One very good example might be the purchase of Warren Buffett; last year the latter bought First Solar, a Californian solar plant, by the means of his company, known as Berkshire Hathaway.

This transaction was turned even more alluring due to the profitable contracts which were made a reality through the government laws in California requiring a 0.33 percent of the government’s electricity to be provided by renewable sources by the year 2020. Nevertheless, this does not simply imply more wind, biofuels and solar. Renewable energy is obtainable from range of varied sources; several of which have not yet come into general consciousness.

Geothermal Power

People who do not have any particular interest in science matters are less prone to know about geothermal energy, however, global installed capacity has exceeded 10,000 MW, with the US which has taken the lead worldwide through the generation of geothermal power of capacity greater than 3000 MW.

This model is rather simple. The globe’s heat content varies from ten to thirty-one power joules; a big amount of energy. While the exploitation of that energy is rather hard due to the globe’s crust, there are still ways to make use of the naturally happening heat of the globe in order to produce electricity by the means of an array of different techniques.

The majority of these methods consist of drilling wells in regions that are volcanically active and subsequently empowering a turbine by the means of steam that is produced from the underground heat. The most familiar plant which is in use is what is commonly known as “a flash steam power plant”. The latter is powered through highly pressurized hot water obtainable from the underground.

Ocean Power

Also known like “Marine Power” or even “Marine Energy”, making use of the sea’s natural heat and movements to produce electricity can prove to be rather an alluring proposition (in case particularly less thrilling to any person staying in Kansas).

In accordance to the yearly report of International Energy Agency for the year 2007, the sea has the capability to generate upto 15,000 GW of electricity by the means of thermal power, currents, waves and tides. One of the greatest problems with solar and wind power is the fact that they are rather unpredictable in nature. Solar plants’ output and that of wind farms can easily be affected by weather patterns and consequently the solar plants will be unable to generate power at night.

On the contrary, sources that are related to the sea are much more stable as well as reliable, thus turning them much more attractive potential as power sources. Oceanic current energy is produced by exploiting kinetic energy of marine currents such the Gulf Stream. Power sources that come from the tide and wave are very familiar hypothesis, searching ways to empower turbines through the use of naturally happening kinetic releases of the sea.

Marine thermal energy makes use of the heat difference between cold profound waters and hotter shallow waters. Nonetheless, probably the most fascinating type of electricity drawn from the sea is salinity or osmotic gradient energy. This consists of using a technique that makes use of the salinity difference between the river and ocean water in order to power osmosis by ion specific membranes which produces energy.

Varied Solar Techniques

Solar remains probably the most familiar type of renewable energy. However, it is not so famous that there exist various different methods of collecting solar power farther than the photovoltaic cell. There are solar plants which are being constructed which utilize an array of novel techniques which are beyond the traditional range of panels. Methods, which comprise of lens and mirrors for focusing on solar power onto a tiny area and exploiting the thermal energy it carries, are the most common ones. Turbines are then empowered by the concentrated heat to produce electricity. The most advanced among these methods is known as the parabolic trough. The latter makes use of curved mirrors which concentrate the solar power towards a pipe found in the middle that consists of a working liquid which is heated and after that used to warm water to empower a turbine. Apart from these types of plants, the other plants comprise of focusing solar power onto a tower in the center of a range.

Source: Equities Editorial

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The potential of geothermal energy is extensive in the Western States. From January to August 2011, the total electricity generated from geothermal energy in the U.S amounted to 10,898 Million KWh. This is an increase of 10 percent from 2008, taking into account the same period. This information was revealed from EIA’s Electric Power Monthly report, which did equally suggest that there are facilities, which generate more than 1 mw of geothermal energy. In addition, geothermal energy is used for cooling as well as heating of an estimated 3 million Americans.

Nevertheless, comparing geothermal energy production to all the various sources of energy, it accounted only for 0.4 % of the whole, for the period January to August in 2011. In western states such as in California geothermal plants generate as much as 5% of the state’s overall energy consumption. In order to produce energy from geothermal energy, it is necessary to drill a well straight down under the ground where there are water reservoirs, which is as hot as 700 degrees Fahrenheit. The steam that is generated evaporates to the surface to spin a turbine. This turbine generates electricity. The Geothermal Energy Association says that geothermal water can also be tapped from geysers and hot springs found on the surface.

