OUT OF OIL

One of the reasons solar energy still isn’t mainstream yet is the volume the panels usually have and the high costs involved in purchasing and installing the damn heavy things. Wouldn’t it be much better if thin and flexible solar sheets could be produced? Well that’s been done already, many companies produce solar panels that can be rolled up and folded, for instance for outdoor sports. But still these sheets are rather thick and by no means cheap. A solar panel as thin as a sheet of paper would be ideal, a solar panel that could be produced on the roll, in a mass production system to lower the costs. Roll it of, cut off the length you need and simply paste it on the roof or wherever you need it, now thát would be some innovation, wouldn’t it?

Well, whatever you may think, the jury of the innovation contest 2007 by Popular Science Magazine thought it was innovative enough to deserve the first price. The California based firm of Nanosolar managed to develop a thin layer or coating of some kind of solar absorbing ink that simply can be printed on an metallic foil base using newspaper printing techniques. With this technique they are able to create very light solar panels or foils that cost only about a tenth of the traditional panels and still be as efficient. This sounds quite promising so maybe you are thinking about investing in the company? You are by no means the first, the founders of Google did already invest more than a fistful of dollars in Nanosolar. By the way, another plus is that for the production of these nanosolar cells no silicon is needed like for all other type of solar panels. And since there happens to be a global silicon shortage this comes in handy.  Solar ink might actually prove to be the future. 

More about this at Celsias.

I’m a flatlander, I live in the Netherlands. No, not beneath the sea level but not that far above it too, high enough however to keep it dry if the pessimists scenario’s about rising sea levels become reality. One of the famous Dutch projects to control the waters and live happily ever after is the Afsluitdijk, a dike that keeps the North Sea out and after completion (in 1932) transformed the former Southern Sea into a freshwater lake, the IJsselmeer. The dike is ever since the physical boundary between the lake’s fresh water and the sea’s salty water. And guess what, there happens to be energy in it. I bet Mister Lely, the engineer who managed the whole project never thought of that. The process is called Reversed Electro Dialysis (RED) and is based on the principle that when fresh and salt water meet or mix, energy is released.

The project is still in the early stages of progress but by the time it will be finished the installation at the Afsluitdijk should provide about 200MW. The situation in the Netherlands have a total potential of 3000MW, roughly 10% of the national energy needs. Not bad for a 75 year old dike only created to protect the land behind it. For the technicians among you, this is how it works:

It’s very fashionable to to create ‘The Best Of’ lists. The magazines serve us a top three of this or a top five of that and I always wonder who or what just didn’t make it to the list or wasn’t even considered.  Guess I’ll never know. In the world of those who care about the environment we all spent our days in charts are popular too. Here is one for you, it’s the top ten of green building products 2007. Take a look and see if there’s something to your liking among it. This one is my favorite.

And this is how it works.

1. External radiated heat is reflected.

2.  Direct heat from the sun is reduced.

3. Internal radiated heat is reflected.

Sometimes all it takes is one person with a vision, an idea and last but not least a good deal of stubborness and initiative. Down Under this man could be Roger Davey, Executive Chairman of Enviro Mission ltd and his dream, his passion or better, his obsession is the Solar Tower Project. Australia is known for it’s sunny climate, however this energy potential is not yet taken advantage of at a large scale on the continent. If this project will prove to be a success, this might change in the near future.

The first tower (the plan is to add four more later on) will appear south of Sidney at Buronga, in the Wentworth Shire of New South Wales. This area is chosen because of low land-prices and lots of sunshine - Buronga is nicknamed Sunraysia for over 300 sunny days are counted each year. Originally the tower would point 1000 meters into the air. The latest plans however speak of a height of 600 meter, still quite a stalk. The technique is actually quite simple; the air is heated under an extensive collection zone made of glass panels. Hot air rises, in this case seeking it’s way out through the chimney, thus powering the turbines. Each tower should generate about 200 megawatt, enough for roughly 200.000 households. Discovery Channel made this item about it.