Life after cheap oil: October 2008 Archives

One technology that is less visible but quite popular in Germany is the use of heatpumps to heat homes. The experience of the German producers with the technology attracts home-owners in other countries, like the Netherlands. In the coming months we will follow someone who is contemplating to buy one of these heatpumps in Germany.

MorganSolar is a company with an interesting approach on solar concentrators.

Solar concentrators focus the sunlight onto a PV-cell. The plus is that you need less (expensive) silicon for the same amount of energy, the drawbacks are the elevated temperatures that decrease the lifetime of the cell and increased sensitivity for wind (larger structure catches more wind). MorganSolar have a radical different design that appears to eliminate the drawbacks.

They use a planar optical wave guide to transport the light energy to the sides where the PV-cell is located. Acrylic waveguide and alumunium housing are fit for massproduction. The aluminium H-shape is rigid and acts as a heatsink. The total structure has a low windprofile.

On paper a winning combination, I wonder when it will be put to the test in production. The original approach seems like good engineering to me.

The only thing I do not understand is why nobody combines solar concentration on silicon with water cooling, where the heated water is used in a solar boiler for daily use. The amount of m2 one needs for electricity generation is much higher than you need for heating water in a normal household. Why not combine the functions in one investment?

Earth2tech reports that the UK government has decided to stimulate the electric car industry with a package worth Euro 150 mio.

Great PR, but anybody who has any inside in the industry will recognize that the factors that will increase the amount of electricity used for transportation over the burning of oil are much more complex than this package adresses.

Laura Domela has published a wonderfull book called "Fietsen", full of pictures of bicyclists in Amsterdam, taken from above from an apartment in the Marnixstraat.

Solar Thermal Electricity (STE) is a proven technology where solar heat is converted to electricity through steam and turbines. Ausra Inc. has published a white paper claiming that this technology could supply over 93 % of the electrical power for the USA (800 GW) within a square of 150 x 150 km filled with solar collectors.
Let's see if there is any substance to this claim.

The authors assume a "Solar Multiple" (SM) of 3, and heat storage for 1-2 days. Meaning that the actual size of the collectorfarm is 3 times the minimum what is needed to run a turbine at full capacity at solar noon in mid-summer, and excess heat is stored in melted salt or another medium to level out the output over a day's cycle. According to their modeling only during winterdays additional capacity should be needed to meet demand, the rest of the year the power plant would generate enough (ah, the lovely californian sunshine).
For an SM3 plant with storage, generating 177 MW, an area of 3.9 square km would be needed according to Ausra.

Let's see. 

Over here the number of microcars on the road is growing quickly. Grey-haired drivers who do not need/have a driving license use these vehicles as if they are fullfledged cars. But who can blame them. Cheap to operate and maintain, easy to park, and having the best of both worlds (car and moped at the same time). It was only a question of time before the manufacturers would create an all-electric version. And here it is, available right now at your favourite dealer.

Small can be beautifull. Standard lead-acid batteries left unused for some time (boats, cars, motorcycles) require a trickle charge to retain their charge and capacity.

Instead of a 230 V trickle charger you can purchase a solar charger for as little as 34 euro's.

Simpel, effective, cheap.

Cleantechnica reports on how a couple of Australian friends have succeeded in homebrewing diesel from algea. Looks like I'll have to convert the swimming pool into an algeaheaven....

Answer: 650 million litre of CO2 per day....or 650.000 m3.

Some politicians are actively promoting nuclear power as THE answer to global warming. Next to safety concerns the quickly rising costs of building a nuclear plant creates doubts about the economic viability of nuclear power. One of the indicators is the observation that no venture capital is flowing to nuclear, it is all going to "green". On the opposite side power companies in the USA have request USD 112 billion in loan garantuees from the government for nuclear power projects. The estimated investment per kW has risen to almost double that of a gasfired plant, the overruns in time and budget of existing projects are huge.

Sounds like a very questionable investment compared to other plans like this.

One of the most extreme but beautifull designs for an EV or PHEV has just been improved. The Aptera has received some nice extra touches which somehow give it a resemblance to a dolphin jumping through the waves. I just can't wait to see one live driving over here.

The real significance is the willingness to take such a step. It is clear that a system of carbon credits will never have enough financial impact on the purchase price of lightbulbs to bridge the gap with alternative lightsources. Most people tend to neglect the cost of ownership when purchasing a lightsource, so this would never lead to the introduction of new technology. Only a mandatory across-the-board ban on old technology will make the difference.

Some time ago this would have been branded as state-intervention of the worst kind. Apparently times have changed.

Streamlined body, light chassis, a 6 speed gearbox of a Smart and a small diesel engine is all that was needed.

A clever new rear suspension allows for fun while driving, the top speed is over 30 kph. Lots of clever details in the engineering and usefull features make this Zuumer something in the category "I gotta have one of these!".

It is interesting to see that the change to electric propulsion systems (EV of PHEV) creates opportunities for new contenders in the market. Such as Bolloré. Their choice to team up with Pininfarina has led to a very interesting car, the B0 (B-Zero). The looks are right, the specs are right, how about the price..?

Quite often a diesel engine of a truck is used to power a hydraulic pump through a PTO (power take off). Unfortunately the diesel has to run all the time although the pump is used only intermittently.