# Renewable energy news



## BIG BWACULL (26 May 2007)

Thought i'd start a thread on a topic that will effect us and our childrens future, Here you can post anything that relates to renewables, from links to companies, photos, discussion or whatever O.K Sweet (oh i finally found the start a thread button, Can i get a woohoo) I start with a pic or two

EVM or enviromission plan to build some of these solar towers


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## BIG BWACULL (26 May 2007)

Had these in the solar stocks thread but ill move em here 

SOLAR CITY (CHINA)http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=48605

PHOTO VOLTAICS COST REDUCTION
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=48624

PARABOLIC SOLAR COLLECTOR
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=4866


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## BIG BWACULL (26 May 2007)




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## arminius (26 May 2007)

gday,

i hope our kids can thank us in the future for what we do now. 
i believe safe nuclear plants, augmented by renewables, say, 30-40 percent, is the future. trouble is, the big boys dont make money off the sun or wind etc so they will fight tooth and nail to keep themselves in the green stuff. how hard the rest of us fight will determine the uptake. 
i have ede, dye, arw, and slx. once power becomes more expensive, as t flannery was saying the other night, renew's are competitive. we western consumers are obliged to pay more for power, after all, only the very selfish would deny we are part of the problem. if my dog shiits in the park, i clean it up.


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## BIG BWACULL (26 May 2007)

Wave generators basically how they work.
Oscillating Water Column

The Oscillating Water Column (OWC) generates electricity in a two step process. As a wave enters the column, it forces the air in the column past a turbine and increases the pressure within the column. As the wave retreats, the air is drawn back past the turbine due to the reduced air pressure on the ocean side of the turbine (see Figures 1a and 1b). Irrespective of the airflow direction, the turbine (referred to as a Wells turbine, after its inventor) turns in the same direction and drives a generator to produce electricity.


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## arminius (26 May 2007)

not a big fan of these things. im assuming its the energtech design. they look like a mutant hermit crab... too ugly and intrusive. if they move them further out its only further to transmit the energy. ceto looks interesting though. (i dont have shares in energtech or carnegie)


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## BIG BWACULL (27 May 2007)

FOOD for thought?
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=3550


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## Smurf1976 (27 May 2007)

arminius said:


> not a big fan of these things. im assuming its the energtech design. they look like a mutant hermit crab... too ugly and intrusive. if they move them further out its only further to transmit the energy. ceto looks interesting though. (i dont have shares in energtech or carnegie)



Aesthetics versus sustainability. The exact same argument often used against practically all renewable energy sources, especially wind, hydro and solar which account for virtually all non-firewood renewble energy use in developed countries.


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## mexican (27 May 2007)

BIG BWACULL said:


> Wave generators basically how they work.
> Oscillating Water Column
> 
> The Oscillating Water Column (OWC) generates electricity in a two step process. As a wave enters the column, it forces the air in the column past a turbine and increases the pressure within the column. As the wave retreats, the air is drawn back past the turbine due to the reduced air pressure on the ocean side of the turbine (see Figures 1a and 1b). Irrespective of the airflow direction, the turbine (referred to as a Wells turbine, after its inventor) turns in the same direction and drives a generator to produce electricity.




They are testing this system in the US to power up desal plants, as they use alot of electricity, nearly more than a aluminium refinary plant.
Linc energy,  Arrow energy, etc are the companies that will do well in this climate change era as big mining companies look to reduce CO2.
 To fix alot of the CO2 problem, CARS!
It will take a long time to fix this problem, affects too many people. Black gold to important!


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## BIG BWACULL (28 May 2007)

Even the small players get kicked in the teeth its sad to see that many that want to make a difference cant get past the red tape  If i looked next door and saw a wind turbine spinning, knowing it was making clean green power i'd sit back and go F#%K yeah look a that, i gotta get one, who cares about aesthetics when we know if we don't start now there wont be anything to look at years down the track anyhow. SAD SAD SAD 



> An orange flag marks where Gary Lisle planned to put up a 33-foot windmill behind his house. But that's about as far as his green idea got in this Dallas suburb.
> 
> Denied a building permit in March, Lisle joined the growing ranks of frustrated homeowners across the U.S. whose hopes of harvesting wind energy in their backyards have been dashed.
> 
> Standoffs between cities and green-minded homeowners are becoming more common as interest grows in residential turbines. Backyard windmills are already an $18 million-a-year industry in the U.S., and manufacturers think that could triple if wind got the same local acceptance and federal incentives as solar energy systems, which typically involve nothing more intrusive than panels on the roof.



http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3213383


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## BIG BWACULL (28 May 2007)

arminius said:


> not a big fan of these things. im assuming its the energtech design. they look like a mutant hermit crab... too ugly and intrusive. if they move them further out its only further to transmit the energy. ceto looks interesting though. (i dont have shares in energtech or carnegie)



I am a fan of anything that produces no emissions regardless of what it looks like, or if it intrudes on peoples million dollar views, Below is a link to a video the ceto model, must admit it is less intrusive. Carnegie corp, asx: CNM

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/australiawide/video/default.htm?program=austwide&pres=20070518_1510&story=1


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## BIG BWACULL (28 May 2007)

WAVE ENERGY Check this little monster out



> A company called Ocean Power Delivery are developing a method of offshore wave energy collection, using a floating tube called "Pelamis".
> 
> This long, hinged tube (about the size of 5 railway carriages) bobs up and down in the waves, as the hinges bend they pump hydraulic fluid which drives generators. Three Pelamis wave energy converters will be installed off the coast of Portugal in the first ever commercial application of wave power. Another 30 units could be installed by the end of next year


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## BIG BWACULL (28 May 2007)

Thats One HUGE B%#@H


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## BIG BWACULL (30 May 2007)

Last Update: Monday, May 7, 2007. 11:37am (AEST)
Lake Cargelligo chosen as solar energy project trial site



> Lake Cargelligo, in central western New South Wales, has been chosen as a trial site to demonstrate more efficient ways of storing solar energy.
> 
> Lloyd Energy Systems has received $5 million in federal funding to install solar energy storage systems.
> 
> ...





> The heat storage technology accepts heat in any form as it stores it in high purity graphite. Due to the unique properties of high purity graphite, the heat when stored remains available for use for many days/weeks depending on the rate of energy extraction to the rate of energy replacement.
> 
> The storage blocks can accept energy from the grid, wind, wave or thermal systems and convert this electrical energy to heat energy to heat up the block.
> 
> ...


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## chops_a_must (30 May 2007)

Thought plugging this was appropriate, seeing as it invloves my department at UNI. 



> Uni sets up alternative fuel research centre
> 
> Tuesday, 29 May 2007
> 
> ...


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## BIG BWACULL (1 June 2007)

Video link to enviromission solar tower, The older version (the pilot plant)Old news but still news :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-EvV90MeDY


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## noone (2 June 2007)

You certainly seem to have a lot of information there. Something you did not show or talk about. Solar thermal power using cheap flat mirrors and associated storage by splitting ammonia and recombining it to produce the heat during night and cloudy weather. This method enables base power, medium, or peak on demand. Unfortunately our scientists have had to go to the States to get funding for this in venture capital. A giga watt plant is being built using this method. When we in Australia have so much renewable energy potential e.g. an area 50x50km somewhere in the desert can supply all of Australia’s energy requirements including the production of hydrogen for motor vehicles and it can be done right now as it is based on mature available technology and will produce no CO2 and the energy is available forever without having to did it up transport or refine it (as in the case of uranium) and is not a terrorist threat why are we trying to go down the nuclear path? Are we all mad? Why do we not invest in it? I can see no safe way we will be able to run the nuclear industry as we live in a world that is entrenched in crazy ideologies. Those who invest in renewables and get in on the ground floor now will be very rich indeed as renewables will be the only way to go. And by the way; where did this fictitious figure of $40/ton of CO2 carbon trading come from for renewables to be come competitive? Solar thermal is set to be the cheapest power source yet available as it is already nearing the price of coal power in the USA and will soon beat it. Further info on solar thermal power can be seen at www.trec.net.au and http://www.trec-uk.org.uk


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## Smurf1976 (2 June 2007)

noone said:


> When we in Australia have so much renewable energy potential e.g. an area 50x50km somewhere in the desert can supply all of Australia’s energy requirements including the production of hydrogen for motor vehicles and it can be done right now as it is based on mature available technology and will produce no CO2 and the energy is available forever



No CO2? What about the huge amounts of fossil fuels needed to build it? We're talking about lots of energy intensive materials here, the production of which will release CO2. That's not an argument against the idea since overall it would be low enough not to matter (as with wind, geothermal and most hydro), but I think "less" would be a better description than "no". 

Even a wind turbine emits CO2 in its manufacture (though it only comes to 20 - 30 kg/MWh versus 800+ from coal). Solar photovoltaic (not solar thermal) isn't a great deal better than CCGT when all things are considered due to the energy used in manufacture. Nuclear emits quite a bit of CO2 for much the same reasons. 


> I can see no safe way we will be able to run the nuclear industry as we live in a world that is entrenched in crazy ideologies.



Totally agreed there. 

Natural gas is a lot more risky in this regard than many realise too both in a physical danger sense and national security implications. LNG is incredibly hazardous stuff if the tank ruptures or is attacked in some way. Likewise it is incredibly easy to disrupt the supply of gas if someone wants to inflict major  economic harm. 


> Those who invest in renewables and get in on the ground floor now will be very rich indeed as renewables will be the only way to go.



A point noted as early as the 1950's in the context of hydro-electricity in Tasmania. If you have constant inflation (which we do) then at some point the annual revenue exceeds the entire cost of building the scheme in the first place. The only question being when. The same applies to any low maintenance long lasting source of energy.


> where did this fictitious figure of $40/ton of CO2 carbon trading come from for renewables to be come competitive? Solar thermal is set to be the cheapest power source yet available as it is already nearing the price of coal power in the USA and will soon beat it.



That is the approximate cost of CO2 emission reduction using wind or other "easy" and "competitive" renewable options. They aren't a long term solution however and the options that would work are by their very nature large, not easy and don't fit well with the almighty god of "competition" (never mind that competition hasn't resulted in the promised improvement in the international competitivness of Australia's power industry - main thing it's done is reduce generation operating efficiency IMO).


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## BIG BWACULL (2 June 2007)

noone said:


> You certainly seem to have a lot of information there. Something you did not show or talk about. Solar thermal power using cheap flat mirrors and *associated storage by splitting ammonia and recombining it to produce the heat during night and cloudy weather.* This method enables base power, medium, or peak on demand. Unfortunately our scientists have had to go to the States to get funding for this in venture capital. A giga watt plant is being built using this method. When we in Australia have so much renewable energy potential e.g. an area 50x50km somewhere in the desert can supply all of Australia’s energy requirements including the production of hydrogen for motor vehicles and it can be done right now as it is based on mature available technology and will produce no CO2 and the energy is available forever without having to did it up transport or refine it (as in the case of uranium) and is not a terrorist threat why are we trying to go down the nuclear path? Are we all mad? Why do we not invest in it? I can see no safe way we will be able to run the nuclear industry as we live in a world that is entrenched in crazy ideologies. Those who invest in renewables and get in on the ground floor now will be very rich indeed as renewables will be the only way to go. And by the way; where did this fictitious figure of $40/ton of CO2 carbon trading come from for renewables to be come competitive? Solar thermal is set to be the cheapest power source yet available as it is already nearing the price of coal power in the USA and will soon beat it. Further info on solar thermal power can be seen at www.trec.net.au and http://www.trec-uk.org.uk



What is the name of this cycle, I know of the kalina cycle is this the same as it also uses *ammonia* and water mix to improve efficiecys in powere consumption in industrys that produce a lot of waste heat. i.e smelters and even geodynamics asx GDY are using a new and improved version of this cycle 
which they have patents pending on, Which theyll use to get more power out of the warmer waste water after the initial Geothermal conversion uses the super hot water.


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## BIG BWACULL (2 June 2007)

SUPER BIKE  heh heh


> Li Zhiyuan rides a paddle boat he constructed out of recycled materials including trashed wood, bottles, cans and bicycles on a river in Hefei, east China's Anhui province. Picture: Reuters


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## insider (2 June 2007)

BIG BWACULL said:


> SUPER BIKE  heh heh




Bahahaha


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## BIG BWACULL (2 June 2007)

Geodynamics, asx GDY announcement looks like they have the ball rolling, Drilling RIG leaves houston for australia (Houston,........ i hope we dont have a problem?)


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## insider (2 June 2007)

BIG BWACULL said:


> Geodynamics, asx GDY announcement looks like they have the ball rolling, Drilling RIG leaves houston for australia (Houston,........ i hope we dont have a problem?)




I'm adding these guys to my watch list


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## arminius (2 June 2007)

when i say the wave generators aren't asthetic, i mean to say those who make the decisions may shy away because of a backlash from precious homeowners with beach views, etc. 

which company has the brightest future with regards solar energy? silex are developing some nifty gear and dyesol are doing well. However, there must be one or two thats positioned very nicely indeed thank you.  any thoughts?


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## Smurf1976 (3 June 2007)

arminius said:


> when i say the wave generators aren't asthetic, i mean to say those who make the decisions may shy away because of a backlash from precious homeowners with beach views, etc.



I understand your point absolutely. Indeed I would say that there may well be opposition from those living nowhere near the coast as there are certainly precedents for wanting the untouched natural environment to "just be there" and strong action being taken by people who have no intention of ever seeing it for themselves.

The big environmental battles over uranium mining, old growth logging, the Franklin River and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska are all classic examples of this thinking (my point here isn't to say whether it's wrong or right, just to note what happens in practice). 

The vast majority of Australians will never find themselves at the site of a uranium mine and nobody ever proposed one for central Sydney or Melbourne. That doesn't mean there won't be protests. 

Most people never get to a true wilderness forest. If you drove there then it's not by definition a true wilderness. Most people see wilderness forests on TV or in printed photos (how ironic... paper). They won't go and see it for themselves but they don't want it destroyed either.

In recent times about 200 people a year raft the Franklin. A truly massive environmental debate complete with huge protest marches from both sides, the blockade, a government thrown out and mass arrests. And yet most of those on either side will never actually see the river.

As for ANWR, most Americans would never have heard of it if it wasn't for the proposed oil drilling. It's not a place that most people will ever go. And if they did, they'd know they were there when they found the existing oil wells literally right next door. But they want to save it so "it's just there".

So I can certainly see some difficult debates about renewable energy in the years ahead. But the problem is that if we don't end up developing clean energy then those waterfront properties might get a bit more water than their owners wanted. Water right over the roof in fact.


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## BIG BWACULL (3 June 2007)

Here is some links i posted on another thread but its probably more appropriate here. Quite interesting and informative, Check out the video links as well from the same program.

ABC Earth, Wind And Fire
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2007/s1895335.htm

Video links ( very informative -*A MUST WATCH*)
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2007/20070416_energy/video.htm


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## BIG BWACULL (4 June 2007)

Looks like SPAIN town to set example for all us super polluters seems a region of  spain gets almost %70 of its energy from renewables Although they are still connected to the dinosaur grid (oil,gas,coal) just in case.



> *Solar city sets sights on ending pollution*
> 
> * Thomas Catan in Madrid
> * June 03, 2007
> ...




Then the greenies have their spak attack about birds,except GREENPEACE



> Some environmentalists worry that the presence of so many windmills is spoiling the landscape and killing birds. “What they are doing is absolutely unsustainable and completely illegal,” says Antonio Munilla, of Gurelur, an environmental group. “We have taken this matter before the Congress and European Union.” Other environmental groups, such as Greenpeace, strongly support the experiment.




Its the region with the town where they have the "running of the bulls"



> Festival town
> 
> ”” Navarre is perhaps most famous for the 16th-century “Running of the Bulls” festival in Pamplona, where bulls are released in the cobbled streets of the old city centre and men try to prove their mettle by running alongside them. Thirteen people have died in the festival since 1924




Read in full at,
http://theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21840971-30417,00.html?from=public_rss


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## noone (4 June 2007)

BIG BWACULL said:


> What is the name of this cycle, I know of the kalina cycle is this the same as it also uses *ammonia* and water mix to improve efficiecys in powere consumption in industrys that produce a lot of waste heat. i.e smelters and even geodynamics asx GDY are using a new and improved version of this cycle
> which they have patents pending on, Which theyll use to get more power out of the warmer waste water after the initial Geothermal conversion uses the super hot water.



I am not a chemical engineer and I have no technical information about this other than to say that it is a enclosed cycle and nothing is lost or used and happens to be an easy way to store the sun's energy and provide variable output on demand. I suggest you look at CSIRO,  ANU, Wizard Power websites and contact Whyalla City Council re their Solar Oasis project and www.solardesalination.com.au and Sun Microsystems USA and you should glean enough from them.


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## noone (4 June 2007)

BIG BWACULL said:


> What is the name of this cycle, I know of the kalina cycle is this the same as it also uses *ammonia* and water mix to improve efficiecys in powere consumption in industrys that produce a lot of waste heat. i.e smelters and even geodynamics asx GDY are using a new and improved version of this cycle
> which they have patents pending on, Which theyll use to get more power out of the warmer waste water after the initial Geothermal conversion uses the super hot water.




I am not a chemical engineer and I cannot give you technical details other than to say that it is a closed cycle. You could look at CSIRO, ANU,and Wizard power, Whyalla City Council Oasis project to understand the technical aspects of it.


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## arminius (4 June 2007)

altogether now, a big cheer for Navarre.
these are the guys who kicked Napoleons butt in 1812, and host the best party in the world!
they have a certain 'stuff you' attitude. 
smurf, although i may never go rafting in the franklin, i really feel comfortable in the knowledge that if someone out there wants to do it, they can, and if i want to do it in the future, i will still be able to. im sure you know what i mean. 
i live in the hunter valley and grew up 20 mins from bayswater. power stations become part of the landscape. but our grandkids will squeeze our nuts if we all dont do something about gw. 
(if ever i see andrew bolt in the street i will snot him.)


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## Smurf1976 (5 June 2007)

arminius said:


> smurf, although i may never go rafting in the franklin, i really feel comfortable in the knowledge that if someone out there wants to do it, they can, and if i want to do it in the future, i will still be able to. im sure you know what i mean.
> i live in the hunter valley and grew up 20 mins from bayswater. power stations become part of the landscape. but our grandkids will squeeze our nuts if we all dont do something about gw.
> (if ever i see andrew bolt in the street i will snot him.)



I understand exactly what you mean. I haven't been rafting but I've seen the river and it's truly spectacular to say the least. I certainly didn't mention it to advocate building either of the two dams that would flood it.

But the problem is that there just isn't any energy source that doesn't pollute or impact the environment in some way. All power pollutes, always has done and probably always will. If you want energy then in some way that has to come from the natural environment and that's going to have an impact on something.

The only energy source that man has "created" is nuclear, and that's hardly clean and green. Everything else is ultimately some form of solar energy - coal, oil, gas, hydro, wind - it's all ultimately from the natural environment and the energy came one way or another from the sun.

At Lake Pedder, the massive and highly controversial storage which directly led to the world's first environmental political party and ultimately to the formation of what is now the Greens on a worldwide basis, there is a sign. A sign which says something to the effect of "This development produced more than hydro-electricity, it changed forever the way Australians think about their natural environment". A comment that's impossible to argue with. 

On that sign is a brief description of the history of, in practice, the Australian environmental movement and its opponents. And yes, the sign was placed there by the very same Hydro which flooded Pedder and once proposed flooding the Franklin. The same Hydro which now has more environmental scientists than construction workers.

But as the sign notes, a formal inquiry in the mid-1990's found no pressing conservation or other reason to do anything other than leave it as it stands today. Environmentalists have noted, and this is the absolutely key point IMO, that the lake could be fully restored in a matter of decades at most. Underwater it may be, but it wasn't "destroyed" in the true sense of the word. Given the energy issue, both the relative shortage of it in Tas and the global fossil fuel and nuclear issues, it makes sense to most to leave it under water for the moment.

To add further complexity, the flooded lake supports at least two endangered species one of which is unique to the lake itself. To restore it would make visible a unique conservation icon, the original Pedder beach, but do so at the cost of wiping out a species or two and having to build some other power source which would also impact the environment in some way (realistically it would be fossil fuel - a point noted by Bob Brown himself in 1995). Nothing simple or easy here...

But the original unflooded Pedder is a conservation icon. And the nearby Gordon Dam is the ultimate Hydro icon and itself a significant tourist attraction in its own right. Indeed that dam gets more visitors in a week than the Franklin does in a year. And yes, at the top of the dam is a plaque noting its significance not only in engineering terms, but also the environmental and political aspect of its construction. 

If you're ever in Tas then I'd strongly suggest a drive to Strathgordon (Gordon Dam). The scenery alone is worth the trip. But when you get there, walk down the steps and stand on top of the dam (open to the public and safer than it looks - you won't fall off unless you climb over intentionally). Now, look downstream. You'll find it very hard not to see the point of conservationists (the river's fine at that point but obviously not upstream). On the other hand, if you're opposed to big dams then just take one deep breath and contemplate that this one dam saves 380 _million_ litres of oil each year and you'll understand the other side of the argument. It's not simple by any means. 

And now in the 2000's the situation is further complicated. The Greens themselves now use the term "clean, green hydro-electricity" whilst opposing the coal they once advocated. Meanwhile the Hydro itself is now, in practice, _opposed_ to building large dams on economic grounds.

And now we hear calls nationally for subsidies and incentives to encourage the use of renewable energy. "Subsidies" being a word rarely absent from Tasmanian politics in the 1980's and 90's when the Greens argued that subsidising renewable energy deprived schools, hospitals and roads of much needed funds and was just not acceptable.

My point in posting this isn't to argue for or against dams or any other specific project but just to point out that the entire energy debate is anything but simple. We're likely to see debates all over the place very similar to that concerning dams in SW Tas. Clean power versus the untouched natural environment.

Nothing's simple about it and there's no "win-win" solution once renewables move from a minor supplement to a major energy source. Not even the Greens are against some dams in Tas, indeed they're in favour. Same with logging - the real issue comes down to scale as nobody has ever said that _no_ trees should ever be cut down. Same with coal - burning a few tonnes a year doesn't matter but burning a few _billion_ tonnes is entirely different. 

