The Green Energy Group

The Green Energy Group has been launched because the environmental and sustainability agenda is changing daily and organisations large and small, in all sectors, need to be constantly aware of the changing impact of that agenda on their business, their customers, their suppliers, their employees and all their wider stakeholders.

There is also a real need for business to demonstrate an understanding of and sensitivity to environmental and sustainability issues through communications programmes, internally and externally - and to capitalise on positive initiatives.

They may already be well down the road with green policies, products or services or they might be actively involved in emerging technologies - in an increasingly accountable world, it is critical to communicate these positive initiatives to all relevant audiences.

For companies operating in sensitive areas, perhaps facing consumer backlash or negative legislation, countering with positive campaigning has never been more critical.

wind-powered hand-held charger

But do you know wind-powered hand-held charger? :-) It's not so popular. And I think someone know this cool gadget firstly. HYmini offers such cool gadget. It's palm-sized, comes in three colors (comes in black, white, and green), and can charge your gadgets with just a stiff breeze. It sounds cool, don't you think so?
                 All this wind-powered charger takes is a breeze of between 9 and 30 mph to keep the battery charging. Meanwhile, the translucent wind turbine glows green while in use, and the cool gadget contains an LED night light.
    

Surprising Green Energy Investment Trends Found Worldwide

Of this $13.5 billion of new private investment went into companies developing and scaling-up new technologies alongside $117 billion of investment in renewable energy projects from geothermal and wind to solar and biofuels.

The 2008 investment is more than a four-fold increase since 2004 according to Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2009, prepared for the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative by global information provider New Energy Finance.

Extremely difficult financial market conditions prevailed during 2008 as a result of the global economic crisis.

Nevertheless investment in clean energy topped 2007's record investments by 5% in large part as a result of China, Brazil and other emerging economies.

Of the $155 billion, $105 billion was spent directly developing 40 GW of power generating capacity from wind, solar, small-hydro, biomass and geothermal sources.

A further $35 billion was spent on developing 25 GW of large hydropower, according to the report.

This $140 billion investment in 65 GW of low carbon electricity generation compares with the estimated $250 billion spent globally in 2008 constructing 157GW of new power generating capacity from all sources.

It means that renewables currently account for the majority of investment and over 40% of actual power generation capacity additions last year.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: “Without doubt the economic crisis has taken its toll on investments in clean energy when set against the record-breaking growth of recent years. Investment in the United States fell by two per cent and in Europe growth was very much muted. However, there were also some bright points in 2008 especially in developing economies—China became the world’s second largest wind market in terms of new capacity and the world’s biggest photovoltaic manufacturer and a rise in geothermal energy may be getting underway in countries from Australia to Japan and Kenya”.

“Meanwhile other developing economies such as Brazil, Chile, Peru and the Philippines have brought in, or are poised to introduce policies and laws fostering clean energy as part of a Green Economy. Mexico for example, the Global host of World Environment Day on 5 June, is expected to double its target for energy from renewables to 16 per cent as part of a new national energy policy,” he added.

Overall Highlights from the Report

Wind attracted the highest new investment ($51.8 billion, 1% growth on 2007), although solar made the largest gains ($33.5 billion, 49% growth) while biofuels dropped somewhat ($16.9 billion, 9% decrease).

Total transaction value in the sustainable energy sector during 2008 - including corporate acquisitions, asset re-financings and private equity buy-outs - was $223 billion, an increase of 7% over 2007. But capital raised via the public stock markets fell 51% to $11.4 billion as clean energy share prices lost 61% of their value during 2008.

Investment in the second half of 2008 was down 17% on the first half, and down 23% on the final six months of 2007, a trend that has continued into 2009.

One response to the global economic crisis has been announcements of stimulus packages with specific, multi-billion dollar provisions for energy efficiency up to boosts to renewable energies.

"These 'green new deals' lined up by some economies, including China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, European countries and the United States contain some serious clean energy provisions. These will help support the market," said Mr. Steiner.

Bill 150, Green Energy and Green Economy Act

Bill 150, the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, is proceeding rapidly through second reading in the Ontario Legislature. This Bill contains 12 different Schedules, each proposing or amending a different statute.

