Archive for December, 2011

Industrial Ecology

The Practice of Ecological Industry – Changing the Paradigm One Industry At A Time…

What is industrial ecology?

Industrial Ecology (IE) focuses on combining perpetually desirable outcomes in environment, economy and technology sustainably. There is a whole discipline growing up out of this concept.

Here we apply IE as the practice of utilizing technology to economically effectuate environmentally sound industrial wastewater treatment. Not escaping us is the ironic fact that Integrated Engineers (IE) practices IE.

The central tenet of IE is the looking at technical systems analogously to natural systems, continuous perpetual systems (closed loops) rather than straight line linear start to finish thinking.

Isn’t Industrial Ecology a Contradiction in Terms?

No. Industrial ecology seems sort of like a contradiction in terms in the old school paradigm of thought but is anything but today, it is not only a complementary process but beneficial to all sub-processes.. And industrial ecology truly is essentially carrying out industry in an ecologically sensitive manner usually based on standards established by governments but also on the shared values of shareholders, manufacturers and consumers.

This concept of “industrial ecology” is part of the green technology movement.

Industrial ecology is moving industrial processes from linear (open loop, start to finish) systems where you usually wind up with waste, to a closed loop (feedback) system where waste is converted to inputs for the same process (wastewater recovery) or new processes such as sludge being used on fields as fertilizer. This is theoretically a perpetual enterprise meaning “sustainable”, can be sustained indefinitely.

“Sustainable” is one of the primary tenets of the “green technology” movement.

Why is Industrial Ecology Desirable?

Industrial ecology is desirable because as it approaches the unifying of environment, economy and ecology it benefits them all simultaneously, in a sense increasing “profits” for all three!

Industrial Ecology and Integrated Engineers Inc.

Practicing IE is a natural for IE, pun intended.

Integrated has been striving to assist industrial wastewater treatment reclaim materials and wastewater from the waste stream for many years, and is perfecting it to a fine art.

Call Us Today at 1-877-965-4577, get your wastewater optimization or visit our site use the wastewater evaluation contact form…

Tags: contradiction in terms, industrial ecology, industrial wastewater treatment, paradigm one, wastewater recovery

Diesel vs Electric vs Hybrid Cars

When the glossy marketing techniques of the automobile companies make it so difficult to choose just one of the “perfect”, highly developed cars of the future, as they are presented to you in all those commercials, it’s more and more difficult to weigh your choice. Let’s see beyond the shiny coachwork, the comfy leather seats and the multi-tech car stereo and focus on the element that makes all the difference: the car’s engine! Diesel, electric or hybrid motor, now that is the big question?

The major advantages (and since during crisis the one that tends to outshine all the other advantages) of Diesel cars is fuel economy and therefore money saving. If we were to compare it with a vehicle with gasoline engine, we would see that the Diesel car needs far less fuel helping you, on a long term to recover the costs implied by its purchase. Another big pro, sustained by all Diesel cars owners, is driving performance, given by the fact that they deliver much more of their rated power than a petrol engine, givine you the chance to drive quicker from a stop sign, giving you a sensation similar to the one you have when driving a sports car. Still, there’s still a long road to take till technology and mechanics, working together, reach perfection. There are some big minuses, too, that Diesel cars have. The first major inconvenient about Diesel motors is given by its costs. They are more expensive than the gasoline engines, even though, as I have mentioned, those costs can be recovered by the money savings you will make in fuel buying. Another “handicap” would be their weight, since they have much higher compression ratios .Now, for the nature friendly drivers, Diesel’s emission of smelly smoke can be a real problem, not to mention that they are a lot noisier the gasoline engines.

Now, let’s continue climbing this pyramid of the car engine’s technology and make an inventory of the pros and cos of the electric cars. This type of car seems to be any environment concerned driver’s dream. Using one or two motors for propulsion, therefore converting fuel into electricity, they are the less polluting type of vehicles at the moment. That’s not all. If you’re a speed addicted, you will surely appreciate its second major advantage: it can launch from standstill with maximum force, where do you add that, from a mechanically point of view, is much easier to get it repaired. To lower down your enthusiasm, I will have to remind you, though, that you should schedule your driving sessions way in advance, for it will take a while till you get its batteries charged. Also, another issue is represented by the recharging stations’ infrastructure, their high costs, to be more specific, which instantly increases the costs of electricity for the electric cars driven there to recharge their batteries.

We have finally retied the highest position in the hierarchy of car technology, where we can find, nicely displayed, the car of the future: the hybrid car, the one that brings together the energy of the electrical motor with the power of the gas-powered engine. Immediately a thought crosses our minds: it’s the environmental friendly car we have all been expecting, with lower pollution emissions. There’s more! We might be concerned about pollution and CO emission, but we cannot stop thinking about the effect a new car’s purchase might have on our wallet. Luckily, its batteries do not need to be charged by an external source and hybrid cars determine a reducing of the dependency on fossil fuels. You might be thinking: since this is the closer to perfection car of our-days, what disadvantages might it present? Well, the first one would be that they are not accessible to everyone, being expensive even from the car lot. The second problem, that we’ve tackled when we focused our attention on Diesel cars, would have to be the engine’s heavy weight. Now, one embarrassing problem and concern for manufacturers would be the high voltage accumulated in its batteries, which diminishes its safety in case of car accident.

In conclusion, dear future buyer, it’s you who decides which is the most important quality from your perspective, the one should prevail in a car: safety, speed, environment safety, costs, reliability etc. There’s no such thing as the perfect type of car, only the newest type of car!

Tags: diesel car, diesel cars, diesel motors, engine diesel, gasoline engines

Renewable energy – LED Washer – China LED Roadway Light

Main forms of renewable energy

Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2010)

2008 worldwide renewable-energy sources. Source: REN21

Renewable energy flows involve natural phenomena such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat, as the International Energy Agency explains:

Renewable energy is derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly. In its various forms, it derives directly from the sun, or from heat generated deep within the earth. Included in the definition is electricity and heat generated from solar, wind, ocean, hydropower, biomass, geothermal resources, and biofuels and hydrogen derived from renewable resources.

Each of these sources has unique characteristics which influence how and where they are used.

Wind power

See also: Wind power, Wind farm, and Wind power in the United States

Vestas V80 wind turbines

Airflows can be used to run wind turbines. Modern wind turbines range from around 600 kW to 5 MW of rated power, although turbines with rated output of 1.53 MW have become the most common for commercial use; the power output of a turbine is a function of the cube of the wind speed, so as wind speed increases, power output increases dramatically. Areas where winds are stronger and more constant, such as offshore and high altitude sites, are preferred locations for wind farms. Typical capacity factors are 20-40%, with values at the upper end of the range in particularly favourable sites.

Globally, the long-term technical potential of wind energy is believed to be five times total current global energy production, or 40 times current electricity demand. This could require large amounts of land to be used for wind turbines, particularly in areas of higher wind resources. Offshore resources experience mean wind speeds of ~90% greater than that of land, so offshore resources could contribute substantially more energy. This number could also increase with higher altitude ground-based or airborne wind turbines.

Wind power is renewable and produces no greenhouse gases during operation, such as carbon dioxide and methane.

Hydropower

See also: Hydroelectricity and Hydropower

The Hoover Dam when completed in 1936 was both the world’s largest electric-power generating station and the world’s largest concrete structure.

Energy in water can be harnessed and used. Since water is about 800 times denser than air, even a slow flowing stream of water, or moderate sea swell, can yield considerable amounts of energy. There are many forms of water energy:

Hydroelectric energy is a term usually reserved for large-scale hydroelectric dams. Examples are the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State and the Akosombo Dam in Ghana.