And the same with wind, solar, tidal etc. On a small scale few will object and it's easy to find a suitable site. That changes dramatically once it's scaled up enough to actually matter as an energy source. That's when the protests start...


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## BIG BWACULL (5 June 2007)

insider said:


> I'm adding these guys to my watch list



In that case you may want to also add petratherm PTR there as well, they had announcement out yesterday about their, Well designs and drill rig selections, so in the process of designining their wells and trying to get someone booked to drill.. drilling to commence in early 2008 and it seems their cashed up to fund two wells and expand their spanish projects, 8 million in cash, 5 million grant from federal government, 10 million from beach petroleum joint venture. Attached below is the pdf announcement


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## nioka (5 June 2007)

arminius said:


> altogether now, a big cheer for Navarre.
> these are the guys who kicked Napoleons butt in 1812, and host the best party in the world!
> they have a certain 'stuff you' attitude.
> smurf, although i may never go rafting in the franklin, i really feel comfortable in the knowledge that if someone out there wants to do it, they can, and if i want to do it in the future, i will still be able to. im sure you know what i mean.
> ...




Dams don't ruin the enviroment, they CHANGE the enviroment. Dams are a great place to relax and enjoy nature. They are great fishing spots, they are great recreational spots for boating whether you use them to ski, canoe or sail. Downstream there is often white water rafting and enviromental flows can offset many drought problems. Australias water problems are, in part,brought about by the "NO DAMS" policy of an ignorant green agenda


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## BIG BWACULL (5 June 2007)

announcement out re: australian renewable fuels limited asx ARW
Agreement with CALTEX in S.A and W.A to supply up to 5 million litres of biofuel
Share price up 20% with volumes to match 2.2 million shares today

PDF BELOW


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## BIG BWACULL (5 June 2007)

*NSW scientists win environment award
*



> June 1, 2007
> 
> NSW scientists have been recognised for their work to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the 2007 World Environment Day Awards in Melbourne.
> 
> ...


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## billhill (5 June 2007)

> Scientists from Spectrolab, Inc., a subsidiary of Boeing, have recently published their research on the fabrication of solar cells that surpass the 40% efficiency milestone””the highest efficiency achieved for any photovoltaic device




http://www.physorg.com/news99904887.html

Big improvements in effeciency. I beleive that the unlisted australian company solar systems that is building the 154MV solar station in mildura was involved in the cells development



> Solar Systems and Boeing subsidiary, Spectrolab, have optimised ‘multi-junction’ solar cells originally developed to power satellites to produce a high performance solar power technology for electricity generation on earth.




From Solar Systems web site.

http://www.solarsystems.com.au/HCPV_Technology.html


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## arminius (5 June 2007)

correct me if im wrong, but the passionate opposition to the building of dams in Tassie had very little to do with water supply. as far as im aware, rainy days in Launceston are not that uncommon.


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## BIG BWACULL (7 June 2007)

*Vatican Plans to Tap Solar Energy
Vatican Building to Use Solar Energy, Reflecting Pope's Concern About Saving Earth's Resources*



> A Saturday, Aug. 14, 2004 file photo showing the roof of the Pope Paul VI auditorium at the Vatican. The cement panels of the 6,300 seat auditorium will be replaced by photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity, engineer Pier Carlo Cuscianna said in a telephone interview in Rome, Tuesday, June 5, 2007. The auditorium is the first of some of the Holy See buildings that will start using solar energy, reflecting Pope Benedict XVI's worry about squandering the Earth's resources. (AP Photo/Plinio Lepri)






> ROME Jun 5, 2007 (AP)
> 
> Some Holy See buildings will start using solar energy, reflecting Pope Benedict XVI's concern about conserving the Earth's resources, a Vatican engineer said Tuesday. The roof of the Paul VI auditorium will be redone next year, with its cement panels replaced with photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity, engineer Pier Carlo Cuscianna said. The cells will produce enough electricity to illuminate, heat or cool the building, Cuscianna said.
> 
> "Since the auditorium isn't used every day, the (excess) energy will feed into the network providing (the Vatican) with power, so other Vatican offices can use the energy," he said.



http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3246679


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## BIG BWACULL (7 June 2007)

Any one get this in their e mail the company went up %20 today
Mon, Jun 4/07: Achieves Breakthrough in Development of Transparent Windows Capable of Generating Electricity.


> “Our ability to produce a developmental prototype which remains see-through while displaying favorable electrical properties, marks a significant breakthrough in development of a working prototype of our ‘NanoPower Windows’, capable of generating electricity from sunlight without losing significant transparency,”
> Key to the development of  transparent NanoPower Windows is a proprietary spray coating of a silicon nanoparticle film, which is fluorescent and able to convert the sun’s energy into electricity.  The process of producing these silicon nanoparticles is supported by 10 issued US patents, 7 pending US patents, 2 issued foreign counterpart patents and 19 pending foreign counterpart patents.  The proprietary process for spraying the particles onto glass surfaces is unique , and is among the Company’s major research achievements.


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## billhill (7 June 2007)

Here is a newly set up news service called cleantech news delivering renewable news among other clean technologies.

http://www.altenergystocks.com/alt/content/general/


----------



## BIG BWACULL (7 June 2007)

billhill said:


> Here is a newly set up news service called cleantech news delivering renewable news among other clean technologies.
> 
> http://www.altenergystocks.com/alt/content/general/



CHEERS mate thankks for the link


----------



## BIG BWACULL (18 June 2007)

check these out underwater tidal turbines similar to wind ones


> A company called Marine Current Turbines will be installing a 1.2 megawatt tidal turbine in Northern Ireland's Strangford Lough in August. The SeaGen turbine will be the world’s largest ever tidal current device by a significant margin. It will generate clean electricity for approximately 1000 homes. The turbine is a prototype to be replicated on a large scale over the next few years. The rotors on the SeaGen turbine turn slowly: about 10 to 20 revolutions per minute. A ship's propellers, by comparison, typically run 10 times as fast. The risk of impact from SeaGen rotor blades is small, because the marine creatures that swim in strong currents tend to be agile, and can avoid slow-moving underwater obstructions.






> Future turbines will generally be rated at from 750 to 1500 kilowatts (kW), and will be grouped under the sea, at places with high currents, in much the same way that wind turbines in a wind farm are set out in rows to catch the wind.Commenting on the future prospects for tidal current energy, Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines said: “We will build on the success of SeaGen to develop a commercial tidal farm, of up to 10MW in UK waters, within the next three years. With the right funding and regulatory framework, we believe we can realistically achieve up to 500MW of tidal capacity by 2015 based on this new SeaGen technology.”


----------



## insider (18 June 2007)

BIG BWACULL said:


> check these out underwater tidal turbines similar to wind ones




I thought this thing was really exciting like a really fast aeroplane... it's ok I guess


----------



## BIG BWACULL (19 June 2007)

Petratherm has been moving along quite a bit in the last month with increased share price and volumes, They had announcement out yesterday That Spains largest media group has taken a 1% stake in the company and are looking to increase their share holding not into  a major shareholder but as a longterm cornerstone alliance holder. Geothermal is heating up interesting to watch petratherm and geodynamics over the next couple of months.


----------



## billhill (21 June 2007)

Found this National US outlook for renewable energies for 2007. Covers all the renewable pretty well. It was convened by the american council on renewable energy as well as senate and house of representative commitees. It doesn't mention australia but seeing as we seem to do everything else the US does this might be applicable to where we are all heading.

http://www.acore.org/pdfs/Outlook+on+RE+in+America+2007.pdf

One interesting aspect of the report that is in the spotlight in australia is their geothermal resource. This may help others gauge costs of geothermal here in australia.



> with current costs about 5 to 7 cents per kilowatt-hour.


----------



## imaginator (23 June 2007)

i heard someone talk about ethanol these few weeks. Seems like renewable energy is going to be the next big hit.

What stocks or companies are related to renewable energy and ethanol?


----------



## BIG BWACULL (23 June 2007)

imaginator said:


> i heard someone talk about ethanol these few weeks. Seems like renewable energy is going to be the next big hit.
> 
> What stocks or companies are related to renewable energy and ethanol?



AAE, ABJ ,ARW, MBT, SBI, NFL These are a few i know of related to ethanol and biodiesel in my opinion of the lot MBT or mission biofuels is the best of the lot as they are situated in malaysia with tax incentives, close to palm oils and european market as well as having contracts written for the future production and supply. The recent rise in palm olein prices i think has seen its share price fall, However due to their outlook on future price fluctuations of competing with a food source for feedstock they have started planting Jahtropa plants in order to cut costs of their feedstock. SBI is also in malaysia and due for production this year as is MBT but have recently their share price has been hit hard almost halving this last month or so due to high feedstock prices. MBT with their alternative outlook will do very well in BIODIESEL manufacture.
ARW, Australian renewable fuels has recently had agreements with Piacenti and sons (mining and earthmoving machinery) to supply them with 8 million litres of biodiesel, Good to see  , CALTEX also to purchase 10 million litres, 5 from largs bay plant S.A and 5 from picton plant in W.A(I hope i read their announcement right) They main feedstock is tallow and with recent droughts abbotoirs have less to supply also the high palm oil prices have forced soapmakers to use tallow forcing these prices up as well. Wesfarmers premiere coal has also orderd 1.5 million litres of biodiesel. In the current climate (GLOBAL WARMING) These companys are getting themselves primed for the future. Any way theres a couple of diesels of the bio sort now im gonna have a beer or six heh heh


----------



## billhill (25 June 2007)

Found this today about conversion of sugar to a more suitable biofuel then ethanol. Has some quite good advantages according to researchers.



> High energy liquid fuel created from sugar
> MADISON, Va., June 21 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have transformed sugar into a liquid transportation fuel they say has a 40 percent greater energy density than ethanol.
> Reporting in the journal Nature, University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor James Dumesic and colleagues describe a two-stage process for turning biomass-derived sugar into 2,5-dimethylfuran, or DMF.
> "Currently, ethanol is the only renewable liquid fuel produced on a large scale," said Dumesic. "But ethanol ... has relatively low energy density, evaporates readily, and can become contaminated by absorption of water from the atmosphere. It also requires an energy-intensive distillation process to separate the fuel from water."
> ...




http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/ind...e=UPI-1-20070621-14553200-bc-us-sugarfuel.xml


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## BIG BWACULL (29 June 2007)

Check this out what a concept , 


> Crowd power the latest in renewable energy
> Tracy Staedter
> Discovery News
> Tuesday, 27 June 2006
> ...



 Need some in our shoes too to keep our mobiles charged heh heh  
MARVELLOUS


----------



## BIG BWACULL (29 June 2007)

Algae project wins renewable energy grant



> A Queensland company trying to produce biodiesel from algae is among the recipients of $10.5 million in federal grants for renewable energy projects.
> 
> Energy Minister Ian Macfarlane says Brisbane company SQC is getting $220,000 for its work with algae.
> 
> ...


----------



## billhill (29 June 2007)

Big times ahead for wind energy



> America Forecasted To Be Hit By Strong Winds
> 
> A recent study by Emerging Energy Research confirmed what we have been saying about wind power for some time - namely that growth prospects look very strong for the North American market.
> 
> ...




There are two graphs that accompany this article that didn't post for whatever reason. They can be found below.

http://www.altenergystocks.com/


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## Kipp (1 July 2007)

Great thread BB.. you have clearly invested alot of research here, and Im enjoying the read.  I have been looking to invest in renewable energy for a while I haven't investigated that many companies yet.  Just (VIR) Viridis- who have a small(ish) profile of Wind, Biomass, and Landfill across the UK, USA and Germany.  Quite a good diversification, but I find their financial reporting a bit lite-on.  Attractive yield of 9% though.  
And had a quick look into Vestas recently, SP was overvalued in my opinion relative to their returns & tiny profit margin <2% as well, still up over 100% on the last 12 months though!


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## Smurf1976 (1 July 2007)

> a) The US wind power market is expected to grow from 11,000 MW in 2006 to around 49,000 MW by 2015 (for those for whom MW doesn't mean much, this essentially equates to very solid growth).



Wind farms will only generate, on average, at about 35% of their rated capacity. So an average output of about 17,000 MW. 

There are individual sites where this is around 50% and others go below 30%. But 35% is a realistic average for a large number of turbines at multiple sites.

To put it into perspective, 17,000 MW is roughly equivalent to the amount of electricity used (on average) by NSW, ACT, Vic, Tas and SA combined.


----------



## BIG BWACULL (2 July 2007)

Geodynamics drilling rig has arrived in brisbane and is unloaded, and some equipment is already enroute to cooper basin, immediate assembly is on the cards and they intend drilling by the end of the month. 



> The first production scale well, Habanero 3, will enable production testing and
> will lead to the first formal proving of geothermal reserves by the end of the
> year. The Lightning drilling rig is an advanced oil and gas rig that is ideally
> suited to the drilling of deep geothermal wells. The acquisition of this rig by
> ...





> Geodynamics is the largest and most advanced listed public company in
> Australia whose sole focus is on developing hot fractured rock (HFR)
> geothermal energy. HFR geothermal energy is produced using heat extracted
> from buried hot granites by circulating waters through an engineered, artificial
> ...



Hope the strike hot rocks with their oil and gas driller lol


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## BIG BWACULL (3 July 2007)

*Confiscated Booze Turned Into Fuel*


> 185,000 gallons of alcohol were confiscated at the Swedish border last year, and authorities have an interesting use for it. They turned most of it into fuel for the public transport network.
> This may sound very clever, until you hear what they used to do with it, "We used to just pour it down the drain, but because of the increased volumes we had to look around for new solutions," said customs spokeswoman, Ingrid Jerlebrink.
> 
> As clever as the new solution is, you have to question the intelligence of an organisation that would annually destroy 185,000 gallons of booze, especially in a country where you have to take out a bank loan to buy a beer.
> ...


----------



## purple (3 July 2007)

great news, BB, *it's all good*.

the Commuter Power post is certainly an interesting post. standing in Sydney TownHall station at peak hour, one can feel the vibrations alraedy seeing those thousands of people marching by..

the only problem I have is having that MAD character (your avatar) peering at me everytime I read your posts...and he stands for all things irrational and nonsensical...you should have an Einstein avatar imo  LOL!


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## BIG BWACULL (6 July 2007)

Might change my avatar to Krusty the clown (with audio and that crazy laugh of his) Speaking of clowns, this one has been fattening up our kids for years and now they are to make their wallets fatter by burning waste oil  (biodiesel in their U.K truck fleets) from their own fryers  Dont know if im happy or sad 



> McDonald's, known mostly for smiling like an evil clown while the world gets fatter and fatter, is now actually doing something productive with all of those kilojoules of grease. The company is planning on powering its entire UK truck fleet with bio-diesel created from its own waste vegetable oil.
> 
> In the next 12 months, McDonald's plans on creating enough fuel to power its 155 delivery vehicles while having enough fuel left over to sell into the public market. The fuel will be composed of 85% waste vegetable oil and 15% virgin rapeseed oil. So, while it will be 100% carbon neutral, it won't be entirely waste oil. However, Matthew Howe, Senior VP of McDonald's UK was quoted saying "As we get better at the refinement we will be able to remove virgin rape from the process," a line which we sincerely hope never gets taken out of context.
> 
> Continuing his remarks, Howe assured reporters at Reuters that the delivery trucks would not smell like McDonald's french fries, though he recognized that that "it would have been one of the best marketing campaigns we could ever have had."


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## purple (6 July 2007)

not too bad...at least that's a start. they'll need a lot of that oil though, cause the average person is now 2x heavier cause they grew up on dear ol' MacD's.

reminds me of the fellow that ate Subways for months and became slimmer.


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## Smurf1976 (6 July 2007)

purple said:


> the Commuter Power post is certainly an interesting post. standing in Sydney TownHall station at peak hour, one can feel the vibrations alraedy seeing those thousands of people marching by..



I'd hate to be elderly / injured etc and have to walk through there during the commuter rush. Incredible number of people, all burning up 120 watts or so each.


----------



## purple (6 July 2007)

Smurf1976 said:


> I'd hate to be elderly / injured etc and have to walk through there during the commuter rush. Incredible number of people, all burning up 120 watts or so each.




no worries Smurf. all you gotta do is walk up a staircase and then fall backwards...you'll be carried along by a carpet of humans all tightly packed together...LOL

ok...i'm not contributing anything proper to the thread...so as not to get busted, let me put on some theory here :

1. maybe in Japan they can put some 'energy absorbing pads' in the subways...the way the people get packed into them trains like sardines, just pushing on the pads themselves could produce electricity.

2. maybe in jails they could get the inmates to jump up and down on these 'energy absorbing pads' for hours, that'll produce energy eh. and get those crooks so exhausted they're too scared to commit another crime.

3. maybe they should put these 'energy absorbing pads' in the walls of condoms..you know..

ok. i'm only giving out nonsense i suppose. c'mon BB, we need more of your juicy news.


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## BIG BWACULL (7 July 2007)

This company, for U.S or those that can trade U.S (Not me, mister small fry) would definatley be woth a look as a solar oppurtunity considering its potential.


> OCTL’s science involves integrating films of silicon nanoparticles on glass surfaces in order to convert solar energy coming through home and office windows into electricity without losing significant transparency or requiring major changes in manufacturing infrastructure.



 Now thats got plenty of upside, it already up %100+ on my watchlist in the last month (Can some one out their buy me 5Grands worth and i'll pay em back Later CHEERS) or if you guys buy up think of me when your sunnin yourselves in the bahamas :
Their current work includes:

    * Construction of a small scale prototype window coated with nanosilicon           photovoltaic solar cells;
    * Testing of photovoltaic conversion in the prototype window;
    * Optimizing materials used in the prototype window;
    * Obtaining target light transmission of 70% through the prototype; and
    * Conducting a cost benefit engineering analysis.


> Octillion describes their business model as a technology incubator. They search out promising technologies in underfunded university and government labs, and agree to find the venture capital to fund project completion in return for rights to the patents.
> 
> The business model saves significant capital which would otherwise be required for such things as land and building acquisition, equipment and furniture purchases, and other incidental start up costs.


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## BIG BWACULL (7 July 2007)

A Beautiful Functional Power Strip : Uses 10% Less Power
I Like that smart feature where it detects when something has gone into standby mode alerts you and if you do nothing it cuts the power to that device  


> This power strip has quite a few things going for it. Some are eco, some are just intelligent. First, it'll clamp onto your desk, giving you easy access to all your power (no more crawling around under the desk.)  Second, it's modular, so you can expand it to have from one to a dozen outlets. Third, every outlet has a wrap-up area around it, to prevent that previously un-preventable rat's nest.
> 
> But, if that's not enough for you ecogeeks, the power strip also prevents vampirism. Power vampires are devices that constantly suck power from your walls even when you think they're off. It's a conspiracy, I'm sure, between electronics manufacturers and utility companies, but it wastes a huge amount of electricity. This power strip detects when a device enters standby mode. It will flash an attractive warning light for a few minutes and, if you don't tell it not to, it will cut the power from the device in question.
> 
> It's an elegant solution to an annoying problem. Now we just have to wait for it to show up at your local electronics store.


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## BIG BWACULL (7 July 2007)

Oh Pic,


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## BIG BWACULL (7 July 2007)

What about this Mad scientist, Top idea though .

*Floating Solar Power Plants*



> There's only so much space on the surface of the earth. And, frankly, we're going to need all the space we can get to feed 7 billion people without pushing every other species into extinction.
> 
> That's why Dr. Pini Gurfil wants to put solar panels in the sky. The basic idea is a string of large helium balloons coated with solar panels and tethered together. The cord that connects them to each other and to the ground has two additional functions, delivering helium to the balloon, and pulling electricity back down to earth.
> 
> ...



 Helium and Electricity mix  If it don't work then maybe they could use them for New Years eve Fireworks lol


----------



## Smurf1976 (7 July 2007)

purple said:


> 3. maybe they should put these 'energy absorbing pads' in the walls of condoms..you know..



I heard somewhere that peak energy expended is about 2kW per couple. No idea how that was worked out thought and it's peak not average.


----------



## purple (7 July 2007)

Smurf1976 said:


> I heard somewhere that peak energy expended is about 2kW per couple. No idea how that was worked out thought and it's peak not average.




OMG Smurf, you really opened up a whole bed of questions now...is that measured with an average of the session or is it a weighted average towards the climax? or do they have wires clipped to the...er, you know what...or do they put the couple on a water bed and measure the waves? 

gosh, BB will kill us for messing up his nice thread...here he is coming now with a BIG :topic


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## Mofra (8 July 2007)

Smurf1976 said:


> I heard somewhere that peak energy expended is about 2kW per couple. No idea how that was worked out thought and it's peak not average.




Volunteering for that study!


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## BIG BWACULL (8 July 2007)

Smurf1976 said:


> I heard somewhere that peak energy expended is about 2kW per couple. No idea how that was worked out thought and it's peak not average.



2kw maybe for smurfs with little blue ....you know what Lol , i,m measured in Giga watts :casanova: lol  heh heh ,100% renewable  

But yes people :topic 
:goodnight


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## purple (8 July 2007)

BIG BWACULL said:


> 2kw maybe for smurfs with little blue ....




Hey…don’t underestimate them little blue folk... Maybe they’re like rabbits. What they lose out in size, they more than make up for it with enthusiasm, speed and repetition.

Hmm…but to distant memory, the population of that little bunch of blue folk didn’t seem to increase when I was watching them years back.

Sorry guys….:topic


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## ghotib (8 July 2007)

BIG BWACULL said:


> What about this Mad scientist, Top idea though .
> 
> *Floating Solar Power Plants*



Um.. Is anyone else getting echoes of Ringworld (SF novel by Larry Niven, published probably some time in the 60s)? Can lethal sunflowers be far behind? 


> Helium and Electricity mix  If it don't work then maybe they could use them for New Years eve Fireworks lol




Er... If you're looking for fireworks you'd probably do better with hydrogen than helium.

Great thread Big Guy. Keep 'em coming.


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## BIG BWACULL (11 July 2007)

ghotib said:


> Er... If you're looking for fireworks you'd probably do better with hydrogen than helium.



