Category: Solutions

Photo of the week: World’s first commercial scale wave power array

Last week the first commercial-scale grid connected wave energy array was switched on in Perth, Australia. Carnegie Wave developed a technology to drive pumps at the sea bed by the up and down movement of great buoys near the water surface. These pumps feed high pressure water onshore to a power station and desalination plant, not only providing energy but also fresh water. One unit was measured to have 240kW peak capacity during testing, but the company is already working on a next generation of converters to make it more cost-effective.

CETO wave energy convertor (photo: Carnegie)

CETO wave energy convertor (photo: Carnegie)

Learn more: Carnegie CETO Technology

Source: RenewEconomy

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Photo of the week: Sustainable water supply

Some US states consider a new way of generating clean energy: harvesting power from water flow in drinking water pipes. The city of Portland already took the step and installed a pipe system equipped with turbines generating energy to power street lights and buildings. This system only works in places where water flows naturally because of height difference. In this occasion it offers some advantages over typical solar or wind installations. First of all it’s not directly dependent on weather elements. Secondly the pipes are equipped with sensors to keep an eye on water quality and pressure. Water contamination or leaks can be detected much earlier, resulting in a smaller loss of water. Last but not least the installation doesn’t form any danger for water animals, a major problems with hydro power from dams –  since there is no fish swimming around in the pipes.

Lucid's water pipes are equipped with turbines to harvest power from the water flow (photo: LucidEnergy)

Lucid’s water pipes are equipped with turbines to harvest power from the water flow (photo: LucidEnergy)

Sources

fastcoexist.com

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Photo of the week: NASA’s SMAP satellite launched succesfully

NASA succesfully launched it SMAP satellite last Saturday

Last Saturday January the 31th, NASA successfully launched its first of five Earth satellites.  SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) will give new insights about what is happening in the top layer of Earth’s soil. For the next three years it will be scanning the top 5cm of the ground below our feet to produce global maps of soil moisture with an unseen detail. This will give scientists new insights in how the Earth’s water, energy and carbon cycles are connected. This enables scientist to forecast droughts, floods and crop yields better. It will also improve weather forecasts. “SMAP will improve the daily lives of people around the world,” said Simon Yueh, SMAP project scientist at JPL.
Find out more on NASA’s website.

A model of the SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) satellite which will scan the Earth's top soil (photo: NASA)

A model of the SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) satellite which will scan the Earth’s top soil (photo: NASA)

Sources

sciencedaily.com

 

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Photo of the week: The Desolenator

The Desolenator turns dirty water into clean drinking water solely by solar energy (photo: Desolenator)

Desalination of water usually is an energy-intensive and expensive process. The Desolenator is aiming to change that: it’s a cheap and easy-to-use solution to produce clean drinking water in regions where water scarcity is a problem. With the sun as only driving force, this piece of engineering is able to produce up to 15litres of clean water a day – enough for cooking and drinking of a small family. Not only salt water but also contaminated and dirty water can be transformed. The contaminated water is first heated up by the sun until it reaches boiling temperature, then electricity generated by the soler panel is used to boil it further and to vaporize the water. The condensed vapor is safe to drink. The Desolelanor has a price tag of 450$ but the team is working hard to get the price down so it becomes affordable for families who lack access to clean water. CEO Janssen: “… [water scarity, red.] will get worse—by 2025, close to 3 billion people will deal with water scarcity daily. We want to give them something that’s an affordable, family-sized device.”

Find out more: desolenator.com

Sources:

FastCoexist

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Lima climate deal: business as usual or step forward?

Sunday 15th of December the yearly UN Climate Conference in Lima finished, two days late, with a deal between all 194 represented nations. For the first time in history, an agreement has been reached that commits every nation to reducing its rate of greenhouse gas emissions. The deal outlines the framework which will be the core of the necessary deal to take serious global action, to be agreed upon during the climate top in Paris in December 2015.

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Photo of the week: Solar Power bike road

The test bike lane was opened the 12th of November in Krommenie, The Netherlands (photo: SolaRoad)

This week, SolaRoad opened its first solar powered bike road in the Netherlands. The test lane is about 100 meters long and will give useful information about the efficiency of the solar panels build into the concrete lane, covered with a thick glass sheet to protect the panels. An interesting experiment, yet there are many objections to make. Why lay solar panels on the ground, where they will rapidly get covered with mud and dirt? SolaRoad says it solves this problem by tilting the bike lanes slightly. The test project will show if this is sufficient. Another important objection is that the panels aren’t tilted properly to catch as much solar power as possible. According to The Guardian this could mean a decrease of 30% electricity. It is very unlikely solar panel roads will be powering street lightning, let alone electric vehicles passing over it.

 

Sources

Vox

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