One of the Schedules will create the proposed Green Energy Act. Among many other things, the Green Energy Act will allow the province to require vendors of real estate to provide energy efficiency information, possibly an energy audit. Realtors have complained, but we think it’s an excellent idea.The vehicle equivalent,Drive clean, has been immensely useful in reducing air pollution from badly maintained cars and trucks. It may also have saved car buyers money by ensuring that their new cars have working pollution control systems. When Drive Clean was announced, it was met with a chorus of objections, but the market adapted soon thereafter.

Buildings are usually estimated to release 30% to 40% of Canadian greenhouse gases. Since buildings last much longer than vehicles, a large proportion of Canadian buildings are old and inefficient. An energy audit frequently identifies many opportunities for property owners to reduce their energy costs. For example, our synagogue was astonished to learn of numerous cost-saving opportunities with very short payback periods, when we finally got around to a formal energy audit. And implementing the recommendations gave us a much more comfortable building, with better lighting.

More on the Green Energy Act later, as soon as time permits!

“Green Energy, Golden Opportunities”

On March 26, 2009, the Johnson School Club of Rochester hosted a panel presentation:

“Green Energy, Golden Opportunities: How the environment and business can prosper together.”

The panel was moderated by Dr. Mark Milstein, Lecturer of Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management.  The event was a huge success and was attended by over 150 people.  The discussion was both informative and lively, with many questions and comments coming from the audience.

The event took place at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School at 1100 South Goodman Street in Rochester.

Clean Energy

Most of us are relatively happy with the care we get from our doctors.  So it’s easy to see why Health CARE Reform sounds scary to a lot of people.  They think, “I like the health care I get — why does it need to be reformed?”
It’s a very different story when you ask people about their health INSURANCE — if they can even afford it.  It’s either getting way too expensive way too quickly (much faster than wages are rising) or it’s impossible to afford altogether.  So Health INSURANCE Reform sounds like exactly what most of us really need right now.
“Ohhhh, thaaat’s what all this is about,” somebody who I explained this to on a BART Train exclaimed recently, clearly getting it.  “Yes, my health INSURANCE is way too expensive and is covering less and less.  We definitely need Health INSURANCE Reform!”
Similarly, a couple of Thanksgivings ago, I had this wonderful encounter with a couple of global warming deniers.  They were all in favor of clean energy jobs, freedom from oil, energy efficiency savings — they can see it, they get how enacting these solutions makes America more secure and our lives better.  Climate change, caused by invisible gases, affecting something so big and vague as the climate of the entire planet — notso much.
That said, it’s definitely appropriate that Senators Kerry and Boxer named their climate change solutions bill the “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power” act and Rep. Markey named the House Bill the “American Clean Energy and Security Act”.
Even with climate change accelerating beyond our wildest expectations, if Kerry and Boxer’s bill becomes about climate change, itself, a victory will only occur by the thinnest of margins, if at all. If the public discussion becomes about being in favor of the solutions to climate change with easy-to-see public benefits — such as clean energy, freedom from oil, energy and fuel efficiency — support for the bill will be much broader.  It just becomes a whole lot harder for people to be against or to not believe in things like “clean energy jobs” and “freedom from oil”.

Green Power

Energy is all around us -- in the wind, the waves, the sun. But such renewable sources supply only about 9 percent of our electricity. As fossil fuels get more difficult and more expensive to produce, conservation and renewable alternatives are increasingly important. This five-part series explores renewable energy in Rhode Island and ways to conserve energy while saving money.

green energy trends

“We live in interesting times: the transition from a reliance on high-carbon energy sources to low-and-zero-emission technologies. The trend, we believe, is incontrovertible.” – clean edge.
         Clean Edge, an American clean-tech research and consulting firm, has launched their latest ‘Clean Energy Trends 2008’ report in which they identify five key trends affecting clean-energy markets and a forecast of markets for four clean-energy technologies.

This is a positive report that shows that 2007 was a “banner year for clean energy, with no signs of a slowdown in 2008”.

Despite a challenging economic outlook – plummeting housing prices, record-high oil prices, sinking consumer confidence, looming recession (sound familiar?) – solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal, energy intelligence, hybrid – and all-electric vehicles, advanced batteries, green buildings and other clean-energy related technologies and markets are at an all time high.

More Green From the Golden State

On December 5th, as is customary for his post, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger powered up the lights for State Capitol Christmas Tree. What makes this years tree-lighting  especially noteworthy is the use of a hydrogen fuel cell. Energy-efficeint LED bulbs are being powered by clean energy.