Yeah be a bit of a fizzer NEW YEARS Doh 

Here's a video on Enviromission on discovery channel (Got shares in) and also a mob in The U.K Been developing far last thirty years a Fusion reactor, Quite interesting.
 Have a L@@K
THE SEARCH FOR ULTIMATE ENERGY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSjSu7T56Mg


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## BIG BWACULL (11 July 2007)

Oh this is the announcement yesterday arvo from ENVIROMISSION re the above vid


> Discovery Channel Blows Lid off Australia’s Dirty Secret to Find
> EnviroMission’s Ray of Sunshine
> EnviroMission’s Solar Tower technology is highlighted as a future energy
> solution on Discovery Channel’s landmark series: Building the Future – The
> ...


----------



## BIG BWACULL (14 July 2007)

Bit o sumthin on Bio diesel



> Usually derived from vegetable oils -- soy is very popular these days, but animal fats can also be used -- biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification which essentially splits the oil into two parts: alkyl esters and glycerine; the esters are the fuel, while the leftover glycerine is often used to make soap and other beauty products. Both virgin and waste oil (often collected from restaurants) can be used in this process with equally good results. The fuel can be produced domestically, from seed to pump, and is non-toxic and biodegradable. It typically produces about 60% less net carbon dioxide emissions than petroleum-based diesel, as it is itself (partially, at least) produced from atmospheric carbon dioxide via photosynthesis in plants.






> A common misconception is that engine modification is needed to use biodiesel. This is simply not true: any diesel engine can burn biodiesel without any modification; it’s a straight fill-up-and-go affair. This differs from both waste vegetable oil (WVO) and straight vegetable oil (SVO -- both coming later in this series), which is what biodiesel often starts its life as. Many biodiesel driver do report a pleasant, French-fry-like smell coming from the tailpipe, though.




Had a bit of a chuckle here cause my mate down the coast makes biodiesel from the used oil of the local fish and chip shop, He was on the farm one day with his nephew driving their tractor (Which uses his homemade B100) When his nephew turns to him and says "Im Hungry, I feel like fish and chips" Lol
Anyway


> Not long ago, biodiesel was relegated to use only by who were perceived to be backyard chemists and hippies, existing in our collective conscience somewhere between tie-dye and burlap, but not anymore. Morgan Freeman, Daryl Hannah and Julia Roberts all actively promote the fuel; Willie Nelson even makes the stuff. Bands and musicians like Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Barenaked Ladies, Guster and Gomez have embraced it and use it to fuel their tours; in short, biodiesel has arrived. It’s not perfect, though. Like its petrol equivalent, biodiesel tends to turn a little gelatinous at low temperatures, so it’s not always suitable for year-round use, depending on the climate where you live; this problem can be addressed by going with a mixture of biodiesel and petrodiesel (you’ll see it on the pumps: B50 is a 50/50 mix; B20 is 20% biodiesel, and so on). Mixing in the petro version lowers the gelling point, so its less likely to turn to jelly in your engine over night.



 Funny that my same mate just did a roadtrip with my brother to Uluru, He took with him along the way some of his Homeblend and due to the nature of Biodiesel they came across trouble due to cold temperatures and the bio diesel gelled up, I dont advis this But they built a fire under the fuel tank  in order to luiqify the diesel, well after a bit muckin around the got the old girl goin again. (their back this week so i have to find out for sure what happened)
Chapter 2 and 3 Later CHEERS BYE


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## BIG BWACULL (14 July 2007)

Posted this in the "Oil Again" thread but could probably fit here as a reminder to us all where we really need to go........Green 

*Gas Consumption - An Image Is Worth A Thousand Words*


----------



## BIG BWACULL (17 July 2007)

Freo doctor to cut coal energy consumption, Aussie aussie aussie OI OI OI 
Modular turbines could find
place on rooftops


> WA inventor Graeme Attey was awarded $34,000
> in state government funding to help develop his
> modular, roof-top wind turbine system
> • The turbines create power using blades which
> ...



Keep the ideas rolling


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## BIG BWACULL (20 July 2007)

U.K Have three wise Men thinkin green, This is a MAD idea


> It sounds like three Welsh fishing buddies have developed the next best thing to a perpetual motion machine. The concept is thus: Fitted to car instead of an exhaust their Greenbox device traps carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. The box needs to be replaced about every full tank of fuel. “Through a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil. This extract can be converted to produce a biodiesel almost identical to normal diesel.” Voila! - driving your car produces fuel. After a couple of years of testing and an umpteen hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in research it would appear that there is more to this than the usual magic solution that crosses our desks. Of course the devil is usually in the detail.
> 
> None is which overly forthcoming at the moment, with Reuters noting that the trio (a biochemist and two engineers) don’t even trust their wives with the info on how the Greenbox actually works. “After every demonstration they hide its individual components in various locations across North Wales and the technology is divided into three parts, with each inventor being custodian of one section.” (Indiana Jones would be proud.) What we can glean from the story is that in the UK they would need 10 genetically modified algae (Mmmm?) factories, each about 400 hectares (~1,000 acres), to process the CO2 from Britain’s 30 million cars. Still it’s good to know there are yet more inquiring minds at work on our global conundrum.


----------



## BIG BWACULL (25 July 2007)

Looks like another mad scientist has come up with another way to harness energy
*A new spin on clean energy: tornado power*



> A feature in today's Toronto Star about a retired engineer from Sarnia, Ontario, who has spent the past four decades of his life studying the possibility of creating man-made tornadoes from industrial waste heat so that their energy can be harnessed for clean electricity generation. More recently, Louis Michaud has formed a company called AVEtec Energy, filed and obtained patents, and has partnered up with the University of Western Ontario's wind-tunnel lab to study small prototypes and do computer simulations of his "vortex engine" process. He's also managed to raise some early research funding from the Ontario Centres of Excellence and now faces his biggest challenge yet: convincing private investors to fund a large-scale working pilot plant.


----------



## BIG BWACULL (29 July 2007)

Colossal Magnetic Levitation Wind Turbine Proposed, What the 
I thought EVM had big plans Check this sucker out 



> It's a vision of a magnetically levitated wind turbine that can generate one gigawatt of power (enough to power 750,000 homes). This is the device proposed by a new Arizona-based company, MagLev Wind Turbine Technologies. The company claims that it can deliver clean power for less than one cent per kilowatt hour using this wind turbine



This is link to companys home page
http://magturbine.com/




> Magnetic levitation is a very efficient method of capturing wind energy. The blades of the turbine are suspended on a cushion of air, and the energy is directed to linear generators with minimal fiction losses. But the big advantage with maglev is that it reduces maintenance costs, and increases the lifespan of the generator.
> 
> The company also points out that building a single huge turbine like this reduces construction and maintenance costs, and it requires less land space than hundreds of conventional turbines. The company is headed by Ed Mazur, a researcher of variable renewable energy sources since 1981 and inventor of the magnetic levitation wind turbine.


----------



## BIG BWACULL (29 July 2007)

WHAT THE 
Green-Conscious GE Develops Hybrid Lightbulb 
Aree these guys crazy in the coconut  This one makes me smile (lol)



> One year after pledging to develop more energy-efficient products, General Electric Co. unveiled a product it is calling its most eco-friendly lighting source to date: the first-ever gasoline-electric hybrid lightbulb.
> 
> "With the price of gas escalating as its supply dwindles, now is the perfect time to introduce innovative lighting technology that only relies on this fast-depleting, nonrenewable resource for a portion of its power," GE
> If the Wisebulb, which will be available in stores by November for the retail price of US$89.99, is used only for recommended short-term, dim, and frequent on-and-off lighting, it could eliminate nearly 80 percent of global-warming pollution that would be caused by using solely gas-powered lightbulbs, GE spokesman Brian Tormey said.





> GE is already at work on enhancing the Wisebulb's features, including developing a larger 12-cylinder hybrid lightbulb for Americans who crave brighter, extended, higher-wattage illumination on a more frequent basis. Tormey also said that a special, lower-emission version with a catalytic converter, which uses additional energy to chemically convert a small percentage of the bulb's pollutants into harmless compounds, will also be made available, though consumers will be required to refill its gas tank at least twice daily.
> 
> By 2010, GE plans to convert all its home consumer products to the hybrid-energy model.
> 
> "Our Ecomagination division is fully committed to helping save the environment and preserve our remaining gas resources," Immelt said. "If the Wisebulb proves successful, it will pave the way for future advances such as the hybrid toaster, the diesel-electric vacuum cleaner, and the lower-emission, cleaner-burning dishwasher engine."





Are these guys serious or they pulling my leg :bonk:
Heh heh what a LOL :screwy:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/53554


----------



## Rafa (30 July 2007)

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22154110-30417,00.html



> THE jatropha bush seems an unlikely prize in the hunt for alternative energy, being an ugly, fast-growing, poisonous weed.
> 
> Hitherto, its use has principally been as a constipation remedy. Very soon, however, it may be powering your car.


----------



## BIG BWACULL (31 July 2007)

Heres a company to look at (not listed,i think  and U.S based) Uses existing petroleum infrastructure


> Unlike cellulosic ethanol, this fuel can be distributed via existing oil pipelines rather than gas-hogging trucks and trains, dispensed through existing gas stations rather than specialized pumps, and used in existing engines rather than modified "flex-fuel" engines.In short, it is a biofuel that can be substituted directly and immediately for gas or diesel, on a gallon-for-gallon basis




Cost competitive


> An outfit called LS9 says it can create such a fuel, and that it can do so at a cost competitive with gasoline, without government subsidies. The company, which was founded in 2005




Whats the difference?


> The process is the same as making cellulosic ethanol insofar as cellulosic feedstocks are converted into fermentable sugars, and those sugars are placed in a fermentation vat. The difference comes in the microbes doing the fermenting. With ethanol, it's generally some form of yeast. The researchers at LS9 have engineered their own microbes, lifting genes from other microbes and recombining them into an organism that does just what they want. In this way they can precisely tweak the characteristics of the resulting fuel.




65% Energy saving process?


> Yeast fermentation produces ethanol, which mixes with water and subsequently has to be extracted via distillation. LS9's microbes produce -- via fatty acid metabolism, in a process I won't claim to understand -- hydrocarbons (the building blocks of petroleum). These hydrocarbons are immiscible, i.e., they don't mix with water. Instead, they float to the top of the vat, where they can essentially be skimmed off. That allows LS9 to skip the distillation process, which saves a whole boatload of energy. (That's where most of the claimed 65% energy savings comes from.)




Similarities with conventional fuels.


> Chemically speaking, hydrocarbons are hydrocarbons -- LS9's products are essentially identical to their fossil-based counterparts. They can do whatever oil products can do, without the need for special equipment.



Definately a goer i reckon
link to article
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/7/30/2124/78022
Link to company
http://www.ls9.com/technology.htm


----------



## mexican (31 July 2007)

BIG BWACULL said:


> Heres a company to look at (not listed,i think  and U.S based) Uses existing petroleum infrastructure
> 
> 
> Cost competitive
> ...




Check out AOE and LNC. Bio fuel, coal seam gas to liquid. 
Web site will explain how it works, not a new tech been around since WW2 and then forgotten until now.
AOE gone leaps and bounds, LNC should follow with a trail plant to operate in Sept 07.


----------



## billhill (3 August 2007)

New record for solar cell efficiency. Seems solar technology is really starting to move ahead in leaps and bounds. I posted the breaking of the previous record only a few months ago. Getting nearer the coveted 50% mark.



> University Of Delaware-led Team Sets Solar Cell Record
> Science Daily ”” Using a novel technology that adds multiple innovations to a very high-performance crystalline silicon solar cell platform, a consortium led by the University of Delaware has achieved a record-breaking combined solar cell efficiency of 42.8 percent from sunlight at standard terrestrial conditions.




http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070726210931.htm


----------



## numbercruncher (3 August 2007)

billhill said:


> New record for solar cell efficiency. Seems solar technology is really starting to move ahead in leaps and bounds. I posted the breaking of the previous record only a few months ago. Getting nearer the coveted 50% mark.
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070726210931.htm





Thats awesome news!!

Tis the future i dream of Solar panels on your rooftops instead of Nuclear plants in your neighborhood, get home at night and plug in your Electric so its ready for the next days driving .....

A blissful renewable world one step closer (>:


----------



## Smurf1976 (3 August 2007)

numbercruncher said:


> Thats awesome news!!
> 
> Tis the future i dream of *Solar panels *on your rooftops instead of Nuclear plants in your neighborhood, get home at *night* and plug in your Electric so its ready for the next days driving .....
> 
> A blissful renewable world one step closer (>:



Agreed with using renewable energy though I can see a slight flaw in the way you've written that...


----------



## purple (3 August 2007)

Smurf1976 said:


> Agreed with using renewable energy though I can see a slight flaw in the way you've written that...




nah Smurf, he's actually 1 step ahead of us, the solar energy gained through the day is stored by hydrogen balancing (read= ramping the WHN thread)
and then when he does get home at night, just plug it in and all the juicy sun's energy shines magically into his car.


----------



## BIG BWACULL (3 August 2007)

This was JUly 7th Octillion (OCTL)


BIG BWACULL said:


> This company, for U.S or those that can trade U.S (Not me, mister small fry) would definatley be woth a look as a solar oppurtunity considering its potential.
> Now thats got plenty of upside, it already up %100+ on my watchlist in the last month (Can some one out their buy me 5Grands worth and i'll pay em back Later CHEERS) or if you guys buy up think of me when your sunnin yourselves in the bahamas :
> Their current work includes:
> 
> ...



Did any one buy that 5 grands worth i asked for, These guys have now hit $3.40 Now this is a solar stock, Hows the bahamas heh heh:


----------



## BIG BWACULL (8 August 2007)

Peter costello on Current green Energy


> “He was unaware that you could elect to have your home power sourced from 100% Green Power. We were shocked that he didn't know this. He stated that there were no subsidies for fossil fuel industries and we disagreed with this. We discussed how inadequate the solar power rebate is and he was unaware that it could cost $20,000 to buy solar panels which may just supply 20% of your home's power needs - we suggested he get a quote for his home!”



Actually neither did i till about a year ago  But He should Know Better  
http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/news-and-events/news/Climate-change/talking-the-big-switch-with-mr

Maybe we should give all the pollies (Labour and Liberal) a wake up call, and a boot in the sphincter and Make 
THE BIG SWITCH
http://www.thebigswitch.org.au/index.cfm?page=whatCanIdo.page&pageUUID=41AD694C-4235-F224-A26705A8F950FF9B
Top pollie on thebigswitch is Mr Peter Andren of Calare NSW (onya  peter)


> Mr Peter Andren backs up his stated concern about climate change with support for policies that would truly tackle the problem. Not only did he respond promptly to our survey, Mr Andren also supports The Big Switch climate change solutions. He's even taken action on his home front, with his recent switch over to 100 per cent Green Power. In Parliament, Mr Andren has also asked the government some important questions, such as, "which part of the nuclear cycle is clean, green and safe?" Yes, Mr Andren, we'd like to know too! Why not commend Peter Andren on his support for real climate change solutions by emailing him now.



http://www.thebigswitch.org.au/index.cfm?page=ourPoliticians.candidate&candidateUUID=598E93C1-4235-F224-A3BDFE7423F08A9B

Bottom of the List is Dr Dennis Jensen


> One of the loudest voices advocating the nuclear path for Australia, Dr Dennis Jensen wants more uranium mines and nuclear power reactors. Dr Jensen has also questioned the link between human activity and global warming. In February 2007, Dr Jensen hosted a launch for a climate change sceptic publication called "Nine Facts About Climate Change". Why not ask Dr Jensen where he stands on climate change now, and why he's advocating controversial nuclear schemes that won't be ready for ten years when we can safely tackle climate change right now with The Big Switch solutions?



http://www.thebigswitch.org.au/index.cfm?page=ourPoliticians.candidate&candidateUUID=598E9807-4235-F224-AE8655E8FC91075B
Anywho contact your local pollie and even ask yourself "What Are you doing to combat climate change"


----------



## BIG BWACULL (14 August 2007)

BIG BWACULL said:


> This was JUly 7th Octillion (OCTL)
> 
> Did any one buy that 5 grands worth i asked for, These guys have now hit $3.40 Now this is a solar stock, Hows the bahamas heh heh:



Now $4.24 This company will revolutionise Photovoltaics imagine being able to look through your window at home and know that the sheet of glass is producing electricity. Imagine skyscrapers piercing the sky with all their windows and knowing they are producing energy for the building I think thats awesome


----------



## BIG BWACULL (20 August 2007)

*Biofuels Not Enough to Offset Damage Caused by Deforestation*



> A contentious topic that we've often seen batted around in policy circles and scientific forums over the past few months has concerned the long-term viability of biofuels ”” namely, is the trade-off inherent in converting ever larger tracts of forest to cropland worth it? We've expressed our own reservations about the merits of biofuels in the past but have remained somewhat open to the idea in the face of new research and ongoing developments taking place in the scientific and business communities. An article published in this week's issue of Science has helped rekindle our worries about the feasibility of a global biofuel energy market by claiming that no amount of biofuels can ever offset the environmental damage caused by the cutting down of forests to grow more crops.
> Renton Righelato of the World Land Trust and Dominick Spracklen of the University of Leeds estimated that the initial cutting down of forests to plant more food crops, like corn and sugarcane, would release as much as 100 - 200 tons of carbon per hectare. They calculated that it would take between 50 and 100 years alone to compensate for these emissions by burning biofuels instead of fossil fuels ”” and that's assuming governments don't continue their rigorous regimen of deforestation. According to their best estimates, a 10% substitution of gasoline and diesel fuel would require 43% and 38% of current cropland alone in the United States and Europe, respectively. "We cannot afford that, in terms of climate change," said Righelato.







> They also compared how much carbon could be stored by replanting forests with how much could be saved by consuming biofuels and found that reforestation would sequester 2 - 9 times as much carbon over the next 30 years than would be saved with biofuels (see chart above). Righelato and Spracklen thus argue that if the aim of switching to biofuels is to reduce the total amount of carbon emissions, "policy-makers may be better advised in the short term (30 years or so) to focus on increasing the efficiency of fossil fuel use, to conserve the existing forests and savannahs, and to restore natural forest and grassland habitats on cropland that is not needed for food."
> 
> While they concede that a biofuel derived from woody biomass could prove as effective as forests in sequestering carbon, they explain that ”” at this early stage of development ”” it is difficult to foresee exactly how much it will contribute to lowering emissions.
> 
> The researchers conclude that focusing on the conversion of large tracts of land to secondary forest would be most beneficial at this time and, thus, should be the primary aim of policymakers. Doing so would proffer a host of benefits ”” besides the obvious (reducing the net amount of carbon dioxide emissions), it would prevent further desertification, maintain biological diversity and provide regional climate regulation. For the long run, they go on to argue (to no one's surprise), we should make the development of carbon-free transport fuel technologies our main focus, a point we have consistently argued at TH.



 Sumthin to think about i spose


----------



## numbercruncher (20 August 2007)

> Walking does more than driving to cause global warming, a leading environmentalist has calculated.
> 
> Food production is now so energy-intensive that more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shops than a car would emit over the same distance. The climate could benefit if people avoided exercise, ate less and became couch potatoes. Provided, of course, they remembered to switch off the TV rather than leaving it on standby.




http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2195538.ece

Its going to be a hard battle beating climate change !


----------



## insider (21 August 2007)

numbercruncher said:


> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2195538.ece
> 
> Its going to be a hard battle beating climate change !




That's a load of BS... If that were true then why are there so many fat Americans...


----------



## insider (21 August 2007)

I'm considering a change from U stocks to Renewable Energy stocks


----------



## numbercruncher (21 August 2007)

insider said:


> That's a load of BS... If that were true then why are there so many fat Americans...





That would probably be because they drive to Mackers for a supersize me, drive home wash it down with a 6 pack, burp and fall asleep.


----------



## insider (21 August 2007)

numbercruncher said:


> That would probably be because they drive to Mackers for a supersize me, drive home wash it down with a 6 pack, burp and fall asleep.




LMAO... when they fall asleep do they leave the car first? lol...  A Mars bar has enough Kj's of Energy for you to walk up 80 floors of a fire escape...


----------



## BIG BWACULL (21 August 2007)

numbercruncher said:


> That would probably be because they drive to Mackers for a supersize me, drive home wash it down with a 6 pack, burp and fall asleep.



Maybe they could have a hose attached both ends a save the gas to fuel their cars  heh heh


----------



## numbercruncher (21 August 2007)

lol good plan!!

Another piece of news showing that Global warming is winning .....




> PREVIOUSLY unknown islands are appearing as Arctic summer sea ice shrinks to record lows, raising questions about whether global warming is outpacing UN projections, experts say.




http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22281263-5005961,00.html


----------



## insider (21 August 2007)

I watched the inconvenient truth by Al Gore... Dude St. Kilda, Port Melbourne et.c would be Under Water


----------



## insider (21 August 2007)

Hey guys I want to create a watch Folio of Renewable energy type companies can some one please share some of their's... Can you also sort out what they mainly do like Solar, Hydrogen, Wind, Geo thermal... thanks

I'll list some to get things started:

Dye - Dyesol: Capitol goods - Solar technology

Soo - Solco: Solar Technology

WHN - Wind Hydrogen Limited: Wind and Hydrogen power generation (yet to be listed)


----------



## billhill (22 August 2007)

YChromozome said:
			
		

> I’ve been thinking the same thing. Not only is governments changing their tunes, Insurance Companies have been investing big, and people like Richard Branson who has pledged $3 billion to tackle global warming goes to strengthen the cause. My favorite renewable energy stock would have been Pacific Hydro, but they were brought out by super fund, IFM and delisted. Even the super funds want a piece of the action.
> 
> The Federal Government is also due to announce the first round of LETDF (Lower Emissions Technology Development Fund) funding any day now . .
> 
> ...




Insider, this is from the global warming - best companies thread and gives a pretty good rundown on most renewable companies. There are other companies metioned on that thread that you might be interested in that i can't be bothered finding and posting. Check it out if you want.

https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4664


----------



## bhiggins (22 August 2007)

It is interesting to read back over that lasting poting with info from Ychromozone. One of the stocks (CNM) I have noticed has now agreed on terms for exclusive rights to establish wave farms in the southern hemishpere (except one island somewhere) for 90% ownership of each project. Being also able to produce fresh water from desal I imgaine this could be a good long term buy and hold if successful. Some government funding would kick it along nicely I think.

