WHAT IS BIODIESEL

Biodiesel is a renewable, clean-burning diesel replacement that is reducing the dependence on foreign petroleum, creating jobs and improving the environment. Made from a diverse mix of feedstocks including recycled cooking oil, soybean oil, and animal fats, it is the first and only EPA-designated Advanced Biofuel in commercial-scale production across the country and the first to reach 1 billion gallons of annual production. Meeting strict technical fuel quality and engine performance specifications, it can be used in existing diesel engines without modification and is covered by all major engine manufacturers’ warranties, most often in blends of up to 5 percent or 20 percent biodiesel. It is produced at plants in nearly every state in the country. 

• Biodiesel is a clean burning renewable fuel made using natural vegetable oils and fats.
• Biodiesel is made through a chemical process which converts oils and fats of natural origin into fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). Biodiesel IS NOT vegetable oil.
• Biodiesel is intended to be used as a replacement for petroleum diesel fuel, or can be blended with petroleum diesel fuel in any proportion.
• Biodiesel does not require modifications to a diesel engine to be used.
• Biodiesel has reduced exhaust emissions compared to petroleum diesel fuel.
• Biodiesel has lower toxicity compared to petroleum diesel fuel.
• Biodiesel is safer to handle compared to petroleum diesel fuel.
• Biodiesel quality is governed by ASTM D 6751 quality parameters.
• Biodiesel is biodegradable.

What is NOT Biodiesel

Look Carefully! Many companies and groups improperly use the word biodiesel to describe diesel fuel replacement products they have developed. This creates significant confusion for consumers looking to purchase and use biodiesel. Some of these alternatives have not been properly tested and could lead to damage to vehicles. Below is some information to help distinguish real biodiesel from imposters.

What biodiesel IS NOT:

• Biodiesel is not vegetable oil.
• Biodiesel is not vegetable oil diluted with solvents, i.e. diesel fuel or alcohols.
• Biodiesel is not vegetable oil with “special additives” to make it run better.
• Biodiesel is not vegetable oil refined through a conventional oil refinery process.
• Biodiesel is not vegetable oil refined through thermal depolymerization (renewable diesel).
• Biodiesel is not a fuel that requires costly modifications to your diesel engine (straight vegetable oil).
• Biodiesel is not crude methyl esters which have not been refined or minimally refined.

Unlike biodiesel, none of the fluids listed above have undergone renewable fuel certification, emissions or toxicity testing, or long-term reliability testing in engines and vehicles.

How to Make Sure You are Getting Biodiesel

In order to be called biodiesel and receive certain tax credits specifically intended for biodiesel:

• Biodiesel must be produced from naturally occurring fats and oils using transesterification.
• Biodiesel must be composed of fatty acid methyl esters.
• Biodiesel must be refined to remove all trace impurities.
• Biodiesel must meet the ASTM standard D6751-07b “Specification for Biodiesel (B100)”.

If a fuel product does not meet these requirements it IS NOT biodiesel, and does not qualify for tax credits relating to biodiesel. The most important thing to ask your fuel provider is if the biodiesel is ASTM certified.

With just over a decade of commercial-scale production, the industry is proud of its careful approach to growth and strong focus on sustainability. Production has increased from about 25 million gallons in the early 2000s to about 1.7 billion gallons advanced biofuel in 2014. This represents a small but growing component of the annual U.S. on-road diesel market of about 35 billion to 40 billion gallons. Consistent with projected feedstock availability, the industry has established a goal of producing about 10 percent of the diesel transportation market by 2022.

Reaching that goal would significantly lessen U.S. dependence on imported oil, bolstering national security and reducing our trade deficit. At the same time, biodiesel’s growth would boost the U.S. economy, not just by creating jobs but also by reducing our dependence on global oil markets and vulnerability to price spikes. There are currently about 200 biodiesel plants across the country – from Washington state to Iowa to North Carolina – with registered capacity to produce some 3 billion gallons of fuel. The industry is supporting more than 62,000 jobs, generating billions of dollars in GDP, household income and tax revenues. The industry’s economic impact is poised to grow significantly with continued production increases. The industry supports jobs in a variety of sectors, from manufacturing to transportation, agriculture and service.