The GEA states that the ground heat pumps circulate the fluids via the pipelines so that the liquid is re-introduced underground where the temperature is the same. But commonly, the heat gathered from underground is also used to heat households or commercial buildings via the typical duct system. In the hot summer days, the pipeline capture heat from buildings and return a fluid which is cooler to cool down buildings but during winter, the contrary is done.

In America, there are large geothermal resources available. Solar facilities in the U.S generated less energy than geothermal stations. But, still the growth of solar power has been significantly more than geothermal energy during the first eight month of the last three years. For solar power, the growth has been 111 % compared to 10 % for geothermal energy for the same period.

Wind energy had been even more impressive figures with a growth of 121 percent for the same period reaching 79,186 Million Kilowatt per hour. However, the largest sources of energy remain fossil fuel:
1. Coal 43 % of the total production
2. Natural Gas 24 % of the total energy production
3. Nuclear 19 % of the total energy production

Source: Finance Channel

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British Science Museum says that the programme is capable of generating as much as 5 million more litres of fresh water in a day. This new technology enables solar power to generate electricity as well as to purify water at the same time.

Out of several other programmes which are a current part of the “Water Wars” exhibition by the British Science Museum, ITN News has singled this one out and is also featuring an online overview of the same.

The European Commission is funding this programme under the EU, 7th framework programme and its studies were carried out in the Pentakomo village by the CYI (The Cyprus Institute). It submitted its final reports in June 2010 after the research for the same began in November 2008.

Mirrors placed at strategic locations lead to reflection and the focus of sunbeams on a central receiver’s surface, thus generating CSP. The receiver stores the energy after converting it from solar to thermal. Water is converted to steam by this thermal energy and steam in turn generates electrical energy when passed through steam turbines.

Simultaneously, the excess energy is efficiently used for water desalination through evaporation. Had it not been for this newly developed efficient model in the energy field, the surplus energy which is now used to desalinate water would have gone down the drain.

Project researcher Georgios Zittis said that this model exhibits the unique feature of producing water and electricity at the same time. Furthermore, it allows you to choose between water and electricity production and focus on the one which reports more demand at a given time. The two developments are extremely innovative and path breaking. He said that after the water is converted to steam, users can opt to either go ahead with the energy transformation or reserve the energy for the late hours.

Simultaneous occurrence of these two processes is the much-awaited solution for many scientists, as it is expected to solve crucial problems such as droughts and energy shortage on earth. According to ITN News, availability of more desalinised water all over the globe would result in more farm produce which in turn would take care of hunger issues.

A CYI source said that the Mediterranean region still lacks such a revolutionary invention and a technology full of immense promise. After reviews of its technology and checks to determine feasibility done over a period of two years proved that this programme was indeed doing justice to its costs, the government has approved a small-scale implementation of the project. The expenses to implement the plant on a full scale will be accommodated in its next budget, as a commitment by the government.

Source: Cyprus Mail

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The First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, declared at Edinburgh Castle that although the contract did not cover an exact rate, it is known that AWS has secured itself the equivalent of hundreds of millions.

Nevertheless, the chief executive of AWS, Simon Grey, informed The Herald that the startup had released new stakes and sold those of several minority shareholders to seal the deal, but he refused to specify the identities of these shareholders. Grey revealed to the media that a few of them left carrying hard cash with them. He added that this is possibly “a first” in the wave energy industry of the United Kingdom.

The Herald acquired some papers from Companies House that record a list of AWS’s stakeholders, which include Isleburn, Scottish Co-investment Fund, Shell Technology Ventures Fund, Tesus Energy and Credit Suisse Client Nominees.

Isleburn is responsible for manufacturing the wave power device of AWS and is functioning at Nigg yard on Cromarty Firth. According to the findings of The Herald, Grey is a stakeholder as well, but he is tied with a “golden handcuff” agreement that prevented him from quitting his current job.

