bus operation.
2. Zero burden on the main electrical grid, all energy is generated by 100% clean means.

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