The EPA has recognized biodiesel’s environmental benefits by classifying it as an Advanced Biofuel, making biodiesel the only commercial-scale U.S. fuel produced nationwide to meet the agency’s advanced criteria. According to the EPA, biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by at least 57 percent and up to 86 percent when compared to petroleum diesel – making it one of the most practical and cost-effective ways to immediately address climate change. In addition, biodiesel sharply reduces major tailpipe pollutants from petroleum diesel, particularly from older diesel vehicles. This is important because the EPA has consistently cited diesel exhaust – primarily from older trucks, buses and other vehicles – as one of the nation's most dangerous pollutants.

Biodiesel is produced using a broad variety of resources. This diversity has grown significantly in recent years, helping shape a nimble industry that is constantly searching for new technologies and feedstocks. In fact, industry demand for less expensive, reliable sources of fats and oils is stimulating promising research on next-generation feedstocks such as algae and camelina.

Technical Definition for Biodiesel (ASTM D 6751) and Biodiesel Blend:
Biodiesel, n - a fuel comprised of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, designated B100, and meeting the requirements of ASTM D 6751. 

Biodiesel Blend, n - a blend of biodiesel fuel meeting ASTM D 6751 with petroleum-based diesel fuel, designated BXX, where XX represents the volume percentage of biodiesel fuel in the blend.

How is biodiesel made?Biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification whereby the glycerin is separated from the fat or vegetable oil. The process leaves behind two products -- methyl esters (the chemical name for biodiesel) and glycerin (a valuable byproduct usually sold to be used in soaps and other products).

Is Biodiesel the same thing as raw vegetable oil?No! Fuel-grade biodiesel must be produced to strict industry specifications (ASTM D6751) in order to insure proper performance. Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have fully completed the health effects testing requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. Biodiesel that meets ASTM D6751 and is legally registered with the Environmental Protection Agency is a legal motor fuel for sale and distribution. Raw vegetable oil cannot meet biodiesel fuel specifications, it is not registered with the EPA, and it is not a legal motor fuel.

For entities seeking to adopt a definition of biodiesel for purposes such as federal or state statute, state or national divisions of weights and measures, or for any other purpose, the official definition consistent with other federal and state laws and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) guidelines is as follows:

Biodiesel is defined as mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats which conform to ASTM D6751 specifications for use in diesel engines. Biodiesel refers to the pure fuel before blending with diesel fuel. Biodiesel blends are denoted as, "BXX" with "XX" representing the percentage of biodiesel contained in the blend (ie: B20 is 20% biodiesel, 80% petroleum diesel).

Why should I use biodiesel?Biodiesel is better for the environment because it is made from renewable resources and has lower emissions compared to petroleum diesel. It is less toxic than table salt and biodegrades as fast as sugar. Produced domestically with natural resources, its use decreases our dependence on imported fuel and contributes to our own economy.

Where do I get biodiesel?Biodiesel is available nationwide. It can be purchased directly from biodiesel producers and marketers, petroleum distributors, or at a handful of public retailers throughout the nation.

This flexible material turns any surface into a solar panel

Embodied energy and operational energy

Embodied energy is the energy consumed by all of the processes associated with the production of a building, from the mining and processing of natural resources to manufacturing, transport and product delivery. Embodied energy does not include the operation and disposal of the building material, which would be considered in a life cycle approach. Embodied energy is the ‘upstream’ or ‘front-end’ component of the life cycle impact of a home.

It was thought until recently that the embodied energy content of a building was small compared to the energy used in operating the building over its life. Therefore, most effort was put into reducing operating energy by improving the energy efficiency of the building envelope. Research has shown that this is not always the case. Embodied energy can be the equivalent of many years of operational energy. Operational energy consumption depends on the occupants. Embodied energy is not occupant dependent — the energy is built into the materials. Embodied energy content is incurred once (apart from maintenance and renovation) whereas operational energy accumulates over time and can be influenced throughout the life of the building.

Plant-e is turning plants into electricity

Plant-e has a bold mission: to generate clean electricity from plants. That may sound like science fiction, but the breakthrough technology behind Plant-e could transform the way the world gets electricity. And it’s already starting to work.

World's First Self Sustaining Portable Home

Panasonic has made the world's most efficient rooftop solar panel

At the end of last week, solar technology company SolarCity, which was co-founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, made headlines when it announced it had developed the most efficient rooftop solar panel to date, with a module-level efficiency of 22.04 percent. Now, just a few days later, Panasonic has one-upped them by announcing a rooftop panel prototype that's nearly half a percent more efficient.

"Sorry Elon, I'mma let you finish..." and, well, you know how that pun goes. What's cool about Panasonic's record-breaking prototype is that it was mass-produced, and able to convert 22.5 percent of sunlight into electrical energy straight off the production line, which means it'll be easily commercialised and presumably relatively cheap for consumers.