Micro hydro systems are hydroelectric power installations that typically produce up to 100 kW of power. They are often used in water rich areas as a remote-area power supply (RAPS). There are many of these installations around the world, including several delivering around 50 kW in the Solomon Islands.

Damless hydro systems derive kinetic energy from rivers and oceans without using a dam.

Ocean energy describes all the technologies to harness energy from the ocean and the sea. This includes marine current power, ocean thermal energy conversion, and tidal power.

Solar energy

See also: Solar energy, Solar power, and Solar thermal energy

Monocrystalline solar cell.

Solar energy is the energy derived from the sun through the form of solar radiation. Solar powered electrical generation relies on photovoltaics and heat engines. A partial list of other solar applications includes space heating and cooling through solar architecture, daylighting, solar hot water, solar cooking, and high temperature process heat for industrial purposes.

Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute solar energy. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.

Biofuel

See also: Biofuel, Biomass, and Biogas

Information on pump regarding ethanol fuel blend up to 10%, California.

Liquid biofuel is usually either bioalcohol such as bioethanol or an oil such as biodiesel.

Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermenting the sugar components of plant materials and it is made mostly from sugar and starch crops. With advanced technology being developed, cellulosic biomass, such as trees and grasses, are also used as feedstocks for ethanol production. Ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a gasoline additive to increase octane and improve vehicle emissions. Bioethanol is widely used in the USA and in Brazil.

Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled greases. Biodiesel can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a diesel additive to reduce levels of particulates, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons from diesel-powered vehicles. Biodiesel is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is the most common biofuel in Europe.

Biofuels provided 1.8% of the world’s transport fuel in 2008.

Geothermal energy

Main articles: Geothermal energy, Geothermal heat pump, and Renewable energy in Iceland

Krafla Geothermal Station in northeast Iceland

Geothermal energy is energy obtained by tapping the heat of the earth itself, both from kilometers deep into the Earth’s crust in some places of the globe or from some meters in geothermal heat pump in all the places of the planet . It is expensive to build a power station but operating costs are low resulting in low energy costs for suitable sites. Ultimately, this energy derives from heat in the Earth’s core.

Three types of power plants are used to generate power from geothermal energy: dry steam, flash, and binary. Dry steam plants take steam out of fractures in the ground and use it to directly drive a turbine that spins a generator. Flash plants take hot water, usually at temperatures over 200 C, out of the ground, and allows it to boil as it rises to the surface then separates the steam phase in steam/water separators and then runs the steam through a turbine. In binary plants, the hot water flows through heat exchangers, boiling an organic fluid that spins the turbine. The condensed steam and remaining geothermal fluid from all three types of plants are injected back into the hot rock to pick up more heat.

The geothermal energy from the core of the Earth is closer to the surface in some areas than in others. Where hot underground steam or water can be tapped and brought to the surface it may be used to generate electricity. Such geothermal power sources exist in certain geologically unstable parts of the world such as Chile, Iceland, New Zealand, United States, the Philippines and Italy. The two most prominent areas for this in the United States are in the Yellowstone basin and in northern California. Iceland produced 170 MW geothermal power and heated 86% of all houses in the year 2000 through geothermal energy. Some 8000 MW of capacity is operational in total.

There is also the potential to generate geothermal energy from hot dry rocks. Holes at least 3 km deep are drilled into the earth. Some of these holes pump water into the earth, while other holes pump hot water out. The heat resource consists of hot underground radiogenic granite rocks, which heat up when there is enough sediment between the rock and the earths surface. Several companies in Australia are exploring this technology.

Renewable energy commercialization

Main article: Renewable energy commercialization

Economics

Percentage of renewables in primary energy consumption of EU-member states in 2005. Source: Primrenergieverbrauch und erneuerbare Energien in der EU, Fig 55

When comparing renewable energy sources with each other and with conventional power sources, three main factors must be considered:

capital costs (including, for nuclear energy, waste-disposal and decommissioning costs);

operating and maintenance costs;

fuel costs (for fossil-fuel and biomass sourcesor wastes, these costs may actually be negative).

These costs are all brought together, using discounted cash flow, here. Inherently, renewables are on a decreasing cost curve, while non-renewables are on an increasing cost curve. In 2009, costs are comparable among wind, nuclear, coal, and natural gas, but for CSPoncentrating solar powernd PV (photovoltaics) they are somewhat higher.

There are additional costs for renewables in terms of increased grid interconnection to allow for variability of weather and load, but these have been shown in the pan-European case to be quite lowverall, wind energy costs about the same as present-day power.

Growth of renewables

From the end of 2004 to the end of 2008, solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity increased sixfold to more than 16 gigawatts (GW), wind power capacity increased 250 percent to 121 GW, and total power capacity from new renewables increased 75 percent to 280 GW. During the same period, solar heating capacity doubled to 145 gigawatts-thermal (GWth), while biodiesel production increased sixfold to 12 billion liters per year and ethanol production doubled to 67 billion liters per year.

Selected renewable energy indicators

Selected global indicators

2006

2007

2008

Investment in new renewable capacity (annual)

104

120 billion USD

Existing renewables power capacity,

including large-scale hydro

1,020

1,070

1,140 GWe

Existing renewables power capacity,

excluding large hydro

207

240

280 GWe

Wind power capacity (existing)

121 GWe

Biomass heating

~250 GWth

Solar hot water/ Space heating

145 GWth

Geothermal heating

~50 GWth

Ethanol production (annual)

67 billion liters

Countries with policy targets

for renewable energy use

Wind power market

See also: List of onshore wind farms and List of offshore wind farms

Wind power: worldwide installed capacity 1996-2008

At the end of 2009, worldwide wind farm capacity was 157,900 MW, representing an increase of 31 percent during the year, and wind power supplied some 1.3% of global electricity consumption. Wind power accounts for approximately 19% of electricity use in Denmark, 9% in Spain and Portugal, and 6% in Germany and the Republic of Ireland. The United States is an important growth area and installed U.S. wind power capacity reached 25,170 MW at the end of 2008. As of September 2009, the Roscoe Wind Farm (781 MW) is the world’s largest wind farm.

As of 2009, the 209 megawatt (MW) Horns Rev 2 wind farm in Denmark is the world’s largest offshore wind farm. The United Kingdom is the world’s leading generator of offshore wind power, followed by Denmark.

New generation of solar thermal plants

Solar Towers from left: PS10, PS20.

Main article: List of solar thermal power stations

See also: Solar power plants in the Mojave Desert

Large solar thermal power stations include the 354 MW Solar Energy Generating Systems power plant in the USA, Nevada Solar One (USA, 64 MW), Andasol 1 (Spain, 50 MW), Andasol 2 (Spain, 50 MW), PS20 solar power tower (Spain, 20 MW), and the PS10 solar power tower (Spain, 11 MW).

The solar thermal power industry is growing rapidly with 1.2 GW under construction as of April 2009 and another 13.9 GW announced globally through 2014. Spain is the epicenter of solar thermal power development with 22 projects for 1,037 MW under construction, all of which are projected to come online by the end of 2010. In the United States, 5,600 MW of solar thermal power projects have been announced. In developing countries, three World Bank projects for integrated solar thermal/combined-cycle gas-turbine power plants in Egypt, Mexico, and Morocco have been approved.

World’s largest photovoltaic power plants

Main article: List of photovoltaic power stations

40 MW PV Array installed in Waldpolenz, Germany

As of October 2009, the largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the world are the Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park (Spain, 60 MW), the Strasskirchen Solar Park (Germany, 54 MW), the Lieberose Photovoltaic Park (Germany, 53 MW), the Puertollano Photovoltaic Park (Spain, 50 MW), the Moura photovoltaic power station (Portugal, 46 MW), and the Waldpolenz Solar Park (Germany, 40 MW).

