The American Retail Giant; Walmart announced its intention to set-up solar panels on the roof-top of almost half of all its stores in Massachusetts. This initiative is expected to start by August 2012.

The construction is currently in an engineering phase, and Walmart officials said they are still in search for licenses and permits. After completion of the project, the solar panels on the stores will be able to provide 10.5 MW of energy, which is equivalent to the average consumption of 2,600 households.

The Director of energy programs at Walmart, David Ozment says that the approximately 10 to 15 percent of the energy generated will be used by the store. This is going to be providing saving for the company in the years ahead.

The plan proposed by Walmart, isn’t unique in its kind. In 2008, when the Governor Deval Patrick started to promote renewable energy to be installed on retail, flat roof tops, there have been profuse of supermarkets adopting the philosophy such as Stop & Shop, Webster and Burlington.

The governor encouraged large retailers to install solar power, and that was part of the states objective to install 250 MW of solar energy in Massachusetts before 2017. In other words, it is enough energy to light 37,500 households.

At the moment, the state has already reached above 40 percent of its aim, with 105 MW of energy installed. Walmart will help to push up the number even further.

According to Patrick, it will be another step in supporting the Commonwealth clean-energy mission. In other regions such as in California, Arizona, and Hawaii, solar panels have already been installed on Walmart’s stores. There is additional project envisaged in Colorado & New Jersey. In total the company has 50 MW of energy capacity, within the United States, which is equivalent to the energy needs of 12,500 households.

The solar panels will be installed by Greenskies Renewable Energy LLC, which is a Connecticut-oriented company dealing with the ownership and running of the solar system. They will sell the energy generated to Walmart to use within the stores, and the giant retail; Wal-Mart aims at having competitively priced energy supplied to their outlets.

Initially, Greenskies installed solar panels over 10 stores and in the second phase the remaining 17th. The project will be of a time-span of 18 months and will cost around $31.5 million.

It is evident that solar makers, and solar-energy suppliers comprehend that the technology is now economic and environmentally sound.

Source: Boston Globe

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The Director of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Private Sector Operations Department, Mr. Michael Barrow says that this 40 MW solar energy plant will annually distribute above 60 million Kwh. It will be enough to provide energy to an average of 70,000 households. It will also support in the reduction of 60,000 metric tons of CO2 emission, every year.

The solar power plant cost USD 147.5 million, and has been constructed in the district of Jaisalmer, in the village of Dhursar, in the western state of India, Rajasthan. A project executed by Reliance Power LTD, which is currently amidst the largest private power developers of energy in India. The project was backed with a loan of USD48 million from ADB.

The site has carefully been selected; it is 180 KM on the west side of the city of Jodhpur, and exposed to the country’s most dense solar irradiation. It is an ideal area for 350-acre plant, with 500,000 solar panels.

In addition, a loan of USD 103 million has been granted to Reliance Power, for a Concentrating Solar Power Project which will be constructed just adjacent to the new photovoltaic solar plant built in Dahanu. The Indian Government is looking forward to have different types of solar energy developed in the country; Photovoltaic and concentrating solar power are two completely different sources of solar energy.

ADB’s goal to 2013 is to help in developing, commissioning and financing 3,000 MW of solar energy in Asia. Dahanu is part of the initiative. The ultimate objective is to help Asia to produce energy in an environmentally sustainable manner. This Solar Initiative is also supported by The Government of India, which is keen to reduce CO2 emission from energy sources.

Apart from the two solar plants, ADB is already helping the development of a Solar park located in Charanka, which is a state of Gujarat. ADB in addition to providing direct loans to support growth of clean energy, has established a financing facility to help lenders to finance solar power projects up to a capacity of 25 MW. In the long-term the bank will help to support a sustainable growth of solar-energy development in Asia region.

Source: EV-wind

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In a recent interview, The Executive Director of Tata Power, S. Ramakrishnan told DNA Money that in the past, they had invested in expanding clean energy, and that in the future they will continue to keep their eyes on clean energy sources. Lately, Tata Power has invested in two Australian companies.