Right about now you're probably wondering why this is a big deal, when researchers have already managed to convert the Sun's rays into electricity with more than 40 percent efficiency, and just last year Panasonic themselves announced they'd madea solar cell with 25.6 percent efficiency. 

What's new is that this power conversion rate was achieved by an entire, commercial-sized rooftop solar panel, rather than an individual crystalline silicon solar cell. And yes, scientists have achieved better power conversion efficiencies in the past with different panels, but generally that's only been done by either:

• setting up a system of solar panels
• using alternative solar cells, such as multi-junction solar cells, instead of crystalline silicon solar cells, or
• concentrating sunlight before it hits solar panels.

According to Panasonic, their new solar panel is a 72-cell, 270-watt prototype, and was built using crystalline silicon solar cells - the type most commonly used in rooftop set-ups.

Crystalline silicon solar cells are less efficient than other technology, and it's unlikely they're going to get much better than they are now, with only small percentage gains being made over the past decade. But what's good about them is they're relatively cheap and easy to make.

That's why this new record is important, because it's not just straight solar to electricity efficiency that matters - it's the cost per watt ratio. And even though 22.5 percent may not sound that impressive, this prototype will be significantly cheaper when it hits the market than those multi-junction solar cells that are able to achieve 40+ percent energy conversion.

This chart from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory provides a great break-down of the different photovoltaic cells currently being developed and their efficiencies (high-res here).

The Panasonic prototype record has been confirmed by the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and will be discussed at the Solar Energy UK exhibition held in Birmingham next week.

thanks http://www.sciencealert.com/

Plastic Fuel (Plastic to oil refining known as pyrolysis )

Plastic Fuel
All around the globe companies and individuals are starting to produce fuel from waste plastic. As only 8% of waste plastic is recycled in the U.S., 15% in Western Europe, and much less in developing countries, this reuse of plastic could potentially keep enormous amounts of plastic out of landfills and out of the oceans. Over 500 billion pounds of new plastic is manufactured each year and roughly 33% of that is single use and thrown away. As so little plastic is recycled, we need to reframe plastic waste as an underused resource vs landfill destined. If all plastic waste made it into the landfill, it would surely be mined in the future, but currently all plastic waste does not make it into our landfills. The United Nations estimates plastic accounts for four-fifths of the accumulated garbage in the world's oceans. We need to stop polluting our oceans with plastic before it is too late, and start collecting all plastics suitable for this new fairly simple technology, a technology that is available now. The technology is not overly complicated, plastics are shredded and then heated in an oxygen-free chamber (known as pyrolysis) to about 400 degrees celsius. As the plastics boil, gas is separated out and often reused to fuel the machine itself. The fuel is then distilled and filtered. Because the entire process takes place inside a vacuum and the plastic is melted - not burned, minimal to no resultant toxins are released into the air, as all the gases and or sludge are reused to fuel the machine. - See more at: http://www.inspirationgreen.com/plastic-waste-as-fuel.html#sthash.CnDtN5TN.dpuf
- See more at: http://www.inspirationgreen.com/plastic-waste-as-fuel.html#sthash.CnDtN5TN.dpuf

Installation of wind turbines

Installation of the approximately 3 weeks of this wind turbines, when they are in the right place, an average of 3-4 years can figure out the costs of the way.

Nearly 30 years of life the towers, the birds on their migration in kurulmamaları very eco-friendly tools...

1st Airport In World To Go 100% Solar Is In India:

Cochin International Airport Limited in Kochi, Kerala (India) has become the first airport in the world to be powered entirely by solar power. A 12 MW solar PV plant, spread over 50 acres, was inaugurated this week near the airport’s cargo complex.

By the way, India has good scope for using solar energy due to its geographical location and it is nice to see India has started exploring renewable source of energy on larger scale.

Let's share which are the abundantly available renewable energy sources of your country and how your country is utilizing these sources.

New technology could reduce wind energy costs.

(Read complete to learn about one of the major problem of wind turbines you may not be aware of.)

Engineers from the University of Sheffield have developed a novel technique to predict when bearings inside wind turbines will fail which could make wind energy cheaper. The method, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A and developed by Mechanical Engineering research student Wenqu Chen, uses ultrasonic waves to measure the load transmitted through a ball bearing in a wind turbine. The stress on wind turbine is recorded and then engineers can forecast its remaining service life.

