Energy

Completely off-grid? A project in Marocco combines hemp and solar to make an innovative eco-building. There is a team of various organizations who completed the construction of a pioneering eco-building in Morocco. The construction is made of hemp with a high-tech solar energy system. You will not be needing electricity for this residence. Sustainable Eco Home: Competion The residence is built as a single-family home to be a participant in the 'Solar Decathlon', organised by the United States Department of Energy and Morocco's Centre de recherche en Energie Solaire et Energies Nouvelles. This competition takes place every two years and challenges students to create solar-powered buildings. The most recent edition was on the African continent, in Ben Guerir, Marocco. Eco Home: Advanced ‘spaceship’ The residence looks like a spaceship. Monika Brümmer, a German architect and natural builder, was the leader of the project. The challenge was to make a hemp composite with the use of vegetable bio-resins, where technical or synthetic components are avoided, according to Brümmer. The building is circular and has 24 exterior panels. This will give interior comfort because of the optimal damping and thermal phase shift and through the osmosis of the components in the hemp concrete formula. {youtube}                                                         Hemp houses could be greener, fire-resistant Hemp Meets High-tech The SUNIMPLANT was built for around $120,000, a lot cheaper than most of the buildings in the competition. The residence of 90 square meters has the following additional features: A double layer. It is made of a mixture of earth, hemp, pozzolan and lime. These products are all produced locally. The exterior is spherical and aerodynamic. It has 24 semi-flexible photovoltaic panels, sponsored by DAS-Energy. There are curve bio-composite panels. They are made from hemp wool, which improves the performance of the photovoltaic panels by covering their backs against the weather extremes of the semi-arid area of Ben Guerir, where temperatures hit 42°-46°C (107°- 114°F) in the shade during the construction phase last August and September. High-quality glass from the French glass manufacturer Saint Gobain. Recommended:  A Tiny House Shaped As The Lunar-Lander: Australia Recommended:  Hemp: High-Performance Stuff For Buildings, Fashion, Health Sustainable Eco Home: International Cooperation Unfortunately, they were dealing with funding restrictions. Otherwise, they could have delivered more exceptional performance, according to Brümmer. The original plans for the construction were to install hemp-clay boards and internal dividing walls and floors. Adrar Nouh participated in the architectural design, designed the hemp materials and contributed to the construction of the building. Other contributors to the SUNIMPLANT project were the Moroccan National School of Architecture and the National School of Applied Sciences, both located in Tetouan, Morocco, and the German Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics. Recommended:  Tiny Houses Tips And Tricks: Minimalistic Living Experience Did you find this an interesting article or do you have a question or remark? Leave a comment below. We try to respond the same day. Like to write your own article about your off grid house?  Click on  'Register'  or push the button 'Write An Article' on the  'HomePage'

Removed from the climate change and renewables debate is the only thing that might save us: getting a grip on our out-of-control human presence and consumption. Why is this not the issue? Because that would be bad for profits, bad for business. Are Renewables, Renewables? Have we environmentalists fallen for illusions, 'green illusions', that are anything but green, because we’re scared that this is the end—and we’ve pinned all our hopes on biomass, wind turbines, and electric cars? No amount of batteries are going to save us! Recommended: Electric Cars: Truly Green Or A New Kind Of Liability? Green! The New Black: Video's                                                               The Uncertainty Has Settled (Full film) After eight years of travelling through conflict and poverty zones, Marijn Poels - a progressive filmmaker/journalist - decides to take some time off. In the Austrian mountains no less. It confronts him unexpectedly with the roots of agriculture and its modern day perspective. Globalisation and climate politics are causing radical changes such as farmers becoming energy suppliers. But the green ideology raises questions. The scientific topic of climate change has now become incontrovertibly a matter of world politics. Poels faces a personal conflict. Are we doing the right thing?  