Renewable Power News » Biomass Energy

There Is an Abundance of Renewable Sources Of Energy

Jimmy Eriksson — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:54:32 +0000

Currently, United States is still heavily reliant on non-renewable energy sources such as coal, natural gas and oil. These sources of energy are also known as fossil fuel Yet, governments are realizing that fossil fuel is a finite source of energy, which is deemed to come to an end, and the cost of extracting these non-renewable is constantly rising. On the brighter side, renewable-energy sources are infinite and have experienced a steady reduction in cost during the recent years.

The key sources of alternative energy come either directly or indirectly from the sun. Directly, from the sun thermal energy (heating) or lighting energy can be harnessed to generate electricity. The typical water heating systems found on rooftops are examples of thermal energy.

The sun does also generate heat, which stimulates winds. The energy generated by winds is captured using wind turbines.

In addition, heat emitted by the sun and stimulated by winds cause water to evaporate. This water comes back to surface in the forms of snow or rain. The water currents in rivers depend on the amount of rain, and the speed of water flow can be used to generate hydro energy.

The contribution of the sun doesn’t end with only generating rain; the rain and sunlight are also required by plants to grow. The organic matters present in the growing of plants are called biomass. Biomass is another form of renewable energy, which can be used to generate electricity or converted into bio-energy.

In organic compounds, we can find Hydrogen. It is also present in water, not to mention that hydrogen is the most abundant chemical element present on Earth. It is a gas which is always mixed with other sources such as water and oxygen. It is only when hydrogen is separated from it’s combined element, that it can be burned to generate electricity.

However, a source of energy that isn’t really associated with the sun is geothermal energy. The heat of the earth can also be used to produce electricity and for purposes such as heating and cooling buildings. Also, ocean tides which operate on the gravitational pull of the
Earth, influenced by the moon and sun, is commonly exploited using underground ocean wave turbines.

The sea can provide an abundance or alternative energy sources such as tides, temperature difference in the sea, as well as osmosis (where sea water meets – river water) energy.

Source: Renewable Energy World

Add to del.icio.us

Search blogs linking this post with Technorati

Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Alternative Power Sources, Global Energy, Renewable Power.

5-7 Percent of India’s Energy Requirement Might Be Met By Solar Power in 2021-2022

Jimmy Eriksson — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:23:21 +0000

KPMG, a global consulting company, says that solar energy can supply 5-7 % of the energy requirements of India by 2021-2022.

Dr. Farooq Abdullah, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, says that India is exposed to a rich amount f solar energy, which can be quantified to above 5 thousands trillion KWH per year. In other words, solar energy available does significantly exceed India’s annual energy requirements.

In India, the daily average solar incident is in the range of 4 – 7 kWh per square meter. The variance depends on the region as well as the season of the year. This rate of solar radiation is available for approximately 300 days each year.

Currently, solar-energy power plants in India are generating 45.5 MW. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission that was launched in 2010 aims to leverage the installed solar capacity to 20,000 MW by 2022. There will also be an extra 2,000 MW of solar energy installed off the grid.

In the future, the price of solar power is also expected to fall tremendously due to the significant progress in technology improvement and deployment.

Source: EV-Wind & Info on India’s solar Mission 2022

Add to del.icio.us

Search blogs linking this post with Technorati

Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Alternative Power Sources, Photovoltaics, Renewable Power, Solar Power.

Solar PV Technology Should Be a Key Player In UK’s Renewable Energy Roadmap

Jimmy Eriksson — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:37:14 +0000

Green energy pioneer says solar PV is key technology

Solar power is a strong source of renewable energy. UK seems to have excluded solar energy from the list of renewable source, or rather downgraded it as a source of demising oil and gas dependency.

Recently, UK’s Renewable Energy roadmap was released. The government has set an objective of having renewable sources representing 15 percent of the overall supply of energy by 2020.

In the UK market, biomass wood pellet boilers were introduced by Businessman, Andy Boroughs. He says that he was surprised that solar PV was considered as a prime source for renewable energy.

As the managing Director of Organic Energy, a leading renewable heating company, Mr. Boroughs is disappointed that solar energy hasn’t been considered one of the main sources that can be used to reach the 2020 target.

In the Roadmap document, it is highlighted in one page that solar PV industry will help in meeting the renewable goal, but the contribution will be marginal.