Does anyone have anymore info on this stock other than what I have gleamed myself off of carnegie website and asx announcements.


----------



## insider (22 August 2007)

Now here is something you don't want to read...

Taken from Yahoo7 Head Line...

Wednesday August 22, 04:11 PM 
Green energy market unviable: Vestas
A major world supplier of wind farm technology is turning its back on Australia, saying the nation's green energy market is not viable.

Vestas Australia Wind Technology will close its unprofitable Portland turbine blade factory at the end of the year.

ADVERTISEMENT



Around 130 jobs will be lost, with the closure casting major doubt over the viability of Australia's renewable energy industry.

The Danish company says it could no longer justify keeping the plant open because the investment was not worthwhile in the Australian market.

"It's definitely a fact that the current environment for the wind industry is not big enough to encourage these kinds of investments," Vestas Asia-Pacific senior vice-president Jorn Hammer told AAP.

"We have the view that if the government steps up to the plate and puts the necessary security for a long-term market in place we'll have another look at the market, but I guess we'll be a little more careful next time.

"(Not) just believing in what they've been telling us, we need to see some hard evidence to justify investment."

A spokeswoman for federal Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane said Vestas had made its decision to invest in Portland after the government told the company it would not be extending its mandatory renewable energy target (MRET).

She said Vestas' decision to close was linked to new technology.

"The blades they are manufacturing have been superseded and they have decided not to invest in the area," the spokeswoman said.

"The Australian government has invested heavily in both the manufacturing and renewable energy sectors with MRET stimulating investment of over $3.5 billion and increasing wind capacity by 8,000 per cent.

"It is two years ahead of schedule so it shows just how successful the scheme has been."

Mr Hammer said Vestas had hoped to invest in new technology to develop blades for the Australian market but could not justify the outlay.

Labor spokesman for the environment and climate change Peter Garrett said the closure was a kick in the guts for the local renewable energy industry.

He blamed the federal government's refusal to increase MRET for the closure.

Victorian Minister for Climate Change Gavin Jennings also laid the blame for the closure on the Howard government's failure to respond to the challenges of climate change.

"This regrettable decision is a direct result of a lack of federal government support for the renewable energy industry," Mr Jennings said.

Last year, Vestas closed a similar $15 million factory in Tasmania, laying off 65 staff.

The Portland operation opened two years ago and produces export turbine blades.

The company will continue to employ about 200 people around Australia in technical and support roles but its manufacturing operations here will cease.

Mr Hammer said the company would fulfil its employee obligations and was working with the union to help workers find new jobs.


----------



## BIG BWACULL (30 August 2007)

*Kenyan farmers see hope in Virgin's bio-jet fuel test* 



> According to the chief of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), to African scientists and to global natural resource think tanks like the Worldwatch Institute, biofuels offer a historic chance to tackle global poverty and to reach the Millennium Development Goals. If biofuel policies and trade reform are implemented well, the world's poor - the bulk of who can be found in the vast rural areas of the Global South - can benefit by producing fuels for local and international markets.
> 
> This opportunity does not go unnoticed in Africa. In Nairobi, Kenya's capital, the local Business Daily pins its hopes on Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Fuels venture. It writes:
> 
> ...




Gotta love Branson for the **** he does  Glad someones doin something on the larger scales
A link of information
http://biopact.com/2007/04/virgin-atlantic-to-fly-747-on-biofuels.html
Can't wait till 08 to see these suckers up in the air, will be revolutionary


----------



## So_Cynical (31 August 2007)

First post...howdy all.

Don't want to burst anyone bubble here, just would like to point out
a few things about "renewables" and the coming market etc.

The vast majority of offsets (or whatever u want to call them) available 
in the up coming market will be forestry...its just easier and so much 
cheaper than "Fancy" offsets from wind or wave etc.

Same goes for the renewable energy providers, Co gen, Methane
and Bio diesel powered plants are just easier and cheaper and 
its constant...Geothermal shows promise and could be online 
within 5 years.

Wave power  just imagine the environmental obstacles, it
will never happen here.


----------



## chops_a_must (31 August 2007)

So_Cynical said:


> Wave power  just imagine the environmental obstacles, it
> will never happen here.




It already is...


----------



## BIG BWACULL (31 August 2007)

So_Cynical said:


> First post...howdy all.
> 
> Don't want to burst anyone bubble here, just would like to point out
> a few things about "renewables" and the coming market etc.
> ...



As chops says already is, Take Sea Gen  (if you read back) These will come on line in next couple o years 
https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7013&page=3
Or Check this Page Its happenin Global and (with change of government Green will Have its Day (The world will be one economy  Eventually.It wont happen overnight but it will happen (Swish of My hair)

Another Link for ya to Read
https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7013


----------



## numbercruncher (7 September 2007)

Good collection of Videos here from the National Climate change summit featuring some of the biggest names in politics , business and science ...

Sobering stuff but also practical solutions to the biggest threat to the modern world.

http://climatesolutions.alp.org.au/index.php


----------



## BIG BWACULL (9 September 2007)

This article is worth a read Good to see (or read), Maybe Australia Could adopt some of their practices and Use them here to Make oasis's in Our Deserts and make use some of our wild untamed land to grow forests 
*China to boost forest-based bioenergy, helps win battle against desertification*



> Greening the desert by planting biofuel crops and making a profit from it? Yes, it is possible. Many energy crops have the capacity to fight major environmental problems like erosion, soil nutrient depletion or desertification. Biofuel crops can restore and revitalize entire ecosystems (earlier post). An excellent example comes from China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, where poor peasants are pushing back desertification by planting a drought-tolerant shrub that is being used for the production of timber and bioenergy. The effort provides livelihoods, brings wealth to the poor, and ensures local access to energy.
> 
> Besides the farmers' own initiatives, the Chinese government has also developed an 'integrated sand-fixation technology' that makes it possible to grow more crops in the desert to halt its merciless progression.
> 
> ...



The Chinese seem to keep all avenues open as you never now which path the world will take


----------



## BIG BWACULL (9 September 2007)

Check These Pics out F$@#@in Awesome 


> I just got a completely unsolicited email from Shaun Killa, the head of Atkins Architecture in Dubai. This, of course, is a fantastically gigantic and important job. Basically, he is in charge of the first ever skyscraper with integrated wind turbines. So I was excited to get the email. Well, I was even more excited to see the contents.  Up-close and personal shots of the Bahrain World Trade Center getting its turbines installed.
> 
> .In the larger version of this picture you can see that the turbines will have the ability to automatically shorten and slow themselves in times of severe weather by twisting their tips.And here we can see one of the big problems faced be folks working on wind power in the desert...namely...dust. If you look closely here you can actually see that someone is standing inside the turbine, where the generator will be.



WOW  
Maybe one on centrepoint flailing around like a daisy in the summer breeze


----------



## numbercruncher (9 September 2007)

Good article bwacull.


Ive been reading alot of the big players are jumping on a plant/weed called Jatropha lately for biofuel.


----------



## BIG BWACULL (12 September 2007)

Finavera Deploys 40 ton AquaBuOY 2.0 



> Finavera Renewables has just successfully deployed its second generation AquaBuOY, a wave generation plant that weighs nearly 40 tons and is 75 feet long. Only about ten feet of the device shows above the water. As the buoy rocks up and down in the surf, it generates power with an internal generator.
> 
> That power can then be shipped back to shore via an underwater transmission cable. The bouy's huge size allows it to harness a great deal of the moving water's massive energy. No word, however, on how much energy each of these will produce. But, as with wind and solar, wave power only has up-front costs. Once the project is in place, the "fuel" that creates the power is free.
> 
> Finavera alraedy has about 250 megawatts of wave power planned or under development in America. The AquaBuOY 2.0 wave farm off the coast of Oregon could be underway as soon as 2010.



And a couple o youtube vids as well to show how the system works Quite interesting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r89xQxZsaN8&mode=related&search=
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_rjYabpiYo&mode=related&search=


----------



## Aussiejeff (12 September 2007)

BIG BWACULL said:


> Finavera Deploys 40 ton AquaBuOY 2.0
> 
> 
> And a couple o youtube vids as well to show how the system works Quite interesting
> ...




Imagine what those massive Bass Strait swells could produce with a whole series of these things...... 

AJ


----------



## BIG BWACULL (12 September 2007)

numbercruncher said:


> Good article bwacull.
> 
> 
> Ive been reading alot of the big players are jumping on a plant/weed called Jatropha lately for biofuel.



The funny thing is the real weed they should all be jumping on is cannabis (Maryjane):bong: as per acre of weed produces around 300 gallons of hemp oil or 1135 litres of oil  whereas conventional food oils like canola, soya beans corn etc produce around 100- 120 gallons or 454 litres of oil per acre  Its a pity its illegal  Although not sure what Jatropha produces per acre:dunno: but it must be up there and its ability to grow practically anywhere like Ganja :kiffer: makes it a prime biofuel feedstock


----------



## numbercruncher (12 September 2007)

> The hardy jatropha is resistant to drought and pests, and produces seeds containing up to 40% oil. When the seeds are crushed and processed, the resulting oil can be used in a standard diesel engine, while the residue can also be processed into biomass to power electricity plants.[1]
> 
> Goldman Sachs recently cited Jatropha curcas as one of the best candidates for future biodiesel production.
> 
> The plant can grow in wastelands, fertilises the soil that it grows in, and yields more than four times as much fuel per hectare as soybean; more than ten times that of corn. A hectare of jatropha produces 1,892 liters of fuel (about 6.5 barrels per acre).




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatropha

They should load b52 Bombers full of the seeds of this plant and do aerial seed dropping raids over all deserts on the planet (>:


----------



## BIG BWACULL (12 September 2007)

numbercruncher said:


> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatropha
> 
> They should load b52 Bombers full of the seeds of this plant and do aerial seed dropping raids over all deserts on the planet (>:



 Nice return on the oil per acre, as for bomb raids nice idea but their is always the issue of the weed problem, we dont want a repeat episode of prickly pear or some other noxious weed that cant be stopped but i guess we will have ****loads of oil to power the bulldozers when we have to eradicated Jatropha lol


----------



## prawn_86 (12 September 2007)

bhiggins said:


> Does anyone have anymore info on this stock other than what I have gleamed myself off of carnegie website and asx announcements.




i did have a look at carnegie a few months back, but decided not to purchase as their agreements are all over the place. my understanding is that along with all their other agreements, they have an agreement with Reece, REH, (theres a stock you should have purchased 10 yeas ago!) to do with their wave motion. to many contracts and legal stuff for my liking. 

impressive technology nonetheless.


----------



## numbercruncher (13 September 2007)

Should never admit to these things but being the turkey i am i sold out of CNM at 3.2c back in December - LMSAO


----------



## Happy (13 September 2007)

numbercruncher said:


> Should never admit to these things but being the turkey i am i sold out of CNM at 3.2c back in December - LMSAO




It is so hard to buy back, isn't it.


----------



## bhiggins (14 September 2007)

Capital raising coming in next few weeks for CNM. My guess at around the 10 cent mark. This will bring the price down to a parable price on market.

I think probably the last good buying opportunity for those following this stock before they make some bigger announcements in regards to support for a full scale demonstration facility.

Good luck to anyone following. I have been accumulating over a number of years and am happy so far. Hoping there is plenty more upside considering the economic environment on climate change.


----------



## numbercruncher (14 September 2007)

Thanks bhiggins,

Might be a good opportunity to get back in, they do have huge potential.


Happy,

Yes, spot on, it is hard to go back in after such a jump but none the less a great technology.


----------



## BIG BWACULL (16 September 2007)

* Sweden signs biofuel accord with Brazil; abolishes tax on imported ethano*l



> The Swedish government has signed a biofuel cooperation agreement with Brazil and will remove its heavy import tax on ethanol produced in the South. The move is seen as a way to push EU member states to do the same. Both governments will also work together to help African countries become biofuel producers who can supply global markets. Sweden is thus creating the kernel of a genuine 'biopact'.
> 
> The deal comes after the publication yesterday of an OECD report that was written at the request of the Swedish government, Europe's largest importer of ethanol . This document says there is an urgent need to liberalise the global biofuels market. The report urges the removal of subsidies for inefficient biofuels made in the North, and the abolishment of taxes in the EU and the US on imported ethanol, in order to allow the use of sustainable and carbon-reducing biofuels made in the South
> 
> ...


----------



## numbercruncher (19 September 2007)

> For millennia, layers of animal waste and other organic matter left behind by the creatures that used to roam the Arctic tundra have been sealed inside the frozen permafrost. Now climate change is thawing the permafrost and lifting this prehistoric ooze from suspended animation.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




http://optuszoo.news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=296889&rss=yes&_cobr=optus

 The point of no return approaches ?


----------



## BIG BWACULL (20 September 2007)

*Swiss Scientists Develop Floating Solar Island*


> NeuchÃ¢tel's Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology has designed a floating solar island that will produce both electricity and hydrogen using solar power. The first $5 million, 100-meter-wide island is set to be deployed in the United Arab Emirates' Ras al Khaimah; testing will take place in protected inland waterways.
> 
> The idea behind the raft is to create a large field of solar panel without using too much terrestrial surface--while the U.S. may have vast areas in the Southwest that are perfect for solar arrays, other areas are not as lucky. The island would float on an inflated ring, inflatable-raft style.
> 
> ...


----------



## insider (20 September 2007)

BIG BWACULL said:


> *Swiss Scientists Develop Floating Solar Island*




Sorry dude its not a personal attack on you but they need to stop coming up with these science fiction things that environmentalists and residents can easily tear up as "bad for the environment" or an "eye sore" and start attacking renewable at the source of the consumption with mandatory  solar panels etc.


----------



## BIG BWACULL (20 September 2007)

insider said:


> Sorry dude its not a personal attack on you but they need to stop coming up with these science fiction things that environmentalists and residents can easily tear up as "bad for the environment" or an "eye sore" and start attacking renewable at the source of the consumption with mandatory  solar panels etc.




 lol


----------



## BIG BWACULL (24 September 2007)

*Chinese Cleaning up with Wind Power*



> China appeared multiple times in the world’s most polluted places study released last week, and is renowned for smoggy cities and facemasks. But according to executives of major wind turbine maker Vestas, China is also set to become the world’s top wind power market within 3 to 5 years.
> 
> In China to open the second and third of seven plants by the first quarter of 2008, Vestas Chief Executive Ditlev Engel said he was certain that the company would be able to compete with cheaper rivals for the wind market in China.
> 
> ...



Polluting hard and fast and trying to clean up just as quick  (I Hope )


----------



## numbercruncher (24 September 2007)

BIG BWACULL said:


> *Chinese Cleaning up with Wind Power*
> 
> 
> Polluting hard and fast and trying to clean up just as quick  (I Hope )





I sure hope they do, I read a sad little article the other day a special breed of Dolphin thats been living in there river systems for 100s thousands years now extinct forever due to out of control pollution


----------



## Smurf1976 (24 September 2007)

insider said:


> Sorry dude its not a personal attack on you but they need to stop coming up with these science fiction things that environmentalists and residents can easily tear up as "bad for the environment" or an "eye sore" and start attacking renewable at the source of the consumption with mandatory  solar panels etc.



By keeping renewable energy small scale and near the point of consumption, it virtually guarantees ongoing use of coal. The vast majority of all fossil fuel consumption does not occur at home or in some other low energy density form. 

It's office towers, smelters and the like as far as electricity is concerned. They're not going renewable any time soon unless it's large scale centralised generation with the energy delivered to the site via conventional transmission lines.

Try putting 800,000 kW baseload solar with battery backup on the roof of an aluminium smelter...

1 or 2 kW will work nicely at home however but it won't do much to reduce fossil fuel use when homes don't use most of it in the first place.

I could also add that decentralised solar electricity is the most polluting, resource intensive renewable technology actually in use. Simple scale of economy there - a big plant will be more efficient and use far less materials per unit of output."

Distributed generation is a good way of guaranteeing the future of the coal industry IMO simply because it isn't a serious threat. Large scale solar thermal, hydro and geothermal are in combination however a very serious threat to the fossil fuel industry since they are (combined) capable of being a complete replacement for electricity generation.


----------



## BIG BWACULL (26 September 2007)

*Fully Dimmable CFLs Officially Launched *



> There are two reasons to not use compact fluorescent light bulbs. 1. Because you have dimmable switches in your house, and CFLs won't work properly. Or 2. You're a damned fool. Well, now, you don't have any excuse at all. Both the U.S. and the U.K. now have fully dimmable CFL options available to consumers. These have all the advantages of regular CFLs. They use up to 80% less electricity, last ten times longer and can save up to $100 per bulb on your electric bills.
> 
> So for baby jesus' sake...if you've got dimmer switches, and are still wasting all kinds of juice...get some!
> 
> The dimmable bulbs were launched last night in the U.K. with an installation designed by Jason Burges. Inhabitat was there and let us use one of their photos;  you can check out the rest of their photos at inhabitat.com


----------



## BIG BWACULL (26 September 2007)

These seem pretty cool 

*Light my Firewinder - A Wind Powered Lantern*



> As a kid Tom Lawton wanted to see the wind. As a grown-up he wants to design cool stuff (like a 360° digital camera) These visions combine in his Firewinder Mini. It’s a 100% wind-powered outdoor light. Although it doesn’t generate practical task lighting it certainly seems to create an unusual atmospheric ambience. When wind speed approaches 3 mph the long helix shape begins to spin and via a patent pending process the breeze powers 20 LEDs that light up in a rotating spiral fashion. Apparently 5-7 mph is the optimum speed, but it can also cope with speeds up to 40 mph. And it doesn’t matter which direction the wind is blowing either.
> 
> Expected to last five years in British winds the Firewinder can be disassembled for recycling when its useful life has passed. We were chuffed to discover that Tom had tagged his first colour option Treehugger green and even devotes a page of the Firewinder site to a list of 21 simple things people can do to ease their environmental burden, suggesting people visit TH for more info. (Awww, shucks).
> 
> Originally due for release last year, it now looks like it will offered for sale sometime before Christmas 07 and cost about £85. We hope it does make it to market because our other fav, the Solar Lampion, seems not to have, yet. ::Firewinder, via web stumbling.


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## BIG BWACULL (26 September 2007)

But these are more practical 

*Solar Lampion by Damian O'Sullivan*



> Unlike many solar lamps, this one by Damian O'Sullivan, has the solar panels incorporated into its design.
> 
> He says: "Most solar lamps today are of the type that you 'plant' in your garden and then leave unattended. They store energy during the day and release it in the form of light at night, which is nice. But what if we could bring this light with us, into the home? The Solar Lampion is such a lamp. It is composed of an array of 36 'standard size' solar cells (held together by an open spaced frame), each of which is connected to an LED bulb, which is fed by one rechargeable battery. The solar cells store the sun's energy during the day and release it at nightfall wherever you need it."


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## BIG BWACULL (26 September 2007)

Check this link out, I was quite surprised with what people are doing out their in regards to making electric vehicles, Just flick through with the next page feature and i'm sure you'll be surprised, I'll start on the page with the guy Peter Ring from queensland who converted his barina combo to electric (Some are real beauties The range aint that great though, although peters car gets him to work and back 
There is a few aussies in there having a go 


CHECK IT OUT


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## Happy (26 September 2007)

Battery seems to be the biggest hurdle for electric car, but development goes in many directions, which is bound to give an unexpected gem, matter of time.


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## BIG BWACULL (30 September 2007)

*Floating Wind Turbines, up to 1000 feet in height deliver 4kW to 1600kW*



> Off-grid combined wind and diesel solutions for island nations, farms, remote areas, cell towers, exploration equipment, backup power & water pumps for natural gas mines; rapid deployment diesel & wind solutions (to include airdrop) to disaster areas for power to emergency and medical equipment, water pumps; on-grid applications for farms, factories, remote communities; and wind farm deployments.
> 
> Magenn Power MARS is a Wind Power Anywhere solution with distinct advantages over existing Conventional Wind Turbines and Diesel Generating Systems including: global deployment, lower costs, better operational performance, and greater environmental advantages.
> 
> MARS is a lighter-than air tethered wind turbine that rotates about a horizontal axis in response to wind, generating electrical energy. This electrical energy is transferred down the 1000-foot tether for immediate use, or to a set of batteries for later use, or to the power grid. Helium sustains MARS and allows it to ascend to a higher altitude than traditional wind turbines. MARS captures the energy available in the 600 to 1000-foot low level and nocturnal jet streams that exist almost everywhere. MARS rotation also generates the "Magnus effect" which provides additional lift, keeps the MARS stabilized, and positions it within a very controlled and restricted location to adhere to FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) & Transport Canada guidelines.



These will be available next year With many remote area applications and also including Natural and man-made disaster areas providing them with power (Inflate these suckers let them out and Power your site What a MAD idea :bananasmi


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## BIG BWACULL (6 October 2007)

*Portugal Boasts World's First Commercial Wave Power*
I posted about these (Pelamis by Ocean Power Delivery)earlier in the piece and now they're going to actually supply power to someone well Portugal :jump:



> It's really satisfying to see new green technology go from the concept phase to reality, and today we have something to get excited about. Ocean Power Delivery, a Scotland-based company, has just announced that they will be installing the world's first commercial wave farm off the coast of Portugal. This plan has been floating (sorry) around for a while now, but it's happening now. October 2 was supposed to be the launch date, but due to bad weather, it will have to be briefly postponed.
> The wave farm looks essentially like a group of massive snakes, but these behemoths, each the size of a small commuter train, can produce upwards of 750kw each! The farm will have 3 units, and thus have a capacity of 2.25MW, supplying electricity to roughly 2,000 homes. So how do they work?
> 
> 
> ...



A few pictures to refresh. Awesome :22_yikes:


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## So_Cynical (6 October 2007)

Happy said:


> Battery seems to be the biggest hurdle for electric car, but development
> goes in many directions, which is bound to give an unexpected gem, matter of time.




Did u see the movie "Who killed the electric car" its a great eye opener
for the vast majority of people who don't have a full understanding 
of the issues with electric cars....oh and why the industry's with vested 
interests killed off the electric car....for the moment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F

On the subject of batterys...Quote the wiki

Batteries 
Limited range (60-70 miles) and reliability in the first EV-1s to ship, but better (110 - 160 miles) later. 
Towards the end of the film, an engineer explains that, as of the interview, 
lithium ion batteries, the same technology available in laptops would have allowed the EV-1 to be 
upgraded to a range of 300 miles per charge.

