Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has the potential to cut global Co2 emissions dramatically. We’re talking huge cuts. It has been estimated that a plant implementing CCS can cut emissions by 80-90 percent compared with a plant that doesn’t use CCS. Sounds great, right? Well, there are some some problems.

Cost is the number one challenge that CCS faces. “Applying it would significantly increase the cost of electricity beyond what society is likely willing to pay,” said Sarah Forbes,  a World Resources Institute Senior Associate. Another challenge is that no fully integrated demonstrations have taken place. The pieces have been tested individually, but the entire puzzle is yet to be seen.

Forbes describes CCS and its current challenges in more detail:

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India’s Tata group has announced that the world’s cheapest car, the Nano, will roll out of its car plant with a price tag of just 100,000 rupees - £1,350 or $2,000 - and will be exported to richer nations, beginning with Europe, in two years.

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A US-based company has successfully tested a revolutionary solar panel that is expected to cut the costs of photovoltaic solar power generation by more than 50 per cent, and herald a new era of improved efficiency and lower production costs of solar energy globally.

The panel, known as the Alubond Solar Collector Panel (SCP), was created by American Building Technologies, a subsidiary of the UAE-based multinational group Mulk Holdings. Commenting on the breakthrough, a spokesman for Mulk said, “We hope the success of this project will lead to an upsurge in the development of more solar energy plants, which will not only lessen the strain on existing energy resources, but also severely reduce the pollution levels that are currently witnessed in power generation.”

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The realisation that the cost of biofuel crops grown in temperate climates is too high to support a viable biodiesel industry has lead Europe to look elsewhere for cheaper raw materials. Africa, with its appropriate climate, soil fertility, and low labour costs can produce oil for biodiesel much more cheaply than Europe. Biofuels have been supported as a development path by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and other agencies of the United Nations (UN), with the proviso that projects are properly implemented to avoid any impact on food production or the environment. Unfortunately, unscrupulous companies can quite easily take advantage of desperate small farmers and naive governments, to drive unfair contracts.

As someone living in South Africa, with some experience of working in poor rural areas, the stories of wealth and benefits for small scale farmers entering the biofuels sector make little sense to me. The shear scale of the world’s biodiesel demand result in numbers which just don’t make sense. Ashenafi Chote, who opened this story normally produced 100 kg of maize, which indicates that he is farming, at most, 0.4 ha. With normal yields this would produce about 160 litres of biodiesel which would allow a medium sized MPV to travel some 2,500 km. Therefore, 10 farmers are needed to keep the MPV on the road for a year. If farmers are expected to only change a third of their land to castor, this means 3 million farmers are needed to produce just 1 % of the UKs biodiesel consumption. The logistics of it are just impossible, imagine millions of farmers wanting to deliver their crop and collect their few dollars at harvest time. So I believe all these projects are actually designed around large scale commercial production with the small farmer component used to put a “good spin” on the project.

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Home Power magazine has collected information about a wide range of different wind turbines that are available for home or small business use. The 2007 Wind Turbine Buyer’s Guide is a small but information-packed article with a wealth of information about available turbines for small wind systems.

The review has information on 19 different small wind turbines ranging from 7 feet to 56 feet in diameter, including systems for battery charging, as well as batteryless grid-tie systems. The list concentrates on some of the more widely available turbines, though many other manufacturers are selling turbines these days. Models from Abundant Renewable Energy, Bergey Windpower, Eoltec Wind Turbines, Kestrel Wind Turbines, Proven Energy, Southwest Windpower, Vestas, and Wind Turbine Industries are included on the list.

"Small wind," in our definition, starts with turbines with rotors (turbine blades and hub) that are about 8 feet in diameter (50 square feet of swept area). These turbines may peak at about 1,000 watts (1 kilowatt; KW), and generate about 75 kilowatt-hours (KWH) per month with a 10 mph average wind speed. Turbines smaller than this may be appropriate for sailboats, cabins, or other applications that require only a small amount of electricity. But if you want a significant amount of energy, you need a rotor with significant swept area—it is, after all, the wind turbine’s "collector."

In addition to the comparisons, there is good information about what the various components of a wind turbine system are, explanations about how the rating information was gathered, and a short section on wind turbine basics, that briefly covers the internal workings of a wind turbine (like what a ‘yaw bearing’ does).

This guide certainly doesn’t substitute for more comprehensive guides about installing a wind turbine, but it provides the best comparative data on different models of wind turbines that I have found to date. The guide lists several comparative pieces of information about each model covered. A background graphic for each model shows the comparative size of its rotor area. In addition to providing the rotor diameter and the swept area, the guide lists the predicted energy output at average wind speeds for 8, 10, and 12 mph. This makes it very easy to do direct comparisons between two models.

Even more useful to many people who are wondering about whether or not to invest in a wind power system are the costs for these turbines (as well as an indication of what each system includes). These range from $1,995 for the 7-foot diameter Kestrel 800 (without controller or inverter) to $180,000 for the 56-foot diameter Vestas V-17 installed on a 132-foot tower. More than half the models included are under $10,000, and several of these are in the range of $3,000.

Application and warranty information for each model is also included. Some models designed for battery charging are suited for more different voltages than others are. A few models are suitable for either battery charging or batteryless grid-tied connection.

In addition to the information in this guide, you will need to collect a lot more information before going ahead and taking the plunge with a wind turbine for your own home or business. Knowing local regulations and requirements, as well as the wind profile for the property where you are considering putting a turbine, is also essential before spending thousands of dollars to put one up. But, since the turbine is the core element in a wind power system, an evaluation of the different models available is a good place to begin figuring out the right system for your own needs.

Links:
Wind Power Buyer’s Guide

Home Power Magazine