Based on the Roadmap, only eight technologies will be able to support to meet 90 percent of UK’s renewable-energy goal by 2020.

Meaning that 90 percent of the 15 percent target will be meet by these eight sources:

1. Onshore Wind
2. Offshore Wind
3. Marine Energy
4. Biomass Electricity
5. Biomass Heat
6. Ground Source Heat Pumps
7. Air Source heat pumps
8. Renewable Transport

The remaining 10 percent of the renewable target will be met by sources such as:

1. Hydropower
2. Solar PV
3. Geothermal heat and power

The report does also highlight that £30 million will be invested into the innovation fund for offshore wind while an additional £20 million will go for the support of marine schemes.

Source: click Green

Add to del.icio.us

Search blogs linking this post with Technorati

Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Alternative Power Sources, Photovoltaics, Solar Power.

Metso Supplying one of the World’s Largest Biomass Boilers to US Power Producer

Jimmy Eriksson — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 22:52:39 +0000

Metso is a global technology corporation formed in 1999 for the supply of process industry machinery, power, paper, mineral resources, automation solutions and equipment. Their primary role as a service industry is to the processing of pulp and paper industry, acting as a power producer, retain a strong expertise in mining, construction, energy and environmental technology.

Metso’s paper technology is well known to the world for it refined covers of pulp and fibre technology. Metso’s Paper production systems are used to perform paper production to a one third of the global paper production domain. Their principal market area covers Europe, Asia and North America. The company operates in more than fifty countries across the globe and its production occurs in more than seventeen countries or so. Metso’s services or business line mainly focuses on the maintenance of machinery, supply of spare parts, equipment and so on. Metso’s acquisition programme follows the company’s rigorous and strategic aim to sustain stable growth and compatibility between customers for their most valued products and services across the globe.

Metso Corporation had come up with a new speculation most recently in order to renew energy projects for the US, reckoning smooth supply of electricity to 70,000 households. It has planned to supply a 100 MWe biomass boiler island and plant automation system to GREC, which is most commonly known as Gainesville Renewable Energy Centre and situated in Gainesville FL, USA. GREC has collected approximately $500 million while 25 percent comes from Metso. Metso agreed to deliver a 30 year smooth power supply to Gainesville for a new power plant installation.

Jim Gordon, president of GREC remarked says that GREC is going to evolve at a faster pace henceforth ensuring benefits in both environmental and financial aspects of Gainesville by adopting renewable energy facility.

The plant is planned for the year 2013 for commercial operations. And this 100 MW biomass boiler is going to be one of the world’s largest & most efficient biomass generators of electricity. Thereby employment opportunities within the community will definitely be increasing.

GREC’s success is mainly due to the high watts boiler power project called the Nacogdoches Power situated in east Texas for which Metso was selected as the sole producer of boiler island and plant automation systems. Fagen Inc. which is one of the leading green energy design-builders forms a team will work with GREC to realise the project.

GREC and the Fagen Inc., have developed high confidence in Metso as a strong business partner. These two companies expected Metso to provide them with another 100 MW BFB boiler project in North America. Once built, it is going to be one of the biggest and cleanest power supply plants in the history of biomass combustion. Dave King, president of the Metso in North America declared Metso, which has the long standing strength to continue to be the leader in the supply of power production.

Source: Reuters

Add to del.icio.us

Search blogs linking this post with Technorati

Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Alternative Power Sources, Energy Conservation, Renewable Power.

Financial Crisis; Pressuring Being Imposed on Subsidies for Renewable Energy in Spain

Jimmy Eriksson — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 22:32:30 +0000

Until a few days before Christmas, Spain’s solar industry had a dream. That dream was to be part of a generously funded plan – considered as the world’s best – to hugely increase the amount of solar energy generated in Spain. But then the government drastically cut back the funding and subsidies that the new – and extant- solar energy generation projects would be receiving. The really bad news is that the existing utility companies, traditionally opposed to alternative energy sources, fear that the results of the cramping of solar energy development could have extremely far reaching effects.

Spain’s three biggest utility companies – Iberdrola, Endesa and Gas Natural – who have long been lobbying the Spanish government to stop subsidising the increase of solar and other alternative energy projects is now being challenged by the renewable energy source lobby.

There are even deeper divisions between the traditional energy industry and the alternative sector than elsewhere in the world, according to the Director for Regulation of Iberdrola, Carlos Salle. In an interview with The Guardian said that there are disagreements between renewable and non-renewable sources in Spain. The worse is that it steaming concerns.