Recommended:  Green Energy Which Is Not Renewable: Who’s Afraid Of Thorium                                                Why renewables can’t save the planet | Michael Shellenberger  Environmentalists have long promoted renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind farms to save the climate. But what about when those technologies destroy the environment? In this provocative talk, Time Magazine 'Hero of the Environment' and energy expert, Michael Shellenberger explains why solar and wind farms require so much land for mining and energy production, and an alternative path to saving both the climate and the natural environment. Michael Shellenberger is a Time Magazine Hero of the Environment and President of Environmental Progress, a research and policy organization. A lifelong environmentalist, Michael changed his mind about nuclear energy and has helped save enough nuclear reactors to prevent an increase in carbon emissions equivalent to adding more than 10 million cars to the road. He lives in Berkeley, California.                       Michael Moore Presents: Planet of the Humans | Teaser | Directed by Jeff Gibbs Michael Moore presents Planet of the Humans, a documentary that dares to say what no one else will this Earth Day — that we are losing the battle to stop climate change on planet earth because we are following leaders who have taken us down the wrong road — selling out the green movement to wealthy interests and corporate America. This film is the wake-up call to the reality we are afraid to face: that in the midst of a human-caused extinction event, the environmental movement’s answer is to push for techno-fixes and band-aids. It's too little, too late.        Michael Moore film Planet of the Humans removed from YouTube British environmental photographer’s copyright claim prompts website to remove film that has been condemned by climate scientists. Michael Moore’s film Planet of the Humans has been removed from YouTube. YouTube has taken down the controversial Michael Moore-produced documentary Planet of the Humans in response to a copyright infringement claim by a British environmental photographer. The movie, which has been condemned as inaccurate and misleading by climate scientists and activists, allegedly includes a clip used without the permission of the owner Toby Smith, who does not approve of the context in which his material is being used. In response, the filmmakers denied violating fair usage rules and accused their critics of politically motivated censorship. Before you go! Recommended:  Gravitricity: Fast, Versatile Energy Storage Solution, UK Did you find this an interesting article or do you have a question or remark? Leave a comment below. We try to respond the same day. Like to write your own article about renewables? Click on  'Register'  or push the button 'Write An Article' on the  'HomePage'

Renewable energy is most important in the fight for a healthier planet. Greenhouse gases cause climate change: we are in despairing search of the alternative energy solution to decrease the most devastating effects on our earth.  Vortex Turbine Blue Energy: A Clear Mission Marine energy developer Minesto may have this solution: it's innovative ‘underwater kite’ technology extracts energy from tides and ocean current. Is this the way to reap the immense ocean power potential? SEV, the primary energy supplier for the Faroe Islands, thinks so and signs the first enormous deal. Photo by: Minesto The marine energy developer Minesto was founded in 2007 as a spin-off from Swedish aerospace manufacturer Saab. With a team of more than fifty professionals with different technical skills and extensive experience, Minesto is working on a clear mission: to offer products for power production from the oceans that will supply customers with clean and mostly predictable electricity at highly competitive costs. Their patented concept Deep Green, with which the Sweden-based company hopes to expand the global ocean energy potential, has already won several awards. How does the technology work? This ‘underwater kite’ works in a rather simple way. It is the same concept as a kite flying in the wind, but Minesto attached a turbine to the kite and placed it underwater. The kite’s wing is pushed upwards by the underwater current and steers the kite in an eight-shaped trajectory, that will reach 'a speed several times the actual stream speed', Minesto explains on its website. “As the kite flies in the current, water flows through the turbine at the same speed and electricity is produced in the generator.” Through cables, the electricity can be transmitted to shore. Minesto’s underwater kite harvests power from low-flow tidal streams and ocean current streams—with velocities between 1.2 m/s and 3 m/s. Recommended: Green Electric Power: A Zero Carbon Global Economy Underwater Kite: Minesto And SEV Minesto's first underwater kite prototype (Deep Green Ocean) was largely tested at Queen’s University Belfast marine energy test site called Strangford Lough. The Deep Green technology was first industrialized at the Holyhead Deep site near North Wales. The company’s next move is big: Minesto signed a contract with SEV, the