With its headquarters situated at Inverness, the nautical renewable energy startup will boost its labor force from 14 to 30 workers to accelerate the enhancement of AWS-III – its “doughnut-shaped” machine that is designed for ocean wave energy conversion.

Paris’ Alstom has formerly supplied ScottishPower with turbines for its Whitelee and Clachan Flats wind energy plants, but the contract with AWS denotes the first wave power investment of this France’s leading engineering company.

In the previous year, a small-scale testing of a wave energy generator model was conducted in Loch Ness. Following Alstom’s “multi-million” endorsement, AWS will install and assess a full-scale, one-cell wave machine. Next, the startup plans is to introduce the model of a ring-shaped float (60 meters in diameter) equipped with twelve wave absorber cells and a generation capacity of 2.5 MW, which exceeds the typical wave-energy level.

The first wholly operational AWS-III is planned to be installed in 2014, offshore from Orkney. Eventually, the startup aims to dispatch its first four-device array into the territorial sea of Scotland.

Drifting on the ocean’s surface, the AWS-III converts the undulating movement of the waves into electricity by powering several turbines in the machine. The forward-backward motion of the air that is being pushed inside by the waves is the force used to generate electricity.

Grey asserted that Alstom has selected AWS to achieve the status as “number one” in the wave energy industry following its achievement in attaining an unquestionable position in the hydro energy industry.

He emphasized that the supports AWS receives from both Alstom and the Government of Scotland will enhance the startup’s present achievements and will significantly stimulate the speed of the industrial advancement of their expertise. In due course, the deal will benefit the entire Scottish wave power sector.

Up to now, the startup has been relying on business, government and public entities to fund its research and expansion projects. During 2010, Scottish Co-investment Fund of the Scottish Enterprise and the Shell Technology Ventures Fund injected the company with a two million pound endorsement, whereas the Government of Scotland declared a 1.4 million pound investment from its Wave and Tidal Energy: Research, Development and Demonstration Support (WATERS) program. In the previous year, the Technology Strategy Board that operates under the supervision of the British Government offered a 350,000 pound endowment to the startup.

Source: Herald Scotland

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Background

Hydropower is a genuine technology which is also the biggest source of renewable energy. It is contributing to 20% of the global electricity production. Hydro-electric power-plants are of huge size covering large areas and do frequently require a significant capital investment. These power plants also affect the local ecology when the related dams are flooded.

Field of Invention

This kind of invention has a certain connection to a dam system where hydroelectric power is generated by channeling a hydraulic flow from an area which has water catchments into a hollow inflow column.

This innovative creation of the century is based on the basic principle of hydro electric production, which you can be seen in conventional dam constructions. This type of construction uses Pelton turbines, Francis turbines and Kaplan turbines. Small sized Micro hydropower system, that produces less than 100kw are very cost effective. They can be used to produce renewable energy in small village areas close to rivers or streams.

Comparative advantages of the Invention

The present hydroelectric dam takes water into a pipe and changes static hydro energy into hundreds of MW of strong hydro energy. The dam does it by rotating a turbine as well as generators, whereas the uniqueness of the inflow dam column is to take the flow of water into each column and convert hydro energy into electric power in the small capacity of tens of kW.

Some other benefits as compared to conventional dam-based and tide-based hydro electric systems are as below:

Flexibility of design: This system is very flexible in size; configuration also can be manufactured and installed, operated in one model for various sites with less investment.

Scalability of the units: Numerous units can be laid on the same site for accurate or scalable function thus covering only a tiny surface area.

Natural force is used: The system is still using water, gravity and natural water pressure. It does not depend on waves and currents.

Portability of the system: The system can be easily installed, serviced and finally removed without any help severe ecologically damage to the infrastructure as well as the dam.

An uninterrupted operation: Setting up of a network is very easy as it can use different inflow Dam units. In addition, the system can be maintained on a unit per unit basis, without having to interrupt the whole system in case unit needs maintenance.

Maintenance cost is less: Its maintenance cost is very low.