Oil companies 
Fearful of losing business to a competing technology, they supported efforts to kill the ZEV mandate. 
They also bought patents to prevent modern batteries from being used in US electric cars.

General motors helped develop the lithium ion batteries then SOLD 
the company and patents to an oil company 

http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com/


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## Happy (6 October 2007)

How sad, but a lot of patents ends up wasted gathering dust on the shelf of company fearing or competing the concept.

If law-makers could prevent it, we would be much better of and our progress would be unobstructed, but good news is that patent can be held secret for not more than 20 years if I remember it right.


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## YChromozome (6 October 2007)

So_Cynical said:


> Did u see the movie "Who killed the electric car" its a great eye opener for the vast majority of people who don't have a full understanding of the issues with electric cars....




Yes, I remember the Doco. I was quite bitter towards GM for weeks after that. A shame to see all those cars crushed.

The other thing you have to remember was the first 650 EV1s where built in 1996. GM built a 2nd run of 465 EV1's in 1999 using NiMH batteries.

So electric cars are not futuristic. General Motors built over 1000 electric cars between 1996 and 1999.


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## BIG BWACULL (8 October 2007)

*Airships: London to New York for $200? *



> EcoGeek loves airships. We've talked about them quite a lot, and found that, in general, people like the idea. It's slower, but there's far more space to move around -- think of a cruise rather than a plane trip. The world seems to have become too fast-paced for airships, but there are a few angles that the industry might be able to play to turn things around.
> 
> And they're playing those angles. At the recent American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference, the lighter-than-air people played their usual role of second-class citizens. After all, it's hard to compete with the traditional multi-billion dollar heavier-than-air folks. But a strong group of airship entrepreneurs, investors and engineers did get some good press.
> 
> ...



Me Too  Who cares how long it takes as long as you get there (Not Zepplin style i might add )


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## BIG BWACULL (8 October 2007)

Or Maybe for a more personal flight, and ready to go in Half the time (4 years)

*The Personal Blimp*



> Looking for the perfect way to study the forest canopy of the Ecuadorian jungle? How about creeping along noiselessly at tree level? In an adventure that seems straight out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the longtime dream of two pilots in Amherst, Massachusetts, is finally becoming a reality.
> 
> A self-described “dot com computer geek” for more than 20 years, Dan Nachbar wanted a change of pace. So the veteran pilot and his engineering buddy Mike Kuehlmuss dedicated themselves to finding a way to combine the stunning views provided by small aircraft””without all the the noise. The result: The Personal Blimp, and, if all goes well with the FAA, you can have one too!
> 
> ...



Well maybe next decade


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## BIG BWACULL (11 October 2007)

WHAT THE  I Live in Sydney and never new of its existence (its been around since 2000)



> Well, it's not unusual to see wind-powered boats. But it is strange to see sails in an entirely new form...and also, to see them covered in photovoltaic cells.
> 
> The Solar Sailor is a ferry that transports people around Sydney harbor using about half has much fuel as it would need without its solar panel-covered wings. The wings are movable to allow the panels to track the sun when it's sunny. Or, if more energy can be gained from the wind, they can act as traditional sails. Finally, when weather is too rough for the sails to be out, they simply flatten against the ferry and the diesel motor takes over.
> 
> The Solar Sailor first started tooling around Sydney five years ago during the Olympics. But, so far, the idea hasn't spread. There is talk, however, of a similar design taking over tourist trips to the Statue of Liberty!


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## BIG BWACULL (11 October 2007)

Heres Pic


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## Smurf1976 (11 October 2007)

We all know diesel is rather polluting. But even I didn't expect quite what is happening with the temporary "power station" very hastily set up in the Hobart CBD after the big fire on 22nd September.

Basically it's 3 big diesel generators sitting on the street (literally) with cables strung up all over the place, through windows, under the awnings etc to connect them. 

I don't have a photo but I'll put it this way. The lamp posts are painted red. Those near the "power station" are now black. The flags have changed colour too and are also now _completely_ black. They are black from the generators, not the fire. 

Just contemplate how much is spewed into the air from all the trucks, buses, cars and so on in any city. What's coming from these generators is nothing compared to that - you see more smoke from a single large truck than from the generators. But put them in one place and run them 24/7 and the soot builds up alarmingly quickly. They're burning somewhere in the order of 450 litres an hour to my understanding.

Presumably the mess will wash off(?) but it shows just how much is pumped into the air from diesel, petrol etc.


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## arminius (13 October 2007)

fast forward to the next world cup when the wallabies hopefully have a decent scrum, and eden energy may have solved this prob.
check it out.
natural gas plus hydrogen. (hythane). almost zero pollution.


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## BIG BWACULL (13 October 2007)

arminius said:


> fast forward to the next world cup when the wallabies hopefully have a decent scrum, and eden energy may have solved this prob.
> check it out.
> natural gas plus hydrogen. (hythane). almost zero pollution.



Don't forget their 10%-15% Diesel/90%-85%Hythane Blend (Current Generators in india can only do a 40 %Diesel 60% Natural Gas Blend  
HYTHANE HYTHANE HYTHANE (Said in a football type wallabies chant


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## So_Cynical (13 October 2007)

The Ultimate renewable fuel is already here...its GAS!
plain old "NG" Natural Gas, its pretty much Methane.

And Methane (compost Gas) is easy to make and 100% 
renewable and if mass production was to ever happen 
then sewerage would be a perfect source of the water 
and nitrogen needed for composing of plantation 
forestry and mill waste.

Ive no idea why some1 isn't already doing this.


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## BIG BWACULL (13 October 2007)

So_Cynical said:


> The Ultimate renewable fuel is already here...its GAS!
> plain old "NG" Natural Gas, its pretty much Methane.
> 
> And Methane (compost Gas) is easy to make and 100%
> ...



Not sure if you caught a recent article on The sydney sewerage plant at south head but they in the process of  utilising the methane from sewerage to produce energy for the Plant and were also looking into using incoming effluent to power a hydro type setup  If i find the article i'll post it here


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## BIG BWACULL (13 October 2007)

Quick search and here it is



> Media Release
> 
> 19 Jul 2007
> Sydney Water to be carbon neutral by 2020
> ...




Sydney Water Link


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## Smurf1976 (13 October 2007)

So_Cynical said:


> The Ultimate renewable fuel is already here...its GAS!
> plain old "NG" Natural Gas, its pretty much Methane.
> 
> And Methane (compost Gas) is easy to make and 100%
> ...



Anything based on biomass comes down to scale. If we took every bit of food eaten by every Australian then it wouldn't generate enough electricity to run Adelaide.

If you take sewage, then that's some % of the food eaten that is available as energy. Even if we turned the whole lot into electricity or natural gas, it's only going to be a very small percentage of the total supply. It does make sense to use it rather than letting unburnt methane (a potent greenhouse gas) escape and burning coal instead, but it's not a magic bullet to the energy problem unless we're going to massively increase global agricultural / forestry output to the point that present production looks trivial in comparisson. Not sure if that's even possible but it's going to do a massive amount of damage to the land and require massive amounts of water at best.

As for sewer gas, some sewage plant operators have been using it for years. One that I know of is Hobart City Council at their Maquarie Point plant where it has been done for quite some time. Part of the motivation there is that the plant is walking distance from the city centre and just up the river from a popular tourist area so they are pretty strict on what comes out of it both gases and liquids. They just burn the gas on site to generate electricity in conventional internal combustion engines. They just burn the gas off if the engines aren't working (breakdowns etc) due to the need to not let the smell escape. I'm told it's been done in Adelaide too for decades but not sure if that is correct.

At present, virtually all distributed natural gas worldwide is from gas fields, gas caps in oil fields (which is exactly the same as a non-oil gas field apart from oil also being present) and a much smaller amount from coal (locally most significant in Queensland).


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## So_Cynical (14 October 2007)

Smurf1976 said:


> Anything based on biomass comes down to scale. If we took
> every bit of food eaten by every Australian then it wouldn't generate enough electricity to run Adelaide.
> 
> If you take sewage, then that's some % of the food eaten that is available as energy. Even if we
> ...




The Mass is not the sewage, thats about 15% of the mix...the mass (carbon) comes from
trees...plantation grown pine trees....compost requires water and nitrogen (sewage) 

I haven't done the numbers Smurf so i dint know how much compost gas would be 
required to power Adelaide....but i do know the following.

Theres 250.000+ hectares of Plantation forest (Pine) in NSW
100% of the harvest waste is left to rot on the ground
70% (guesstimate) of mill waste is dumped or stockpiled to rot
100% of sewage is treated then remaining water dumped
ive no idea how Sydney water handles the sewage nutrients.


If u combine all the above ingredients and add domestic
organic waste u get a compost-able mix that would create
an enormous amount of compost gas that is easily turned
into Natural Gas.

This would also attract carbon offsets and could fire gas 
power plants that sell certified Renewable Green power.

The hardware to do this can be brought of the shelf (small scale)
and done in multiples and the ingredients would be free or
certainly very low cost.

the aust greenhouse office would even fund u.

Shame this will never happen.


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## BIG BWACULL (17 October 2007)

The Future in a Tiny Sphere: A Conversation with Yoshinobu Tsujikawa



> Japan leads the world in solar power technology. Japan not only produces half the total solar cells made in the world, it also exports 30% of these cells, with expected demand for 20% increases per year. The Japanese government pushes renewable energy policies that have resulted in the installation of more than 100,000 residential solar power systems by 2004, as well as a projection of 5 GW of solar generation capacity by 2010. Japan even plans to launch a solar satellite by 2040, which will deliver energy to the earth via low-intensity microwaves. The satellite will absorb the sun’s energy 24 hours a day, unobstructed by clouds, and generate one million kilowatts per second – equal to the output of a nuclear power plant.
> 
> Now a Kyoto-based company, Kyosemi, is redesigning the future of photovoltaics themselves. Conventional photovoltaic technology is based on harnessing the sun's rays within a flat substrate, typically comprised by single or poly-crystalline silicon material. This arrangement is easy to design and manufacture; the only problem is that the efficacy of this technology relies on its position relative to the sun. Traditional but expensive solutions to this challenge involve motorized frames that follow the sun’s path throughout the day, requiring energy and maintenance in order to work properly.
> 
> Kyosemi’s solution is based on an entirely different geometry. Their innovative new Sphelar ® is a matrix of tiny, spherical-shaped solar cells. The spheres are designed to absorb sunlight at any angle, and therefore do not require motorization for tracking the sun. Based on their geometry, Sphelar cells even optimize the use of reflected and indirect light, and have been shown to convert energy with close to 20% efficiency – beyond most flat photovoltaic technologies. Its flexible disposition also makes Sphelar appropriate for applications at a variety of scales, including mobile electronic devices.




Interview Here


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## Happy (17 October 2007)

It would be fantastic if all the footpaths could have roof doubled as solar power panels and all house roofs covered with them too.

Bit of utopia now, but maybe few years down the track will happen.


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## Aussiejeff (7 November 2007)

Australian Biodiesel (ABJ) has just been smote mightily .... down 50% as I type - on bad news for the biodiesel/alternative fuels industry..

Read this..  http://imagesignal.comsec.com.au/asxdata/20071107/pdf/00780136.pdf

Fortunately I wasn't tempted to buy into this company.

AJ


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## nioka (7 November 2007)

Aussiejeff said:


> Australian Biodiesel (ABJ) has just been smote mightily .... down 50% as I type - on bad news for the biodiesel/alternative fuels industry..
> 
> Read this..  http://imagesignal.comsec.com.au/asxdata/20071107/pdf/00780136.pdf
> 
> ...



Maybe it is political. They may be trying to get a deal out of the election pork barrel. Could be the buy of the day.


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## BIG BWACULL (12 November 2007)

Aussiejeff said:


> Australian Biodiesel (ABJ) has just been smote mightily .... down 50% as I type - on bad news for the biodiesel/alternative fuels industry..
> 
> Read this..  http://imagesignal.comsec.com.au/asxdata/20071107/pdf/00780136.pdf
> 
> ...



Yes it is a shame to see most of our Biofuels fall by the wayside as governments  don't seem to be supportive of the industry  Another to have recently fallen dramatically from just over 22c last week to 6.5c today after it announced it was switching its focus to the U.S Market is ARW  
Wake Up Australia and smell the biodiesel, NFL another to go from 1.50 IPO to 20c today within the year


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## BIG BWACULL (12 November 2007)

Scotland Reduces Bus Fares for Passengers Who Supply Cooking Oil 



> Passengers riding on certain buses in Scotland will soon be able to trade in their used cooking oil for reduced fares. The oil will be recycled to power a fleet of eight buses that run on 100-percent biodiesel as part of a trial initiative by Stagecoach, one of the United Kingdom's largest bus and coach operators, to reduce carbon emissions. "This innovative project is a great opportunity for our customers to play their part in saving the planet by recycling household products that would otherwise go to waste," said Brian Souter, Stagecoach group chief executive. "I'm sure the idea of cheaper travel in exchange for the used contents of your chip pan will capture people's imagination."
> 
> All households on the Service 1 route, which runs from Stewarton to Darvel and carries some 15,500 passengers per week, will be given a container to collect their used cooking oil. Customers can then take the oil to a local recycling plant to receive vouchers for discounted bus travel. The used cooking oil and tallow will be converted to biodiesel for the buses, helping to avoid concerns about environmental damage and competition with food supplies that have arisen with other biodiesel feedstocks, such as palm oil, soybeans, and rapeseed.
> 
> ...



Looks like it could be back to the bartering days 
One way fare sydney to melbourne might be 20 litres of used oil, 10 kilos of spuds and a partridge in a pear tree


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## BIG BWACULL (12 November 2007)

*International Truck and Engine First Company to Enter Hybrid Commercial Truck Production*



> International Truck and Engine Corporation, a Navistar company (OTC: NAVZ), announced that it is the first company to enter line production of hybrid commercial trucks, the International(R) DuraStar(TM) Hybrid, a diesel hybrid electric medium-duty truck that provides customers with improved fuel efficiency and reduced engine emissions.
> 
> The International DuraStar Hybrid diesel hybrid electric truck has the proven capability to provide dramatic fuel savings from 30-40 percent on a standard in-city pickup and delivery applications. The fuel efficiency can increase to more than 60 percent in utility-type applications when the engine can be shut off, but electric power still operates the vehicle. Diesel emissions are completely eliminated when the hybrid truck operates equipment (like overhead utility booms) solely on the truck's battery power, instead of allowing the engine to idle.
> 
> ...



Maybe Australia has someone out their able to deliver these to our GOVT buses at the very least :bowdown:
Wishful thinking :dunno: 
YES


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## Aussiejeff (13 November 2007)

Courtesy of The Age newspaper...

-----------------------------
_*Vaile in $24m biofuel pledge*
Ben Doherty
November 13, 2007

*A RE-ELECTED Coalition would put $24 million towards expanding the ethanol industry and finding new plant materials from which to make biofuels.*

The announcement comes a week after the head of one of Australia's biggest biofuel manufacturers shut two plants, accusing the Government of "indifference" to the industry.

Speaking at the Coalition's official campaign launch in Brisbane, National Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile said that with petrol prices continuing to rise, Australia needed to source more of its fuel from domestic crops.

A re-elected Coalition will extend the ethanol distribution program, which funds service station conversions to 10 per cent blended ethanol petrol (E10), until June 2009.

Currently about 800 service stations around the country retail ethanol. Mr Vaile said it was expected 400 extra service stations will take up the $20,000 grants, at a cost to government of about $8 million. A further $10 million would be spent promoting and researching biofuels. If re-elected, the Government would also run a $6 million trial to see if the B20 biodiesel blend meets heavy vehicle standards.

*Last week, Australian Renewable Fuels shut two plants, citing the rising cost of tallow used to make fuel. ARF acting general manager Max Ger said changes to the Fuel Tax Act that removed incentives meant it was "virtually impossible" to sell biofuels.*_
-----------------------------------

What? A whopping $24 Million is all they could scrape up from the Election Porkbarrel?? Are they SERIOUS??? 

Of the $34 Billion in tax cuts offered by the Libs (and the lesser amount by Labor), how much should either side REALLY have allocated in order to firstly save the "renewable" fuels industry and secondly to significantly boost the industry? Both parties are a joke if they think these sorts of piddling amounts are going to put a rocket under alternative energy source companies who are struggling to even get off the ground in Oz, let alone survive. 

Check out this report on where Australia sits on Ernst & Young's All Renewables Index...

http://www.blog.thesietch.org/wp-content/Country_Attractiveness_Indices_Q3_2006.pdf

We are pathetically positioned at 16th place in the overall rankings. Although we place 7th in the solar index (don't ask me how!), the real pointer is the 18th place in the "Renewables Infrastructure" category. Dare I say with the investments being made by other more progressive and less short-sighted governments around the world, it won't be long before we don't even rate in the top 20!

Get REAL about this huge growth opportunity, OZPollies!

AJ


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## numbercruncher (28 November 2007)

Great news here from Google ! 




> In a move to shake up the nascent renewable energy industry, Google announced Tuesday it will spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing new solar and wind technologies while investing in green tech startups.
> 
> The goal, according to Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page: Send the fossil fuel industry to the coal bin of history by making renewable energy cheaper than coal, a main culprit in the global warming crisis.




http://greenwombat.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2007/11/27/googles-green-power-play/


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## Aussiejeff (19 December 2007)

Courtesy of Bloomberg News today:

_"Congress by a wide margin approved the *first increase in automobile fuel economy in 32 years Tuesday*, and President Bush plans to quickly sign the legislation, accepting the mandates on the auto industry.

The energy bill, *boosting mileage by 40 percent to 35 miles per gallon*, passed the House 314-100 and now goes to the White House, following the Senate's approval last week.

In a statement, the White House said Bush will sign the legislation at the Energy Department on Wednesday.

In a dramatic shift to spur increased demand for nonfossil fuels, the bill also requires a six-fold increase in ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022, a boon to farmers. And it requires new energy efficiency standards for an array of appliances, lighting and commercial and government buildings."_

I wonder how much this news will affect the crude oil price in the future? Will this mean the death of the gas-guzzling SUV's? Is there renewed hope for renewables?


AJ


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## BIG BWACULL (29 January 2008)

*Solel Raises $105 Million for Solar Thermal*



> The race to build solar thermal power plants is heating up in the U.S. Southwest desert this year, and companies that are building these massive solar systems will need a lot of funding to get these things constructed. This morning Israeli solar thermal plant builders Solel, said they have raised a gigantic $105 million from Ecofin Limited, a London based investment firm.
> 
> The company needed the investment in order to get a 553 MW solar plant built in the California Mojave desert (the company has a deal to sell the power to California utility PG&E). That’s in addition to a 150 MW solar thermal plant the company is building in Spain. With solar thermal plants costing on the order of hundreds of millions to billions of dollars to build, Solel will likely need to raise even more money than this nine digit investment ”” something the company acknowledges briefly in their press release.
> solel1.jpg
> ...



Even the aussies "Ausra" get a mention


----------



## Smurf1976 (29 January 2008)

553 MW is getting serious. It's about the same as any of the individual steam turbine units in the major power stations in the Eastern states of Australia.

Not big in the US context but nobody can argue that 553 MW isn't a "proper" power station because it most certainly is. Northern (SA, coal), Newport (Vic, gas), Gordon (Tas, hydro) and Swanbank B (Qld, coal) power plants are all slightly smaller than this one.


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## Tysonboss1 (30 January 2008)

Smurf1976 said:


> We all know diesel is rather polluting. But even I didn't expect quite what is happening with the temporary "power station" very hastily set up in the Hobart CBD after the big fire on 22nd September.
> 
> Basically it's 3 big diesel generators sitting on the street (literally) with cables strung up all over the place, through windows, under the awnings etc to connect them.
> 
> ...





I know excactly what you mean,..

when I served in East Timor 100% of the electricity was coming from diesel,..

every morning when I got up at about 5am because the air had been so still at night the whole of dili was always covered in a thick layer of smog just from the diesel engines.

It was crazy,


----------



## Tysonboss1 (30 January 2008)

insider said:


> Sorry dude its not a personal attack on you but they need to stop coming up with these science fiction things that environmentalists and residents can easily tear up as "bad for the environment" or an "eye sore" and start attacking renewable at the source of the consumption with mandatory  solar panels etc.




your right,..

I think that solar hotwater systems should be complusory,... or atleast solar assisted hotwater systems,..

simply because roof top solar hotwater collectors are the cheapest way we can collect solar energy and use it to offset other energy sources.

I read some where that a 1m square Solar hot water collector panel will heat the average family hot water tank in 3 hrs,..... for a convetional solar electric cell to generate enough electricity to heat the same volume of water in the same time frame you would need almost 10 square meters.


----------



## BIG BWACULL (30 January 2008)

Well this bit of science fiction is science fact and it reduces a lot of diesel consumption, Who would have thought a Kite powered cargo ship 



> The big day has finally come. After years of testing and development, and recent media build-up, a kite-powered cargo ship has hit the high seas on the first transatlantic voyage from Bremershaven (Hamburg), Germany to Guanta, Venezuela. The 160m2 SkySail kite wafting over the cargo at the bow of the 132m Multi Purpose Heavy Lift Carrier MS “Beluga SkySails" is a beautiful sight. For a tour of the best video links to see a new day in shipping dawn, see overleaf.
> 
> To see the ship in full daylight on the open seas, with interviews, check out the Der Spiegel Online SkySails video. The audio is in German, but translations of the key interviews are included below.
> 
> If you are patient and/or value beauty, SkySails Maiden Voyage video linkshows impressive, but less well edited, footage of the launch of the SkySail. The first minute of video shows the ship leaving port at night, against the lights of Hamburg. The SkySail kite makes its first appearance about 2:40 into the stream.




*Translations of relevant points in the Spiegel TV report:*


> Stephan Wrage, Managing Director of SkySails: "In the beginning we were just really laughed at. Today, they say only 'that was really foresightful,' that we started development already back then. And wind is always cheaper than oil. The resource costs, the raw material costs, the fuel prices have developed so dramatically; we can really make significant savings."
> 
> Ship's Captain Lutz Held: "A ship like this can, for example, reduce the emissions; that means, we are not emitting so much CO2 into the air as other ships. And the transport sector as a whole will prevent enormous amounts of emissions."
> 
> ...