Said Schwarzenegger, “California leads the nation in energy efficiency standards. Once again, California is a pioneer in protecting our environment with this tree, which is powered entirely by a clean, zero-emission power source.”

In Anaheim, Disney is working to prove the Governor’s statements true, having recently revamped it’s classic submarine ride, substituting magnetic cols for steam power, and colorful, recycled glass for paint.

The quality of the show is still the number one priority for the employees of Disney, as stated Frank Dela Vara of Disneyland Environmental Affairs. “Our culture is that we want to be very careful about those pieces that we put on stage, and we don’t want to take that feel of the show away from the guests.”

A Green Environment Makes for a Green Economy

What could the United States do with an extra $465 billion? Free healthcare? Free college tuition? Tax cuts? Heck, they could even buy the Yankees. And the best part, not only would the U.S. be saving all that money, they would radically cut CO2 emissions by 80% over the next 40 years, according to a study released by the  (UCS).

“We have a historic opportunity to reinvent our economy, tackle global warming, and cut energy costs. Setting a limit on heat-trapping emissions would ensure that we make the necessary carbon emission reductions to help avoid the worst consequences of climate change. Combining a carbon cap with strong efficiency, renewable electricity, and transportation standards can deliver those emission cuts and save Americans a substantial amount of money,” says UCS president Kevin Knobloch.

Most of the savings would be on energy bills due to better efficiencies in building and industrial processes, a more efficient transportation system, and cleaner cars. Although a more efficient transportations system and cars would likely cost about $35 billion, drivers would potentially save over $120 billion in fuel costs per year.

“Efficiency and renewable energy technologies are ready today to power our economy with carbon-free electricity. Our blueprint shows that these clean energy sources can lead the way in cutting U.S. emissions, while lowering electricity bills and curbing our addiction to dirty, high-carbon coal power,” says Steve Clemmer, research director of UCS’s Clean Energy Program.

Wind Farm Control

I recently started working on a project in wind farm control. The goal is to regulate the voltage and reactive power output of the wind farm. Depending on the type, individual wind turbines can vary their output power, voltage, and power factor to some extent. Other actuators include power transmission equipment including capacitor banks, tap-changing transformers, and power electronic components. Future wind speeds and end-user power demands important but unknown, although they can be estimated.
This problem is similar to the HEV control problem: time-varying inputs and disturbances, multiple nonlinear actuators, hard and soft constraints, etc. The sheer number of components in the system requires careful assumptions and model reduction to get a feasible, accurate solution. I view this project as an opportunity to extend my control knowledge to other energy systems.

Solar Tree

Washington, D.C. - Global production of SOLAR photovoltaic (PV) cells increased 51 percent in 2007, to 3,733 megawatts, according to the latest Vital Signs Update from the Worldwatch Institute, produced in collaboration with the Prometheus Institute in Cambridge, MASSUCAHESST.
         More than 2,935 megawatts (MW) of solar modules were installed in 2007, according to early estimates, bringing cumulative global installations of PVs since 1996 to more than 9,740 MW-enough to meet the annual ELECTRICITY demand of more than 3 million homes in Europe.
   Spain ranked second after Germany for total installations in 2007, but accounts for only an estimated 3 percent of global production. As in Germany, the Spanish market is being driven by a strong guaranteed price for PV electricity.

Despite a dramatic increase in solar cell production in the United States, up 48 percent to 266 MW, the nation's share of global production and installations continued to fall in 2007.

Bio-sourced energy

Certain BIO MASS (the sum total of living and dead plants, animals, and microorganisms in an area) can be used as fuel to produce heat energy.
Biofuel – known commonly as bio-diesel – is made from the methane released from natural vegetable seeds and grains, such as can be made from renewable oilseed crops such as soybeans, rapeseed, cottonseed and mustard seed. In fact, thought it seems like “all the rage” and the “idea of the day”, the use of vegetable oils in diesel engines is nearly as old as the diesel engine itself. The inventor of the diesel engine, Rudolf Diesel, reportedly used peanut oil as a fuel for demonstration purposes in 1900. Biodiesel runs in any conventional unmodified diesel engine. Pure biodiesel increases engine’s life, since it does not leave any deposits. The use of biodiesel can extend the life of diesel engines because it is more lubricating than petroleum diesel fuel while fuel consumption, ignition, power output and engine torque are unaffected. An excellent resource can be found HERE for detailed information.
Biomass – the biomass contained in garbage can be burned to produce heat energy or can be allowed to decay and produce methane (natural gas). In western Europe, over 200 power plants burn rubbish to produce electricity. Methane can be converted to the liquid fuel methanol, and ethanol can be produced from fermentable crops such as sugar cane and sorghum. Adequate air pollution controls are necessary when biomass is burned to limit the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Fuel cell (water)