Proven realizable technologies: It is an approved technology which is used without bypassing any engineering or physic principles. You can also say that, there is no technological complication linked with this specialized hydro-system.

Source: Eco – Business

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Radicondoli 2 is the latest geothermal power plant in the province of Siena. The additional unit has a capacity of 20 MW. The new capacity of the plant will go up from 40 MW to a total capacity of 60 MW.

When the plant will be operating at optimum capacity, around 140 million KWh will be produced. This is sufficient to power 55,000 homes and equally reduce CO2 emission by 200,000 tonnes. It will also reduce the consumption of oil by 55,000 tonnes per year.

This project was approved in July 2010 and has been completed in less than a year. The rapid expansion and completion of the project demonstrate the unique knowledge that Enel Green Power maintains in the field of geothermal energy. They have mastered over hundred years of experience in the operation and development of geothermal energy.

Enel Green Power’s in-house engineering unit has implemented advanced features into the facility. Enel does certainly maintain their competitive edge in the technological development of geothermal plants. There are innovative diagnostic and remote monitoring systems in the plant. This enables engineers to operate the plant remotely so that any error can be rectified easily. The structure does also sustain upmost respect to environmental and landscape standards.

Local authorities are working in collaboration with Enel Green Power. They selected the route of steam pipeline, so that the right type of material was used. Involving partners gives better assurance that environmental standards are being met.

During the project 3 new wells were drilled, and an existing well is currently being deepened.

Francesco Starace who is the CEO of Enel Green Power says that this is an additional step to expand geothermal capacity in Italy. It is also a demonstration of Italy’s technology leadership and innovative in renewable energy.

Source: Enel – Press Release

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A Public Service Company of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company, has already bought the project’s whole power output under a 25-year power purchase agreement.

In accordance to the CEO and president of Sempra Generation, Jeffrey Martin, Cedar Creek II is a strategic addition to their budding renewable portfolio in the Western United States.

This wind power joint venture is the second one between BP Wind Energy and Sempra Generation. BR Wind Energy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BP. This venture has added to the 200 megawatt Fowler Ridge II wind farm located in Indiana in which they each have an equivalent equity stake.

The construction of the 250 megawatt Cedar Creek II wind farm is being done near New Raymer, which is 90 miles northeast of Fort Collins. The Cedar Creek II is expected to be operational midway through the year to come.

In the mean time, Sempra Generation is also anticipated to end the construction of the 48 megawatt Copper Mountain solar project found near La Vegas. Under a 20-year power purchase agreement, the power from the Copper Mountain will be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric.

The company moreover operates a fleet of natural gas plants. On top of that it is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, a NYSE-listed power company which is established in San Diego.

Source: New Energy World Network

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The lake in question is known as the lake of Taihu. The lake is found next to the 4.5 million-powerful city of Wuxi. The lake has been contaminated by a number of pollutants since many years due to the industrial businesses in Wuxi. It will now make use of a system, known as heightened ozonation treatment. The treatment comprises of microbubbles of ozone that pass through the material in question in order to free the pollutants in it.

It was the University of Utah that developed this technology. The technology makes use of pressurized metal vessel that has been designed to produce ozone microbubbles by recurrent pressurization and depressurization with ozone gas. The microbubbles assist in breaking down hydrocarbons.

Thereafter, a chelating agent is passed through the material targeted in order to remove any metal contaminants. Lime is subsequently used. The lime is used to extract eh metal contaminants from the material in general.

This technology will clean up the soil at the Chinese site. The Chinese site will then be used to plant tree on public land. This project will take approximately three months for its completion. Even though the system is actually being used for the treatment of soil, it can be anticipated that it will expand to cover algae, water and sewage waste.

This work has been undertaken by Honde LLC, a Chinese environmental cleanup giant. If this project is successful, the work will be replicated at more sites around the lake, so as to test it on different types of pollutant.

Source: Business Green

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The study was conducted by Southern Methodist University with the help of a grant provided by Google’s benevolence of $481,500. The research discovered that the geothermal energy found under the state, had been under-estimated. The repository was 78 percent more than previous calculations.