The relations between the two sectors were somewhat funny – but only just – it was commonly referred to as being like a “war”, by a Madrid businessman from one of Spain’s top companies. Spain’s solar industry body, Asif – Asociación de la Industria Fotovoltaica – has accused politicians of justifying subsidy cuts by falsely overstating the costs of solar generated energy.

Spain’s utility companies have already subsidised solar and wind energy projects to the tune of €20bn of which the solar sector received €2.6bn (£2.28bn) These funds, which have yet to be paid back by the government, are more than the country or utility companies can easily afford.

The utility companies’ credit rating is in danger of being demoted if their tariff deficit is not addressed.

About a decade ago power black-outs caused the government to encourage the utility companies to build gas and coal generating plants. These are now generating at only about 50% of capacity and consequently, are steadily losing money. But rather than closing half of them down, the government insists that all must be kept on standby for times when alternative energy generation is impossible, such as at night and on windless days.

The main problem seems to lie in the fact that the alternative energy generation schemes grew far too quickly, due to a massive injection of subsidy and other investment capital. Even though solar projects generated a maximum of 4% of Spain’s energy needs last summer, they could cut costs fast – about 70% since 2004 alone. The subsidy funding was too generous.

It attracted a huge amount of investment and a sudden surge in the installation of generating capacity in 2008, before a tariff cut was introduced in 2009.

The net result was that by 2010 Spain had 10 times more, solar energy generating capacity than it was planned for, and a much larger bill than ever thought possible.

Challenging the tariff cuts in court will not provide a speedy solution, and by the time the issues have been resolved many smaller solar producers will have been forced out of business, said Asif’s president Javier Anta. He continued by adding that investors are losing faith in the government and consequently, refraining from new investment.

The fact that the government has decided to retroactively cut subsidies, which had been promised to extant generating projects, will scare off new investors. This is the one area that all generators – traditional or alternative – agree upon.

Changing Standards

Using experience gained in 70 years of business, a Spanish engineering firm – Abengoa – is continuing development of solar energy projects. It is working on a new method of solar energy generation using towers of pipes rather than more traditional pipe layouts. Its solar power generating plant employs 23,000 workers, and has a turnover exceeding €3bn (£2.6bn).

The sustainability of potential projects is carefully audited and any that does not measure up to severe standards are rejected. Even though bio-fuels are a hot potato due to their potential for depriving poor people in the developing world of food sources, Abengoa stands strongly behind them.

Abengoa removed seeds and fruit from plant material before processing into bio-fuel. Carlos Bousoño, Abengoa’s director of corporate social responsibility, affirmed that only stalks and waste material were fermented into bio-fuels, and the soya, corn and other food types were saved for nutritional purposes.

Source: Guradian

Add to del.icio.us

Search blogs linking this post with Technorati

Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Alternative Power Sources, Renewable Power, Solar Power.

Bio-Fuel Can Be Increased In Brazil According to A Purdue Conference

Jimmy Eriksson — Sat, 21 May 2011 16:22:14 +0000

In South America’s largest country, Brazil, ethanol is something that is pervasively used.

Since 1931, gasoline mixed with ethanol has been a compulsory practice. Nowadays, in Brazil, alone, more than 30 million cars are using ethanol, which has been generated from wood, sugar cane and waste biomass.

At Perdue University, interesting facts concerning ethanol was presented on the six annual conference on Frontiers in Bioenergy, entitled U.S – Brazil Symposium on Bio-energy Production.

Brazil is the world’s fifth largest country with a population of 190 million. The nation is proud of its engagement in renewable energy and affirms its commitment to the use of ethanol as well as other types of bio-energy. In the years ahead, the country does even expect to increase the use of ethanol.

According to Luis Horta Nogueira, coming from the University of Itajuba in Brazil, says that there is a great potential to increase the production capacity of sugar cane. The land used to generate low productivity pastures could be transformed into sugar cane fields.

The key to higher ethanol production lies in the enhancement in productivity methods. In other terms, efficiency is what will make the difference.

A report released from Purdue Department of Chemical Engineering based on cellulose research provided some fascinating news. This is what the main author of the report said, Fabio Ribeiro, from the West Lafayette Campus.

Ribeiro says that it is possible to increase the efficiency of ethanol production in Brazil.

