Alternative Energy
Issue 39 - Mar 08

The new alternatives
The technology surrounding these new alternatives is dazzling, as is their rapid pace of advancement. This means that accurate projections of the share of fuel supply renewables will account for are almost impossible to quantify. While many of these technologies are still at the very experimental level, they show how the increasing need for portable, renewable on demand power for individuals and in the structures we occupy is being met by technological innovations around the world.

Gas
Even in the non-renewable but still somewhat greener sector, natural gas is a better alternative and according to China Business Intelligence reports is a key energy growth sector. Greener than coal or dirty diesel, liquefied natural gas (LNG) can be transported overland or stored at 1/600th the size of natural gas. Pipelines for its distribution require the same infrastructure necessary for a next generation hydrogen power network. This burgeoning network should already be a consideration for corporates, hotels and industrial planners when deciding where to locate large power consuming facilities. While hydrogen fuel deployment is still at developmental stage in most parts of the world, the infrastructure to support it is most likely to see widespread commercial use in China, which is already starting introducing the concept for transportation applications. Groups such as the China Association for Hydrogen Energy (CAHE) are currently promoting an earlier transition to a hydrogen economy.

Solar
In the near term, solar and alternative fuel cell technology looks like the best renewable alternative to mains or on-site combustion generator power. The acronym BIPV (Building Integrated Photo-Voltaics) is becoming increasingly common and is likely to catch on in-part due to the current energy crises, not to mention because China is the largest market for solar panels after Germany. BIVP refers to photovoltaic systems integrated into a building during planning and construction rather than as an afterthought. Architects, civil engineers and PV system designers work together to combine the solar panels into the façade and roof. "Shadow- Voltaic" PV systems that are also used as shadowing systems are an interesting choice, allowing some light to penetrate the panels and light the interior of the building. Large local players such as Suntech dominate, but Shell, Kyocera and BP are also investing in developing these technologies. Shell in particular has divested many of its silicone based PV initiatives in favour of thin film research and development.

According to a white paper by Malcolm Brown for BP Solar, the holy grail of solar panel manufacturers is "grid parity", being able to offer same or lower prices of grid power, which has happened in some regions. The company has moved away from the thin film approach to focus on improving efficiencies in its silicone cells. However, many of the companies competing for space in this market feel that new technologies may be about to completely change the direction of the market. Two of the most significant which BP are researching are nanotechnology and organic photovoltaics and refining existing silicon technoligies to make the whole process more efficient.008.

Wind
So far wind power has reached the closest to grid parity in China and is expected to drop a further 30 percent to be closer still by 2010. After 1337 MW of wind power was newly installed in 2006 to total capacity was 2604 MW, 3.5 percent of the global total. While foreign players dominate domestic, local wind turbine manufacturers inlcude Goldwind, Sinovel, Windey, Dongfang Steam Turbine and HEC, however their total capacity is only a paltry 0.41 percent.

Fuel Cells
There are many stationary fuel cells available on the market, and most run on hydrogen or ethanol. One company marketing directly to building owners and facilities managers, DirectFuelCell, offer power systems that run on natural gas or biogas such as digester gas from wastewater treatment and food processing plants are already being promoted directly to. With adjustments to their system they claim their plants can also run on propane, diesel fuel, ethanol, coal gas, and other hydrocarbons. Additionally, the waste water and heat they silently produce can be used to heat swimming pools or for other facility needs.

Geothermal
Geothermal energy, or using energy generated by geological movements far beneath the earth's surface, is restricted to certain geographical systems. However extracting geothermal heat via water in a closed loop fashion is possible everywhere and a very clean effective form of heat extraction used widely in China.

Sound and Nanotechnology
Beside the more conventional alternatives there are some exciting new advances in energy generation emerging. In June 2007, Science Daily reported that University of Utah physicists led by Professor Orest Symko are developing small devices that turn heat into sound and then into electricity. The technology holds promise for changing waste heat into electricity, harnessing solar energy and cooling computers and radars. "It is a new source of renewable energy from waste heat," Professor Orest Symko was quoted as saying. A team of scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology led by Zhong Lin Wang have developed a fabric covered with pairs of zinc oxide nanowires that produce pulses of electricity when rubbed together, as might happen when walking or through other physical movement. RFP

Back to the article.

Renewal is very simplistic, regeneration is really something else, closely related to conservation.

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