main energy supplier for the Faroe Islands with a population of about 51,000 people. Minesto’s innovative technology can be decisive in helping the Faroe Islands achieve its goal to phase out oil entirely by 2020. A large-scale build-out of tidal energy of between 30 MW and 70 MW is part of the long-term plan. {youtube}                      Portraits of Sustainability Pioneers: Dassault Systèmes presents Martin Edlund of Minesto In this collaboration, SEV commits to purchase the electricity generated by Minesto’s tidal energy converters, part of the company’s unique subsea kite technology called Deep Green. Supplying clean and dependable energy for islands can be hard, as wind and solar power are too unpredictable and island energy is polluting, Minesto is currently developing DGIM, “a stand-alone tidal and ocean current energy converter for off-grid applications,” as we can read on their website. Recommended: Worlds Cleanest Battery Blue Energy Storage: The Netherlands Vortex Turbine Blue Energy: Competitive Advantages What makes this technology so different? The Deep Green kite is small-sized and will have no visual and minimal environmental impact. The ability to operate at low velocities makes Minesto's Deep Green technology the only technology to be cost-efficient in both tidal and ocean currents. Minesto compares their technically exploitable potential of tidal streams and ocean currents – useful for more than 600 GW of capacity - with the currently under 400 GW of nuclear power capacity installed globally. Photo by: Minesto Still, the commercialization of the company's technology is reliant on market confidence – which might take some time. That might give competitors time for a battle related to pricing, product quality, dependability, and financing terms. Minesto is still highly dependent on subsidies. The marine technology developer received 44.6 million dollars in total from public agencies, because the underwater kite technology fits most government's ambition to reduce climate change and stimulate innovation. Recommended:  Airborne Wind Energy Systems: A New Way Of Energy Supply Blue Energy In The Ongoing Energy Transition In an interview with Engineer Live, CEO Martin Endlund says that his company expands the overall energy potential by approaching resources that no other energy developer is concentrating on. “When you add to that the cost structure that is related to the unique competitive advantages of our technology, and the fact that we can exploit continuous ocean currents, we are talking about low-cost baseload renewable power,” Endlund says. “This means that we make ocean energy a highly relevant and urgently needed complement to the energy mix in the ongoing energy transition.” Will blue energy take over the world? Minesto is hoping to be the one to do it. And with their latest milestones, they might just will. Before you go! Recommended: The Illusions Of Renewables. Solar And Wind Will Not Save Us Did you find this an interesting article or do you have a question or remark? Leave a comment below. We try to respond the same day. Like to write your own article about Kite Energy? Click on  'Register'  or push the button 'Write An Article' on the  'HomePage'

It comes as no surprise that fossil fuel-generated electricity is on the way out. It is not just highly polluting and a great contributor to global warming, it is also unsustainable in and of itself. Its limited availability is only a minor problem, it seems. Renewable Energy Is Not Limitless Renewable energy, including electricity generated by the rays of the sun or by the wind, is the way of the future. Not only is it much better for the environment, it is also cheaper - coming in at a significantly lower price than its carbon-rich friend. Unfortunately, there is one major issue that is currently preventing it from taking over the market and becoming everyone’s go-to energy source. Recommended:  Urban Car With Zero Emission, The Air-Powered Car AIRPod 2.0 While in theory, renewable energy is fully renewable, as the sun will keep on shining and the wind will keep on blowing, it is not always available. The sun goes down at night and we might not be able to catch its rays on rainy days. Similarly, the wind might sometimes stop blowing, rendering a windmill useless for shorter or longer periods of time.   Recommended:  Renewable Energy Turns CO2 Into Fuel For Hydrogen Batteries Storing Electricity Using Compressed Air {youtube}                                                    Compressed Air Energy Storage | Sustainable Energy   The solution to this problem could be fairly simple: coming up with a way to effectively store energy at a good price. We are actually already doing so, most notably through batteries. So we should not have to re-invent the wheel. Not entirely, at least - because there is a solution that is underdeveloped but extremely promising. Compressed air.   