Hydrogen gas is a potential source of fuel for automobiles, as well as a potential source of energy for heating buildings and generating electricity. Although hydrogen is not readily available, it can be produced by separating water into hydrogen and oxygen in a process called electrolysis. A disadvantage of using hydrogen gas as fuel is that it is highly flammable. Fuel cells are devices that produce electric power from the interaction of hydrogen and oxygen gases. They are used to provide electricity in spacecraft and are a potential alternative energy source for heating buildings and powering automobiles.

Wind Power

Wind power is one of the earliest forms of energy used by humankind. Windmills were used on farms in the early part of the twentieth century to pump water and generate electricity. Wind provides energy by the virtue of movement, and it can be and excellent alternative renewable energy source. Turbines or windmills convert the wind’s kinetic energy into mechanical energy, and it can be used for tasks such as grinding grains, pumping water and milling lumber. Look of wind turbines and windmill is not appealing, and companies are looking for various alternatives. One company has come up with the idea of putting the wind turbines underwater.

SOLAR ENERGY FACT

Solar energy is the most abundant source of energy available to mankind. We will never run out of solar energy unless the sun dies. According to Wikipedia, there will another 7.8 billion years before the sun reach the next phase of evolution. This is the stage in which helium fusion will begin producing carbon and oxygen. By then, human race will either no longer exist or already came up with a solution to scope with the problem.
Beside it availability, it also have many useful characteristics that make it one of the most suitable form of energy. These characteristics are listed below:
Collect & Store:
Like most energy sources, solar energy can be collected and stored in almost any form of storage designed to hold energy. Energy storage like battery is very important if we want to involve solar energy in our modern way of life. We demand energy almost anytime and we expected to be available immediately. This is a problem since solar energy only available during daylight. For this reason, storing energy is a very crucial application. This application is usually integrated into solar photovoltaic system where energy collected and stored almost instantaneously.
In a typical photovoltaic system, sunlight shines upon the photovoltaic modules. Next, solar cells convert light energy into electrical energy producing direct current (DC). This current is stored directly into a battery. Since our home use Alternating Current (AC), an inverter is connected to the battery to convert from DC to AC. With this typical arrangement, solar energy can be effectively used to power our home.
                 Absorb:
According to the first law of thermodynamic, energy cannot be created or destroyed. Energy can only be transferred from one system or another. This concept spawns the property in which energy can be absorbed by a system or object. As solar energy shine upon the earth, any objects that are exposing to sunlight will have the potential to absorbed energy. For instance, if you leave your car outside on a sunny day it will become hotter as it slowly absorbing solar energy. With this basic property, we are indirectly obtained energy from the sun to power our everyday activities.
Transmit:
An interesting fact about nature is that there is an opposite of everything. If energy can be absorbed then it should be able to transmit. In fact, if no energy is transmitted then there is no energy to absorb. Therefore, the transmit property of energy is also very important.

Solar Energy Pros:

• Solar panels give off no pollution, the only pollution produced as a result of solar panels is the manufacturing of these devices in factories, transportation of the goods, and installation.
• The production of energy from the use of fossil and some renewable fuels (e.g. wind turbines) can be noisy, yet solar energy produces electricity very quietly.
• One of the great pros of solar energy is the ability to harness electricity in remote locations that are not linked to a national grid. A prime example of this is in space, where satellites are powered by high efficiency solar cells.
• The installation of solar panels in remote locations is usually much more cost effective than laying the required high voltage wires.
• Solar energy can be very efficient in a large area of the globe, and new technologies allow for a more efficient energy production on overcast/dull days.
• Solar panels can be installed on top of many rooftops, which eliminates the problem of finding the required space for solar panel placement.
• Another great pro of solar energy is the cost. Although the initial investment of solar cells may be high, once installed, they provide a free source of electricity, which will pay off over the coming years.
• The use of solar energy to produce electricity allows the user to become less dependent on the worlds fossil fuel supplies.