- USD 10 Million (5% stake in Exergen)
- USD 50 Million ( 10% stake in Geodynamics)

For instance, Exergen has built a highly cost-effective moisture removal process, used for high moisture brown coal. It will help to reduce carbon emission, from 1,500 kg of CO2 per MW to only 800 kgs of C02 for one MW.

Geodynamics operate in the field of developing new technology in the exploitation of geothermal energy.

In addition, Tata Power and an Australian firm Sunengy is collaborating in building a floating concentrated solar PV- Pilot Project.

According to S. Ramakrishnan, Tata Power is also operating with global utility companies such as Tokyo Electric, American Electric Power and Vattenfall. These companies are developing new clean-coal technology like gasification integrated cycle plants.

The current capacity of Tata Power is 5,297 MW, and 22 percent are generated from renewable-energy sources.

In the last nine month, the company had a revenue of 471 crore derived from clean energy sources. This was reported in the fiscal year 2012.

Tata Power is steadily seeking opportunities to grow. It commissioned a 25 MW power station recently in the Mithapur, Gujarat. In its five-year plan, the company is ready to establish 300 MW of solar power capacity, and solar rooftop is one of the options considered.

The wind installed capacity by Tata Power is 375 MW, and the plan is to expand by 150MW per annum, up until fiscal year 2015. The firm is also advancing towards capturing waste gases emitted while making steel.

The waste gas’s model has already been established in Jamshedpur & Halida. It will definitely help to lower the emission of carbon dioxide. Yet, the company is looking at additional means to reduce waste gases with Tata Steel.

In Himachal Pradesh, Tata Power is collaborating with S N Power, Norway to construct a 236 MW Dugar Hydro Power Project.

Source: Power – ENG and Tata Power

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Primordial heat and radioactive decay are the two known sources of geothermal energy. The result of creation of the earth about 4. 5billion years ago was by the ancient heat which is the heat retained in the side as the hot cosmic matter on the surface cooled. This is the reason why the earth supports life on the outside while the inside is composed of hot-rocks and metals.

Radioactive materials and elements formed the original composition of the earth. This element increases the amount of thermal energy as they slowly continue decay below us the heat generated continues to heat the interior of the earth. There is proof that some of the heat still manages to penetrate the insulation layer good examples of these sites are the volcanic features in Hawaii, New Zealand Japan and Italy.

Hot water is almost used in all power production processes across borders. Various methods are used to heat the water into steam( such include radioactive decay as in nuclear, combustion as in coal and natural gas). The steam is then used to turn turbines which in turn produces electricity. However, in geothermal; water is heated by the heat escaping from the earth’s core. This is achieved by the earth’s interior temperatures which are suitable for producing electricity.

During the drilling process, there are two possible cases that may arise, one we may find a porous rock where hot water has been collected. This water is extracted from beneath, using very specialized equipment. Case two is where we find no water but rocks, which are very hot in this case we form what is known as the enhanced geothermal system where cold water is pumped into the rocks, then the steam that return is collected. Geothermal is clean energy since there is no use of harmful products such as coal and nuclear, another advantage is that it’s sustainable as the only thing we need to ensure is that the water is injected back to the rocks after we exhaust the thermal energy in it.

Geothermal has other applications apart from production of power they include heating of pools, district heating, agriculture and laundries. These are applications are classified under the direct-use of geothermal.

Power generation via geothermal can be achieved by the use of either one of the two process. When the hot and pressured water is brought to the surface, it changes into a low-pressure chamber where it is turned into steam. The highly pressured steam is passed via a turbine which rotates to produce electricity, after the steam has been passed via the turbine it can either be released into the atmosphere or can be cooled into a liquid and injected back to the ground.

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The binary geothermal is another method of power generation, which is mostly applicable in geothermal areas with low temperatures. The principle of operation is generally the same as it involves the use of hot water to drive a turbine but due to the low temperature, a working fluid (liquid with a lower boiling point as compared to water) is used. The hot geothermal water is pumped to the surface and then run via a heat exchanger where heat is transferred from water to the working fluid. Due to the low boiling the working fluid vaporizes faster under low temperatures thus producing enough pressure to drive the turbine.

