A Green Degree

This blog intends to bring a new perspective on all things 'green' and sustainable, covering (mostly) energy, politics, the economy & more, what I feel as the most pressing concerns we face. In short, sustainability needs to progress & become the social everyday. That's my passion, and our solution. Screw business as usual people!













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May 11th 2012

A Pan-European/Continental Electricity Grid Could Monetise Surplus Renewable Energy

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This is simply a great idea, I just want to start by saying that. I love and am in awe of the vision and prospects this plan could bring to fruition, and it seems so ingenious to boot.

A future in which continent-spanning electricity grids feed the many hungry nations of Europe, Iceland and N. Africa has recently been plotted out by multiple energy ventures and renewable project giants such as DESERTEC and the EU. As you can see in the map above, the grid would stretch from the Saharan Desert, through all of Europe, up into Scandinavia and across the ocean to Iceland, connecting the entire region into one ‘energy-continent’.

This plan was initially suggested when people began noticing that energy projects in the UK, Europe and Iceland, as well as those in the deserts of Africa, were actually doing things thought irrational, uneconomic and plain stupid (think DESERTEC). Once this realisation set in, the idea of a pan-European/Saharan grid quickly formed.

With lines already laid connecting Ireland to the UK, France, the Netherlands, and now a record-breaking 950 mile long cable between Iceland and the UK, with plenty more in the works, this initially crazy daydream is rapidly becoming reality. 

What is the real beauty of this project however is the renewable side of things; the whole grid will be supplied by low-carbon tech alone, none of that fossil fuel nonsense. As each country associated with the super-grid generates their renewable energy through different means, such as geothermal in Iceland, wind in the UK, or hydro in the Scandinavians, it plays to each and every country’s specialities. Rather than laying new lines and sticking wind turbines somewhere that ain’t windy, the grid will transport wind energy to the required regions from those nations which can easily provide. 

With peak times being met by green energy flying in from abroad, for the states that have proven their worth in one or two particular renewable energy sources and produce surpluses at a consistent level, the monetary rewards are tantalising to say the least. Think of a scenario thus - France fears it can’t supply the energy needed to run its nation at full pelt, so it calls on the super-grid to supply some wind energy from us Brits, supplemented by some Swiss hydroelectric. Meanwhile, the Sahara (pumping out silly amounts of solar energy) is sending sunlight to Norway and Spain, and receiving a tasty return on their energy investment. It’s a complete win-win situation.

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Posted at 10:02am and tagged with: renewable, energy, DESERTEC, EU, UN, grid, africa, sahara, europe, france, UK, wind, solar, hydroelectric, hydropower, fossil fuel, geothermal, science, policy, world, economy, money, smart, clever, amazing,.

April 28th 2012

Guess What - Another World Solar Efficiency Record Broken

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The solar industry is seeing growth unlike any other in recent years, with much of the attention focused on efficiencies and reaching the golden rate of sunlight absorption, around 40%, which would indicate the ceiling of solar’s power potential. 

As these rates continue to rapidly progress through the roof of the last, prices per KWh drop in response, bringing down overall solar installation prices, making the entire activity much more lucrative to us consumers and the producers, and generally makes our world a better place.

There is however a secondary bonus to such procedure - competition. Hundreds or private, multinational and lab groups are striving to be the team with the highest efficiency, whether it be for their individual solar cells, or the entire panel. This competition is what drives records to be broken, almost on a daily basis. The latest addition to the list is quite a big one.

Semprius, a large solar-module producing company which has been awarded multiple large sums of money by the NERL and DOE for its advances in the industry, has in its latest project cranked the bar up to 33.9%, beating back the original world record of 32%. They have achieved “unmatched efficiency and performance” by creating a solar cell the size of a pencil point (another world record), allowing an unheard of amount of sunlight-electricity generation.

Many are touting the company as a success story of the highest order in terms of government-backed solar funding and subsidies, which comes at a time where many solar bankruptcies have tarnished the industry’s reputation. Although it is too early to mark this down as a complete success just yet, the progress Semprius has made is certainly admirable, and worthy of further investment.

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Posted at 12:55pm and tagged with: solar, Semprius, energy, efficiency, Africa, desert, Eu, record, broken, industry, competition, business, NERL, DOE, solar cell, solar module, success, subsidy, DESERTEC, US, innovation,.

April 21st 2012

Manhattan-Sized Solar Power Plant Turned On In India

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After just 14 months of preparation and the collaboration of 21 countries, the Indian state of Gujurat has just turned on the world’s largest solar powered plant, to the tune of $2.3 billion and a 600MW generating capacity. Given its size, this is more of a solar-city than a mere plant, coming in at 5,000 acres, producing as much energy as a well-oiled (forgive the pun) fossil fuel plant or nuclear reactor.

With the advent of this new addition to the grid, India plans of powering forward into the renewable future with goals of 15% by 2020, with current values sitting around the 6% mark. Now that’s not nearly as ambitious as some of the other keen-on-green nations, such as Denmark’s wild 100% mix by 2050, or the 30%-40% goals of the UK, Germany or other Scandinavian players, but it’s a huge step in the right direction. 

Given India’s stance on the global stage in the last climate talks, touting itself as a solar leader with the technology to back its claims, it would finally seem things are coming to fruition. Further investment of $400 million has been laid out for promotion and advancements, and residential solar is being pushed as the next step for India. 

Unfortunately, this latest project pales in comparison to the TuNur proposal in Tunisia, part of the DESERTEC initiative focused on building solar plants in the African deserts. This whopping 2GW plant will dwarf even the Gujarat attempt, and plans to be complete by 2016. This plant however takes the form of a concentrated solar power generator, whereby panels direct sunlight onto a single collecting tower, producing intense heats to boil water and spin turbines. 

The one question that does arise in reading these, to me at least, is that of how many more similar builds can be undertaken before space becomes a serious issue? In countries devoid of deserts of wide open, flat spaces (think Japan, SE Asia or many EU nations), there is unlikely to be room for multiple builds in similar scale to the Indian or Tunisian effort, and unless urban spaces are integrated fluidly, it’s a real stumbling block. 

However, considering the rapidity at which solar efficiency is rising, and the introduction of tech like the ‘black’ cells, which can capture near-100% of the sunlight, or 3D panels which double or triple conversion rates, similarly powerful plants could become smaller and smaller. 

Anyway, you only need to look at this below image to see that us humans have PLENTY of solar energy at our disposal, we just need to actually use it!

Posted at 5:16pm and tagged with: solar, Gujarat, India, concentrated solar, power, energy, electricity, grid, denmark, EU, UK, climate, DESERTEC, Tunisia, desert, renewable, sunlight,.