Many of these plants are integrated with agriculture and some use innovative tracking systems that follow the sun’s daily path across the sky to generate more electricity than conventional fixed-mounted systems. There are no fuel costs or emissions during operation of the power stations.

Topaz Solar Farm is a proposed 550 MW solar photovoltaic power plant which is to be built northwest of California Valley in the USA at a cost of over billion. High Plains Ranch is a proposed 250 MW solar photovoltaic power plant which is to be built on the Carrizo Plain, northwest of California Valley.

However, when it comes to renewable energy systems and PV, it is not just large systems that matter. Building-integrated photovoltaics or “onsite” PV systems have the advantage of being matched to end use energy needs in terms of scale. So the energy is supplied close to where it is needed.

Use of ethanol for transportation

E95 trial bus operating in So Paulo, Brazil.

See also: Ethanol fuel and BioEthanol for Sustainable Transport

Since the 1970s, Brazil has had an ethanol fuel program which has allowed the country to become the world’s second largest producer of ethanol (after the United States) and the world’s largest exporter. Brazil ethanol fuel program uses modern equipment and cheap sugar cane as feedstock, and the residual cane-waste (bagasse) is used to process heat and power. There are no longer light vehicles in Brazil running on pure gasoline. By the end of 2008 there were 35,000 filling stations throughout Brazil with at least one ethanol pump.

Most cars on the road today in the U.S. can run on blends of up to 10% ethanol, and motor vehicle manufacturers already produce vehicles designed to run on much higher ethanol blends. Ford, DaimlerChrysler, and GM are among the automobile companies that sell lexible-fuel cars, trucks, and minivans that can use gasoline and ethanol blends ranging from pure gasoline up to 85% ethanol (E85). By mid-2006, there were approximately six million E85-compatible vehicles on U.S. roads. The challenge is to expand the market for biofuels beyond the farm states where they have been most popular to date. Flex-fuel vehicles are assisting in this transition because they allow drivers to choose different fuels based on price and availability. The Energy Policy Act of 2005, which calls for 7.5 billion gallons of biofuels to be used annually by 2012, will also help to expand the market.

Geothermal energy prospects

The West Ford Flat power plant is one of 21 power plants at The Geysers.

See also: Geothermal energy in the United States

The Geysers, is a geothermal power field located 72 miles (116 km) north of San Francisco, California. It is the largest geothermal development in the world outputting over 750 MW.

Geothermal power capacity surpassed 10 GW in 2008. The United States is the world leader, with some 120 projects under development in early 2009, representing at least 5 GW. Other countries with significant recent growth in geothermal include Australia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Iceland, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, and Turkey. As of 2008, geothermal power development was under way in more than 40 countries. Geothermal power accounted for 17 percent of the Philippines total power mix at the end of 2008, with installed capacity close to 2,000 megawatts.

Geothermal (ground source) heat pumps represented an estimated 30 GWth of installed capacity at the end of 2008, with other direct uses of geothermal heat (i.e., for space heating, agricultural drying and other uses) reaching an estimated 15 GWth. As of 2008, at least 76 countries use direct geothermal energy in some form.

Wave farms expansion

One of 3 Pelamis Wave Energy Converters in the harbor of Peniche, Portugal

Main article: Wave farm

Portugal now has the world’s first commercial wave farm, the Agucadoura Wave Park, officially opened in September 2008. The farm uses three Pelamis P-750 machines generating 2.25 MW. Initial costs are put at 8.5 million. A second phase of the project is now planned to increase the installed capacity to 21MW using a further 25 Pelamis machines.

Funding for a wave farm in Scotland was announced in February, 2007 by the Scottish Government, at a cost of over 4 million pounds, as part of a UK13 million funding packages for ocean power in Scotland. The farm will be the world’s largest with a capacity of 3MW generated by four Pelamis machines.

Developing country markets

Main article: Renewable energy in developing countries

Renewable energy can be particularly suitable for developing countries. In rural and remote areas, transmission and distribution of energy generated from fossil fuels can be difficult and expensive. Producing renewable energy locally can offer a viable alternative.

Renewable energy projects in many developing countries have demonstrated that renewable energy can directly contribute to poverty alleviation by providing the energy needed for creating businesses and employment. Renewable energy technologies can also make indirect contributions to alleviating poverty by providing energy for cooking, space heating, and lighting. Renewable energy can also contribute to education, by providing electricity to schools.

Kenya is the world leader in the number of solar power systems installed per capita (but not the number of watts added). More than 30,000 very small solar panels, each producing 12 to 30 watts, are sold in Kenya annually. For an investment of as little as 0 for the panel and wiring, the PV system can be used to charge a car battery, which can then provide power to run a fluorescent lamp or a small television for a few hours a day. More Kenyans adopt solar power every year than make connections to the country electric grid.

In India, a solar loan program sponsored by UNEP has helped 100,000 people finance solar power systems in India. Success in India’s solar program has led to similar projects in other parts of developing world like Tunisia, Morocco, Indonesia and Mexico.

Industry and policy trends

See also: Renewable energy industry and Renewable energy policy

Global revenues for solar photovoltaics, wind power, and biofuels expanded from billion in 2007 to 5 billion in 2008. New global investments in clean energy technologies expanded by 4.7 percent from 8 billion in 2007 to 5 billion in 2008. U.S. President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes more than billion in direct spending and tax credits for clean energy and associated transportation programs. Clean Edge suggests that the commercialization of clean energy will help countries around the world pull out of the current economic malaise.

Constraints and opportunities

Availability and reliability

Further information: Energy security and renewable technology and Intermittent power source

There is no shortage of solar-derived energy on Earth. Indeed the storages and flows of energy on the planet are very large relative to human needs.

A criticism of some renewable sources is their variable nature. But renewable power sources can actually be integrated into the grid system quite well, as Amory Lovins explains:

Variable but forecastable renewables (wind and solar cells) are very reliable when integrated with each other, existing supplies and demand. For example, three German states were more than 30 percent wind-powered in 2007nd more than 100 percent in some months. Mostly renewable power generally needs less backup than utilities already bought to combat big coal and nuclear plants’ intermittence.

Mark Z. Jacobson has studied how wind, water and solar technologies can provide 100 per cent of the world’s energy, eliminating all fossil fuels. He advocates a “smart mix” of renewable energy sources to reliably meet electricity demand:

Because the wind blows during stormy conditions when the sun does not shine and the sun often shines on calm days with little wind, combining wind and solar can go a long way toward meeting demand, especially when geothermal provides a steady base and hydroelectric can be called on to fill in the gaps.

From detailed studies in Europe, Dr Gregor Czisch has shown that the variable power issue can be solved by interconnecting renewable across Europe the European super grid and using only existing storage hydro. The costs of power over the lifetime of the scheme are the same as today’s conventional power supplies, indicating that the capital investment is roughly the same as the cost of fuel avoided over the projects 25 year lifetime.

Lovins goes on to say that the unreliability of renewable energy is a myth, while the unreliability of nuclear energy is real. Of all U.S. nuclear plants built, 21 percent were abandoned and 27 percent have failed at least once. Successful reactors must close for refueling every 17 months for 39 days. And when shut in response to grid failure, they can’t quickly restart. This is simply not the case for wind farms, for example.

Wave energy and some other renewables are continuously available. A wave energy scheme installed in Australia generates electricity with an 80% availability factor.

Sustainable development and global warming groups propose a 100% Renewable Energy Source Supply, without fossil fuels and nuclear power. Scientists from the University of Kassel have suggested that Germany can power itself entirely by renewable energy.