Who would think something like this would make a difference, I might get on for the tinny, just need $500,000 

CHECK VIDEO HERE


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## Smurf1976 (30 January 2008)

Tysonboss1 said:


> your right,..
> 
> I think that solar hotwater systems should be complusory,... or atleast solar assisted hotwater systems,..
> 
> ...



Sort of agree, depending on exactly what you mean.

"Solar assisted" can mean all sorts of things in practice. There are some truly shocking systems around that are "solar assisted". In particular, the ones that add solar panels to a gas-heated storage tank. Trouble is, as soon as you use some hot water, the gas burner starts up as does the solar pump. End result is you won't save much gas and the solar doesn't do much in practice apart from adding hugely to the cost of the system.

Any solar hot water system should be either (1) boosted only by something that doesn't turn on when during the day (eg off-peak electricity night only rate (the cheapest electricity rate)) or alternatively use the booster to heat only part of the tank (usually the top 30 - 50% but you can go higher without problems if it's off-peak night only boost). An inline gas (or electric) booster is another option that works fine.

Depending on the house and location a heat pump is a better option than solar. Certainly in the cooler climates it will save more electricity than a solar panel will. Eg for Melbourne or Hobart expect to save 50% (roughly) with solar versus 70% saving with a heat pump. And a heat pump is in some situations a far more practical unit to install since most are a one piece system that fits straight in where the old electric one was (if outdoors) with nothing to go on the roof. Also no glycol to leak, no panels to rust out and it can't freeze (which breaks the panels).

Agreed we ought to be putting them in certainly for all new houses but it needs to be the right system for the house and location. In the cooler climates heat pumps tend to be the better option whilst solar is better in the warmer climates especially if frost isn't an issue.

Forget photovoltaic. An outright farce in economic terms compared to simply heating the water directly. Far less efficient, drastically more expensive and a lot more polluting to manufacture too. If we're going to generate photovoltaic electricity then use it to replace power from some other source, not to heat water on site.

As for the time to heat etc...

It will take 18.2 kWh to heat 315 litres from 20 to 70 degrees. That's a pretty typical sized domestic off-peak tank (enough for a whole day's use).

Sunshine is about 1 kW per m2 and solar panels aren't 100% efficient. So realistically a tank that size normally comes with roughly 4 - 4.5m2 of panels. You'd need 24 hours of constant sun to heat the tank with just 1m2 (allowing for losses etc).

IMO the best way to look at all household (and non-industrial business) energy things from an environmental perspective is to forget everything about CO2, dams flooding valleys and turbines blighting the landscape. Focus instead on one question - the amount of primary energy that will be consumed. That reduces everything to one easy to compare figure.

Let's say you use 10 kWh of hot water per day (roughly typical for a 2 person household that doesn't have an egg timer in the shower). 

For electricity you will typically need to take 45 kWh of fuel from the ground to get your 10 kWh of hot water. 3 kWh of that is used to produce and transport the fuel to the power station. Another 27 kWh is lost at the power station. Another 1.5 kWh is lost in transmission and distribution. And the tank itself loses another 3.5 kWh. Those are rough figures but the end result is 45 kWh in = 10 kWh of useful hot water. 

For gas you will need typically 17 kWh taken from the ground. About 1 kWh to extract and process the gas. About 3 kWh lost in the gas burner. Another 3 kWh lost as heat from the tank. And 10 kWh useful hot water.

A heat pump running on off-peak electricity will be about one third of the electric figures above. Solar with electric boost will be 20 - 60% of the electric figures depending on location. Solar with gas boost will likewise be 20 - 80% of the gas figures depending on the system and location.

Peak electricity is less efficient to produce than off-peak. The difference in fuel use is larger than you might expect. So anything electric on a continuous supply tariff will use more than the above. How much more will depend on what time of day it's being used, location (state) and so on. Gas turbine peaking plants, pumped storage and short running of thermal units are all inefficient compared to baseload generation.

Bottom line? Solar with a gas booster is the clear winner for efficiency as long as it's a proper system not one of those duds described above. Solar with off-peak electric boost, gas only and heat pumps are all broadly similar (not enough between them to generalise - it will depend on location etc). And electric only systems, the most common type in use, are by far the least efficient.

If I need to replace my current water heater then I'll be going for a heat pump as it's the most efficient option that makes reasonable economic sense. Also it will fit the house a lot better than solar panels would.


----------



## Dukey (1 February 2008)

Met a guy the other day who mentioned this company - Thermogen, though the system he described  (something like melting salt via a solar collector???) was different to the one on their website (below, pics on the website).

Anyway - this is what their website show they are developing...

Thermogen appear to be a brisbane based company, developing a 'hybrid' solar system for power, hot water and air con. (not based on photo-voltaic panels).
- System description (from thermogen.com.au)


> *Heat Pipe System*
> The most common solar hot water system in the world, evacuated heat tubes, is universally used throughout China and Europe. It's efficiency is significantly improved by inserting a heat pipe into the evacuated tube. This device, made from copper, is a long, sealed tube with a bulb at the top end. It is evacuated so that the Freon inside boils at 25C.releasing vapour into the bulb where it transfers the latent heat to the water flowing past the outside of the bulb.
> 
> 
> ...



Claims that a standard system of 7x1.2sqm panels (=8.4sq m) supplies 5kW for 24Hrs!! = 120kW / day. - far more than required by a standard household...!

Sounds good!! - maybe too good to be true...??

Smurf or anyone - comments on this system?? Is it for real?
-dukey


----------



## BIG BWACULL (4 February 2008)

*China to be World's Top Wind Turbine Manufacturer *


> The current leaders in the turbine business, GE, Ibderola Ren., Suzlon and Vestas have a presence in China but the Chinese domestic manufacturing business will be over 1/2 of the world's total.
> 
> *From Reuters:*
> China will leap to be the top wind turbine producer in 2009, transforming an already fast-growing renewable energy sector, a leading wind power industry official said.
> ...


----------



## treefrog (4 February 2008)

no doubt green systems must come but be very aware of the total (life cycle) costs of any of these
even the basic solar HWS (rheem, solarhart etc) have difficulty stacking up due to the significant efficiency drop with time and the total panel replacement necessary in 8+ years
it is all very well for the manufacturer to pitch the line that HW is free after 5-8 years but mostly they ignore maintenance costs
the units themselves are also high energy consumption to manufacture (above standard electric heaters) and zero base energy numbers need to be factored in
I speak from experience having installed and maintained town systems in the 80's and 90's
I trust overall efficiencies have improved of late but I strongly suspect not for many systems


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## Smurf1976 (4 February 2008)

Dukey said:


> Claims that a standard system of 7x1.2sqm panels (=8.4sq m) supplies 5kW for 24Hrs!! = 120kW / day. - far more than required by a standard household...!
> 
> Sounds good!! - maybe too good to be true...??
> 
> ...



That would be capturing more than 100% of the solar energy falling on that surface area. So either it's using mirrors etc or some other trick. Or it's not true.

5kW is theoretically possible (ie there's enough solar energy hitting the panels) but not averaged at that level over 24 hours. At least not without constant sunshine.


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## Smurf1976 (4 February 2008)

treefrog said:


> no doubt green systems must come but be very aware of the total (life cycle) costs of any of these
> even the basic solar HWS (rheem, solarhart etc) have difficulty stacking up due to the significant efficiency drop with time and the total panel replacement necessary in 8+ years
> it is all very well for the manufacturer to pitch the line that HW is free after 5-8 years but mostly they ignore maintenance costs
> the units themselves are also high energy consumption to manufacture (above standard electric heaters) and zero base energy numbers need to be factored in
> ...



Conventional solar flat plate water heaters are absolutely high maintenance, especially in any climate where frost is an issue. Heat pumps are a financially far more attractive option IMO - no more maintenance than a conventional electric water heater (anode every 5 years etc).


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## Tysonboss1 (4 February 2008)

treefrog said:


> no doubt green systems must come but be very aware of the total (life cycle) costs of any of these
> even the basic solar HWS (rheem, solarhart etc) have difficulty stacking up due to the significant efficiency drop with time and the total panel replacement necessary in 8+ years
> it is all very well for the manufacturer to pitch the line that HW is free after 5-8 years but mostly they ignore maintenance costs
> the units themselves are also high energy consumption to manufacture (above standard electric heaters) and zero base energy numbers need to be factored in
> ...





seeing your gas bill drop from $230 to $64 a quarter means the savings are well worth it in my opion. my neighbor had a solar system that by passed his on demand gas system unitl the solar system droped below a certain temp and these were his savings,


----------



## numbercruncher (8 February 2008)

> Scientists make knee-brace power generator
> Posted 2 hours 28 minutes ago
> 
> Scientists say they have developed a unique device that can be strapped on the knee that exploits the mechanics of human walking to generate a usable supply of electricity.
> ...




http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/08/2157674.htm

Ahhh what next !

Maybe we could have armys of weight watchers, fitness fanatics, community service folks, prisoners etc etc wired up to the grid and walking round in circles


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## Buddy (8 February 2008)

Well, my money is on small intergrated solar heat systems rather than Photovoltaics.  Unless there is an efficiency and manufacturing breakthrough I cannot see large scale Photovoltaic system being used for domestic installations. Yes they do exist but are frightfully expensive.

Actually, I am currently in preliminary stages of developing and integrated solar heat system that provides airconditioning, and ultimately electricity.  Without giving away too much it is based on:-

Evacuated tube solar collectors - far more efficient than conventional flat panels
Conventional hot water storage and heat exchangers
Absorption chillers. Yes small scale units do exist. These creates chilled water using the energy collected from the solar panels.
Conventional fan coil units.
Heat pump for getting some energy from the ground in the middle of winter
Now for the hard part - Stirling engine with linear alternator to generate electricity to power the unit and generate surplus power.

Stirling cycle engines are not exactly easy to buy off the shelf.  I can buy a unit from the USA that generates just over a kilowatt of electricity. Very small unit and could be put in multiple configuration, with appropriate electronics to synchronise the power output. Big problem is that they are not yet mass manufactured and cost about US$110,00 (yes that's right) a pop. So I may have to rely on photovoltaics to power my A/C and hot water system, and wait a while for Stirling engines to be mass produced.

Ultimately, I think Stirling cycle engines will be used in system like these, with the potential to more than halve the size of the power grid.  The economics are already "there" (if the engine could be made cheaply enough). It is worth noting that the grid infrastructure cost is approximately 5-10 times the current direct cost of the millions (and growing) of small A/C units around Australia. Ultimately that is not sustainable.

Alll I need now is a very rich benefactor to help me set up a mass producing Stirling engine plant, of the 1-10kW range. Anywhere will do, even China.
Anyone in ASF fit that mold?  Any takers.............?


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## Happy (8 February 2008)

Solar batteries no match for lage size hail, so I am for solar heat systems too.
I assume that repairs of solar heat systems after hail storm are not as expensive.


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## numbercruncher (15 February 2008)

Pleasing report, lets bring it on!




> A new report says Australia could make a 30 per cent cut in emissions by 2020 for less than $1 a day for most households.
> 
> Global management consultancy group McKinsey and Company found it is affordable for Australia to cut pollution by 30 per cent by 2020 and 60 per cent by 2030.
> 
> ...





http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/15/2163349.htm


----------



## Happy (15 February 2008)

> From ABC, 15 Feb. 08
> 
> BOOST FOR SOLAR REBATES
> 
> ...





I understand that local micro power producers cause headache for grid owners, but if power can be stored pumping water to high ground, maybe this is not such a bad idea.

At least local power generators can produce equivalent of power lost in transit.


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## Smurf1976 (16 February 2008)

numbercruncher said:


> Pleasing report, lets bring it on!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I've been trying to find the detail on this one. It sounds too good to be true so I'm sceptical.

The 60% by 2030 would surely have to include a switch _from_ direct fuel use _to_ electricity (itself being 100% renewable or very close to it). Just going 100% renewable electricity without intentional load increases at the expense of gas and other direct fuel use wouldn't meet that target. Nor would any realistic level of energy efficiency.

Hence I'm sceptical - an environmental report that advocates more power generation is a bit like the Pope advocating condoms. Possible, sensible but a massive break with tradition.


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## 2020hindsight (16 February 2008)

hey smurf - did I hear someone right this week!!
Plasma screens run about 1300 watts ? sheesh !

We have a microwave oven that runs about 1000W - and only for about 5 or 10 minutes a day 

but 1300 watts semi-continuous sheesh.  (the same as 65 off 20 watt lights) - damned things should be outlawed !

PS what's the point of changing from 80W incandescents to 20W fluorescents!?  - when you then install a 1300W plasma!


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## Happy (16 February 2008)

2020hindsight said:


> hey smurf - did I hear someone right this week!!
> Plasma screens run about 1300 watts ? sheesh !
> 
> We have a microwave oven that runs about 1000W - and only for about 5 or 10 minutes a day
> ...





That's why LCD seems to be better, as has lower power consumption.
Also not that bad in winter, with plasma on we can turn heater down or off.


----------



## Smurf1976 (16 February 2008)

2020hindsight said:


> hey smurf - did I hear someone right this week!!
> Plasma screens run about 1300 watts ? sheesh !
> 
> We have a microwave oven that runs about 1000W - and only for about 5 or 10 minutes a day
> ...



In short, not correct. 

I'll base the figures on a 42" widescreen (16:9) as they seem to be the biggest sellers at the moment.

Plasma uses about 350W, LCD about 250W. A CRT of the same size would be about 275W (though I'm not aware of anyone actually manufacturing CRT's in this size).

However, the LCD will use that power pretty constantly regardless of what is on the screen (since the fluorescent lamps run at full brightness constantly). The CRT and especially the plasma will however use less in practice since their power consumption varies according to illuminance levels of the picture.

So realistically, around 30% more power for a plasma compared to LCD and around 20% more when compared to CRT for the same size picture.

But consider how the TV is likely to be used. If it is watched 20 hours per week and lasts 10 years then that's 10,000 hours which is probably realistic for normal home use. In that case the plasma uses 1000 kWh more than the LCD over its lifetime.

But the plasma costs $1000 less to buy at present. Add in some rate of return on the investment and it's closer to $2000 cheaper in terms of capital cost over its lifetime.

Paying $2000 to save 1 MWh (1000 kWh) just doesn't stack up either financially or as a means of reducing emissions. Baseload coal-fired power is around $40 per MWh, wind varies but take $65 - 70 as typical. And your domesetic power with all the distribution costs, GST etc included comes to somewhere between $100 - $250 per MWh depending on location (state).

But that LCD saves energy at a cost of $2000 per MWh. It just doesn't stack up no matter how you look at it. Therefore I'd suggest that you choose plasma or LCD based on suitability for the room, your viewing habits etc and not on the basis of energy consumption.

The only exception would be if you had some reason why saving that 100W was unusually important - if you're not on the grid for example or it's a non-domestic situation (eg a monitor room watching security cameras, traffic etc) where keeping the heat down is important due to the large number of screens in a small area and the static images will damage the plasma screen. In those cases LCD is a clear winner but not for the average loungeroom.

The notion that plasmas use a lot of power is thus a function more of screen size rather than the technology itself. Large TV's use more power than small TV's just as an SUV uses more petrol than a hatchback. That comes back to constant economic growth leading to constant energy consumption growth rather than a valid argument about plasma versus LCD versus CRT. 

The other thing about flat TV's (either LCD or plasma) is how they are used. CRT's were pretty much restricted to their normal use plus a few in shops for marketing displays, the odd video wall in a nightclub or shopping centre and so on. But flat screens are everywhere and used for everything from clocks to thermometers and mini billboards inside shops - all things that CRT's were rarely used for. It's even becoming moderately common to put an LCD on the wall with a camera outside instead of having a window - something that was not done with CRT's. 

And it's LCD's that are most popular for these applications - a classic example of a more efficient technology leading to an increase in overall energy consumption because it has lead to greater use both in screen size and application. That is, of course, what happens with virtually every energy saving technology - use of the final product increases thus partially or totally offsetting the benefits.

One thing to be aware of though is standby energy use. Most modern TV's leave the electronics running 24/7, some even do it if you switch off at the set rather than with the remote. And I've seen measured power consumption of up to 40W for the electronics when the set is turned off! 

Solution - switch off at the wall. Doing so will greatly prolong the life of the TV and reduce the chances of you needing the fire brigade too. 

As for the other appliances, all is not as it seems there either. Your 1000W microwave uses about 1700W from the mains when operating and around 5W constantly. For many that standby use will be higher than the power used for actual cooking.

With the flourescent lights, again it's a case of the right product for the right application. Fine to put them in the lounge, hallway etc and they're the only sensible option in any room requiring high light levels where incandescents will leave you somewhat warmer than you'd like. 

But putting them in the toilet, bedroom and laundry doesn't really stack up - poor performance when first turned on (which will encourage most to leave them on longer than they would an incandescent) combined with the reduced life under such use doesn't really stack up environmentally once you consider the energy and materials used to manufacture the light plus the toxic mercury they contain.

So, good for the lounge, dining, hallway, anywhere the lights are on for long periods. Not so good for the toilet, bedroom, laundry, pantry etc.


----------



## 2020hindsight (17 February 2008)

Thanks for all that research there Smurf - The drinking mate who told me 1300W was someone whom I would have thought was pretty correct - but turns out no - or maybe he was p1ssed - or maybe I was.  Apologies.

He did say ( and Happy also alluded to it) that in winter they double as a radiator - but then in summer you sweat watching the cricket - indoors .   

I told him my kids have set themselves up downstairs with a cheap second hand projector - shoot it onto a massive slab of white plywood - twice as big as any plasma lol.  Then again they often have a crowd of mates around to watch "religious" DVD's over a beer.  I think their idea of "religion" is different from yours or mine btw 

They also skye their mates overseas - complete with camera and quadraphonic sound - and the image of their mates projected life-size up on the wall - and they all sit there having a group conversation  laughing their heads off - almost as if they are all crowded into the room together, lol.  

Getting back to the fashion of plasmas etc - adding in the energy to make them, all seems to be pretty wasteful.  And fashion driven.  Hell, as if you can't see enough on an old TV.   I am reminded of the way computer monitors went rachetting up from 15", 17" 19" 20"+  as we all tried to keep up with the Jones - 

then the Jones's went and bought a laptop, and we all settled (initially at least) for absolutely hopeless resolution for the other benefits 

PS This website ( including test results) backs you up.  Varies depending on what is being displayed - probably on brightness etc.  Standby still a distaer as you mention (hence turn off at the wall) 

http://www.g4techtv.ca/callforhelp/shownotes/0283.shtml?regular


> Plasma vs LCD power consumption shootout
> By: Sean Carruthers
> A look at how LCD and plasma compare for power consumption
> 
> ...





> Kill A Watt
> www.p3international.com
> $30
> The Kill A Watt is designed to show you how much power you’re using on any particular outlet, by sitting between the outlet and the item you’re plugging into it. The Kill A Watt measures the voltage, amperage, wattage, Hz and kilowatt hours. We used the Kill A Watt to measure the power draw of our large screen televisions, to see which ones were more efficient, using the watts (current power draw) and kilowatt hours (cumulative power draw over time).





> Samsung SP-R4212
> www.samsung.com
> $1,800
> Consumption rating: 280 watts
> The SP-R4212 is a 42-inch plasma display, and while it’s HD-ready, it’s only a 480p display (852x480 pixels). That means 1,226,880 individual pixel elements to turn on and off, each of which requires power. Theoretically, that would mean that an all-white screen would consume the most power…but is that the case?





> Samsung LN-R408D
> www.samsung.com
> $3,299
> Consumption rating: 285 watts
> This 40 inch model has a slightly smaller picture than our 42-inch plasma, but it comes with 720p resolution (1366x768).





> Samsung plasma:
> standby: 1 watt, 0.06 amps
> black screen: 65 watts, 0.58 amps
> white screen: 256 watts, 2.23 amps
> ...





> Samsung plasma (super power saver mode):
> standby: 1 watt, 0.06 amps
> black screen: 65 watts, 0.58 amps
> white screen: 203 watts, 1.76 amps
> ...





> Samsung LCD
> standby: 10 watts, 0.17 amps
> black screen: 200 watts, 2.55 amps
> white screen: 199, 2.58 amps
> ...





> Samsung LCD (lower-brightness mode)
> standby: 10 watts, 0.17 amps
> black screen: 196 watts, 2.50 amps
> white screen: 195 watts, 2.52 amps
> ...





> old Samsung plasma:
> Windows Longhorn screen: 192 watts, 1.63 amp
> Windows longhorn, mostly whit: 291 watts, 2.49 amps
> Windows Longhorn, mostly black: 114 watts, 0.98 amp


----------



## Smurf1976 (17 February 2008)

2020hindsight said:


> I am reminded of the way computer monitors went rachetting up from 15", 17" 19" 20"+  as we all tried to keep up with the Jones -



I'm using a 15" CRT right now...


----------



## Tysonboss1 (17 February 2008)

Smurf1976 said:


> I'm using a 15" CRT right now...




sorry,.. excuse my iggnorence,... but what is a crt.


----------



## Smurf1976 (18 February 2008)

Tysonboss1 said:


> sorry,.. excuse my iggnorence,... but what is a crt.



Cathode Ray Tube - old style TV or monitor with a big box not a thin flat screen. 

Mine works fine and the 15 inch size doesn't bother me so I never bothered to upgrade. If it breaks then I'll buy a more modern one.

...

A bit off topic but the current spot power price in SA right now is a few cents under $10,000 per MWh. 

So even solar panels would make some serious $ there at the moment. Only thing is it won't last - the price is near certain to crash at least 99% tonight. Vic looks set for a similar situation tomorrow.


----------



## Happy (19 February 2008)

> From ABC 19 Feb. 08
> STATES URGED TO CONSIDER SOLAR INCENTIVES
> 
> The Federal Government is not planning incentives for households generating electricity from renewable sources, but wants the states to do so.
> ...




I would think that energy issue should be addressed before fast Internet, but election promise has to be held, and there is only limited amount of money they can splash around.


----------



## Buddy (19 February 2008)

Happy said:


> I would think that energy issue should be addressed before fast Internet, but election promise has to be held, and there is only limited amount of money they can splash around.




