In the coming months, the Philippine’s government will be confirming 10 geothermal sites, while additional nine projects shall be discussed later with different companies. This is what Alejandro Oanes, who is the division chief for geothermal energy at Philippine Energy Department said to Reuters.

It was also mentioned that Geysir Green Energy, an Icelandic geothermal energy developer as well as Energy Development Corp, Philippine’s largest geothermal energy producers were amidst the bidders on the 19 contracts.

The expansion of geothermal energy capacity at these 19 sites is estimated to bring a total of 620 megawatts. This includes energy generation at two volcanoes Mt Labo in Camarines Norte with a potential yield capacity of up to 65 MW and Mt Isarog in Camarines Sur province with a possible capacity of up to 70 MWs.

There have been geothermal resources (sites) spotted at regions such as Cagayan, Oriental Mindoro, Benguet, Palawan, Laguna and Surigao Del Norte.

The Philippines is positioned in what many refer to as the Pacific Ring of Fire – The region has several active volcanoes and earthquakes. It is also surrounded by both the Pacific Ocean and some part of the Indian Ocean. Besides, most of these areas have a great potential for geothermal energy.

Currently, 17 percent of Philippine’s energy is generated from geothermal energy. It represents a total of 2 GW of energy according to the figures published by the government in 2009. However, the government has set a goal to increase this figure by 2020 from 2 GW to 4.5 GW from geothermal energy. This will be one of its measures to double the renewable energy usage.

The government is also providing tariff exemptions and tax holidays for renewable power projects. This is part of its strategy to attract investors. In the last month, a total of 87 contracts has been signed to 18 companies. These agreements include renewable projects associated to hydropower, wind, tidal and solar power.

Source: business Green

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The feed laws in Germany allow homeowners to harness renewable energy and thereafter sell the electricity back directly to the power company via the national electricity grid. This performing strategy has catapulted the country to one of the largest operators of renewable such as bio-gas, wind turbine and solar energy.

Renewable energy represents 10 percent of Germany’s energy demand. In 2006 more than 100,000 new solar collection systems were installed in the country.

In the United States of America, research bio-science is advancing at a rapid pace. The BP Company has set up the Energy Bioscience Institute (EBI) to shed light on innovative research related to the use of clean burning renewable energy, which can very soon become a dominant fuel for vehicles. Currently, the BP corporation injects US$50 million per annum in this research institute.

The institute (EBI) is situated at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. EBI and the University is working together to advance research in bio-fuel as well as in the production of bio-fuel crops. The University is motivated to devote intense effort in genetic engineering, to transform the bio-fuel crops into faster growing plants.

Another area of research at EBI is to transform heavy hydrocarbons into environmentally friendly and energy efficient fuels.

In the Field of Geothermal energy GEA (Geothermal Energy Association) is making every effort to continue its research despite the oppression from the Congress. Karl Gawell, Excutive Director of GEA has made an appeal to the Department of Energy and Congress to enable further research in geothermal energy. Presently, the geothermal research is being hampered by federal institutions.

According to Gawall, a study conducted by the National Research Council, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Western Governors Associate Clean Energy Tasks Force encourage geothermal research. They say that it is a large source of domestic energy, which is unexploited.

Those who support geothermal energy are amazed by the tiny public awareness that exists concerning the benefit of geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is a cheap source of energy, in the long-term it is even cheaper per kilowatt hour than coal energy.

Read More on:
1. Interesting Facts about Renewable Energy (Water, Geothermal and Bio-Energy): Part 1

2. Geothermal Energy Is It Really Safe?

3. Global Investment Trends in Green Energy Unveiled In Recent Reports (2010)

4. Germany Focusing on the Demise of Fossil Fuel by 2050

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There is a vast depository of water on the earth surface. Did you know?

1. Water is the most known sources of renewable energy, and it is already providing energy requirements to some 28.3 million individuals.
2. Water has been acting as a source of power for more than 2000 years (various forms of energy).

Geothermal Energy

1. The old Romans were among the first people to develop modern drainage systems, roads and to use geothermal energy to heat households.

2. Geothermal energy supply roughly 18 percent of the total energy needs in Philippines.

3. Some areas of the earth surface are closer to the core of the planet than others. In countries like Iceland, steam can be used to generate electricity directly from underground water.

Bio-energy

1. Biomass (wood) provided up to 90 percent of total world’s energy requirements some 125 years ago.

2. Bio-fuel is becoming more commonly used as vehicle fuel; it does roughly represent 2 percent of total fuel consumption, and is growing fast.