Aesthetics

Both solar and wind generating stations have been criticized from an aesthetic point of view. However, methods and opportunities exist to deploy these renewable technologies efficiently and unobtrusively: fixed solar collectors can double as noise barriers along highways, and extensive roadway, parking lot, and roof-top area is currently available; amorphous photovoltaic cells can also be used to tint windows and produce energy. Advocates of renewable energy also argue that current infrastructure is less aesthetically pleasing than alternatives, but sited further from the view of most critics.

Environmental, social and legal considerations

Land area required

One environmental issue, particularly with biomass and biofuels, is the large amount of land required to harvest energy, which otherwise could be used for other purposes or left as undeveloped land. However, it should be pointed out that these fuels may reduce the need for harvesting non-renewable energy sources, such as vast strip-mined areas and slag mountains for coal, safety zones around nuclear plants, and hundreds of square miles being strip-mined for oil sands. These responses, however, do not account for the extremely high biodiversity and endemism of land used for ethanol crops, particularly sugar cane.

In the U.S., crops grown for biofuels are the most land- and water-intensive of the renewable energy sources. In 2005, about 12% of the nation corn crop (covering 11 million acres (45,000 km) of farmland) was used to produce four billion gallons of ethanolhich equates to about 2% of annual U.S. gasoline consumption. For biofuels to make a much larger contribution to the energy economy, the industry will have to accelerate the development of new feedstocks, agricultural practices, and technologies that are more land and water efficient.

The efficiency of biofuels production has increased significantly and there are new methods to boost biofuel production, although using bioelectricity, by burning the biomass to produce electricity for an electric car, increases the distance that a car can go from a hectare (about 2.5 acres) of crops by 81%, from 30,000 km to 54,000 km per year. However, covering that same hectare with photovoltaics (in relatively sunless Germany or England) allows the electric car to go 3,250,000 km/year, over 100 times as far as from biofuel.

Hydroelectricity

The major advantage of hydroelectric systems is the elimination of the cost of fuel. Other advantages include longer life than fuel-fired generation, low operating costs, and the provision of facilities for water sports. Operation of pumped-storage plants improves the daily load factor of the generation system. Overall, hydroelectric power can be far less expensive than electricity generated from fossil fuels or nuclear energy, and areas with abundant hydroelectric power attract industry.

However, there are several disadvantages of hydroelectricity systems. These include: dislocation of people living where the reservoirs are planned, release of significant amounts of carbon dioxide at construction and flooding of the reservoir, disruption of aquatic ecosystems and birdlife, adverse impacts on the river environment, potential risks of sabotage and terrorism, and in rare cases catastrophic failure of the dam wall.

Large hydroelectric power is considered to be a renewable energy by a large number of sources, however, many groups have lobbied for it to be excluded from renewable electricity standards, any initiative to promote the use of renewable energies, and sometimes the definition of renewable itself. Some organizations, including US federal agencies, will specifically refer to “non-hydro renewable energy”. Many laws exist that specifically label “small hydro” as renewable or sustainable and large hydro as not. Furthermore, the line between what is small or large also differs by governing body.

Hydroelectric power is now more difficult to site in developed nations because most major sites within these nations are either already being exploited or may be unavailable for other reasons such as environmental considerations.

Wind farms

Wind power is one of the most environmentally friendly sources of renewable energy

A wind farm, when installed on agricultural land, has one of the lowest environmental impacts of all energy sources:

Wind power occupies less land area per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity generated than any other energy conversion system, apart from rooftop solar energy, and is compatible with grazing and crops.

It generates the energy used in its construction in just 3 months of operation, yet its operational lifetime is 2025 years.

Greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution produced by its construction are low and declining. There are no emissions or pollution produced by its operation.

In substituting for base-load coal power, wind power produces a net decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, and a net increase in biodiversity.

Modern wind turbines are almost silent and rotate so slowly (in terms of revolutions per minute) that they are rarely a hazard to birds.

Studies of birds and offshore wind farms in Europe have found that there are very few bird collisions. Several offshore wind sites in Europe have been in areas heavily used by seabirds. Improvements in wind turbine design, including a much slower rate of rotation of the blades and a smooth tower base instead of perchable lattice towers, have helped reduce bird mortality at wind farms around the world. However older smaller wind turbines may be hazardous to flying birds. Birds are severely impacted by fossil fuel energy; examples include birds dying from exposure to oil spills, habitat loss from acid rain and mountaintop removal coal mining, and mercury poisoning.

Longevity issues

Though a source of renewable energy may last for billions of years, renewable energy infrastructure, like hydroelectric dams, will not last forever, and must be removed and replaced at some point. Events like the shifting of riverbeds, or changing weather patterns could potentially alter or even halt the function of hydroelectric dams, lowering the amount of time they are available to generate electricity.

Some have claimed that geothermal being a renewable energy source depends on the rate of extraction being slow enough such that depletion does not occur. If depletion does occur, the temperature can regenerate if given a long period of non-use.

The government of Iceland states: “It should be stressed that the geothermal resource is not strictly renewable in the same sense as the hydro resource.” It estimates that Iceland’s geothermal energy could provide 1700 MW for over 100 years, compared to the current production of 140 MW. Radioactive elements in the Earth’s crust continuously decay, replenishing the heat. The International Energy Agency classifies geothermal power as renewable.

Biofuels production

See also: Ethanol fuel energy balance and Cellulosic ethanol commercialization

All biomass needs to go through some of these steps: it needs to be grown, collected, dried, fermented and burned. All of these steps require resources and an infrastructure.

Some studies contend that ethanol is “energy negative”, meaning that it takes more energy to produce than is contained in the final product. However, a large number of recent studies, including a 2006 article in the journal Science offer the opinion that fuels like ethanol are energy positive. Furthermore, fossil fuels also require significant energy inputs which have seldom been accounted for in the past.

Additionally, ethanol is not the only product created during production, and the energy content of the by-products must also be considered. Corn is typically 66% starch and the remaining 33% is not fermented. This unfermented component is called distillers grain, which is high in fats and proteins, and makes good animal feed. In Brazil, where sugar cane is used, the yield is higher, and conversion to ethanol is somewhat more energy efficient than corn. Recent developments with cellulosic ethanol production may improve yields even further.

According to the International Energy Agency, new biofuels technologies being developed today, notably cellulosic ethanol, could allow biofuels to play a much bigger role in the future than previously thought. Cellulosic ethanol can be made from plant matter composed primarily of inedible cellulose fibers that form the stems and branches of most plants. Crop residues (such as corn stalks, wheat straw and rice straw), wood waste, and municipal solid waste are potential sources of cellulosic biomass. Dedicated energy crops, such as switchgrass, are also promising cellulose sources that can be sustainably produced in many regions of the United States.

The ethanol and biodiesel production industries also create jobs in plant construction, operations, and maintenance, mostly in rural communities. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, the ethanol industry created almost 154,000 U.S. jobs in 2005 alone, boosting household income by .7 billion. It also contributed about .5 billion in tax revenues at the local, state, and federal levels.

Diversification

The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page.

The U.S. electric power industry now relies on large, central power stations, including coal, natural gas, nuclear, and hydropower plants that together generate more than 95% of the nation electricity. Over the next few decades uses of renewable energy could help to diversify the nation bulk power supply. Already, appropriate renewable resources (which excludes large hydropower) produce 12% of northern California electricity.

Although most of today electricity comes from large, central-station power plants, new technologies offer a range of options for generating electricity nearer to where it is needed, saving on the cost of transmitting and distributing power and improving the overall efficiency and reliability of the system.