The team of researchers estimated that if only 2 percent of the geothermal energy under the state was used to harness electricity, up to 18,890 MW of renewable energy could be produced.

This research was executed with more accuracy and precision compared to previous studies. It involved more data points and well as elaborated mapping. A total of 1,455 additional thermal data points were supplemented to the previous geothermal map by using water, gas and oil wells.

Besides, the highest-temperature points were found to be positioned in the eastern region of the state. The report also mentioned that the widespread availability of alternative sources of West Virginia could lead to the use of more sustainable energy resources. This could promote U.S energy security as well as diminish the release of greenhouse gases.

Recently, active tectonically zones have been considered as an important factor to establish a cost effective geothermal plant. That is why most U.S’s current geothermal sites are in the west region of the country. However, Western Virginia isn’t such a zone but still a feasible region for geothermal energy to be harnessed.

Nonetheless, new techniques have been emerging to make it plausible to generate geothermal energy even in regions being tectonically stagnant. One example is the use of hot geothermal fluids merged with gas or oil wells. These hybrid plants are making a great change to energy production. There are also other types of geothermal systems, like those injecting fluids back to the earth so that the natural hydrothermal convection is maintained.

Revealing the large geothermal source is a great fact for the western states. However, the concretization of these projects is still under-exploited. According to a 2006 MIT report, Nevada, is an ideal example, has a potential of 146,298 MW of geothermal energy if only two percent is exploited.

The Energy Information Administration, says that the 97 percent of the 16,350 MW generated in Western Virginia comes from coal-fired power plants.

Companies such as Google are increasingly investing more money in clean energy as their large data centres consume more and more energy. They have injected more than $10 million in creating geothermal systems. Besides, it is only a part of their long-term strategy to find clean energy sources at a price competitive to coal.

Source: GreenBiz

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Aguçadora Wave Park is the world’s first industrialised wave farm, and it is situated in Portugal close to Póvoa de Varzim. The farm has been operating since the 23 of September 2008. The plant does currently have 3 Pelamis P-750 machines which can produce a capacity of 2.25 MW. However, the wave farm is expected to be expanded in its second phase from 2.25 MW to 21 MW of wave power. This will be derived from using additional 25 Pelamis machines.

Wave Power in the United Kingdom

The 20th February 2007, the Scottish Executive announced its will to provide funding to marine power in Scotland. They are going to produce a wind farm which is expected to become one of the world’s largest wave farms, with a total capacity of 3 MW. This energy will be generated from 4 Pelamis machines.

There is another wave farm named as Wave Hub, which has been set to be established in the north coast of Cornwall, England. The project was accepted for funding in June 2007. There are already four operators interested in setting up wave power devices up to a capacity of 20 MW.

Wave Power In U.S

There are currently no large wave farms in the coasts of America. However, the President of Trade Association Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition says that there is a total wave power potential of “252 million megawatt hour a year” off the coast of the United States. There hasn’t been a steady step taken to develop wave farms but there are indeed lots of research and investment being provided by the federal for the field.

The largest national utility company, Pacific Gas & Electric Company did the 18th of December 2007 pronounce its will to buy power produced from waves. This was singed under some of California’s renewable energy restrictions. In the state of California, utility companies are required to produce 20 percent of their total electricity supply from renewable energy sources as per this year (2010). The law is likely to be enforced during the years to come to maybe 40 percent by 2020 and henceforth.

A total of $200 million in federal funds was provided under the Marine Renewable Energy Research & Development Act of 2007. The fund is meant to scrutinize the potential of wave energy technology for the period 2008 to 2012.

America’s Department of Energy (DOE) is also responsible for providing a $50 million of fiscal funds for research, development, creation and commercial application of so called ocean energy. For the year 2008, there were 14 institutes that received fiscal allocation. The appealing institutions were:

1. Oregon State University
2. University of Hawaii.

Some ocean energy projects initiate in America can be found at the coastline of California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York. Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Company of Seattle is the company which has applied for the development of these wave- at the Federal Energy Regulatory commission.

You might want to read: World’s Largest Wave Power Station Being Built In Sweden

Source: Wikipedia.org

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