When a bearing is subject to a load, its thickness is reduced by a very small amount due to elastic deformation, and the speed of sound is affected by the stress level in the material. Both these effects change the time of flight of an ultrasound wave through a bearing.

The new method is the only way to directly measure the transmitted load through the rolling bearing components. It uses a custom-built piezoelectric sensor mounted in the bearing to measure the time of flight and determine the load. This sensor is less expensive and significantly smaller than currently available, making it suitable for smaller turbines. It can also provide a better prediction of the maintenance needed, saving money in servicing. Professor Rob Dwyer-Joyce, co-author of the paper and Director of the Leonardo Centre for Tribology at the University of Sheffield says: "This technique can be used to prevent unexpected bearing failures, which are a common problem in wind turbines. By removing the risk of a loss of production and the need for unplanned maintenance, it can help to reduce the cost of wind energy and make it much more economically competitive."

The new technology has been validated in the lab and is currently being tested at the Barnesmore wind farm in Donegal, Ireland by the company, Ricardo. It is hoped it will be used in the future inside monitoring systems for other turbines.

Copper clusters capture and convert carbon dioxide to make fuel

Capture and convert—this is the motto of carbon dioxide reduction, a process that stops the greenhouse gas before it escapes from chimneys and power plants into the atmosphere and instead turns it into a useful product.

One possible end product is methanol, a liquid fuel and the focus of a recent study conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory. The chemical reactions that make methanol from carbon dioxide rely on a catalyst to speed up the conversion, and Argonne scientists identified a new material that could fill this role. With its unique structure, this catalyst can capture and convert carbon dioxide in a way that ultimately saves energy.

They call it a copper tetramer.

It consists of small clusters of four copper atoms each, supported on a thin film of aluminum oxide. These catalysts work by binding to carbon dioxide molecules, orienting them in a way that is ideal for chemical reactions. The structure of the copper tetramer is such that most of its binding sites are open, which means it can attach more strongly to carbon dioxide and can better accelerate the conversion.

The current industrial process to reduce carbon dioxide to methanol uses a catalyst of copper, zinc oxide andaluminum oxide. A number of its binding sites are occupied merely in holding the compound together, which limits how many atoms can catch and hold carbon dioxide.

"With our catalyst, there is no inside," said Stefan Vajda, senior chemist at Argonne and the Institute for Molecular Engineering and co-author on the paper. "All four copper atoms are participating because with only a few of them in the cluster, they are all exposed and able to bind."

To compensate for a catalyst with fewer binding sites, the current method of reduction creates high-pressure conditions to facilitate stronger bonds with carbon dioxide molecules. But compressing gas into a high-pressure mixture takes a lot of energy.

The benefit of enhanced binding is that the new catalyst requires lower pressure and less energy to produce the same amount of methanol.

Carbon dioxide emissions are an ongoing environmental problem, and according to the authors, it's important that research identifies optimal ways to deal with the waste.

"We're interested in finding new catalytic reactions that will be more efficient than the current catalysts, especially in terms of saving energy," said Larry Curtiss, an Argonne Distinguished Fellow who co-authored this paper.

Copper tetramers could allow us to capture and convert carbon dioxide on a larger scale—reducing an environmental threat and creating a useful product like methanol that can be transported and burned for fuel.

Of course the catalyst still has a long journey ahead from the lab to industry.

Potential obstacles include instability and figuring out how to manufacture mass quantities. There's a chance that copper tetramers may decompose when put to use in an industrial setting, so ensuring long-term durability is a critical step for future research, Curtiss said. And while the scientists needed only nanograms of the material for this study, that number would have to be multiplied dramatically for industrial purposes.

Meanwhile, the researchers are interested in searching for other catalysts that might even outperform their copper tetramer.

These catalysts can be varied in size, composition and support material, which results in a list of more than 2,000 potential combinations, Vajda said.

China's Monster Three Gorges Dam Is About To Slow The Rotation Of The Earth

The Myth: The filling of the reservoir behind Three Gorges Dam in China changed the rotation of the Earth.

The Evidence: Three Gorges Dam, China crosses the Yangtze River in Hubei province, China. It the world’s largest hydroelectric power station by total capacity, which will be 22,500 MW when completed. When the water level is maximum at 175 meters (574 ft) over sea level (91 meters (299 ft) above river level), the reservoir created by the dam is about 660 kilometers (410 mi) in length and 1.12 kilometers (0.70 mi) in width on average. The total surface area of the reservoir is 1045 square kilometers, and it will will flood a total area of 632 square kilometers, of land. The reservoir will contain about 39.3 cu km (9.43 cubic miles) of water. That water will weigh more than 39 trillion kilograms (42 billion tons).