Improving energy efficiency represents the most immediate and often the most cost-effective way to reduce oil dependence, improve energy security, and reduce the health and environmental impact of the energy system. By reducing the total energy requirements of the economy, improved energy efficiency could make increased reliance on renewable energy sources more practical and affordable.

Competition with nuclear power

See also: Nuclear power proposed as renewable energy

Nuclear power continues to be considered as an alternative to fossil-fuel power sources (see Low carbon power generation), and in 1956, when the first peak oil paper was presented, nuclear energy was presented as the replacement for fossil fuels. However, the prospect of increased nuclear power deployment was seriously undermined in the United States as a result of the Three Mile Island, and in the rest of the world after the Chernobyl disaster. This trend is slowly reversing, and several new nuclear reactors are scheduled for construction.

Physicist Bernard Cohen proposed in 1983 that uranium dissolved in seawater, when used in fast neutron reactors, is effectively inexhaustible and constantly replenished by rivers, and could therefore be considered a renewable source of energy. However, this idea is not universally accepted, and issues such as peak uranium and uranium depletion are ongoing debates.

Legislative definitions of renewable energy, used when determining energy projects eligible for subsidies or tax breaks, usually exclude nuclear power.

Green technologies for rural development ?an overview

Green Technology is the term for any application of science towards improving the relationship between human technology involvement and the impact this has on the environment and natural resources. Generally green technology is supposed to conserve the natural environment and resources, and to curb the negative impacts of human involvement. Sustainable development is the core of this concept. When applying sustainable development as a solution for environmental issues, the solutions need to be socially equitable, economically viable, and environmentally sound.

The main objectives of application of green technologies are • Sustainability – meeting the needs of society in ways that can continue indefinitely into the future without damaging or depleting natural resources. • Creating products that can be fully reclaimed or re-used. • Reducing waste and pollution by changing the patterns of production and consumption • Developing alternatives to technologies – whether its fossil fuel or chemical intensive agriculture – that have been demonstrated to damage health and the environment. • Creating a center of economic activity around technologies and products that benefit the environment In India there are number of R & D scientific organizations viz Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Conventional Universities, Agricultural Universities, Baba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and number of private industrial research agencies which are contributing in developing one or other technology which is rather eco-friendly and can be defined as green technology. Depending on the necessity and challenges that are required for the overall development of the rural sector we need to bring in and implement at least some of the green technologies in such locations. For this purpose financial and other infrastructure support including human resource is very much needed for applications of green technologies. Integration of such support and technological applications will definitely stimulate growth and overall development of the rural sector. Today we have number of green technologies namely renewable energy from wind, water, tidal energy, solar energy, development of bio-fuels from natural resources, bio-gas plants, bio-fertilizers, bio-manures, bio-pesticides, bio-waste recycling, bio-conservation, cattle farming and aquaculture, dairy and dairy products, pollution control and water purification, water conservation, rejuvenation technique for plantation and development of forest etc. It is necessary that we need to identify location specific technologies depending on rural resources. Community based management mode need to be encouraged while implementing technologies to bring overall development of rural sector. All these aspects are discussed in the present communication. Introduction: Green technology is not just something of the present; but it has history and is going to play a big role in the future. “The term ‘technology’ refers to the application of knowledge for practical purposes and green technology means a method of products designed to protect our environment from various vagaries whether it is natural or due to human interventions.

Today we are living in the age of technology, but we are not living in the environmentally “cleanest” era. In the 21st century we need to look into the future and prepare for a cleaner environment with the impact of human involvement. Although we do not hear a lot about the history of green technology there is a long time line of ideas. For example, since 1000 B.C., Asia and Europe began harnessing and advancing wind energy, developing more efficient and newer windmills. When this idea reached America in the 1850′s it was used to provide fresh water to irrigate the farms and drinking water for the livestock. “During the late 19th century, Charles Brush was able to develop the first wind powered turbine that generated electricity in the United States.” (http://www.cn-friendtech.com, 2010). The United States EPA’s (Environmental Protection Agency) Energy Star Program was one of the most important landmarks in green technology in 1992. Another important landmark was the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, which was aimed at reducing carbon emissions. “The Earth’s climate continues to change, and biological diversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate, undermining the ecological basis for sustainable development (Watson, R., 2010).” With all the pollutants that we constantly put in the air, in the water, and all over the streets/ground, the world is being suffocated. All the trees that we are constantly cutting down to make new subdivisions, and new businesses, are taking away from our oxygen supply which, again, makes it harder for our planet. We are losing rain forests, wetlands, coral reefs, and much more, at substantial rates and have no way to get them back to normal again. Green house gas emissions have been a huge problem for many years. Industrialization and urbanization in many cities and towns have created vulnerable environmental conditions which are not suitable to sustain our life for longer time. Therefore, in order to revert back the whole process of establishing green and clean environment we need to emphasize on use of green technology in all spheres wherever possible.

The impact of green technologies on sustainable development, besides creating employment opportunities, income generation and societal development particularly in rural sector is also well known. What is required today is proper guidance and directions to the rural masses, awareness and capacity building programmes, involvement of women force and unemployed youth in GT activities. Banks and other financial corporate should also come forward with microfinance schemes to support for implementation of GT. Today we have number of viable GTs in the areas of energy, oil and fuel, agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries and aquaculture, water harvesting and management, environment and forest, pollution whether air, water or land, biodiversity and conservation etc. Even in the area of engineering, efforts are being made to devise technologies which are eco-friendly and compatible to the green or Mother Nature.

With the way the economy is going, global warming is becoming a detrimental issue for society Advances in green technology have progressed but there is concern for increasing the use of renewable energy. Not only does the government has control over the steps to take care of this matter, society plays a big role in actually making a difference. There are several programs in place that monitor and create ways to enhance earth’s environmental health. Whether in the workplace, at school, or at home, there are strategies that benefit communities worldwide. Let’s take a look at what’s being done to protect the environment from global warming, eliminating greenhouse gases, and preventing environmental health issues that greatly affect climate change. The most commonly known green technologies are solid waste management, recycling, water purification, and renewable energy. Solid waste is commonly known as unwanted waste or garbage including recyclables and composting substances It has been estimated that India generates 140,000 tonnes of solid waste every day of which only 8% to 9% is scientifically disposed of. However there is a huge potential for recycling and reprocessing the waste and turning it into something useful. According to the Central Pollution Control Board solid waste generation in our country is 300-500 gm per head per day, and it is higher in metropolitan cities. Municipalities in India spend a negligible amount of their budget on solid waste management with the majority share being used for administrative purpose. There is a lack of public awareness about scientific disposal and segregation of recyclable and non-recyclable waste. If each sector house hold , community, municipality and reprocessors take out some time to segregate solid waste, most of the problems faces in solid waste management can be solved. Therefore, through waste There are a large variety of ecological services in place to meet environmental and regulatory demands. With ongoing program implementation, waste management efforts can minimize environmental impact and offer renewable energy solutions and clean environment Available viable green technologies for implimentation Top five green technological breakthroughs in recent past which have started making impact not only in urban areas but in semi-urban areas are: Dynamic buildings Tubercle blades Micro-algae Wave and tidal power Solar thermal energy However, renewable energy has become an important issue today as environmental concerns and when there is need to drive down cost, the same increases. Resources from nature that are “naturally replenished” are used to create energy sources including wind, solar, bio fuel and others. These renewable energy forms are growing in use globally and provide utilities with the ability to offer energy for fewer costs. The natural element of Wind is important today as we look for alternative energy sources. Wind power is created when the wind energy converts to other forms of energy like electricity, fuel, and power. Wind power can be created using wind turbines, wind mills, wind pumps, wind farms. The use of sunlight to create electricity is becoming increasingly popular as more and more people look to cut costs and become environmentally aware. Solar power converts sunlight into electricity and is used to power small Devices as well as entire homes today. Solar power can be created through photovoltaics (PV) – a method that converts solar radiation into electricity using solar panels. Concentrated solar power (CSP) can also create electricity by using lenses or mirrors to focus a beam of sunlight and create heat to a source that’s also connected to a power generator

Green Builders Structural builders focused solely on Green practices have emerged today as greener living becomes a critical focus across the world. From taking small steps to reduce waste, to more efficiently using earth’s resources, green builders are tasked with selecting building materials and creating structures that serve to reduce the overall impact on the environment. Green builders focus on more conscious use of natural resources and green practices from the design, construction, operation and overall life of the structures they build. Research has shown that the productivity of employees increases when working in a green office. It has been reported that tenants living/working in green buildings experience increased productivity and fewer sick days. Therefore, in India too has the second largest stock of rated green buildings in the world, second only to US.

