By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2009-10-13 05:30
No effective, affordable, low risk solutions available
If we are able to influence the earth’s CO2 density and climate in a negative way, it seems logical to assume that we are also able to influence it in a positive way. That is the basic idea behind geo-engineering solutions to climate change. Those solutions generally include such ideas as afforestation, CO2 air capture, ocean fertilisation, cloud albedo (using sea water spray to whiten clouds and increase cloud reflectivity), surface albedo (using specifically coloured roofing and paving materials), creating stratospheric sulphur aerosols, and space solar reflectors.
Is CCS geo-engineering?
A recent article on the subject in the Financial Times also includes CO2 capture at the stack ('Carbon Capture and Storage', CCS) among other geo-engineering solutions. This is noteworthy primarily since this solution is generally seen as more realistic. CCS already receives significant amounts of R&D funding, in contrast with the other geo-engineering solutions.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2009-09-29 05:30
Car makers collaborate with utility companies
A successful transition to electric vehicle (EV) transport will require more than electric cars that perform well on the road. It will also require charging systems that fulfil the consumer’s needs.
The development of such systems can only be accomplished through collaboration between car makers and utility companies. The latter have to ensure that the appropriate charging technology is in place and that the national electric grid can support the increased demand.
Since drivers will need to be able to charge their vehicles wherever they are, smart charging meters will have to be installed in large numbers. Moreover, car makers and utility companies will have to agree on an industry standard to ensure that those meters communicate with all the EVs.
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By HDK / Published on Tue, 2009-08-25 11:10
This paper examines two community projects implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The first, Promoting Access to Energy Services to Foster Integration and Human Development for Disadvantaged Communities in Hungary and Slovakia with a Special Focus on the Roma, built on regional development work with isolated communities without reliable access to heat and electricity. The second, Energy Efficiency in Housing in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), focused on a network of communities where rebuilding was underway following the Balkans conflict.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2009-08-11 05:30
A criterion for expressing the development phase of a new technology
Ever since climate change emerged as a major issue, news reports on innovative sustainable energy technologies have reached a flood level. What those reports mostly do not mention is the particular stage of development of those innovations at the moment of writing. It is generally a long reach between innovation and market introduction, and this path is marked by several development phases, each of which presents particular barriers.
To assess the maturity of evolving technologies, NASA developed a new standard: the Technology Readiness Level or TRL. This standard divides the evolution between the first basic technology research and market introduction into nine levels.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Wed, 2009-07-08 14:04
The renewable energy industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in Europe thanks to two factors: the supportive political and legal frameworks and the region’s prominent investment in renewable energy research and development.
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By Glycon Garcia / Published on Fri, 2009-06-12 08:35
In late 2006, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the International Copper Association, and AES Eletropaulo, an electricity distribution company, embarked as partners on an ambitious project in São Paulo, Brazil to test their integrated approach to slum electrification and loss reduction.
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By Benoit Dome / Published on Mon, 2009-05-04 06:41
The peri-urban electrification programme in Sub Sahara Africa will improve the lives of some 15 million households and over 110 million people. It will create energy efficiencies calculated of over 7% of the region’s current electricity consumption, which is the equivalent of over ~7 million Tonnes of CO2 emissions. Per household the energy efficiencies account for some ~40% of the current consumption, including the savings generated by the upstream improvements.
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Wed, 2009-02-25 11:26
On Lake Victoria in Kenya OSRAM has launched a unique project for producing light away from a permanent power supply. At a specially constructed solar station (OSRAM Energy Hub) the local people can recharge batteries for energy-saving lamps, luminaires and other electrical appliances, such as mobile phones, at low cost and without damaging the environment. Off Grid solutions are the way forward for developing and emerging countries that cannot afford to set up a permanent power supply network. The market is huge. 1.6 billion people throughout the world live without electricity.
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Thu, 2009-02-12 13:38
In partnership with REEEP/SERN.
In remote areas of developing countries, access to sustainable energy systems remains often unaffordable for inhabitants. Therefore, special energy supply models and regulatory frameworks adapted to the context of off-grid rural areas need to be implemented to support the dissemination of these systems.
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Sat, 2009-02-07 13:57
The use of mobile telephony is growing very fast in Africa. Often someone in a neighbourhood or village will have a mobile phone, but what happens if there is no electricity to charge the phones? A travelling power socket offers a solution!
Research demonstrates that the use of mobile telephony is contributing to the social and economic development of African people. Owners of mobile phones buy minutes in bulk which they sell at a small profit. Places which never had a public phone booth can now connect to the world.
Because of the lack of electricity, South African Bram van Reenen found a solution to charging phones. He travels from village to village in a cart, charging phones with solar energy. The cart is covered with solar panels.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-08-14 05:30
Driving rural development
The Beijing Olympic Games have certainly made us all aware of China’s ability to tackle massive projects. When it comes to generating hydroelectricity, the country has proven itself equally successful with the construction of the much-contested Three Gorges Dam. But hydroelectric generation in China is not limited only to such huge scale projects. In recent years, the country has become one of the most successful adopters of small hydroelectric facilities (plants up to 25 MW) as a means of achieving carbon emission free rural development.
The total installed capacity of small hydroelectric plants in China is estimated at approximately 50,000 MW and growing at about 6,000 MW annually.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-08-07 05:30
The social aspect in the project will be very important. 'We want to cooperate as much as possible with the inhabitants of these urban zones,' notes Dôme. 'An important part of the project will be education. One part of the education programme will be the training of families migrating from rural areas who know nothing about electricity. We will teach them the basics on the use of electricity, electrical efficiency, and electrical safety. The other part of the programme will be dedicated to training electrical installers.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-08-07 05:30
Worldwide, about one billion people are denied access to electricity and this number is growing at approximately five per cent per year. These people tend to live in rural areas, in urban and in suburban slums, and in camps. Electricity is a crucial element for all development. Agriculture, access to water, health, and education are seen as the basic axes for development. However, none of these are possible on any significant scale without electricity. 'You need electricity for water pumps, for lighting, for medical instrumentation, for computers', Benoît Dôme reminds us.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-08-07 05:30
The Pikine slum on the outskirts of Dakar is huge and growing rapidly. Today it has about 850,000 inhabitants. This figure is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2020. This makes it by far the largest slum in Sénégal. Benoît Dôme: 'You can’t compare Pikine with Paraisópolis in Brazil, where we developed our first project. Pikine covers a much larger area but it is much less densely built up. Most people who live in the slum have moved in from the countryside to try their luck in the city.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-08-07 05:30
The International Copper Association has already found two partners in Sénégal that are willing to participate in a slum electrification project: the utility company SENELEC and the association PROQUELEC. The latter is a member of FISUEL, whose mission is to promote electrical safety. 'We are still looking for more partners,' says Dôme, 'but I’m confident we will find them soon. The idea is to start with a pilot project from one distribution transformer.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-08-07 05:30
'After initiating the project in Brazil, we wanted to start a second project, this time in Africa', recalls Dôme. 'We chose Sénégal because it is representative of sub-Saharan African income and energy requirements.'
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-08-07 05:30
The electricity distribution lines in Pikine are limited to the principal streets. Throughout much of the residential zones there is no official power distribution. This creates a situation that is different from Paraisópolis. 'While electricity theft is indeed a problem here, it is not the primary one. The main problem is illegal selling-on and sub-distribution,' reports Dôme. 'People who are marginally better off and living close to the main roads secure a legal connection. They then act as a sub-distributor for up to 15 families.
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