The binary system operates as two close loops as neither the geothermal water nor the working fluid is exposed to the surface. Another thing that makes it unique is that there are no emissions in its cycle as water is re injected back and the working fluid is cooled and then reused again.

Geothermal energy exploitation is common across borders. Around the globe, the pioneers include United States, Mexico, Japan, Iceland and the Philippines, who are using it for power production. Although, geothermal is abundant one must drill to reach it, however, the cost of drilling is not cheap as it increases with depth. We are able to harvest the highest quality due to the advancement of the drilling technology.

The level of tectonic activity (interaction of the earth’s tectonic plates) affects the quality of geothermal energy within an area. The Pacific Ocean is encircled by a ring which is commonly known as the ring of fire where a lot of tectonic activity occurs. The area experiences volcanism due to large amounts of heat reaching the surface. Due to such factors the cost and technology required is quite expensive. However, researchers are working hard to ensure that cost of drilling comes down thus ensuring that geothermal is fully exploited.

Politics impedes the exploitation of geothermal energy in some countries. Government intervention is necessary because of the high cost, the state can support in terms of funding and policies. A good example is the Canadian federal government which in the past quarter century has not contributed anything to support geothermal science. Despite statics showing that western Canada has a lot of geothermal resources.

By disseminating news about the need and care of a sustainable energy through family members, friends, colleagues and becoming a member of CanGEA you bring us closer to the realization of geothermal power in Canada.

Comparison of low temperature (heat pumps) and high temperature geothermal resources

A lot of confusion has risen about the varied forms of geothermal energy that are associated with different geothermal resources. The perplexity is associated with the increase in geothermal awareness among the public.

People use different terms to describe the same thing. The term geo-exchange has helped in coming up with a definition of geothermal, as in the past geothermal was associated with high temperatures used for power production and direct heating. This is not the case anymore, as lower temperatures are used for recreational purposes.

The use of traditional oil, gas, coal fired heating ventilation and air-conditioning systems has been replaced using geo exchange systems.

Source: CanGEA

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Political instability and geographical remoteness are some of the characteristics of the regions that supply the EU with energy. The dependency of the EU on imported energy is expected to rise to 70% by 2030 going by the current trends.

With the growing economies and the increase in the living standards of people in some countries, for instance, in China and India, it is anticipated that in the next 50 years the global demand of energy will double. Therefore, establishment of a sustainable and safe energy supply for a world that heavily depends on energy is prudent.

Developing of sustainable energy sources is a priority in Europe. Statics indicate that 82% of the Europeans are not contented with how they use and produce energy and how it affects the environment. Besides, almost half of them calls for quick action as they believe that climate change could be catastrophic. In the near future, Majority of the Europeans believes that investment into alternative sustainable energy by the EU will reduce its dependency on energy by a great margin.

The following is some of the advantages that make fusion the most convenient and sustainable energy source.

Plenty of raw materials

Water and lithium are the main sources of both deuterium and tritium, which are the basic fusion fuels. There are plenty of deuteriums and lithium on our planet. This is so since the world’s surface is constituted by 70% water and 30% land. Deuterium is easily available on earth, in fact; a liter of water is believed to have 0.033 grams of it, lithium is also available because it’s a component in batteries which we always carry around in cell phones and laptops. It has been proven that the lithium that is contained in a laptop cell if fused with a half bath tub of water it would generate electricity equal to electricity produced by combusting 40 tonnes of coal. Tritium is not naturally mined it’s made from lithium, (the lithium is combined with high –energy neutrons inside the fusion reactor to make tritium)

Environmental friendly, as fusion energy has zero carbon emissions.

For a fusion power plant to generate 7 billion kilowatt-hour annually it only requires 100kg of deuterium and about 3 tonnes of natural lithium. For a coal powered plant to generate the same it would require at least 1.5 million tonnes of coal. Nitrous oxides and carbon oxides are the byproducts of fossil fuels. Global warming is highly contributed by carbon dioxide and the continued use of fossils fuels greatly increase it thus inviting profound effects on the environment. Energy consumption from the EU alone contributes 78% of its total green house gas emissions.