The symposium was sponsored by Discovery Park, National Science Foundation, the U.S Department of Energy and Purdue Energy Center.

During the workshop, topics such as genomics and genetics, landscape sustainability, feedstock logistics, biochemical and thermo-chemical conversation were discussed.

However, an Assistant professor in bio-products and bio-systems from the University of Minnesota, Jason Hill said that it isn’t wise to bet all the resources on bio-energy.

Hill said that there are other means that should be envisaged to reduce the dependency on foreign oil. The possible options are conservation and efficiency.

Hill was also worried that boosting up the production of ethanol production could worsen the situation. It isn’t certain that ‘bio-fuel’ will be the ‘a cure-to-all’. There will definitely be some trade-off that we should expect, if we increase the production of ethanol from sugar cane production.

Source: Indy Star

Add to del.icio.us

Search blogs linking this post with Technorati

Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Alternative Power Sources, Renewable Power.

Producing Hydrogen as a Renewable Resource

Jimmy Eriksson — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 23:11:44 +0000

Siemens, at this moment, is part of a team investigating on the myriad of approaches on how to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into useful chemical raw materials. In this research, they are taking into account the possibilities of removing the gas permanently from the environment. Such a process of fossil fuel combustion can reduce the effects of CO2 on global warming. For this moderately non-reactive CO2 conversion, renewable resources will be the source of energy used.

CO2RRECT is a project that is headed by Siemens, together with their partners: Bayer, RWE, and other institutes and universities. The project is also being supported by Germany’s Federal Research Ministry, for three years or more. They have alloted a budget of 11 million Euros. One important element of this program is the electrolyzer provided by Corporate Technology, Siemens central research department, which will be responsible for the industrial-scale hydrogen generation.

Most industries are now shifting their focus on renewable resources, which have become apparent on the enormous investments being made on solar and wind power. However, the output of these resources is quite inconsistent, since they are heavily dependent on weather conditions. One of the main objectives of the industry is to find an alternate use of the excesses from the renewable resources.

When a renewable resource, like a wind farm, does not have any consumers to provide energy for, it is only reasonable to detach the wind farms from the grid. The initial procedure is to apply this power to separate the basic chemical elements of water, which would break down into hydrogen and oxygen. The electrolyzer prototype which Siemens has assembled would be responsible for this process. The goal is to generate a 100-kilowatt unit per container. As part of the implementation, this electrolyzer will be attached to the power grid and will only generate power when there is an available surplus or extremely low-cost power in the system.

Hydrogen generated in this manner when added to the carbon dioxide will react. The process continues as it is converted into fundamental by-products like formic acid or carbon monoxide. These chemical products can then be utilized in the manufacturing of usable plastics or even fuels. RWE brown-coal fired power station, located in Niederaußem, provides the carbon dioxide used in this project, through the process of flue gas scrubbing. In addition, the team of Siemens is looking into the likelihood of maximizing the potency of hydrogen on an industrial magnitude. Their objective is to utilize the turbines to revert the hydrogen once again into its original form: power.

The Siemens team, with their Russian colleagues, is presently investigating combustion techniques that would create little to zero nitrogen oxide. Since hydrogen, when burned, generate significantly higher temperature compared to natural gas, the equipment should be able to handle particular conditions required for this process.

Source: Physorg

Add to del.icio.us

Search blogs linking this post with Technorati

Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Alternative Power Sources, Energy Conservation, Renewable Power.

Biodiesel: How Is It produced?

Jimmy Eriksson — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 23:26:19 +0000

To be able to successfully produce biodiesel, transesterification is required. What, then, is this process called “Transesterification”? This is the method used for converting used oil into biodiesel with the use of methanol (a type of alcohol) reacting to triglyceride oils found in greases and fats, producing formation of fatty acid alkyl esters (biodiesel) and glycerine. This process requires a potent base catalyst and high temperature. Below are the major steps needed to process oil for the conversion of biodiesel:

1. The first step is to filter used cooking oils through the wire mesh to get rid of food particles and other impurities. The oil is set aside and left to stand for a number of hours for any residue to settle in the liquid.

2. Second step is to pour the oil using a funnel-shape vessel. During this step, a titration test is done to determine the concentration of free fatty acids found in the oil, which is important in the preparation of catalyst required for the process.