Useful for blowing up balloons and air mattresses. But also for storing energy. Cheap, and not too complicated. You basically just suck in air from the atmosphere, compress it, and store it as pressurised air. As soon as you need energy, you can let out this air and run it through a machine that separates the energy, setting in motion an electrical generator. Recommended:  Hydrogen Energy Storage Revolution In The Netherlands The air can be stored in steel tanks, which is the more expensive solution, or in underwater containments or underground caverns. These spaces could be huge, while compressed air does not take up a whole lot of space. Thus, huge quantities of electricity could potentially be stored at low cost. Unfortunately, the idea has not gotten much traction with those in charge. Three Reasons Compressed Air Storage Is Not Taking Off Yet First, the technology in question is not as straightforward as blowing up a balloon. It is not as simple as letting in air, keeping it inside and letting it out again when needed. It requires a wealth of different technologies, including those needed for compression, expansion, heat exchange, storage and extraction. All of those need to work together perfectly if it is to work. This makes it fairly complicated. Second, this storage is mostly useful for the long term. This means that it currently falls in a space in the market that is fairly limited. After all, renewable energy is either used instantly or stored for a really short amount of time, using batteries. For longer-term use, at night or in the winter time, we still turn to fossil fuel generated electricity as a backup. In order to start using compressed air storage for renewables, a change in mindset will need to take a hold of the market. Plus, the procurement of some rather expensive technologies and equipment. Third, the investment is not just pretty big, it is also steady - in the sense that it lasts a lifetime. A private investment usually requires a high rate of return, preferably in the short run. Thus, investors are not as keen on the value left in the long term. Yet compressed air technology is designed to last and operate a lifetime, if not more. The underground caverns, for instance, could easily be used for 100+ years. Machines that are designed to compress and expand the air will be good for at least 50. Recommended:  Gravitricity: Key Energy Storage Or Too Good To Be True? Renewable Energy Storage: Looking At The Bigger Picture As always, it looks as if money rules the electricity industry. People are more concerned with short term profits, as they often are. Perhaps this is the cue for governments to step in and take on the investments. No one else seems willing to do so thus far. Diagram of the TVA pumped storage facility at Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant The prospect of storing renewable energy using advanced techniques such as compressed air might be good, but while there will be easier and more profitable solutions - such as fossil fuel -, it will remain a hard sell. Before you go! Recommended:  Home Solar Energy Storage By Nissan Did you find this an interesting article or do you have a question or remark? Leave a comment below. We try to respond the same day. Like to write your own article about renewable energy storage? Click on  'Register'  or push the button 'Write An Article' on the  'HomePage'

There is an urgent need to reduce CO2: is renewable hydrogen the answer to our CO2 problems? Hydrogen is versatile: it can be used for heating, power, and transportation and, therefore, in many industries. The worldwide potential of renewable hydrogen is huge: which country will step up to be the leading green hydrogen economy? National Hydrogen And Fuel Cell Day National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day. A clean and sustainable future for everyone! In the United States, October 8 is National Hydrogen And Full Cell Day (fun fact – this aptly chosen date stands for the atomic weight of hydrogen, which is 1.008). This National Day is still little-known, but not only scientists seem to celebrate Hydrogen Day. What is hydrogen and fuel cells? A fuel cell is a device that converts chemical potential energy (energy stored in molecular bonds) into electrical energy. A PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) cell uses hydrogen gas (H2) and oxygen gas (O2) as fuel. The products of the reaction in the cell are water, electricity, and heat. This year, French industrial giant Air Liquide revealed their plans to build a new plant that produces renewable liquid hydrogen in Las Vegas, Nevada, which ´will have a production capacity of 30 tons of liquid hydrogen a day. ‘Air Liquide is committed to producing hydrogen to meet the renewable requirements of the mobility market in California.’ Recommended:  Hydrogen-Powered Tug Launched In Antwerp: Unique In Belgium Green Hydrogen Power: Supply Is Only Half Of The Equation The announcement adds to the sense of a trend in the emerging sector. "Green hydrogen seems like it’s at some sort of possible inflection," said Ben Gallagher, an expert on carbon and emerging technology at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. "There’s something in the air." Although hydrogen is still in its infancy, this hydrogen trend could turn into a global phenomenon. Investors and policymakers are starting to get triggered. More and more countries expressed interest in green hydrogen: the potential of the element is seen worldwide. There is an urgent need to reduce CO2 and renewable hydrogen could be the answer – at least according to these nine countries. {youtube}                                           Green Hydrogen Economy: The Enormous Potential Worldwide                                                 Energy Storage in Hydrogen: Does this beat batteries? Australia Steps Up Its Participation In The Hydrogen Market The green hydrogen is not that big of hype in Australia - yet. The country is planning to replace fossil fuel export with an alternative: for Japan, perhaps? "Generally, we’d be looking for a country that is an energy importer and is seeking a low-emission fuel,” said Paul Graham, energy flagship chief economist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, to Green Tech Media . Canada: Green Hydrogen And Fuel Cells Canada Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association The Great White North not only wants to produce the hydrogen gas but wants to manufacture fuel cells. Canada is well-positioned to benefit from growing international demand for hydrogen and fuel cells. Canada has a hydrogen and fuel cell sector that thrives in export markets, and that includes global leader Ballard Power Systems. France: Green Hydrogen A Rage In France, hydrogen is al well-known word, as then-Minister Hulot plight to put France in the driver seat of the world green hydrogen market – and invested 100 million euro in technology to do so. Hulot resigned, but the will of France to get in that driver seat has not lessened. It’s first hydrogen-power passenger bus was unveiled in Houdini, for example. R ecommended:  Solar And Hydrogen Boats Win The Future: France, Monaco Germany: Hydrogen Power Applications Germany, already a big player in the green hydrogen market, has unveiled a new plan to invest in research labs for a budget of 100 million euros. Managing director at FNB Gas, Inga Posch, said: "Hydrogen is one of the hottest topics in the energy transition in the country at the moment." What are Hydrogen applications Hydrogen is used in various in industrial applications; these include metalworking (primarily in metal alloying), flat glass production (hydrogen used as an inerting or protective gas), the electronics industry (used as a protective and carrier gas, in deposition processes, for cleaning, in etching, in reduction Japan: Most Advanced Green Hydrogen Market With manufacturers as Honda and Toyota, Japan takes the lead in hydrogen fuel cell transportation development and has the most advanced green hydrogen market. Also, the government revealed plans to set up 10,000 refueling stations over the next decade. Norway: Hydrogen And Hydropower After the world’s first accident in a hydrogen filling station (in which two people were injured), Norway still holds on to its pioneer position in the hydrogen market. After the accident happened, Nel Hydrogen did everything to prevent the happening from becoming an obstruction for commercialization. Japan is thinking of importing Norwegian wind and gas by the sea in the form of liquid hydrogen. This could also be interesting for Europe, and at the same time, offer Norway new prospects for exports. South Korea: Ambitious Hydrogen Plans In South Korea, The South Korean government planned to have 850.000 fuel cell vehicles by 2050, but an explosion in a research facility where two people were killed and six was injured, nourished concerns. U.K.: Wind market And Green Hydrogen For the U.K., hydrogen is a way to make the heating sector greener, as well to reduce gas imports – which is a plus for the country, nowadays. The U.K. is blessed with a vast wind market, and the government plans to invest 12 billion pounds in using four gigawatts of offshore wind for renewable hydrogen production. U.S.: California World-Leading Market For a country where National Hydrogen Day is celebrated, you would expect more of the green hydrogen development. Luckily, California has a massive interest in hydrogen:  it can help the state with its callosal decarbonization targets. Of course, with a little help from its high-profile technology developers in Silicon Valley – California is leading in the hydrogen market.  Before you go! Recommended:  Solar And Hydrogen Boats Win The Future: France, Monaco Did you find this an interesting article, or do you have a question or remark? Leave a comment below. We try to respond the same day. 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