There is a guarantee of safety in the power stations as the chances of a meltdown/runway reaction
occurring are minimal.

The operation of the fusion reactor is the same as that of a gas chamber where all the fuels injected are burnt(at a rate of 1deuterium/tritium in 1000cubic meters of water),the system is designed in a way that any malfunction will cool the plasma and stop the reaction thus a runway is impossible. The construction of a station with no radio-active materials makes the plant significantly safer.

They are minimal radioactive wastes arising from fusion energy. In other words, fusion energy is green energy.

Source: Fusion For Energy

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Inside the sun, fusion reactions take place at extremely high temperatures and massive gravitational pressures.

The sun and stars are powered by fusion hence an important energy that is necessary for the well-being of living things on earth. It is referred to as fusion due to the merging of light atoms, for example, hydrogen under exceedingly high temperatures and pressure. The centre of the sun has extreme conditions, for instance; the temperature is 15 million ºC, and any gas material is converted to plasma, which is regarded as the fourth form of matter; the other three states are solid, liquid and gas.

Plasma is referred to as an ‘electrically-charged gas’ where the negatively charged electrons in atoms are completely isolated from the atomic nuclei that are positively charged. However, plasma is rarely found on earth but 99% of the universe is estimated to exist as plasma.

For the process to be simulated on earth, gases need to be exposed to temperatures of approximately 150 million degrees ºC to completely ionize the atoms. The most easily achievable fusion reaction is the reaction between nuclei of two hydrogen isotopes i.e deuterium and tritium resulting in a helium nucleus that has high energy. Deuterium can be obtained from water while tritium is extracted from the fusion reaction with lithium.

How Fusion takes place

Fusion of two atoms, deuterium and tritium to form a helium nucleus that contains lots of energy.

Scientists have developed devices that can produce temperatures that are 10 times the strength of the sun. To produce such extremely high temperatures, powerful heating must be present and loss of temperature should be kept to a minimum. Thermal loss is enabled by keeping the heated fuel particles away from the vessel lining. To achieve this, a magnetic “cage’’ is created using powerful magnetic fields that prevent the escape of these particles. Confinement of plasma for relatively longer periods is necessary to allow fusion to take place thus produce energy.

Tokamak

A doughnut-shaped container holds the plasma in a tokamak. Special coils create a magnetic field, and the plasma particles are forced to move spirally without coming into contact with the lining of the vessel.

The tokamak is a Russian word referring to a magnetic chamber with a torus shape. Scientists have been successful in the production of gases with temperatures more than 10 times that of the fusion devices. Nevertheless, megawatts of power have been produced within very short periods. The European region has achieved this through the Joint European Torus (JET), largest fusion device globally and currently holds the world record for fusion power.

Currently, approximately 2000 scientists and engineers are working on a number of fusion R&D projects in more than 20 laboratories, including JET.

The European and energy needs of other parts of the world can be satisfied by fusion energy. Nevertheless, an international collaboration on an experimental facility called ITER (meaning ‘the way’ in Latin) is underway. ITER is the world’s largest energy project that seeks to provide a solution to the increasing demand for energy through fusion technology.

Source: Fusion For Energy (Europa)

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In a tokamak, a doughnut-shaped structure keeps the plasma in position. A magnetic field in created using special coils thus resulting in the spiral movement of plasma particles without coming into contact with the walls of the vessel.

The main idea behind the European fusion research ITER experiment is topnotch technology referred to as ‘Toroidal magnetic confinement fusion’. In the ‘doughnut shaped’ chamber that forms a continuous tube, plasma is isolated from the surrounding areas resulting in reactions. Flow of electrical current in the plasma and the electromagnets surrounding the vessel induce generation of both toroidal and poloidal magnetic fields. A centrally placed solenoid in the torus partly contributes to the current that acts as the main transformer winding. This ensures that the plasma particles, and their charges are kept at a distance from the wall of the reactor.

Three conditions must be met in order to achieve disposable fusion power output in a deuterium tritium reactor. These conditions are: extremely high temperatures above100 million °C, density of plasma particle should not be less than 1022 particles per cubic metre and a one-second energy confinement period for the reactor. Comprehension of plasma properties is necessary for proper control.