Most of the fossil fuels that we use are biological in nature. Perhaps bio-fuel is one that does not add to the stock of total carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The bio-fuels are therefore considered to be “CO2 neutral”, not adding to the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere. The type of bio-fuel used will depend on a number of factors, chief amongst them being the available feedstock and the energy that can be used locally. Bio-diesel Bio diesel was probably the first of the alternative fuels to really become known to the public. The great advantage of bio-diesel is that it can be used in existing vehicles with little or no adaptation necessary. Bio-diesel is, naturally, a compromise for this reason, but still balances positively on the energy scales. There are energy plants available that will produce a higher yield in kW per area, but the simplicity of having a fuel that is fully compatible with present fuel and engine technology makes it very attractive. Cars running on Bio-ethanol, which is produced from agricultural crops, sugar cane or bio-mass, are governed by the same law of physics as those using gasoline. That means both emit CO2, as an inevitable consequence of the combustion process. But there is a crucial difference: burning ethanol, in effect, recycles the CO2 because it has already been removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis during the natural growth process. In contrast, the use of gasoline or diesel injects into the atmosphere additional new quantities of CO2 which have lain fixed underground in oil deposits for millions of years. Bio-gas Biogas is becoming increasingly interesting as an alternative to natural gas. It is especially useful that the composition is practically identical, so the same burners can be used for both fuels. Biogas can be produced from plant or animal waste, or a combination of both. There are many different methods used dependent on the starting material and quantity involved. A mixture of both has proven to be the best method. The animal waste produces the nitrogen needed for growth of the bacteria and the vegetable waste supplies most of the carbon and hydrogen necessary.

Biomass can be a practicable alternative for small district heating schemes in rural areas. Traditional biomass is wood residue and excess straw from agriculture being burned to provide heat or power. There are also gasification plants that produce a gas composed mainly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen from plant material. This has the advantage of being capable of transportation by pipeline or being filled into cylinders for distribution. Pyrolyis, as it is known, is being investigated in many countries presently. Pyrolysis of biomass is used to produce a mixture of three combustible products from biomass: tar, gas and coke are formed in varying proportions. After cleaning the gas can be used to drive turbines or gas motors. The tar is also suitable for the plastics industry and the coke can also be burned in the conventional way.

Landfill sites are now being used for the commercial production of methane in many areas instead of simply flaring the gas for safety reasons. Methane is produced in commercially viable quantities for many years after a landfill site has been closed. Nevertheless, there are still many landfill sites where the gas is being wasted. This source will dry up in time to come, since many countries are now finally emphasizing the separation of waste and recycling, but there is gas for the next twenty years in the landfill sites presently existing. The methane digester is a plant to produce methane in the form of biogas from plant and animal waste. Such systems are common in certain countries, such as India, but sorely neglected in others, although the raw material is available everywhere.

Bio-fertilizers Bio-fertilizers are preparations containing living cells or latent cells of efficient strains of microorganisms that help crop plants’ uptake of nutrients by their interactions in the rhizosphere when applied through seed or soil. They accelerate certain microbial processes in the soil which augment the extent of availability of nutrients in a form easily assimilated by plants. Very often microorganisms are not as efficient in natural surroundings as one would expect them to be and therefore artificially multiplied cultures of efficient selected microorganisms play a vital role in accelerating the microbial processes in soil. Use of biofertilizer is one of the important components of integrated nutrient management, as they are cost effective and renewable source of plant nutrients to supplement the chemical fertilizers for sustainable agriculture. Several microorganisms and their association with crop plants are being exploited in the production of biofertilizer. They can be grouped in different ways based on their nature and function.

Bio-pesticides are certain types of pesticides derived from such natural materials as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals. For example, canola oil and baking soda have pesticidal applications and are considered bio-pesticides. At the end of 2001, there were approximately 195 registered bio-pesticide active ingredients and 780 products. Bio-pesticides fall into three major classes: 1 Microbial pesticides consist of a microorganism (e.g., a bacterium, fungus, virus or protozoan) as the active ingredient. Microbial pesticides can control many different kinds of pests, although each separate active ingredient is relatively specific for its target pest[s]. For example, there are fungi that control certain weeds, and other fungi that kill specific insects. 2 The most widely used microbial pesticides are subspecies and strains of Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt. Each strain of this bacterium produces a different mix of proteins, and specifically kills one or a few related species of insect larvae. While some Bt’s control moth larvae found on plants, other Bt’s are specific for larvae of flies and mosquitoes. The target insect species are determined by whether the particular Bt produces a protein that can bind to a larval gut receptor, thereby causing the insect larvae to starve. 3 Plant-Incorporated-Protectants (PIPs) are pesticidal substances that plants produce from genetic material that has gene for the Bt pesticidal protein, and introduce the gene into the plant’s own genetic material. Then the plant, instead of the Bt bacterium, manufactures the substance that destroys the pest. The protein and its genetic material, but not the plant itself, are regulated by EPA. Biochemical pesticides are naturally occurring substances that control pests by non-toxic mechanisms. Conventional pesticides, by contrast, are generally synthetic materials that directly kill or inactivate the pest. Biochemical pesticides include substances, such as insect sex pheromones that interfere with mating as well as various scented plant extracts that attract insect pests to traps. Because it is sometimes difficult to determine whether a substance meets the criteria for classification as a biochemical pesticide. Biopesticides are usually inherently less toxic than conventional pesticides.They generally affect only the target pest and closely related organisms, in contrast to broad spectrum, conventional pesticides that may affect organisms as different as birds, insects, and mammals. Biopesticides often are effective in very small quantities and often decompose quickly, thereby resulting in lower exposures and largely avoiding the pollution problems caused by conventional pesticides. When used as a component of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs, biopesticides can greatly decrease the use of conventional pesticides, while crop yields remain high. To use biopesticides effectively, however, users need to know a great deal about managing pests. Vermicompost is a preferred nutrient source for organic farming. It is eco-friendly, non-toxic, consumes low energy input for composting and is a recycled biological product.