3. Waste oil, such as oil that has been used by restaurant for deep fry can be converted into bio-diesel.

4. Types of Biomass
Woody Biomass: Forest’s products as well as short rotation coppice
Non-Woody Biomass: Industrial and biodegradable products, Animal waste, food processing, energy crops like Maize, sugar cane and rape.

5. Bio-diesel relinquishes a by-product known as glycerine: Glycerine has more than 1,500 different applications ranging from pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food.
6. In North America, ethanol has been widely used as motor fuel since the early years of 1900s while during the Second World War several states were already using blended ethanol gas.

Source: St- Louis Renewable Energy Blog

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The agreement made is for power purchase deals between CA Solar 10, L.L.C., a solar company and the Southern California Edison, as well as between Calpine Energy Services, L.P and San Diego Gas, and Electric Company.

The Southern California Edison is collaborating on the Palen Solar Power Project with CA Solar 10. The project is concerned with a concentrating solar power plant of 500 megawatt. CA Solar 10 is a subsidiary that is wholly owned by the solar developer Solar Millennium A.G. which is based in Germany.

This power plant would be raised around 10 miles east of Desert Center along Interstate 10. The power plant would be nearly halfway in between the cities of Blythe and Indio, in the Riverside country.

The Southern California would be able to purchase electricity that would be generated by the solar plant over a period of twenty years. In accordance to the commission, the solar plant would be capable of generating an anticipated 1,100 gigawatt- hours of energy of a yearly basis.

The second consent is for the Electric and Calpine and San Diego Gas. In this case the utility will achieve 212 gigawatt-hours of energy from the Calpine’s Geysers geothermal power plant found in Sonoma and Lake Counties each year until 2014.

The Palen Solar Power Project

The Palen Solar Power Project is concerned with a pair of adjacent and identical solar plants which have each a nominal capacity of 250 MW.

The Bureau of Land Management is responsible for the Palen Solar Power Project. It by designed by the latter as a fast-track project. This implies that it was given priority so that it gets all the needed approval for the permits this year itself. This project qualifies for the support from the 2009 Recovery Act.

Heat energy from the sun would be collected by the solar plant that will be equipped with solar parabolic troughs. The troughs or mirrors will then transfer the solar radiation to a particular receiver tube where the fluid will be heated up to 750°Fahrenheit. The final step will consist of producing steam for driving a traditional steam turbine that will in turn generate the electricity.

The Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger passed an executive order in November 2008 that establishes a 33-percent-by-2020 renewable energy objective for California, a leader in clean energy in the US.

Source: EcoSeed

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1. Hydro Power

Hydropower has been used for years. Countries like Canada and Norway depends heavily on hydropower. However, hydropower is limited to certain regions and there need to be large-scale potential to make it efficient. In the world’s agenda of expanding renewable energy sources hydropower might not be considered as fashionable as wind and solar energy. In the Caribbean, there is a potential for hydropower but the cost is too exhaustive.

2. Geothermal Energy

Earth’s inner temperature is roughly 9000 degrees fahrenheit. The temperature slowly decreases as we move nearer to the surface. However, the variation of temperature below the surface does exceedingly fluctuate. Geothermal energy makes use of this particular heat. Rainwater sips into the crust of the earth and this water is converted into hot stem. In some countries like in Iceland the water comes back to the surface in hot springs and geysers.

With solar energy the key is to tap into the unlimited sunlight striking earth’s surface. However, for geothermal power the trick is to find suitable regions to drill. There are mainly three ways that hot water can be converted into electricity. The first method would is to use a steam generator to convert steam directly to electricity. Nonetheless, water at a temperature of 300 to 700 degrees Fahrenheit can be converted into electricity through a Flash Power Plant. In such a system hot water is practically flashed into steam. The third method would be where the water temperature is roughly below 220 degrees fahrenheit, and a Binary Power Plant is used. In such a plant hot water is used to heat fluids, which have a lower boiling point to produce steam. The water, once used is re-fed into the heating source under the ground.

The actual capacity of geothermal power plants is above 9,000 MW. The cost of generating energy from geothermal sources is similarly to wind energy. Recently, a study carried out by MIT reported that in the US alone the capacity of geothermal energy could be increased to 100,000 MW. However, such an expansion would require an investment of approximately one billion dollars.

Geothermal energy can definitely turn into a major source world’s energy supply. A positive advantage of this source of energy is that geothermal power plants can also adjust the supply of energy to requirements. It is thus considered more reliable and consistent. This is something both solar and wind energy cannot ascertain.