Some factors to consider include the mode of heat conduction, how loss of particles from the plasma takes place, the stability and how impurities can be removed from the plasma.

Maintenance of plasma temperature is a great challenge in fusion research. Apparently, unwanted particles have a cooling effect on the plasma, and they need to be removed. More heating is required to achieve the high temperatures required although plasma is heated by the electric current induced by the transformer arrangement. This is done by injection of highly energetic fusion fuel (deuterium and or tritium) beam particles which upon collision with plasma particles, they transmit their energy and radio frequency heating resulting in high-power radio waves that is taken in by the plasma particles.

Fusion research in Europe

Europe has a good history of fusion technology.

The Joint European Torus (JET) located at Culham (UK) is the largest fusion facility in the world besides being the only one able to apply the Deuterium-Tritium fuel combination. JET has so far achieved the set objectives and also surpassed some of them. In 1997, it managed to reach a global fusion power production of 16 MW and a Q of 0.65.

Europe has also been advancing on knowledge acquired through the Tore Supra tokamak in France, which was the first large tokamak that used superconducting magnets; Germany’s ASDEX device that has ITER-shaped plasmas; the stellarators TJ-II of Spain and Germany and Italy’s reversed pinch device RFX.

Source: Fusion for Energy (Europa)

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An artistic impression of ITER (Courtesy: ITER Organization)

An inside view of the ITER tokamak, showing the doughnut-shaped plasma inside of the vacuum vessel.

The first idea of ITER as an intercontinental trial was proposed in 1985 by a collaboration between the formers USSR, the United States, the European Union and Japan underneath one umbrella body; International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). A proposal was made to President Reagan by Premier Gorbachev after discussions with France’s President Mitterand. The proposal sought to develop an international project for fusion energy generation, and the purpose was to restore peace. The aforementioned countries then fostered collaboration, and details were discussed in 2001. After verification by all the parties, the ITER Agreement was signed on 24 October 2007.

The 21st of November 2006, the ITER Treaty was signed at the Élysée Palace, in Paris.

Currently, the international association consists of the People’s Republic of China, Japan, India, the European Union, India, the Republic of Korea, United States of America, and the Russian Federation. These countries represent over 50% of the world’s population and various economies. Through the collaboration, the seven parties seek to ensure global reliance on sustainable sources of energy. A promising energy source could therefore be in the offing once the necessary knowledge is put into ITER.

Collaboration of the most advanced countries of the world with the aim of developing new energy sources is a step in the right direction. The main challenge of the ITER project is sound scientific knowledge besides technological expertise, and this can be done through pooling of resources from all over the world. Moreover, the ITER Treaty is accessible by any country that is interested in offering specific technological expertise to the project.

Bird’s eye view of the ITER construction location in Cadarache, France, June 2010. (Courtesy: Agence ITER France)

Being the host state, ITER is under construction in France at Cadarache located in the South. France is therefore, responsible for a number of issues for the project’s success. Approximately, 45% of the construction and 34% of the operation cost is sponsored by Europe. However, F4E manages Europe’s contribution to the ITER project.

Source: Fusion For Energy Europe

http://fusionforenergy.europa.eu/understandingfusion/iter.aspx

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Since it is an organic material containing stored energy from the sun, biomass could provide a transition from fossil-fuel.

A Bio-grass plantation: Burning of elephant grass leads to emission of less carbon than it is consumed meaning that it is a reliable, green and renewable.

Photovoltaic panels and wind turbines are the first things to cross your mind whenever renewable energy is mentioned. Renewable energy is a wide field, and biomass is also another green form of energy that could be a replacement to the environmental polluting sources such as oil and coal. However, the question to ask yourself is what is biomass and how can it have a positive impact on energy in the future?

Biomass comprises the biodegradable materials from living organisms, which contain energy from the sun. Radiant energy from the sun is absorbed from sunlight and converted into chemical energy in the form of glucose and sugar. Consuming plant materials by people is fundamental for energy intake. Moreover, when burnt, the chemical energy from biomass is released in the form of heat.

