News about Solar, Wind and alternative green power technologies

World consumption of oil is at record levels today. This creates greenhouse gas emissions, which pose a constant threat to our environment. The only way to reduce these emissions is to reduce the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. New technologies must be developed to cause a radical change in the world’s energy consumption.

Energy can be harnessed from outer space, for example, to generate power for many industries.  However, the technology required to meet this challenge is complex, and changes may still be years away from being implemented. Experiments in laboratories require many years of study and adaptation before the technology can be delivered to the marketplace. The energy solutions must be cost effective or change will not occur.

Five new technologies are currently being developed that may radically change the way our world creates power, and these are: space based solar power, advanced car batteries, utility storage, carbon capture and storage, and next generation bio-fuels.

Harnessing Solar Power from Space

In space, the sun shines day and night. Imagine solar panels that orbit the earth at a distance of twenty-two thousand miles away. These panels would capture the sun’s energy rays. If even a small portion of this energy was sent back to earth, then this would be an enormous source of power.  

The energy would be relayed to earth in the form of microwaves that are then transformed into usable energy. A receiving station on the ground that measured a mile in diameter could receive enough energy to power nearly one thousand homes in the United States. 

Although this seems like a remote possibility at present, several countries are already developing technology to make space based solar power a reality within the next ten years. The biggest challenge presently is to design a solar panel system that is light enough to be powered into orbit around the earth, as the cost for this venture is prohibitive.

Better Car Batteries

Utilizing battery powered cars would certainly reduce the amount of fuel emissions and drastically improve the air quality, however the challenge is to create more powerful and less expensive batteries. 

Electric vehicles and hybrids are likely to use lithium-ion batteries that are also used in laptop computers. Although they have more power than other car batteries, the problem with these types of batteries is they are very expensive and do not go far before they need to be recharged. A new vehicle to be released in the coming year is the Chevy Volt, which is a hybrid vehicle that also plugs in.  When operating on the battery power, it can run approximately forty miles. The challenge is to extend the distance to ten times this amount on a single charge, for a four hundred mile run before a recharge is required. The lithium-ion battery can be improved, although it shows limited potential for this use.

One alternative battery is the lithium-air battery that should deliver the results required before recharging. This battery type uses oxygen to recharge, so it is smaller and lighter than other kinds of batteries.  It delivers a comparable amount of energy to gasoline, when compared in weight. A number of scientists are currently researching this new technology, but a solution could still be ten years away.

Power Storage Challenges

To make the best use of our renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, the challenge for scientists today is to find efficient methods to store this power.

One such method is to compress the wind energy and store it in an underground chamber. This compressed energy is then directed into gas-fired turbines so they can operate with greater efficiency.  One of the challenges for scientists is to find an underground storage facility that is large enough to store the energy.
 
Another method is to store wind energy in oversized batteries, but this technology is very costly and inefficient. Although additional research is being conducted to address these problems, positive solutions are not likely to be revealed in the near future.

The answer to the problem for storage of grid power may lie in the used of lithium-ion batteries.  These smaller sized, powerful batteries could be used around the outer edges of the power grid when expense of them decreases and their operational efficiency improves.  These batteries could then store power from renewable energy sources to help smooth power fluctuations and improve the efficiency of the power grid. The requirement for fossil fuel powered plants would be reduced, and the negative impact on the environment would decrease.
 
Capturing and Storing Carbon Dioxide Emissions

If coal is to be utilized as a power source in the future, then the quantity of carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced. Existing coal powered plants produce nearly two billion tons of carbon dioxide each year, and building more efficient plants is one way to solve this problem. Learning techniques to capture these emissions is a challenge for scientists. 

Although we currently have the ability to capture these harmful emissions, doing so reduced the output of the plant by up to thirty three percent. This in effect would double the cost to produce the power.  Hence, research is currently being conducted into methods where emissions can be reduced by ninety percent, while the increase in costs would be minimal.
 
These methods are still in the early research stages, so the best method is yet to be determined. One technique being investigated uses coal and purified oxygen to produce a concentrated output of carbon dioxide that is simple to capture and does not have a negative effect on plant output. This method has been tested in pilot projects, and will be tested on a larger scale in a one mega watt power plant within the next year. However, it may take another decade to develop this method to control carbon dioxide emissions for commercial use. 

Energy from Bio Fuel Sources

New bio fuels made from lumber, crop wastes, garbage, and plant matter are being developed so the public will be less dependent on fossil fuels. Another resource for bio fuel is algae, and it is showing great potential. 

One acre of algae can produce over 5000 gallons of bio fuel per year as compared to corn-based ethanol that only produces 350 gallons per year. Algae grows rapidly and consumes carbon dioxide. This type of fuel can be used in existing refineries and distribution channels. As a result, algae based fuel could meet the entire demand for fuel in the United States.

Many companies have shown an interest in developing algae based fuel sources, but the research is still in the development stages. The projects have recently started and mass production is still years away.  To produce large quantities of algae fuel would require a reliable source of water and low cost nutrients.  Pathogens that could impact the production levels need to be controlled and monitored, and the algae strains that yield the highest production must be developed and cultivated.