Moreover, in the Caribbean, at Lesser Eastern Antilles there is a great potential for geothermal energy. In Guadeloupe, there is already a 4 MW plant established since 1984. There has also been extensive research carried out in Dominica, St. Lucia and Montserrat. In the Caribbean region Dominica is an appropriate region for geothermal energy.

3. Tidal Energy

The ebbs and odds of tides have been present for as long as we know. However, it is only recently that scientists are harnessing energy from it. Tidal energy offers a consistent source of energy, but it is complex to harness electrical from waves. One option is to create “tidal Barrage” this is a method that is extremely difficult and might even cause alteration to currents. Thus, it can likely cause severe ramifications on our ecosystem. The potential of tidal barrages is high so it is essential to discover and research more on the technology.

The next possibility is to use offshore turbines, which uses the same basic technology as windmills. The only different is that they are established underwater and do not use the wind but the tides as a source of energy. This technology causes no harm to our ecosystem. Yet, the cost of these offshore turbines is high. In the Caribbean, the potential for tidal energy is immense.

4. Biomass Energy

Biomass is an ancient source of energy; wood used to cook food is an example of biomass. The significance of wood as a source of energy is declining. The dwindling of wood is not leading to the demise of biomass, there are other solutions disposable. Processed sugar cane known as bagasse is burnt to generate power. There are many waste substitutes available for the production of energy.

Another process is to convert plants and animal waste into bio-fuel like methanol, ethanol, natural gas or oil. The various sources of this energy can be corn stalks, seaweeds, manure, wood chips and other waste products. However, burning these bio-materials leads to emission of greenhouse gases.

5. Energy Conservation

The largest consumer of electricity is lighting. It represents around 12 to 15 percent of the total level of carbon dioxide emission. The solution brought forward is energy saving lamps (CFL’s). However, these lamps aren’t perfect wondrous lamps; they are made of poisonous phosphor and mercury. The LED lamp is claimed to have a longer lifetime. However, their lifetime is only tantamount to that of the CFL’s.

A Dutch hi-tech company, “Lemnis Lighting” created a new lamp known as the Pharox. This LED lamp is known to have an exceptional lifetime of 50,000 hours. A traditional (incandescent) light bulb has a lifetime of 1,000 hours and CFL’s lamp 6,000 hours. The Pharox lamp uses a very low voltage of only 3.4 watt in comparison to 6 watts for a CFL and 40 watt for the contemporary incandescent bulb.

Large-Scale Energy Conservation

In fact, if all American households would substitute 4 incandescent light bulbs with Pharox lamps the total energy saving per annum would be 22 billion kWh. The Pharox lamps would reduce carbon dioxide emission by 347,000 tons through their lifetime. According to John Rooymans, CTO of Lemins claims that the decrease in greenhouse gases would be equivalent to planting a total of 507,000 trees. The company is gradually increasing its optimum production capacity to meet current demands. The Pharox lamp has been available in the Caribbean since 2008.

Other technologies to save energy are refrigerators and washing machines. For instance, in the western world energy efficient refrigerators are sold. Refrigerators are classified according to energy efficient indexes. The most efficient refrigerators are represented by A++ with an index of 30. The cheapest refrigerators are less efficient and classified as (G) with an index of 125. This means that the cheaper refrigerator consumes more than 4 times the energy of the A grade refrigerator. In Europe category D, E, F and G are banned. It is vital to use energy efficient appliances as a principle to reduce energy consumption..

Conclusion

Green energy is present world-wide. There are short-term and long-term options available in relation to return on investment. Moreover, in the Caribbean, most of the alternative sources of energy are applicable. The most promising solution for the short-term is solar and wind energy. They are the most affordable solutions; wind energy first and Solar energy second. Utility companies are likely going to expand the size of wind energy farms via the large-scale windmills.

Source: Tech With Us

Read Part 1: Renewable Energy Options in The Caribbean

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The use of geothermal technology has expanded to various countries thereafter. In 2005, approximately 24 countries used geothermal energy to produce a total of 56,786 GWh. This figure amounted only to a diminutive 3 percent of the worldwide demand for electricity at that time.

In reality, geothermal energy has been present since very long. It isn’t because it is new that it is representing only a small portion of world supply of energy. For instance, in the Lisan Mountains of China the hot spring of water has been used by people to bathe since Qin Dynasty in the third century.