Vermicompost is the product of composting utilizing various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and earthworms to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast. Vermicast, also known as worm castings, worm humus or worm manure, is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by species of earthworm. The earthworm species (or composting worms) most often used are Red Wigglers (Eisenia foetida or Eisenia andrei), though European nightcrawlers (Eisenia hortensis) could also be used. Red wigglers are recommended by most vermiculture experts as they have some of the best appetites and breed very quickly. Users refer to European nightcrawlers by a variety of other names, including dendrobaenas, dendras, and nightcrawlers. This compost is an odorless, clean, organic material containing adequate quantities of N, P, K and several micronutrients essential for plant growth. Recycling of waste Recycling is processing used materials (waste) into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from land filling) by reducing the need for “conventional” waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production.[

Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" waste hierarchy. Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles, and electronics. Although similar in effect, the composting or other reuse of biodegradable waste – such as food or garden waste – is not typically considered recycling.[2] Materials to be recycled are either brought to a collection center or picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials bound for manufacturing. Green Technologies and rural development Number of green technologies today are in operation both in urban and rural areas creating a great deal of impact on social change and clean environment. Among them a solar photovoltaics (PV) in India has transformed the lives of approximately 100,000 people living in poverty-stricken rural regions by providing several hours of uninterrupted lighting every night. This study was conducted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with an objective to facilitate household financing for solar home systems. Its success has inspired satellite programs to improve energy access in Algeria, China, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, and Mexico. In the absence of alternative energy sources and plagued by the unreliability of local electricity grids, many rural regions in India have had to rely on polluting kerosene lamps and household stoves to meet lighting needs. According to UNEP, a single wick of kerosene can burn up to 80 liters of fuel, emitting more than 250 kilograms of carbon dioxide per year. In developing countries, the use of kerosene and other “dirty” fossil fuels for indoor lighting is responsible for 64 percent of deaths and 81 percent of lifelong disabilities from indoor pollution for children under the age of five. Other studies report that while kerosene and similar fuels contribute 20 percent of global lighting expenses, they supply only 0.1 percent of lighting energy services. The largest barrier to the switch to solar in developing countries has been the lack of financing for clean energy in poor communities. In rural India, where the word ‘electricity’ is still a dream, millions of people do not have access to electricity in their homes and to provide access to electricity in these rural areas through other means, renewable energy like wind power is among the least cost and most feasible solution. In our country, the Mega-size Windmills with blade diameters ranging from 27 m to 54 m has taken off in a big way. However, the concept of harnessing wind power through small size Windmills is still nascent in our country. Small size wind mills with 3 to 6m (10 to 20 ft) blade diameter is one of the most adaptable, flexible and easy to use technology for generating sustainable and cheap electricity. This system is capable of producing power ranging from 500 watts to 5 Kew with an estimated daily electrical energy output of around 4 -10 KW under a mean wind speed of 5 – 10 meter/sec. At places experiencing higher wind speed conditions, the power output may even peak to 7-8 KW albeit for shorter periods. This output is considered sufficient to meet the daily energy requirements of an average rural household, which is normally limited to 2-3 KW per day. The landholding in rural India being very small, a windmill in each farm will not only light up every household but may also make these villages totally self reliant in electricity for water pumping and other agricultural needs. In terms of economics, the capital cost of a large windmill is around Rs 5.5 crore per MW, which translates to approximately Rs 60,000 per KW. In comparison, with a little impetus from the Govt of India towards exploitation of small hybrid wind power technology, the capital cost of a small windmill can be tailored around Rs. 80,000 per KW. For reliable supply of power in remote locations or inaccessible rural areas it is also possible and sometimes necessary to design and set up hybrid system, which combines the advantages of two different energy technologies. These could be either two renewable technologies or a renewable and a conventional energy or fossil technology – a renewable energy (RE) system, say Photo Voltaic or wind, to take care of base load requirements and the conventional systems (say diesel generator) to supplement for peak load requirement. An integrated hybrid system would ensure that power supply can be maintained at an optimum level during cloudy days (for PV system) or low wind conditions (for wind electric generators). Tamil Nadu is the state with the most wind generating capacity: 4906.74 MW at the end of the March 2010. Not far from Aralvaimozhi, the Muppandal wind farm, the largest in the subcontinent, is located near the once impoverished village of Muppandal, supplying the villagers with electricity for work. The village had been selected as the showcase for India’s billion clean energy program which provides foreign companies with tax breaks for establishing fields of wind turbines in the area. Maharashtra is second only to Tamil Nadu in terms of generating capacity. Suzlon has been heavily involved. Suzlon operates what was once Asia’s largest wind farm, the Vankusawade Wind Park (201 MW), near the Koyna reservoir in Satara district of Maharashtra. The Gujarat government, which is banking heavily on wind power, has identified Samana as an ideal location for installation of 450 turbines that can generate a total of 360 MW. To encourage investment in wind energy development in the state, the government has introduced a raft of incentives including a higher wind energy tariff. Samana has a high tension transmission grid and electricity generated by wind turbines can be fed into it. For this purpose, a substation at Sadodar has been installed. Both projects are being executed by Enercon Ltd, a joint venture between Enercon of Germany and Mumbai-based Mehra group. There are many small wind farms in Karnataka, making it one of the states in India which has a high number of wind mill farms. Chitradurga, Gadag are some of the districts where there are a large number of Windmills. Chitradurga alone has over 20000 wind turbines. In consideration of unique concept, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh has sanctioned another 15 MW project to MPWL at Nagda Hills near Dewas. All the 25 WEGs have been commissioned on 31.03.2008 and under successful operation. The first wind farm of the Kerala state was set up at Kanjikode in Palakkad district. It has a generating capacity of 23.00 MW. A new wind farm project was launched with private participation at Ramakkalmedu in Idukki district.

Looking at the importance of biofertilizers, the Government of India launched “National Project on Development and use of biofertilizers in 1983″ Currently more than 100 biofertilizers production units are engaged in commercial production of biofertilizers in India. The poor consumption of biofertilizers in India is due to constraints like poor shelf life, inadequate storage facility. Bio pesticides have been viewed as sound alternative as there are presently 400 biopesticides production unit and the two most popular biopesticides are Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and neem preparation. It has been observed that by using biofertilizers application, the agricultural yield increases between 11 to 16.7 percent. Many farmers are now switching over to use biofertilizer and biopesticdes instead of chemical fertilizers in their agriculture fields to attain sustainable and healthy crop production with better yield. With the societies demand over environmental safety there has also been an increase in the price of chemical insecticides and the resistance of insects to these products. Need has also arisen to reduce residues of toxic chemicals in foodstuffs, especially those for export markets. A strong increase in the sales of organic food as consumers become more health conscious and concerned over their food coupled with higher buying power leading to increase in non-chemical crop protection and total crop care. Green inputs into agriculture include bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, compost, Farm Yard Manure (FYM), green manure etc. As most of these inputs are either not traded and even if they are traded, it is only at informal levels available information regarding production capacity, demand and sales is at best sketchy estimation and hence inadequate. Out of all the green inputs biopesticide and biofertilizer holds a position of importance in the agricultural scenario of India.

Biopesticides in Agriculture are important because • Inherently they are less harmful than conventional pesticides • Suppress, rather than eliminate, a pest population • Effective and often quickly biodegradable and Present no residue problems. • Mostly self perpetuating

Waste management in India is contributing to a growing problem of disposal that doesn’t have a strong solution in the immediate future. With no proper Indian policies put into place that examine and identify waste in ways that involve recovery and minimizing the impact on humanity and the environment, there exists a trend towards pollution that may expand and get out of hand. Leading researchers and analysts predict that at the rate India is currently going, the country will go from producing less than 40,000 tons of waste annually to over 125,000 tons by the year 2030. This is a tremendous jump in a short period of time, and the problems of the country would aggravate unless proper policy and implementation plans should be in place. . In developed countries such as America, there’s a cyclic process involved that treats waste in a way that minimizes its impact on the environment while getting the most out of it in terms of recycling and energy.