A shift in a mass of that size would affect the rotation of the Earth due to a phenomena known as the moment of inertia, which is the inertia of a rigid rotating body with respect to its rotation. The moment of inertia of an object about a given axis describes how difficult it is to change its angular motion about that axis. The longer the distance of a mass to its axis of rotation, the slower it will spin.

You may not know it, but you see examples of this in everyday life. For example, a figure skater attempting to spin faster will draw her arms tight to her bodies, and thereby reduce her moment of inertia. Similarly, a diver attempting to somersault faster will bring his body into a tucked position. Raising 39 trillion kilograms of water 175 meters above sea level will increase the Earth’s moment of inertia and thus slow its rotation. However, the effect would extremely small. NASA scientists calculated that shift of such as mass would increase the length of day by only 0.06 microseconds and make the Earth only very slightly more round in the middle and flat on the top. It would shift the pole position by about two centimeters (0.8 inch). Note that a shift in any object’s mass on the Earth relative to its axis of rotation will change its moment of inertia, although most shifts are too small to be measured (but they can be calculated).

The Verdict: True.

Story Source: Business Insider.

‘Electric highway’ trials to start this year in England

With a lack of engine charging points around the country seen as a barrier to consumer take-up of electric vehicle technology, Highways England considers so-called ‘electric highways’ as a possible future for motor transport.

Ultimately, every motorway and trunk road could be dug up to have ‘dynamic wireless power transfer’ technology buried underneath them.
Off-road trials of the technology will take place later this year following the completion of a feasibility study commissioned by Highways England. They will test how the technology would work safely and effectively on the country’s motorways and major A roads, allowing drivers of ultra-low emission vehicles to travel long distances without needing to stop and charge the car’s battery.

Transport minister Andrew Jones said: “The potential to recharge low emission vehicles on the move offers exciting possibilities. The government is already committing £500m over the next five years to keep Britain at the forefront of this technology, which will help boost jobs and growth in the sector. As this study shows, we continue to explore options on how to improve journeys and make low-emission vehicles accessible to families and businesses.”
Highways England chief highways engineer Mike Wilson said: “Vehicle technologies are advancing at an ever increasing pace and we’re committed to supporting the growth of ultra-low emissions vehicles on our England’s motorways and major A roads.
“The off-road trials of wireless power technology will help to create a more sustainable road network for England and open up new opportunities for businesses that transport goods across the country.”
The trials are expected to begin later this year following the completion of a procurement process. The trials will involve fitting vehicles with wireless technology and testing the equipment, installed underneath the road, to replicate motorway conditions. Full details of the trials will be publicised when a contractor has been selected.
The trials are expected to last for approximately 18 months and, subject to the results, could be followed by on road trials.
As well as investigating the potential to install technology to wirelessly power ultra-low efficient vehicles, Highways England is also committed in the longer-term to installing plug-in charging points every 20 miles on the motorway network as part of the government’s road investment strategy.

சுற்றுப்புற சூழலுக்கு தீங்கு ஏற்படுத்தாத மின்சார கார்களை வாங்க விரும்புபவர்களுக்கு மிகப்பெரிய தலைவலியும், அச்சமூட்டும் விஷயமாக இருப்பது, அதற்கு சார்ஜ் ஏற்றுவதுதான். பேட்டரி சார்ஜில், குறிப்பிட்ட தூரம் வரை மட்டுமே செல்ல முடியும் என்ற அச்சுறுத்தலும், அதனை சார்ஜ் ஏற்றுவதற்கு ஆகும் கால விரயமும் பலரை பின்வாங்க செய்கிறது. மேலும், அந்த கார்களில் சார்ஜ் தீர்ந்து போனால், நடுவழியில் தவிக்கும் நிலை ஏற்படும். மின்சார கார்களை சார்ஜ் ஏற்றுவதற்கு போதிய கட்டமைப்பு வசதிகள் இன்னும் ஏற்படுத்தப்படவில்லை. ஆனால், அதற்கான முயற்சிகள் நடந்துகொண்டுதான் இருக்கிறது. இந்தநிலையில், இங்கிலாந்து அரசு மின்சார கார்களின் பயன்பாட்டை அதிகரிக்கும் விதத்தில், ஓர் முன்னோடி திட்டத்தை தீவிரமாக கையிலெடுத்துள்ளது. அதாவது, மின்சார கார் அல்லது வாகனங்கள் ஓடிக்கொண்டிருக்கும்போது, அதன் பேட்டரி சார்ஜ் ஆகும் விதத்தில், பொது பயன்பாட்டு சாலைகளில் மின் தட பாதையை அமைக்க உள்ளது. இந்த புதிய மின் தட சாலையில், மின்சார வாகனங்களை செலுத்தி, சோதனை ஓட்டங்களும் நடத்தப்பட இருக்கின்றன. சோதனைகள் வெற்றிபெறும் பட்சத்தில், எலக்ட்ரிக் வாகன போக்குவரத்தில் இந்த புதிய மின்மயமாக்கப்பட்ட சாலை தொழில்நுட்பம் ஓர் புதிய பாதையை வகுக்கும்.