Couldn't agree more.  Whilst fast(er) internet is necessary for some, I cannot see how this super fast (extremely costly in our wide brown land) network is going to make the country any smarter or productive.  So kids can play faster games and people can download movies and pr0n.  Big deal. Its just pandering to the "it people" (Ha, how would you like to be known as an "it manager" .

Energy is where our future wealth and prosperity lies, even better if it can be "passive renewable" (note that I do not consider making ethanol from grain to be passive). But to be a bit controversial here and probably :topic, what about nuclear generation 4 and even 5, or dare I say the other "F" word, fusion. Although maybe that debate should be in another thread, rather than "renewable energy news".


----------



## arminius (4 March 2008)

i think smurf answered this here a few months ago, but whats the relationship between SWU's and other measurements when talking energy? 
how many swu's would say Bayswater produce (approx 4500mw's)

could you smurf, (or anyone), relate these measurements to usage. how many swu's to power newcastle for example. 
thanks in advance.


----------



## Wysiwyg (29 March 2008)

California doing something constructive about clean energy production.



> California utility to add 250 MW in solar cellsThu Mar 27, 2008 5:10 PM GMT
> 
> NEW YORK (Reuters) - Utility Southern California Edison said on Thursday it would spend $875 million to build a network of 250 megawatts of photovoltaic solar power generation, making it the biggest solar cell project in the nation.
> 
> ...


----------



## BIG BWACULL (30 March 2008)

The following article is quite an interesting read, Overcoming problems associated  with excess energy produced by wind farms on really windy days 



> Filling Up Will Be a Breeze
> 
> Utility, U.S. Firm Plan
> A Wind-Powered Grid
> ...


----------



## BIG BWACULL (30 March 2008)

*Sailor sets off on wave-powered boat
Solar panels will power microwave during 4,000 mile, 10-week trip*


> HONOLULU - Japanese sailor Kenichi Horie, who has sailed nonstop around the world and crossed the Pacific in a solar-powered boat made of recycled aluminum beer cans, is off on his next solo adventure at sea.
> 
> Horie set sail for Japan Sunday from the Hawaii Yacht Club on what he says will be the world's longest voyage in a wave-powered boat.
> 
> The 69-year-old mariner will travel nearly 4,000 miles aboard a 3-ton yacht called the Suntory Mermaid II at a speed of up to 5 knots. The journey, which would take a diesel-powered boat about 10 days to complete, is expected to take Horie about 2.5 months.


----------



## BIG BWACULL (2 June 2008)

VEnergised: Petrol-electric power is coming for Holden's homegrown hero.
GM Asia Pacific chief confirms Holden will build hybrid and diesel Commodore by 2010
By JAMES STANFORD
19 May 2008


> GM HOLDEN will build a hybrid Commodore in Australia from as early as 2010 and plans to introduce a diesel version of the family sedan at the same time.
> 
> In other revelations this week, the Australian car-maker is also seriously considering a turbocharged four-cylinder powerplant for the large sedan, and the long-term manufacture of small cars here.
> 
> ...



MORE  HERE


----------



## BIG BWACULL (2 June 2008)

VEnergised: Petrol-electric power is coming for Holden's homegrown hero.
GM Asia Pacific chief confirms Holden will build hybrid and diesel Commodore by 2010
By JAMES STANFORD
19 May 2008


> GM HOLDEN will build a hybrid Commodore in Australia from as early as 2010 and plans to introduce a diesel version of the family sedan at the same time.
> 
> In other revelations this week, the Australian car-maker is also seriously considering a turbocharged four-cylinder powerplant for the large sedan, and the long-term manufacture of small cars here.
> 
> ...



http://carshowroom.autotrader.com.au/forge/data_entry?tp=Prod&category=news%20and%20reviews&temp_type=detail&tl=2&searchmake=&searchmodel=&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww1.autotrader.com.au%2Fmellor%2Fmellor.nsf%2Fcarshowroomstory%3FReadForm%26ID%3DC98D9E9165A22B70CA25744E001D7474&make=Holden&model=&story_title=Holden%20Commodore%20hybrid%20and%20diesel%20are%20go&type=news&referrer=csredm097


----------



## Smurf1976 (24 June 2008)

Not news as such, but an example of the variability of wind energy that might interest someone. This is real production data for the Woolnorth wind farm for yesterday and early today.

05:00 (5 am) 23-06-08 - 103 MW
06:00 - 103 MW
07:00 - 103 MW
08:00 - 103 MW
09:00 - 64 MW
10:00 - 86 MW
11:00 - 77 MW
12:00 - 102 MW
13:00 - 104 MW
14:00 - 103 MW
16:00 -  91 MW
17:00 - 71 MW
18:00 - 38 MW
19:00 - 24 MW
20:00 - 4 MW
21:00 - zero 
22:00 - zero 
23:00 - 8 MW
0:00 - 15 MW
01:00 - 4 MW
02:00 - 4 MW
03:00 - 23 MW
04:00 - 103 MW 

And just in case you were thinking the ramps were gradual...

08:35 - 103 MW
08:40 - 99 MW
08:45 - 86 MW
08:50 - 77 MW
08:55 - 68 MW
09:00 - 64 MW (as above)
09:05 - 62 MW

...

03:00 - 23 MW (as above)
03:05 - 25 MW
03:10 - 39 MW
03:15 - 66 MW
03:20 - 92 MW
03:25 - 98 MW
03:30 - 99 MW
03:35 - 103 MW

Now, those power volumes aren't huge (though 100 MW is certainly significant power). But that's only one wind farm. Scale it up enough to provide a large portion of the total supply and there's no way you'll ramp coal or nuclear plant (or even an efficient gas-fired plant) up and down quickly enough to cope with this sort of variation.


----------



## Smurf1976 (24 June 2008)

Smurf1976 said:


> I'm using a 15" CRT right now...



My monitor blew up whilst typing the wind farm data in. Picture disappeared and it sounded pretty nasty. No fires though.

Not to worry, a short trip out in the cold (and it's blowing 100 km/h or close to it out there - really!) and I came back with a spare from under the house. So now I've got an old style one but it still works. Might have to consider getting a more modern monitor...


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## bignige.mk2 (12 July 2008)

Smurf1976 said:


> Now, those power volumes aren't huge (though 100 MW is certainly significant power). But that's only one wind farm. Scale it up enough to provide a large portion of the total supply and there's no way you'll ramp coal or nuclear plant (or even an efficient gas-fired plant) up and down quickly enough to cope with this sort of variation.




This may be the case but with the incorporation of other renewables (solar, Wave, etc ) a substantial amount of renewable should not only be possible but inevitable


----------



## BIG BWACULL (23 August 2008)

*I guess Australia will be left to burn in the sun, cmon green initiative where are you *
Masdar Breaks Ground on $230M Solar Factory
The Abu Dhabi-based investment company is building a thin-film solar plant in Germany as part of its $2 billion effort to become a leader in the business.
by: Ucilia Wang
 August 21, 2008
*Masdar Initiative*


Masdar said Thursday it has broken ground on its first thin-film solar-panel factory as part of its plan to invest $2 billion in thin-film manufacturing.

The renewable-energy company created by the Abu Dhabi government is spending $230 million on the factory in Germany, the world's largest solar-energy market thanks to generous government incentives and mandates for using solar electricity.

Masdar previously said the factory would be located in the German city of Erfurt, but has since settled on Ichtershausen instead.

As one of the seven states in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi has shown a keen interest in investing in renewable energy worldwide, as well as within the country's boundaries. The goal is not only to make money from cleantech investments worldwide, but also to develop its own high-tech economy, n strategy that its neighboring emirate Dubai also is pursuing in order to move way from an oil-centered economy.

In January, Abu Dhabi said it would put $15 billion in Masdar, which will invest in a wide range of cleantech technologies and projects, including the building of a 6-square-kilometer car-free community called Masdar City within Abu Dhabi to showcase green technology (see Funding Roundup: Money for Solar, Transportation and Masdar).

With all that money, Masdar, which is run by the government-owned Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, has emerged as a major player in the world's renewable-energy market. It plans to invest in solar, wind, hydrogen power, and carbon-emissions reduction and management.

In March, Masdar and Sener Grupo de IngenierÃ­a in Spain said they had formed a joint venture, Torresol Energy, to build and operate three solar power plants in Spain that would use the sun's heat to generate steam and drive power-generating turbines (see Masdar Heats Up Concentrating Solar). Like Germany, Spain has also adopted solar-friendly policies.

The German factory will make thin-film panels, which use little or no silicon - the active and costly material in traditional crystalline panels - and are thinner and more flexible than conventional solar panels. The panels from this particular factory will be made of amorphous silicon, using equipment from Santa Clara, Calif.-based Applied Materials.

Masdar plans to open the manufacturing center in the third quarter of 2009. The center is expected to be capable of producing 70 megawatts worth of panels annually

Masdar said it has agreed to buy three sets of thin-film equipment from Applied Materials. One is slated for the factory in Germany, while the other two will find their homes in 140-megawatt factory in Masdar City, which is expected to begin producing solar panels in the third quarter of 2010. The panels would be used to power the showcase community.

Masdar also plans to sell panels from both manufacturing plants to solar-power installers. Masdar said it has already lined up customers in Europe.

The two factories are expected to cost a total of $600 million.

The company also plans to build more solar-manufacturing centers, with a goal of reaching a total of 1 gigawatt of annual production capacity among all of its factories by 2014.


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## Smurf1976 (23 August 2008)

bignige.mk2 said:


> This may be the case but with the incorporation of other renewables (solar, Wave, etc ) a substantial amount of renewable should not only be possible but inevitable



Substantial maybe. But with ongoing economic growth CO2 emissions will continue to rise unless we get to 100% renewable. The problem I have with the commonly advocated approaches to the issue are simply that they NEVER get to that - we remain stuck with fossil fuels forever, albeit in lesser quantity than would otherwise be the case.

Why fix 30% of the problem when it's likely to be just as viable to fix 100%?


----------



## Buddy (25 August 2008)

For anyone interested, here is some new technology for solar electricity generation:
http://www.johnsonems.com/jhtec.html

or, if you want to view something a little easier to read, try:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4243793.html

It will be interesting to see if this technology can be made cost effective (it can be both small and large scale).  

On a slghtly different topic to the above..... I find it amazing (actually, no I don't) that many of the technologies that were around pre WW2 have virtually disappeared (eg small scale rankine and stirling engines, small scale absorbtion cooling & refrigeration).  There are just so many uses for these inventions in todays high energy costs, that they easily pay for the capex in a short space of time.  Problem is, try going down to Bunnings and ask which isle is the stirling engines in.  You just don't seem to get a sensible response.

So unless the cost of P.V.s some down significantly (still way too expensive & unreliable) and too high tech to be viable, IMO the only way to advance domestic (industrial large scale solar is a whole different ball game) solar technology is to harness the sun's heating power. That's why I prefer to research "heat engine" rankine/stirling/JTEC emerging technology rather than PV.  I just wish someone (but I need to win Lotto) could commercalise these, so that I could go down to Bunnings and buy one.


----------



## nioka (25 August 2008)

Buddy said:


> , try going down to Bunnings and ask which isle is the stirling engines in.  You just don't seem to get a sensible response.




You will just have to shop on the internet. 

Kids these days might have mobile phones and i pods but thet miss out on the knowledge of how to make a crystal radio or a stirling engine.

Try www.stirlingengine.com


----------



## BIG BWACULL (8 September 2008)

*Propel B99 In Use Study Finds Biodiesel Runs Equal to, if not Better than, Petro-Diesel
6 September 2008*

Results of a 13-week test of delivery vehicles fueled with B99 biodiesel showed that the vehicles had no mechanical issues, ran smoother, and had reduced emissions compared to vehicles fueled with petroleum diesel.

Propel, a renewable fuels retailer, and Seattle-based The Essential Baking Company jointly performed the study. During the 13-week trial, six Essential Baking vehicles fueled with strictly B99 blend biodiesel from Propel’s Clean Fuel Points, traveled approximately 37,000 miles on 2,500 gallons of B99, with one vehicle logging more than 14,000 miles.

Vehicles selected varied in model, types of routes, and mileage driven. No vehicle failures and no operational issues were experienced. Cold weather proved not to be a problem for the vehicles, even with 32 days when the daily low temperature was below 35 ° F. The majority of drivers reported that the vehicles ran smoother and quieter on B99 than on petro-diesel.

Propel’s CleanDrive service, an integrated carbon emission reduction tracking platform, automatically tracked gallons used and calculated the fleet’s reduction of CO2 and other pollutants. The results indicated that the delivery vehicles:

    * Reduced their output of CO2 by more than 43,000 pounds;
    * Displaced 1,553 gallons of petroleum oil;
    * Reduced particulate matter (PM) by 78%;
    * Reduced air toxins by 60 to 90%; and
    * Eliminated 100 percent of sulfur compounds from vehicle exhaust.


----------



## Nashezz (8 September 2008)

Gee whiz.

I have to say any study performed by the vested interest has to be taken with a 100kg grain of salt. Doesn't mean their product isn't good nor that it doesn't do what they are saying but I wouldn't be believing a word unless an independent study was done.


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## BIG BWACULL (9 September 2008)

Nashezz said:


> Gee whiz.
> 
> I have to say any study performed by the vested interest has to be taken with a 100kg grain of salt. Doesn't mean their product isn't good nor that it doesn't do what they are saying but I wouldn't be believing a word unless an independent study was done.




Yes true but considering the original diesel engine was made to run on biofuels it wouldnt be hard to believe that these findings are somewhat true. Lets make it 50kgs of Salt ok


----------



## BIG BWACULL (9 September 2008)

*Japan Launching Eco-Rigs to Provide Food, Power *


> In just under a decade, we can expect to see a new form of sea monster take to the waves off Japan’s shores. Giant eco-rigs are Japan’s answer to diminished fish stocks and high energy prices.
> 
> Each rig will produce about 300 MW of energy - measuring 1.2 miles long by .5 mile wide, they’ll generate energy from the sun and waves. Part of the energy collected will power underwater LED lights, that will make the platform into a nursery of sorts to grow CO2-absorbing seaweed, that will in turn feed fish and plankton.
> 
> ...




All we need is kevin costner to make this waterworld a reality lol


----------



## BIG BWACULL (27 September 2008)

Interesting read here about methane erupting from under permafrost in the arctic due to perhaps globalwarming

http://www.celsias.com/article/methane-begins-erupt-arctic-permafrost/


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## BIG BWACULL (27 September 2008)

A new Crime wave

*Solar panels are new hot property for thieves
*
Glenda Hoffman has an answer for the thieves, should they choose to return to her home in Desert Hot Springs, California. "I have a shotgun right next to the bed and a .22 under my pillow."

Hoffman was the victim of a theft that one industry professional has dubbed "the crime of the future". Another observer has come up with the term "grand theft solar" to describe the spate of recent burglaries in sunny California.

In May Hoffman lost 16 solar panels from her roof in three separate burglaries, one while she slept below. Happily for Hoffman her insurers have agreed to pay the $95,000 (£48,000) cost of replacing the panels. But as energy prices soar, and solar power takes off - at least in California - so opportunistic thieves have turned to the lucrative, and complicated, business of dismantling solar panels.

"I wouldn't say it's pervasive, but it's going on," California Solar Energy Industries Association executive director Sue Kateley told the Valley Times.

California is the leader for solar installations, with 33,000 across the state. Unsurprisingly, it is also the market leader for thefts of solar installations, although figures are hard to come by.

"The solar panel thing is pretty new," said Contra Costa county sheriff's office spokesman Jimmy Lee. "We're seeing an increasing number of cases."

One night in late August, 26 solar panels with a value of $20,000 were stolen from California's first certified organic farm, Star Route Farms in Bolinas, 20 miles up the coast from San Francisco.

"It's probably easier to steal a $20,000 car," Rob Erlichman, president of Sunlight Electric, which sold the panels to the farm in 2006, told the Point Reyes Light. "To steal that many panels you need a truck and you need guys."

A few miles inland, in Lafayette, a truck and some guys is just what the thieves had. A resident came home during the day to find three men on the roof of his house and five of his solar panels in the back of a rented truck. The men fled, leaving behind the truck and the panels.

Ken Martin, who runs a real estate company in Santa Rosa, California, found one day this spring that thieves had removed 58 panels with a value of $75,000 from an office building he owns. His proposed solution is to paint his solar panels bright pink. "At least if someone comes across them and they're painted, they'll know that's my colour," he said.

Law enforcement and the solar industry suggest other approaches to crime prevention.

Many companies now sell secure fastenings for solar panels, while some police departments are urging solar power users to inscribe their driving licence number on the panels.

But some warn that the thieves are too sophisticated to be troubled by such primitive deterrents. Tom McCalmont, who runs Regrid Power in Campbell, close to California's Silicon Valley, said that the sophistication shown by thieves suggests that industry insiders are behind many of the thefts, a suspicion bolstered by supply difficulties with new solar panels.

McCalmont has experience of solar panel thefts: his own company lost $30,000-worth of panels to burglars this summer. "They knew which wires to cut, which not to cut," he said. "This showed a level of expertise that indicated that whoever did it was from the solar industry."


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## Smurf1976 (28 September 2008)

Solar panel theft is already a big problem. I won't say how we stop it (there's a way that usually works) but those wanting to steal them certainly do go to some fairly extreme lengths to get them. I've replaced a few that have been stolen though.

But then someone did try and steal a more conventional (hydro) power station not that long ago too. They tried messing with a small one and got a nasty shock (ended up in hospital). And the day he was released from hospital, still in bandages, he tried messing with a bigger one. Some people don't learn... Thankfully he's being kept in prison now, safely away from turbines and switchyards.


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## mullman (3 February 2009)

For those of you who may not be aware a good speculative geothermal consideration is GDY Geodynamics. It has major farm ins from Origin Energy and Tata. Ought to be 6-8 weeks out from proof of concept and approx 12 months out from producing energy for Innaminka.


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## Belrose (5 February 2009)

Smurf1976 said:


> Aesthetics versus sustainability. The exact same argument often used against practically all renewable energy sources, especially wind, hydro and solar which account for virtually all non-firewood renewble energy use in developed countries.




Of course those delightful coal fired power stations look just charming against the landscape spewing out black smoke for kilometers up into the sky ... I understand completely why people wouldn't want those hideous looking solar panels on their roofs or wind turbines in their fields ...

The world is mad


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## Happy (5 February 2009)

> Originally Posted by Smurf1976
> Aesthetics versus sustainability. The exact same argument often used against practically all renewable energy sources, especially wind, hydro and solar which account for virtually all non-firewood renewble energy use in developed countries.




Eifel Tower was considered ugly too, suppose we have to grow to accept our renewable energy sources or make them more appealing.

I heard of solar panel with beads instead of flat surface allowing it to maximise solar energy capture without the need for tracking arrangement.

Wind turbines in a form of cylinders snuggling for example mobile phone towers will be effectively invisible or at least improving appearance of those towers.

Also why worry about aesthetics if our existence is at stake?


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## Smurf1976 (5 February 2009)

Happy said:


> Eifel Tower was considered ugly too, suppose we have to grow to accept our renewable energy sources or make them more appealing.
> 
> I heard of solar panel with beads instead of flat surface allowing it to maximise solar energy capture without the need for tracking arrangement.
> 
> ...



Totally agreed that we shouldn't worry about aesthetics. I'd quite happily put wind turbines where they belong - on the tops of hills and along vast stretches of the coastline. And I've got absolutely no problem with the transmission lines needed to connect them.

But it's a reality that mainstream environmental lobby groups have successfully opposed rather a lot of renewable (and other) energy projects and it's almost always on the basis of either aesthetics or a high moral principled stand that we shouldn't do anything with even a tiny impact on the environment, visual environment included. End result = more coal burnt. 

I've said it many times on this forum. Develop geothermal flat out, including the water pipelines and large dams that will be needed to make it work. Build solar thermal plants in good locations (inland) and put wind farms where they work too (along the Vic coastline is a truly great location). And build some big hydro (pumped storage) schemes to provide storage and balance the system. And, of course, there's a lot of great big transmission lines to go with all that.

There's your 100% renewable electricity grid - now all we have to do is use electricity in preference to other fuels and our emissions will be reduced dramatically.

That's a very different direction to what the so-called environmentalists generally call for however...


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## Buddy (6 February 2009)

Smurf1976 said:


> That's a very different direction to what the so-called environmentalists generally call for however...




Not sure why we keep calling them "environmentalists". Must be some sort of godbothering term, as Garpal G would say.  I prefer to use the term "Luddites".


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## noosajohn (31 March 2009)

Quote "I've said it many times on this forum. Develop geothermal flat out, including the water pipelines and large dams that will be needed to make it work. " Unquote

Geothermal as per GDY is a closed system.  The only thing being removed is heat.  No need for water, or dams.

I hold GDY


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## Elliot (10 July 2011)

Hi All,

Does anyone else believe that its time to start Investing in Renewable Energy Stocks such as Geothermal, Solar, Wind farms, etc.... Is this the start of a boom for Clean Energy Stocks ?


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## Smurf1976 (10 July 2011)

noosajohn said:


> Quote "I've said it many times on this forum. Develop geothermal flat out, including the water pipelines and large dams that will be needed to make it work. " Unquote
> 
> Geothermal as per GDY is a closed system.  The only thing being removed is heat.  No need for water, or dams.



Dams as in pumped storage hydro.

Geothermal for baseload (constant output - not technically essential but highly desirable given the capital cost) and pumped storage hydro to balance supply and demand on the grid and also providing backup against the risk of long distance transmission line failure (which may take longer to fix than your average blackout due to remoteness). 

There are numerous sites in SE Australia suitable for such pumped storage schemes.


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## Smurf1976 (10 July 2011)

Elliot said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Does anyone else believe that its time to start Investing in Renewable Energy Stocks such as Geothermal, Solar, Wind farms, etc.... Is this the start of a boom for Clean Energy Stocks ?



Two words - sovereign risk.

The carbon tax makes renewable energy attractive - but that could well change if the government changes. Given the lifespan of renewable energy infrastructure (25 - 90 years), the odds of a policy change during that period are almost certain with the only questions being when and of what magnitude.


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## Wysiwyg (10 July 2011)

Smurf1976 said:


> The carbon tax makes renewable energy attractive -



Yet as you mentioned the other day, we have a solar panel manufacturer in Australia that is overcome by Chinese products. 