Rural electrification is huge market (around 50% of rural households don’t have access to electricity). The opportunities exist in form of Solar, biomass installations on community levels to micro-utility projects. As per IFC (International Finance Corporation) study rural households in India are most reliable in paying for services. Rural India is commercially viable as shown by telecom sector (30% of new phone connections in India are in rural areas) Rural cooking products. 76% of rural households use wood based choolahs for cooking. Any technology which can improve energy efficiency would be in huge demand. This includes things like EIS (Energy Information System), and smart metering to efficient energy storage technologies. Energy Information systems and real time information systems would be required in utilities to commercial and residential complexes. Technologies like Light Emitting Diodes (LED) would be in demand for energy saving. The cost barriers have to be lowered by economy of scale. Energy efficiency would be necessitated in many countries for compliance reasons, opening up market for new innovative solutions for energy saving. Information and communication technology would be heavily used for energy efficiency and carbon monitoring, creating opportunity in these sectors. Carbon capture and reuse (CCR) solutions , carbon trading and financing, energy audits etc are other opportunities Water and energy are interrelated. Water is biggest problems in India waiting to be solved. 70% of Indian doesn’t have access to safe drinking water. Rural India uses ponds and bore well. Rural India can pay for safe drinking water by setting up of micro-water plants in villages. Water Supply efficiency can be enhanced (30-40% water in urban areas lost in distribution) by building water infrastructure in urban and semi-urban areas, rain water harvesting, waste water treatment, recycling in industries, towns and cities.

In order to popularize green technologies in rural sector, at present number of research organizations have focused their R & D activities in following areas • How to reduce the cost and size of solar plants • Need to develop solar thermal power plants and its economics • Trapping energy from wind, tidal waves and marketing • Use of solid waste for production of energy and biofertilizer • Improve quality of biofertilizer and biopesticides • Develop green fuel from various bio-resources Research and Development required Many of the green technologies that are available today we are unable to implement them on large scale due to several technical reasons. Cost effectiveness, quality of the product, lack of financial support, technical expertise, capacity building and man power are some the major constrains where there is a need to do large amount of research work. Following are some of the niche areas of R& D activities for investigation • Solar thermal power • Wave and tidal power • Wind energy • Bioremediation of environment • Algal cultivation and harvesting for bio-fuels • Economics of solar energy • Innovations in bio-fertlizer • Renewable energy resources • Innovation in water conservation • Water pollution treatment through modern science • Innovations in bio-fuels and bio-gas • Innovations in bio-pesticides • Air pollution control • Nanotechnology needs to be tailored for various purposes • Use of nanotechnology to reduce pollution, conserve resources and build clean economy • Nanotech with green chemistry and green engineering holds the key to build an environmentally sustainable society

India’s has large untapped market in energy, water, most of which doesn’t depend upon government regulations. Unlike west, India has energy/water deficit, creating opportunities to plug the gap through greentech. Creating Superior technology or superior access to customers is going to be the key. Clean technology entrepreneurs have to think of scale. 20* 5 MW plants not 1 MW plant. Currently there are very few green technology entrepreneurs in India Rural market is active. Think of delivery networks for electrification and water supply and other such services. In short clean technology or Green technology is going to be big in future. It is going to make commercial sense than just emotional and environmental sense. There is no way but clean way in future. Cost in future would not be just cost as we know today but total cost of ownership. Anything which we have designed till now can potentially be redesigned for efficiency. Carbon foot reduction would mean re-looking at entire supply chain of products. There would be opportunities in chain for efficiency and CC reduction which can translate into commercial gains. Some Indian Greentech Startups There are many industries who have taken initiative in developing green technologies. For example • Axon Biogencis – Waste to energy • Energos technologies – Energy management and Control system • EnNatura -Clean material Startup • GridPlex – Internet based smart grid solution • Nandan biomatrix Limited – Jatropha based bio-diesel production • Sedemac Mechtronics – Energy efficient products for automotive business • Surya ventures – Biomass coogeneration systemBottom of Form Strategies and action plan • Need to establish National Green Technology Council to accelerate the development of green technology in the country. • Formulate strategies and policies as well as provide direction for the implementation of Green Technology • To create awareness of clean technologies and their applications in rural sector for overall development, we need to focus on higher education in green technology • To monitor the effectiveness of the implementation of the National Green Technology Policy • To lead initiatives in the area of Green Technology in the country • Strengthening of the institutional framework

In conclusion, green technology can definitely create an impact on overall development of urban, semi-urban and also rural sector in particular. It will also strengthen economy and social status of the community particularly people who are living below poverty line. By implementing GT there will be ample opportunities for employment and income generating ways and means for poor people. Natural resources can also be conserved and maintained on sustainable basis. In this context Professor A P J Abdul kalam, has said, “I have visited hundreds of cities across the world but not one of them comes close to my ideal. So what is the profile of my dream city. It have a population of not more than five million, generate its own power through green resources, be a vibrant economy where every one has access to clean energy and clean water, use bio-fuel and insist on rain harvesting, and is full of parks and trees. It should be the flag bearer of eco-friendly habitats, which aim at complete carbon neutrality”.

Tags: applying sustainable development, atomic research centre, conventional universities, depleting natural resources, indian council of agricultural research

Environmental Benefits of Solar Energy

Solar energy is the radiant light and heat from the sun. This free accessible energy has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Still today, only a infinitesimal fraction of the available solar energy is used. Solar power provides electrical generation by means of heat engines or photovoltaics. Solar applications includes space heating and cooling through solar architecture, potable water via distillation and disinfection, day lighting, hot water, thermal energy for cooking, and high temperature process heat for industrial purposes.

Making your own solar and wind power for less than 0

Energy obtained from solar energy is clean. Clean energy from the sun can replace power sources that pollute the environment. The few emissions of greenhouse gases or air pollutants generated by solar energy technologies occur mostly during the manufacturing process. A 100-megawatt solar thermal electric power plant, over its 20-year life, will avoid more than 3 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions when compared with the cleanest conventional fossil fuel-powered electric plants available today.

Many countries through several national and international institutes and agencies have started taking actions to reduce (or eliminate) the pollutant emissions and to attain a sustainable supply of energy. One way to achieve this is by using solar energy as much as possible. This is in compliance with the agreement signed in the December 1997 in International Kyoto Conference on climate change, where a list of fifteen concrete proposals emerged for the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions. The list includes, among others, the use of solar energy.

Energy is considered a prime agent in the generation of wealth and a significant factor in economic development. The importance of energy in economic development is recognized universally, and historical data verify that there is a strong relationship between the availability of energy and economic activity. Increase in economic activity also increases environmental problems. The growing evidence of environmental problems is due to a combination of several factors, since the environmental impact of human activities has grown dramatically. This is due to the increase of the world population, energy consumption and industrial activities.

The most important benefit of renewable energy systems is the decrease of environmental pollution, clean energy with no emissions or noise pollution, low operating and maintenance costs, emissions from manufacturing and construction are quickly offset, reliable systems, useful for grid connected and remote applications, modular systems that can be constructed to any size, and creation of new jobs.

Making your own solar and wind power for less than 0

The negative environmental impact of solar energy systems includes land displacement and possible air and water pollution resulting from manufacturing, normal maintenance operations and demolition of the systems. However, land use is not a problem when collectors are mounted on the roof of a building, the maintenance required is minimal and the pollution caused by demolition is not greater than the pollution caused from demolition of a conventional system of the same capacity.

It can, therefore, be concluded that solar energy systems are friendlier to the environment and offer significant protection of the environment. The reduction of greenhouse gases pollution is the main advantage of utilizing solar energy. Therefore, solar energy systems should be employed whenever possible in order to achieve a sustainable future, thus applying the slogan ”THINK GLOBALLY- ACT LOCALLY”.

Making your own solar and wind power for less than 0

Tags: benefits of solar energy, greenhouse gas emissions, solar energy technologies, use of solar energy, using solar energy

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