Read more at: http://tamil.drivespark.com

The challenges of solar power

In an ideal world, it would be an affordable and practical solution for new electrical generation installations in developing nations to be fueled by low-carbon sources, such as solar, wind, and hydropower.  Solar seems perfect for nations with lots of sun exposure, and no efficient way of bringing the traditional electric grid to remote locations. However, there are many unexpected challenges with solar electrification that entrepreneurs are learning about while doing business in these developing nations, including installation and maintenance, infrastructure, and financing. Installation and maintenance, in particular, is often underemphasized, but it is just as important as the other challenges that make solar-powered electrification a tricky prospect.

One major hurdle for installing solar panels is the lack of skilled workers to do the job. Customers for solar panel installations could range from hospitals requiring over 20 kilowatts of power to small villages needing less than 500 watts to power the entire village. Some training is necessary to understand the complexities of these systems. This problem is being approached in a few different ways. Some companies are hiring and training dedicated installation crews to travel around vast areas doing the work. The problem with this arrangement, though, is that traveling between job sites is inefficient, and any downtime becomes very costly for companies trying to keep dedicated crews on payroll. On the other hand, if these companies hire independent installation crews then ensuring quality standards is harder to do. Also, companies are at the whim of the rates that the independent crews set. Not to mention, in some areas there are no independent installation crews for hire. However, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is stepping in to help. Recently, in Mali, the UNDP paid for the training of female solar technicians to perform installation, maintenance, and service for their entire village. Not only does this solve one of the difficult problems with solar installations, but the training also provides an economic boost for the entire village. Women are now able to earn a living wage to help further support their families.

Another challenge has to do with how transactions to purchase solar panels are structured. Most solar panel installations are a one-time transaction where a customer pays for the panels, equipment and the installation. The company delivers these products, then either installs the panels themselves or hires independent installers. In these deals, it is often unclear who will pay for maintenance when the solar panels break down. Many companies have little financial capacity to bring repair technicians out to remote locations years later to service panels (aside from reputation and customer satisfaction, which some corporations are not necessarily interested in), since most are struggling to make money as it is. Customers are often not in a position to pay much extra for maintenance either since they already paid a large up-front premium for the installation. Hospitals, schools, and businesses cannot afford to continue pouring money into solar systems that unexpectedly break down after two years, when they were supposed to work for twenty years.  But if no one is able or willing to pay for maintenance, the panels go unused and wasted.

Also wasted are the high hopes and expectations of the people who purchased the products. Because solar panels can be a novel technology in remote areas, if one person in a small village has a negative experience with solar, it is likely that others in the village will dismiss it. Entrepreneurs should not rush into high-minded plans of remote rural electrification unless they can ensure a very pleasurable and positive experience, because they might spoil the market for future years. If people are skeptical of solar, then they will continue to fall back on outdated diesel generators, which need just as much maintenance and costly fuel. Not to mention, these generators perpetuate adverse climate effects by pouring CO2 into the atmosphere. For these reasons it is especially important for like-minded entrepreneurs to share successful strategies and business models to tackle the problem of remote rural electrification and maintenance.

Currently there are some success stories in the field such as Devergy, and Bboxx that have done a commendable job addressing installation and maintenance issues. Devergy operates by training dedicated workers to service a village-wide micro-grid consisting of a few solar panels. Most entire village installations are not more than one kilowatt. Devergy installs smart meters and the villagers pay for their usage via mobile money. They essentially operate like a modern utility company.

