Green Options » power generation

Financial Constraints Could Derail India’s Ambitious Solar Energy Plans

Mridul Chadha — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:16:41 +0000

Lack of foreign investments owing to the global financial crisis and its own negotiating stance at climate talks could throw back India’s schedule to implement plans of setting up large scale solar energy projects.

India is looking to invest billions of dollars in setting to large scale solar and wind energy projects. These projects are essential for meeting the growing power demands and also for countering any demands from the developed countries to reduce carbon emissions.

India currently generates only 3 percent or 12,000 MW of its electricity from renewable sources, mostly comprising of wind energy while solar energy contributes only 2 MW. The government recently announced ambitious plan to boost electricity generation from solar energy to 20,000 MW by 2030.

Tapping solar energy is essential for India as it’s power plants are in short supplies of coal. Thus for various reasons ranging from energy security and international pressures to reduce its carbon emissions to environmental problems related to conventional energy sources, India has announced these massive plans to expand its solar energy infrastructure.

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The E-Charkha: Gandhi’s Vision of a Sustainable India Becomes A Reality

Reenita Malhotra — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:18:20 +0000

Over the span of the last century, the charkha or spinning wheel of India has symbolized non violence, independence and economic progress. Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Indian nation, promoted the charkha during India’s freedom struggle as a symbol of self-reliance and as a source of income for the rural population. It was emblazoned on the flag of the Congress party, the political party that was built to govern India based upon Gandhi’s economic vision. Today, more than 50 years after independence, the charkha has also become a symbol of sustainable energy production.

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New Carbon Material May Allow for Storage of Large Amounts of Renewable Energy

Joshua S Hill — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:42:51 +0000

One of the biggest roadblocks to a future of renewable energy production is the ability to store such generated electricity. The current networks of power supply and storage simply have no chance of being able to provide necessary storage capacities for renewable sources such as solar and wind, given the propensity for spikes in generated electricity.

However engineers and scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have made a breakthrough in the development of a new carbon-based material that they believe might allow for at least a doubling of current electricity storage capabilities. The new structure is called grapheme, and measures in at one atom thick.

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A Bloody Big Solar Tower

Joshua S Hill — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:07:39 +0000

When you think of the future of solar power, you normally envision flat panels out in some massive field, blinding the sheep for miles around, or even the small panel up on your roof. What you’re unlikely to imagine is a bloody great big tower in the middle of nowhere.

A not so new energy concept has been unveiled by EnviroMission Limited in South Melbourne, Australia, and it harkens back to an idea demonstrated more than 20 years ago. It is basically small amount of panels on the ground, centering around a massive tower. The collectors warm the air near the surface, and then channel it up the tower. Turbines placed at the bottom make electricity created by the updraft.

“It’s a combination chimney, windmill, greenhouse,” said Kim Forté of EnviroMission Limited, who have designed a kilometer-high tower, and now are hoping to build it somewhere in southwestern USA.

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Plug-In Hybrids Could Require 160 New Power Plants By 2030 (Or None At All)

Clayton B. Cornell — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:02:38 +0000

Plug-in Hybrids (PHEVs) have taken some undeserved heat lately, with the recent hullabaloo over their potential to drain U.S. water supplies. But as some readers pointed out, it all depends when you charge them.

This week’s report from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which evaluated the impact of a substantial increase in PHEV ownership, found that nighttime charging of PHEV’s would not increase electricity demand over baseline levels. In other words, no (or very few) new power plants would need to be constructed if plug-in owners only charged their vehicles at night.

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