3. The next step is to trigger a transesterification reaction. Sodium hydroxide, a catalyst, is added slowly to methanol to form sodium metaoxide. This is being infused to the oil container, which is being heated with a temperature of 55 degrees Celsius. This mixing together of oil and catalyst would last for about four to five hours to completely synthesize the mixture.

4. After eight to 10 hours, the glycerin would simply descend at the bottom of the settling vessel, separating itself from the biodiesel in the oil.

5 When glycerine is taken out, the next step would be purifying the biodiesel. To remove the methan

6 Old deposits, air bubbles are administered through the substance. For further eradication of contaminants, the biodiesel goes through a process of a resin-contained filter called “dry wash”.

7 After an hour of the purification process, the production of biodiesel is accomplished. It is now transferred into large containers, which will be distributed to consumers. It takes between 12 to 16 hours to complete the whole transesterification process.

Source: The Star

Add to del.icio.us

Search blogs linking this post with Technorati

Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Energy Conservation, Global Energy, Renewable Power.

A survey on Canadian canola/soy growers’ standpoint on biodiesel

Jimmy Eriksson — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 23:47:15 +0000

When it comes to the use of biodiesel, over 300 Canadian growers of canola and soybean have shown their compelling support for this alternative fuel source. This was based on AgCall Inc.’s survey on growers’ perspective on biodiesel, which was done on a seven day time frame through the means of a telephone. On March 1, 2011 the results of the survey have been gathered and acquired the following results:

- 66% of the participants implied they have knowledge of Canada’s 2 percent renewable fuel standard for biodiesel.

- 87% of the participants endorse the use of Canadian produced canola/soybeans in biodiesel production.

- 90% of the participants affirm that higher demand for canola/soybeans generated by the production of biodiesel would be beneficial to growers.

-81% of the participants agree to a federal renewable plan that would encourage the utilization of canola/soybeans in biodiesel production.

As stated by Ed Mazurkewich, AgCall’s business development consultant, the findings that came from the study demonstrate solid support from growers for a federal renewable fuel plan that would make use of canola/soybeans. Production of biodiesel will take place in Canada, and these growers would prefer the 2% of the bio-content source to be locally grown crops. He also pointed out that the respondents were solely assisted when they asked for clarification on some questions during the survey. Mazurkewich further explained that they could take notes of any remarks the growers shared with them. However, there were only a few comments made. The most common was about the utilization of the canola/soy seeds for biodiesel would provide growers more options for marketing their products.

This research was performed for the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association and Canadian Canola Growers Association. Mazurkewich asserted that he feels that this effort is notably important since this survey is the only one he is aware of that speaks for the growers of plants that can be used for bio-diesel production in Canada.

Yet, its real value will depend largely on the perspective of biodiesel companies of Canada.

Source: Bio Diesel Magazine

Add to del.icio.us

Search blogs linking this post with Technorati

Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Alternative Power Sources, Photovoltaics.

Price of Bio-Diesel Likely To Rise in India

Jimmy Eriksson — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 16:24:02 +0000

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) says that the government is likely going to increase the price of bio-diesel produced at Jatropha plant. This will help to boost the growth of the bio-diesel industry.

A suggestion to increase the price of bio-diesel from Rs. 26.50 to Rs. 36 per litre was proposed to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

The industry lobby says that the procurement price set at Rs. 26.50 per bio-diesel litre should be scrutinized and rectified to assure a sustainable expansion of the sector.

According to the CII, a hike in the price of bio-diesel will help to match an annual growth of 2 percent for 2011 to 2012. In addition, it will help to generate an estimated Rs. 5,500 crore of revenues and cut expenditure by Rs. 3,000 crore for the rural economy.

The reported also stated that the green energy initiative is going to reduce greenhouse gas emission with nearly 3 million metric tons.

Moreover, the report produced by CII does propose that the government should review and create a long-term framework for the industry. It should include new grants, incentives and distribution mechanisms to assure that the bio-diesel industry can operate on its own.

The heavy upswing and volatility of oil price are making it much easier to integrate the use of bio-fuels into India’s energy portfolio.

The report suggests that bio-diesel can be used to reduce the threat caused by volatility of oil prices while equally augmenting safety and sustainability of the economy.

CII considers that the right financial, technology and governmental policies must be set in place to promote sustainable efforts of the industry.

Source: Economic Times India

Add to del.icio.us

Search blogs linking this post with Technorati

Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Alternative Power Sources, Energy Conservation, Renewable Power.