Another wonderful company, Bboxx, uses extensive tracking and monitoring on all of their products to ensure safe delivery and operation for years. These companies show that despite the financial and logistical challenges, it is possible to build installation and maintenance into a successful business model. Bboxx, like other successful companies, provide ample training to locals so that the community can be involved. With better means of sharing best practices and effective models, hopefully future solar companies operating in the developing world can avoid prior mistakes and more efficiently extend access to power to the people they are serving.

This article is published in collaboration with The Energy Collective. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum. 

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Author: Adam Hashian is the CEO of LucisLumen Corporation and it’s subsidiary Vibratricity LLC.

Westar Energy in Kansas last week joined a long list of US utility companies that foolishly believe they can stand in front of tidal waves with their hands up like traffic cops to stop the rising threat rooftop solar poses to their business models.

As US utilities tack on fees and try to charge customers with rooftop solar installations more than those without them to stem the tide, the rest of the world has already realized those punitive efforts are futile and will do little more than distract utilities and delay their inevitable demise.

Accenture Strategy in Australia recently released a report on the fate of that country’s utility companies in this fast-evolving energy environment. The report revealed, not surprisingly, that innovation is the only way forward for utility companies.

“To manage the threat of the extinction, the industry needs to act now and take a leap of faith through reinvention, convergence and innovation rather than relying on the traditional mindset of defending the status quo,” according to the Accenture report. “This approach will favor the brave, and demands exceptional leadership.”

In South Australia, grid demand for huge parts of the day are expected to drop to 0 by 2023, according to a report released last week by the Australian Energy Market Operator. Because of dramatic growth in the rooftop solar industry, the AEMO estimates there will be no demand for grid power between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. in South Australia within the next eight years.

In this scenario, rooftop solar will account for a quarter of all electricity generation in the state. One in four home and business owners in the state already have installed at least some rooftop solar, and electricity demand in Australia has dropped more than 7 percent since 2009.

Power provider Alinta announced last week that it would shutter two of its base load coal-fired generators.

“The ‘death spiral’ is in its early stages with consumption declining and mass uptake of rooftop solar allowing customer less reliance on the grid,” according to the report. “Ironically, the industry invested in infrastructure expecting demand to rise. Instead, it has steadily fallen but the investment is still needed to be recouped through increases in electricity prices. In response to this irony, savvy consumers have harnessed solar and utilized smart meter data to take control, proactively manage their electricity use and reduce their reliance on the grid.”

“The ‘death spiral’ will kick into overdrive” once energy storage become more cost-effective and viable, enabling mass grid defection, according to the report.

With that bleak outlook, it’s no wonder utilities are trying in desperation to find a way to beat back the solar revolution. However, Australia is committed to clean energy and if utilities want to make it through, they have to innovate. That’s what the good ones are doing.

Innovative utility companies are shifting from a monopoly commodities model to a customer service and interconnection agent.

“Powershop, for example, which is owned by New Zealand’s Meridian Energy, describes itself as an online power company and provides applications to allow consumers to monitor their energy use and bills and does not lock them into contracts,” according to the Accenture report. “The company has a light footprint compared with many traditional electricity retailers, employing only 70 people. It’s an approach that has secured it around 15,000 customers to date with ambitious plans to expand.”

The report highlights that utility companies will have to quit thinking like monopolies and start thinking like businesses. They will need to brand themselves, market themselves and invest in research and development. Accenture noted that water providers in Europe had to improve their tap water product and market it to avoid losing its customer base to boutique bottled water companies.

Product research and marketing are both uncommon requirements for monopoly utilities.

But utility companies are not monopolies anymore. They have competition from rooftop solar, and that competition is coming ashore white glove raised or not.

Here Is the World's First Engine Driven by Nothing But Evaporation.

It might not look like much, but this plastic box is a fully functioning engine—and one that does something no other engine has ever done before. Pulling energy seemingly out of thin air, it harvests power from the ambient evaporation of room-temperature water. No kidding.

A team of bioengineers led by Ozgur Sahin at Columbia University have just created the world's first evaporation-driven engine, which they report today in the journal Nature Communications. Using nothing more than a puddle of resting water, the engine, which measures less than four inches on each side, can power LED lights and even drive a miniature car. Better yet, Sahin says, the engine costs less than $5 to build.

"This is a very, very impressive breakthrough," says Peter Fratzl, a biomaterial researcher at the Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, Germany who was not involved in the research. "The engine is essentially harvesting useful amounts of energy from the infinitely small and naturally occurring gradients [in temperature] near the surface of water. These tiny temperature gradients exist everywhere, even in some of the most remote places on Earth."

To understand how the engine works, it helps to understand unique material behind it.