Geothermal Energy and Technology Advancements

Typically, geothermal energy was harnessed through hot water that bursts to the surface after being heated amidst hot rocks beneath the surface. New enhanced geothermal systems are using a much more advanced system. Cold water is injected down into the hot rocks found beneath the surface of the earth. The cold water travels down to be heated by the rocks and will eventually thereafter come out from a second hole. The water that comes out is converted into electricity either through binary power plant systems or by a steam turbine.

Calculating Risk and Cost

The enhanced geothermal systems might be dangerous. Scientific research is saying that drilling and pumping high-pressurized water into the rocks beneath the surface can provoke seismic activities. In Switzerland more precisely in Basel a geothermal plant was shut down after an earthquake of a magnitude of 3.4 was experienced.

The cost and risk of geothermal energy are thus very high. The nominal cost of drilling can be around $10 million while there is a potential rate of failure that is estimated to be around 20 percent. This is why geothermal energy is still a small industry.

For geothermal energy to take a stand in the future, the real cost has to be evaluated. The cost involved in the investment and risk of seismic activities that can be a result for new enhanced geothermal systems. For this industry to arise steadily all the benefits must be weighed against the cost of the using this renewable source of energy. Geothermal Energy must become a solution that is not only green but also cost effective and safe.

Source : The Sustainable Engineering Section

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The country uses mainly two renewable sources of energy; Geothermal Energy and Hydropower. The most visionary fact about Iceland is that electricity is fully generated by renewable energy. Out of 100 percent, 70 percent is directly generated from hydropower and 30 percent from geothermal energy. The National Company (Landsvirkjun) supplies most of this electricity. They provide most of the electricity, which is produced via hydropower.

Source: Nordic Energy Solutions

There are those who underestimate and argue that renewable energy in Iceland isn’t a great achievement. The small population size of around 300,000 makes it easy. For larger nations having a population with at least a thousand times more inhabitant such as in US it would be impossible. Iceland is, however proving that it is possible to go fully green.

There are a couple of clean energy sources available in the country. The government is also committed towards the sustainability and quality of the environment. In other words, irrespective of what people argue, Iceland is a leading country in using renewable sources..

In Iceland, 85 percent of businesses as well as homes are heated with hot water that comes from geothermal plants. In the urban areas such as Reykjavik and Akureyri to rural areas hot water pipes exists. The country has been using clean sources of energy for years and do today have pure quality air in the atmosphere.

Those who argue that Iceland is not an innovator will be surprised. The first geothermal power plant using Kalinatechnology is about to be erected. This will promote geothermal technology by permitting geothermal energy to be harnessed at a much lower temperature.

There are even a great intent to try to substitute gasoline and petrol used to fuel car by hydrogen. Its goal is set for 2050 and is in the mind of policy makers. The country is planning to use hydrogen to fuel fishing boats, cars and trucks. This would alleviate the 19 percent dependency on fossil fuel (mostly oil) by purely green energy sources.

Iceland is a green benchmark for countries to follow. Developed and developing countries should adhere to Iceland’s philosophy to purify the environment and avoid greenhouse emission.

Source: David Bijoux, Nordic Energy Solutions, Wikipedia

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The company does already have a geothermal power station at Birdsville but with a limited capacity of only 0.15 MW. The Penola project will be on a much larger scale and the cost to create the well will be around $15 millions. The federal Government’s geothermal drilling program is contributing a total of $7 million for the project.

Information about the region will be further investigated. Near to the township of Penola, it will be easy to integrate the electricity production to the electricity grid. Moreover, if the location appears to be an ideal one, the geothermal power station is expected to grow by as much as 10 times by 2014, according to Dr. de Graaf.

This project is fundamental according to Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson who approved the project. He said that in order to reach the target of having 20 percent of total energy supply from renewable energy sources by 2020, geothermal energy is essential. Now, only 8.2 percent of the energy in Australia is harnessed through renewable energy. Moreover, hydropower represents for most of it but expansion capacity is limited in the country.

There will be a need to focus on wind energy. However, to assure a sustainable supply of energy geothermal energy will play a fundamental role. The well at Salamander-q will be of a depth of around 3.5 km to 4 Km targeting a heat of around 150 to 200 degree Celsius.

The project will be fully owned by “Panax Geothermal”; however, latest reports suggest that they are searching to establish a venture with a partner.

Source: Gippsland

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It is delusionary to present nuclear energy as renewable sources of energy. However, it is used to blatantly deceive people that non-renewable initiative is good for the environment. These are just the type of business rhetoric making apparition these days. The difference between nuclear energy and renewable energy is that it is limited. Plutonium, uranium as well as other radioactive chemicals are restricted in supply. They are not replenished through a natural process.