Biomass can be harnessed from waste products or plants that are grown for energy, for example, hemp, willow, corn, poplar, sorghum, sugarcane and switch grass.

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration indicate that almost 4% of the total energy consumed in 2010 resulted from biomass. Approximately, 46% of that amount was obtained from wood or wood products, for example, wood chips and saw dust while 43% was obtained from ethanol and 11 % from municipal waste products.
Biomass boiler in Seattle

Mechanism of working of biomass

Before it is converted into an environmental friendly and efficient energy source, biomass undergoes some processes, which include direct burning, co-firing, re-powering, combined heat and power, gas pumping and anaerobic breakdown.

Since long, direct combustion has been the easiest and the most common means of obtaining energy. It has helped humanity to gain civilization. For instance, our forefathers have been generated energy from fire from wood. In the coal driven power plants, co-firing entails mixing of biomass with coal but until proper mechanisms for renewable energy are put in place, it may be an efficient means of obtaining green energy that is environmental friendly. Re-powering refers to the conversion of coal plants to run on biomass alone.

“Combined heat and power” refer to the situation where direct burning is used to generate heat to a building besides producing energy. Gasification entails the pressurized heating of biomass under limited amounts of oxygen then converting it to “syngas.” Syngas is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, and it can be used to generate electricity when it is run through a gas or steam turbine.

In anaerobic digestion, breakdown of the biomass is initiated by microorganisms in a controlled environment resulting in production of methane and CO2. The greenhouse gases generated are used in the processing of sewage, animal manure and landfill waste. Moreover, the resulting methane is not lost to the atmosphere since it is used for power and heat production.

Advantages and disadvantages of biomass

However clean it may be; biomass has some environmental dangers. The Union of Concerned Scientists explains that biomass for energy production can be overexploited resulting to environmental damage and pollution of the air in addition to using enormous amounts of water thereby producing greenhouse-gas emissions. Proper handling of the biomass may avert the aforementioned damages. Crops for energy production should never compete with food crop for land and recycling of the emitted gases is the key to growth of plants.

An assumption by most scientists is that the overall emission of carbon will be reduced by the numerous biomass resources. Cultivation of beneficial biomass crops can lead to an increase or maintained carbon quantities; especially those in the soil and plants. Native energy crops can also be grown on marginal land, and some of them include switch grass (which grow very fast and is now commonly used for biomass).

Various byproducts such as manure, methane gas from landfills, wood pulp from sawmills and paper mills and waste from urban areas, for example, tree products and other organic household waste can be used to generate electricity. This results in value creation besides cleaning the environment.

Source: MNN – Earth Matters

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The energy demand could be tripled by 2050 due to the expected rise in global population from the current 6 billion to 9 billion in addition to improved livelihoods.

Since every single energy source has its strengths and weaknesses, none can be able to address this issue solely. A combination of powers is therefore needed for sustainable development and forthcoming protection of the environment. Fossil fuels, nuclear fission, renewable sources and fusion are the future energy production options.

Currently, as much as 80% of the energy in industrialized nations is obtained from fossil fuels. However, reliance on coal, gas and oil will be disadvantageous since they result in emission of greenhouse gases thus cause acidic pollution. Moreover, these fuel resources are at risk of depletion.

Although nuclear fission could contribute greatly to electricity generation, its growth could be hampered by public and political acceptability issues. The sustainability of renewable resources is largely dependent on environmental conditions besides having challenges of technological enhancement. For continuous energy to be produced, predictable and constant sources need to be developed. For instance, reliance on fossil fuels for a short time then fission and addition of fusion power once it is available.

Comparison of future energy source costs

Fusion guarantees a secure and long lasting source of energy. Other advantages include: guaranteed safety in the absence of greenhouse-gas production, absence of persistent radioactive waste due to recycling and these fuels cannot be depleted. Conservative estimates, indicate that the cost of producing fusion-generated electricity is comparative to obtaining from renewable and fossil fuels. By the year 2100, fusion could be employed to produce at least 20% of global electricity.

Source: CCFE. UK

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