The key to Sahin's astonishing new invention is a new material that Sahin calls HYDRAs (short for hygroscopy-driven artificial muscles). HYDRAs are essentially thin, muscle-like plastic bands that contract and expand with tiny changes in humidity. A pinky finger-length HYDRA band can cycle through contraction and expansion more than a million times with only a slight, and almost negligible, degradation of the material. "And HYDRAs change shape in really quite a dramatic way: they can almost quadruple in length," Sahin says.

The idea for the HYDRA material came to Sahin more than half a decade ago, when he came across an unusual find in nature. While studying the physical properties of micro-organisms with advanced imaging techniques, he discovered that the spore of the very common grass bacillus bacteria responds in a strange way to tiny amounts of moisture. Although the dormant spore has almost no metabolic activity and does no physical work, its outer shell can soak up and exude ambient levels of evaporated water—expanding and shrinking while doing so.

"The spores stay very rigid as they expand and contract in response to humidity," Sahin says. "That rigidity means their movements come with a whole lot of energy."

After many experiments, Sahin found a way he could mimic the spore's unique response. To make HYDRAs, he actually paints the spores onto plastic strips using a laboratory glue. By painting dormant spores in altering patches on both sides of a single strip, the pulsating spores cause the plastic to flex and release in a single direction in response to moisture—just like a spring expanding and contracting.

While a material made of living creatures may sound like it should have a short lifespan, Fratzl says that, in fact, HYDRAs are "likely to last for a very, very long time," he says. "In nature, it's absolutely critical that these spores survive from decades to even hundreds of years in dormancy, all while responding to outside humidity in this dramatic way without breaking down."

The inner workings

How do you go from spores on strips to a working engine? The engine is placed over a puddle of room-temperature water, creating a small enclosure. As the water on the surface naturally evaporates, the inside of the engine becomes slightly more humid. This triggers strips of HYDRAs to expand as they soak up some of the new-found humidity. Collectively, these HYDRAs pull on a cord which is attached to a small electromagnetic generator, transforming the cord's movement into energy. The HYDRAs also pull open a set of four shutters on top of the engine, releasing the humid air. With the shutters open, humidity inside the engine drops. This causes the HYDRAs to shed their water-vapor and contract, which pulls the shutters back closed. And the process repeats, just like an engine's cycle.

Sahin has found that the engine works at room temperature (around 70 degrees Fahrenheit) with water that's at a wide range of temperatures—from 60 to 90 degrees F. Because water naturally evaporates faster at higher temperatures, hotter water works best. With 60-degree water, the engine will open and close its shutters once every 40 seconds. At 70 degrees, it does so every 20 seconds. At 90 degrees, it's every 10.

Sahin also created a second engine with his HYDRAs—this one a turbine-style creation that uses the motion of bending HYDRAs to spin a wheel. Placed on top of a miniature car, the entire device slowly ekes forward—again, powered by nothing but evaporating water.

More than a toy

On average, each pull of the engine creates roughly 50 microwatts. That's a tiny amount of energy, but it's enough to generate light with an LED by harvesting the energy of a puddle of water that's doing nothing but existing at room temperature. Sahin also says that the materials used to make the engine are extremely cheap. Even including the HYRDAs, he says it should cost less than $5 to put together.

There is plenty of room for improvement, too. For one thing, he says, each HYDRA band uses just 1 percent of energy potential of the bacteria spores. A HYDRA-like material that could make better use of the spores would radically increase usefulness of the device. In fact, Sahin says he already developed another material that could tap into one-third of the spores' energy potential, but it proved an absolute nightmare to finagle that material into a long-lasting engine.

For now, the evaporation engine is just a proof of concept meant to show that this unique type of energy generation really can be accomplished. Whether future devices will ever be able to compete with other renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar energy collection, may be a question that won't even be answerable for decades. But the promise is there, he says. Just consider the way the planet works: "The power in wind on a global scale primarily comes from evaporation," he says, "so there's more power to be had here than there is in the wind."

Solar powered based designed vehicles

solar powered vehicles
the past few years have seen a dramatic rise in the popularity of alternate energy sources, 
particularly solar power. the technology which directly converts the sun's rays into electricity is proving 
to be one of the more commonly used 'green' energies in the transportation markets. as research into 
solar power continues to accelerate and designers are busy trying to challenge peoples ideas of how 
vehicles that use it can look. over the next three pages is an eclectic selection of vehicles that use 

'reliable' solar technologies.