When we speak about renewable energy, these are the types of energy that should be highlighted:

1. Tidal Energy

Tidal energy is harnessed through generators placed under-water. The so-called barrage generators or simply tidal stream generators has blades that rotated as dense water move swiftly. There is practically no impact on our ecosystem and the energy is more predictable than what both solar and wind energy are.

2. Wave Power

Wave power is similar to tidal wave in the sense that energy is harnessed from the ocean. However, wave energy generates electricity from the waves on the ocean surface. It does usually use buoy structure, which fluctuates based on waves and thereby creates a movement propelling a generator to produce electricity.

3. Solar Power

Solar power generates energy directly or indirectly from the sun. It uses photovoltaic (PV) solar panels or cells to collate heat and light from the sun. This source of energy is becoming more widely used thanks to technologic development, flexibility, ease to install and cost reduction.

4. Wind Power

Wind power uses the force of the wind. The wind propels gigantic blades to spin around, creating a mechanic movement that turns a turbine. The turbine is connected to an electricity generator, which transmits the energy to the local electricity grid.

5. Hydro power

Hydropower uses gravitational force of falling water to spin a turbine generator, which does thereby produce electricity. This is a widely used mechanism to produce electricity and it has practically no byproducts or waste. Yet, the hydropower plants can be highly complex and expensive to construct.

6. Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is harnessed both at small and large scale. In the past it was used by the ancient Romans. However, today geothermal energy plants are much more complex. Pipes are drilled into the core of the earth to make use of the heat and steaming water as a pressure force to spin a turbine generator.

7. Radiant Energy

Radiant energy is something seldom referred too. It is a type of energy that is omnipresent, it can practically do the same work as electricity but at a much lower cost. In Switzerland there are some models using radiant energy. An example is “Tesla’s magnifying transmitter”.

8. Biomass

Biomass refers to biological materials, usually dead plants and crops. From plants bio-fuel, bio-diesel and ethanol can be extracted. These are energy sources that could substitute oil used for the automobile industry and thereby reduce carbon dioxide emission.

Nuclear energy, compressed Natural gas and oil are all restricted in supply. They are thus not renewable sources of energy. Fossil fuel are limited in the sense that it has taken millions of years to be formed and it will take equally long to re-form these fossil fuels once depleted.

All non-renewable sources of energy have a detrimental impact on our ecosystem when exploited.

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Standing on the earth, we might ignore the fact that the earth is burning beneath. Geothermal energy is produced by digging into the core of the earth, where this tremendous heat is present and converted into exorbitant power.

Where is the Energy

The core of the earth is very hot, more than 60 times boiling water. Due to the extensive heat, much of the heat can be found pretty close to the surface. There is no need to dig far into the crust and reach the center of the earth to benefit from the energy. Geothermal energy can be harnessed by digging only 3 miles where the temperature is over 100 degree Celsius. At this heat, steam is generated and can be used to produce electricity power.

Typically, we used coal or other fossil fuels to produce electricity for our daily use. However, the same energy can be produced from the heat of the earth. The superheated fluid in the earth is produced from magma a type of molten rock. Thereafter, water leaches into the core of the earth through small lakes and pools. This water, which gets extremely hot beneath the surface of earth is extracted by drilling holes where the water can steam out and power a generator.

The generator is powered by the superheated fluid that generates an immense steam pressure in pipes laid out. The pressure (steam) will assure that a turbine will convert this energy into a kinetic force used to power the generator. The generator will thereafter transform this energy into electricity current that can be fueled into the electricity grid.

Geothermal energy has been a source of energy for several decades. However, it is actually being used less than it could be. There are many reasons why geothermal energy is not making a major breakthrough in the energy sector.

1. Research is Required
It is hard to spot ideal location beneath the earth surface where steam power is present. Much research is required to find a suitable site and to scrutinize that the site will generate energy for a long time.

2. Cost and Hazardous

The cost of establishing a geothermal plant is high. The return is also not assured, as some sites might not be working long-enough to recover investment costs. There are hazardous risks also involved in digging into the crust of the earth. In America, several new regulations have already been presented.

There are however, many positive aspects of geothermal energy as well. The energy does not produce any pollution, as it is natural heat. The energy is also harnessed on a small area. The geothermal power station does not need to be erected on massive areas such as solar panels and wind turbines.

Geothermal energy is expected to expand in the future. However, as precautionary laws are being established in America, proclaiming geothermal drillings relation to earthquakes, the sources of energy might slightly be overlooked. Yet, it is a perfectly viable alternative source of energy.

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