> CHINESE solar panel makers were among the biggest beneficiaries of half a billion dollars in public subsidies to the rooftop solar panel industry last year, prompting their only Australian rival to cry foul.
> A new report has shown Australia last year imported photovoltaic technology worth $1.1 billion -- effectively halving the value of the industry to the local economy.



This government is fulla c-r-a-p.


----------



## Smurf1976 (15 May 2013)

At the risk of reviving an old thread for some blatant promotion..... 

Musselroe wind farm in Tasmania is now generating power into the grid. It is not formally "open" as such, but everything is now on site and some of the turbines are in operation. When complete, it will have 56 turbines each of 3MW capacity.

For anyone who wants to have a look inside one of these machines, or the site generally, "up close" there's an open day this Saturday 18th May 2013. Buses depart Gladstone (North-East Tas) every 15 minutes 10:30 am to 2:30 pm. No bookings required, just turn up on the day and follow the signs to the buses. Details here. http://www.hydro.com.au/system/files/documents/CommunityOpenDay_A4_singleSided.pdf

And the next day Sunday 19th May 2013 the doors will be open to the public at Tarraleah power station as part of the Tasmanian Heritage Festival. This is a real working power station still in full use (it is a base load plant running 24/7) despite being 75 years old. Bookings advised for this tour since numbers are limited. Details here. http://www.hydro.com.au/system/files/documents/2013_HeritageFestival.pdf


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## Smurf1976 (22 July 2013)

A milestone has been achieved on King Island, with 100% renewable energy into the grid for a sustained period.

http://www.kingislandrenewableenergy.com.au/news/2013/kireip-reaches-renewable-energy-milestone

The project technical details are on the website. Still under construction is more energy storage and the smart grid (central control of consumer loads eg water heating) which will further increase the use of renewables (wind and solar) on King Island. This should be up and running later this year.

Historically, King Island was reliant on diesel for 100% of its' electricity supply. Then some wind turbines were added, then more wind and solar plus the big flywheel and control systems. There was also a large battery although that bit didn't work out too well unfortunately.

A unique aspect of the King Island system, apart from the technology, is that everything is on the one site. The original diesel power station, flywheel, wind turbines, solar panels and control room are all at the power station rather than being scattered around the place. 

Right now it's sitting on about 75% wind, 25% diesel into the King Island grid. There is also 100% renewable energy (hydro and wind) feeding into the main Tasmanian grid at the moment.


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## sydboy007 (23 July 2013)

from thebull newsletter earlier this month

Dyesol Limited (DYE) is another clean technology company with a potentially revolutionary technology.  Since its inception in 2004 the company has been working on commercial applications for something called Dye Solar Cells.  

Dye Solar Cell Technology is third generation solar technology that could replace the silicon based solar cells currently in use.  The technology is difficult for the layperson to comprehend but it is something like photosynthesis in nature, using nanotechnology principles, meaning really tiny.  A sensitising dye is applied on a membrane to absorb the light and produce electricity.

Dyesol is not the only organisation pursuing the technology nor did they invent it; but they are considered a leader in offering practical applications for industrial use.  The company manufactures the chemicals and equipment that other researchers as well as manufacturers use in their work.  India’s Tata steel is working with Dyesol to make steel roofing materials with dye solar cells built in.

Dyesol on 08 May announced a technical breakthrough that could be a game changer.  Although the traditional dye solar cell had the advantage of production efficiency and low cost, the use of liquid electrolytes in the process made the cells less than fully effective in certain weather conditions.  Solid state dyes as of 2010 were yielding dye solar cell performance of 5%, far lower than liquid based cells.  Dyesol’s announcement claims the company has achieved solid-state DSC efficiency of 11.3% at full sun – more than twice as efficient.

The company went on to say that efficiencies of 10% in actual industrial use are possible due to the simplicity of working with solid-state systems.   Dyesol's technology allows the production of solar energy at a lower cost than traditional solar cells and operates more efficiently in low light conditions.  Think of the potential of glass panels and metal sheets in construction use with the ability to generate electricity.  

On 28 May the company was out with another announcement.  The Photovoltaic Industry sets a standard for solar cell durability and Dyesol’s current liquid based systems exceeded that standard by 400%.  The company is planning similar evaluations for its solid-state systems.  Dyesol will continue its work with both liquid based and solid state technologies since each has qualities that lead to better performance in specific industrial applications. 

------------------

Ocean waves are alternative energy sources that do not generate the same excitement amongst investors as do solar and wind.  Carnegie Wave Energy (CWE) is an alternative energy company with a patented technology that can not only turn ocean waves into energy, but into desalinated water as well.  The company has over 67 patents on its CETO technology, which unlike others makes use of submerged wave power systems.  Submersible power generators give this technology a significant advantage over wind and solar with its small and unobtrusive footprint.  The public is hungry for clean affordable power from wind and solar, but few people relish the thought of living in the vicinity of a vast solar or wind farm.  In addition, unlike the wind, wave power is ever present.

CWE has a licensing agreement with French energy company EDF and will continue its efforts towards global commercialisation of CETO technology through such licensing arrangements.  The company has a demonstration project underway in Perth which upon completion will be the first large scale CETO system directly connected to the Grid in the world.  Carnegie has similar projects underway in conjunction with its French partner EDF as well as in Canada, Bermuda, and Ireland.


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## Bintang (23 August 2014)

Every silver lining has a cloud

*World's Largest Solar Power Plant Scorching Birds*

_Bye-bye birdies. The world’s largest solar power plant that recently opened in the Mojave Desert has a gruesome effect: birds are getting fried to death when they fly near its towers.

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System ...... contains about 350,000 mirrors, each the size of a garage door. Those mirrors are aimed at three 40-story-tall towers. The concentrated sunlight boils water in the towers, which in turn generates steam that drives special turbines.

For birds, the towers are more like the Eye of Sauron.  During test runs at the plant .....  workers discovered dozens of dead birds ....... They appeared to have been scorched ....._

http://news.discovery.com/tech/alternative-power-sources/worlds-largest-solar-power-plant-scorching-birds-140219.htm


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## Smurf1976 (23 August 2014)

Thought I'd already posted this but perhaps not....

If you're in Tasmania and want to have a look inside a real, fully operational power station then here's your chance.

Trevallyn - Sunday 31 August

Gordon - Sunday 21 September

Paloona - Sunday 12 October

Devils Gate - Sunday 12 October

Lake Margaret – Saturday-Sunday 11-12 October (during the Queenstown Heritage and Arts Festival)

Tarraleah – Sunday 9 November

All these are conventional hydro-electric power stations and all are located in Tasmania. All tours are free of charge, no need to book (just turn up) and open to anyone who wants to have a look. 

Further details including times etc at http://www.hydro100.com.au/events


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## sptrawler (23 August 2014)

Smurf1976 said:


> Thought I'd already posted this but perhaps not....
> 
> If you're in Tasmania and want to have a look inside a real, fully operational power station then here's your chance.
> 
> ...




Jeez Smurph, how exciting is a pump with an alternator on the end of it.

Give me a boiler, throwing in 16kg/sec of liquid gas and and 200lts/sec of water at 16Mpa, now that is exciting.lol
But must admit it is coming to an end. Sad very sad


----------



## Bintang (23 August 2014)

sptrawler said:


> Jeez Smurph, how exciting is a pump with an alternator on the end of it.




yep... I think I would rather visit that Solar Power Plant in the Mojave Desert to watch those  birds getting zapped. Bound to be more exciting. ...... oh look there's another one ...pffff


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## Smurf1976 (23 August 2014)

sptrawler said:


> Give me a boiler, throwing in 16kg/sec of liquid gas and and 200lts/sec of water




Or you could try 176,000 lts/sec of water and not worry about the gas.....  

That bird cooking contraption does look exciting though. Perhaps not so good if you happen to be a bird, but a real bonus for cats with pre-cooked birds just falling from the sky. 

Seriously, it just highlights that all power pollutes in some way. Coal, oil and gas pollute the air. Nuclear is a risk to everything if it goes wrong. Hydro floods the wilderness. Biomass wrecks the land. Wind chops up the birds and solar cooks them. All of them pollute something somehow.


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## Bintang (23 August 2014)

Smurf1976 said:


> Or you could try 176,000 lts/sec of water and not worry about the gas.....
> 
> That bird cooking contraption does look exciting though. Perhaps not so good if you happen to be a bird, but a real bonus for cats with pre-cooked birds just falling from the sky.
> 
> Seriously, it just highlights that all power pollutes in some way. Coal, oil and gas pollute the air. Nuclear is a risk to everything if it goes wrong. Hydro floods the wilderness. Biomass wrecks the land. Wind chops up the birds and solar cooks them. All of them pollute something somehow.




It's bad luck that chickens don't fly. The power company could have a nice sideline fastfood business - *SFC* - Solar Fried Chicken


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## sptrawler (23 August 2014)

Smurf1976 said:


> Or you could try 176,000 lts/sec of water and not worry about the gas.....
> 
> That bird cooking contraption does look exciting though. Perhaps not so good if you happen to be a bird, but a real bonus for cats with pre-cooked birds just falling from the sky.
> 
> Seriously, it just highlights that all power pollutes in some way. Coal, oil and gas pollute the air. Nuclear is a risk to everything if it goes wrong. Hydro floods the wilderness. Biomass wrecks the land. Wind chops up the birds and solar cooks them. All of them pollute something somehow.




Touche.lol

Maybe if they could lease out the mirror waste to KFC or Chicken treat, Red Rooster, it could mitigate parasytic loses.lol


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## Smurf1976 (24 August 2014)

Actually, I'd think your gas boiler would do a pretty good job of roasting chickens and would cook them rather quickly.

Just put the chicken in with the fire and with 16 kg / sec of gas going in it should be cooked _really_ fast. I'll call it BBC - Boiler Burnt Chicken. 

Back to renewable energy, wind supplied 43% of generation in SA last month. Wind is highly variable though, the 27th was a huge day for wind, with total output close to or even exceeding the entire load in SA apart from the evening peak, whereas the 21st was the opposite situation with wind farms idle pretty much everywhere in SE Australia.


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## So_Cynical (24 August 2014)

Smurf1976 said:


> Back to renewable energy




And in other news, Silex Systems has pulled out of Australia's biggest Solar project citing RET and funding/carbon tax uncertainty as the main reason...no fried birds here.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-...olar-power-station-on-ret-uncertainty/5679086


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## sptrawler (24 August 2014)

Smurf1976 said:


> Actually, I'd think your gas boiler would do a pretty good job of roasting chickens and would cook them rather quickly.
> 
> Just put the chicken in with the fire and with 16 kg / sec of gas going in it should be cooked _really_ fast. I'll call it BBC - Boiler Burnt Chicken.
> 
> Back to renewable energy, wind supplied 43% of generation in SA last month. Wind is highly variable though, the 27th was a huge day for wind, with total output close to or even exceeding the entire load in SA apart from the evening peak, whereas the 21st was the opposite situation with wind farms idle pretty much everywhere in SE Australia.




Energy storage is the key, just needs cracking. 
Even if storage can be made viable at the household level, if residential could be self suficient, it would negate the need for low voltage distribution. The associated supply cost savings would be huge.

There is a lot of research going into ultra capacitors, but this is more in relation to electric vehicles.


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## Bintang (24 August 2014)

sptrawler said:


> Energy storage is the key, just needs cracking.




Storage of heat in graphite sounds promising:

http://www.solarpowertoday.com.au/blog/graphite-energy-promises-cheap-thermal-powe/

_Graphite Energy, an Australian solar thermal technology developer, claims it can provide solar energy at just 8 cents per kilowatt hour to outback and remote locations. The company says they can do this through a new technology that uses graphite to receive and store solar heat.

Like other concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, rows of mirrors focus the sun’s ray onto a tower which heats up water to generate steam. This steam drives a turbine to generate electricity. What distinguishes Graphite Energy’s technology is that its graphite receivers let it store energy via heat exchanges. This gives the system an “in-built” storage option that provides “dispatchable” energy._

And so far there are no reports of birds being fried in Australia. Maybe Australian birds are more intelligent than Californian birds. Or maybe what they need in California is a new Government agency to solve the problem. They could call it the *National Organisation for Radically Improving Avian Solar Safety* (*NOFRIASS*).


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## ghotib (27 August 2014)

Here's another form of energy storage:  low tech, old tech, large scale. 

http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/03/31/how-energy-storage-rail-could-fuel-cleaner-energy-future



> Rail energy storage can serve much larger energy storage needs than batteries and flywheels, and at half the price of hydro, said Kelly, a former Southern California Edison Co. grid executive. The ARES website says the company could build projects with up to 3 GW in capacity and 24 GWh of storage. All it needs is space and a steady incline to run its tracks.


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## Smurf1976 (11 October 2014)

Not really news, but it's in general chat and cakes are always a good thing....


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## SirRumpole (5 November 2014)

I hope this happens in Australia one day...

*Berlin citizens looking to buy back electricity grid in aim of using more renewable energy

*


> A grassroots campaign is gathering momentum to put power back into the hands of the citizens of Berlin.
> 
> Geo-ecologist Luise Neumann-Cosel, 28, founded the Citizens Energy Berlin cooperative three years ago, with the aim of buying back the city's electricity grid.
> 
> ...


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## Smurf1976 (5 November 2014)

> Wearable solar panels, harnessing the power of natural disasters and capturing energy from space could all be part of the world’s future energy mix if Tasmanian school children are right.




http://www.hydro.com.au/about-us/news/2014-11/imagining-our-future-energy-landscape


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## Tisme (7 October 2015)

The ALP seem to have policy on this.... I wonder how it will gel with Malcolm's govt//


http://www.alp.org.au/renewableenergy




> In 2013, 195 countries, including Australia, committed to limit global temperature rise to below 2 °C above the pre-industrial levels . Scientists warn if this 2 °C rise in global temperature level is crossed, there will be significant consequences for the planet and people.
> 
> The Climate Change Authority has found that for Australia to achieve its bipartisan agreement to limit global warming by less than 2 °C, renewable energy will need to comprise at least half of Australia’s electricity generation by 2030.


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## SirRumpole (7 October 2015)

Tisme said:


> The ALP seem to have policy on this.... I wonder how it will gel with Malcolm's govt//
> 
> 
> http://www.alp.org.au/renewableenergy




Hopefully it will blend in with MT's commitment to technology and innovation.


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## DB008 (28 October 2015)

*Honda's New Hydrogen-Powered Vehicle Feels More Like A Real Car​*



> TOKYO ”” The most notable thing about Honda Motor new hydrogen-powered FCV, to be unveiled Wednesday at the Tokyo Motor Show, is not the silent burst of acceleration it provides when your foot touches the pedal, or the fact that it emits nothing but water vapor from the tailpipe. It’s not even that the FCV can go more than 400 miles between three-minute hydrogen fillings - assuming you have access to a hydrogen station.
> 
> No, the most important thing is that Honda’s new fuel cell system is one-tenth the cost of previous versions and ”” for the first time ”” fits neatly under the car’s hood, taking up no more space than a typical V-6 engine. That means two things: 1) there’s more space for passengers and cargo, and 2) the compact fuel cell power train can be used in a variety of other Honda vehicles.
> 
> ...





http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2015/10/27/hondas-new-hydrogen-powered-vehicle-feels-more-like-a-real-car/?utm_campaign=yahootix&partner=yahootix​


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## basilio (28 October 2015)

> Morocco is about to launch a  mega solar energy project.
> 
> * Morocco poised to become a solar superpower with launch of desert mega-project*
> 
> ...




http://www.theguardian.com/environm...superpower-with-launch-of-desert-mega-project


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## orr (2 November 2015)

For those who have the time jack rickards latest broardcast has a few points to make; get past the Model X launch forty odd minutes in. Solar City's(Musk CEO) roof top intallations at 12.5 cents/kwh for the next 20years locked in. But far more interesting, photo catalytics to produce hydrogen and oxygen using much cheaper materials than the platinum used previously, _'molybdenum di sulphide'_.... starts about 60 mins in.

http://evtv.me

or go to mr Chou's paper;

https://share.sandia.gov/news/resources/news_releases/hydrogen_catalyst/#.VjdOaoSUXq0


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## ghotib (3 November 2015)

Do we include transport news under reneewable energy news? Hope so, becausse this is a good story:



> Australian company Brighsun, headquartered in Melbourne, has developed an electric bus with a certified range of 1,004 kilometers ”” enough to make the trip from Melbourne to Sydney without stopping to recharge and with more than 100 kilometers of range left over.
> 
> The buses run on a high performance lithium-ion battery combined with proprietary eMotor, battery management and a regenerative breaking system. Brighsun CEO Allen Saylav, also a director of the Society of Automotive Engineers Australia told One Step Off The Grid the technology behind the bus, which has been in development for four years, evolved from a desire to deliver clean, sustainable public transport options.
> 
> ...



http://gas2.org/2015/11/01/aussies-introduce-1000-kilometer-electric-bus/


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## qldfrog (3 November 2015)

Great  news.
I was also impressed by older news where a californian company is doing electric rubbish trucks:
silent in the morning, very heavy use of regenerative energy: start /stop regime of bin collection process;
I like it when brain, technology and common sense get together.


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## Smurf1976 (3 November 2015)

Using electricity to power things like garbage trucks and city buses makes a huge amount of sense given the amount of starting and stopping they do. Garbage trucks really only move a few metres between stops in the suburbs, and city buses typically stop pretty often too. All that engine idling, all that energy loss in the brakes for each stop can be totally (idling) or partially (braking) avoided by using electricity instead of diesel.

As an added bonus for practicality, garbage trucks and city buses are in most cases parked for at least part of any 24 hour period at reasonably centralised depots. As such, charging them should be very straightforward as long as they can run the whole day on a single charge.

Even if the power used to charge them is from coal, they'd still leave diesel for dead purely due to efficiency advantages. Not producing emissions into the urban environment (well, at least not in any city that doesn't have a power station in the middle of it) is another bonus of significance. Reduced noise is also a positive for things like buses, urban delivery trucks and especially garbage collection vehicles.


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## basilio (3 November 2015)

Quiz time folks.  

Which super rich capitalist is promising to spend *HUGE* amounts on green energy ?

Which super rich rich capitalist  (yep same  person..) thinks capitalism can't save us from  the Climate Change and we need to look to Government intervention ( carbon price , publicly funded R & D) to give us a fighting chance of not cooking ?



> There’s no fortune to be made. Even if you have a new energy source that costs the same as today’s and emits no CO2, it will be uncertain compared with what’s tried-and-true and already operating at unbelievable scale and has gotten through all the regulatory problems.
> 
> Without a substantial carbon tax, there’s no incentive for innovators or plant buyers to switch.
> 
> ...




Cheers


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## basilio (3 November 2015)

I came across another story which expanded on the "electric bus to Sydney " launch.  It goes into more detail on the intention of the company to rapidly establish manufacturing plants in Australia to build and export electric buses around the world.

I would be interested in other peoples thoughts on how realistic these proposals are. It is a very eye opening plan

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/78756F541362A42ECA257EF0007AB8E8


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## DB008 (3 November 2015)

basilio said:


> Quiz time folks.
> 
> Which super rich capitalist is promising to spend *HUGE* amounts on green energy ?
> 
> ...




Sorry, would have replied earlier, but have been pretty busy of late...



> *‘We Need an Energy Miracle’​*
> *Bill Gates has committed his fortune to moving the world beyond fossil fuels and mitigating climate change.​*
> In his offices overlooking Lake Washington, just east of Seattle, Bill Gates grabbed a legal pad recently and began covering it in his left-handed scrawl. He scribbled arrows by each margin of the pad, both pointing inward. The arrow near the left margin, he said, represented how governments worldwide could stimulate ingenuity to combat climate change by dramatically increasing spending on research and development. “The push is the R&D,” he said, before indicating the arrow on the right. “The pull is the carbon tax.” Between the arrows he sketched boxes to represent areas, such as deployment of new technology, where, he argued, private investors should foot the bill. He has pledged to commit $2 billion himself.
> 
> ...


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## basilio (3 November 2015)

Nice one B008.

Wasn't too hard to find was it ?

The interview in The Atlantic is very intriguing. There is no doubt Bill Gates knows his stuff and in particular understands the nuances and difficulties of making big changes quickly.

*But equally .. he is quite certain we have to do it.*


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## basilio (4 November 2015)

I having second and third thoughts about the "miracle"  Brighsun electric bus that went to Sydney on one charge.

It just smells. The CEO appears semi literate whenever anything he says is printed. There seems to be no way of contacting any office in Melbourne. The Australian connection was formed  only a few months ago.

The company is angling for Victorian Government support to establish a bus building factory. The premise of their case is this super battery technology and patented drive system. It would be interesting to see independent evidence of the effectiveness of the technology.


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## wayneL (8 March 2019)

This could be interesting


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## explod (8 March 2019)

wayneL said:


> This could be interesting




Watched a discussion on it a few days back, doing a lot of work on it but the cost is the problem, same with nuclear.  Need coal for steel making but hydro, wind, solar and wave is where we'll go in my view.

If we last that long of course, DNL


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## Smurf1976 (8 March 2019)

explod said:


> Need coal for steel making



And a few other things eg carbon anodes for aluminium smelting (though that's sourced from oil at present - pet coke) and coal goes into manganese smelting also.

It would be of definite use though if we could effectively take the CO2 out of the air and turn it back into coal.

First as a means of sustainably sourcing coal for making steel and also other things which need carbon (eg anode blocks in aluminium smelting are almost pure carbon (though that's currently sourced from oil (pet coke)) and there's a little bit of coal needed in manganese smelting as well).

Second as a means of taking CO2 out of the air. Take the man-made coal and put it back down the mines where we took the stuff from a few decades earlier.


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## rederob (9 March 2019)

wayneL said:


> This could be interesting



On average human activity puts about 40 billion tons of CO2 into the air each year. 
That quantity is 25% more than the weight of coal that BHP pulls out of the ground each year. 
So a great headline, but not likely to yield anything positive for CO2 mitigation in our lifetimes.

A more practical effort would theoretically involve planting 40 billion trees *every *year, then wait for 40 years to pass in order to sequester the CO2 emissions for the initial year. Even then, the trees originally planted would only cancel out the increased CO2 levels today.


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