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Archive for April, 2011

Finally. We are starting to get the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system we need to shift massive amounts of wind power from all those empty states where all the wind is, to all the full ones where all the people are. Green Car Congress reports that Siemens is starting to build the much-needed grid that doing that will take.

The world has mostly used alternating current (AC) for above-ground cross-country transmission ever since the dawn of the electrical age, only because Thomas Edison – who advocated for DC – was not able to out-argue Nicola Tesla, who favored AC. But AC has high losses over distances, and would lose even more in cables underground or under water, which is where we need them, for example for off-shore wind.

DC, by contrast loses up to 40% less in transmission, so using DC transmission, wind farms can be spread over large geographic areas to produce a more even supply of power (as it’s always blowing somewhere). Since distance transmission is key to desert solar and lonely-state wind, DC is better for renewables.

In 2010, Siemens had $41.6 billion in sales of its high voltage DC systems.

Beginning in 2013, its new HVDC PLUS technology will transmit 2,000 MW as direct current underground connecting the Spanish grid with that of France.

A 1,000-MW HVDC cable was recently put into operation along a 260-kilometer underwater line between the Netherlands and the UK.

Desertec (Half a Trillion Dollars to Build Huge Desertec Plan) the ambitious plan to ship power from the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East to Europe will definitely need HVDC.

But Siemens is not only building renewable-friendly transmission in the EU. The company has built HVDC here too, and right in my neck of the woods, the San Francisco Bay Area: “Transbay, likewise erected by Siemens Energy, transmits 400 MW of electrical output at a transmission voltage of ±200 kV with low losses and high energy efficiency via an 88-kilometer marine cable link from Pittsburg, California, to San Francisco.”

There are wind farms in Pittsburg, and people in San Francisco.

Related articles:

• UK-Netherlands power cable begins transmission (guardian.co.uk)
• Why Japan’s Fragmented Grid Can’t Cope (spectrum.ieee.org)

A UTS (University of Technology, Sydney) research team recently created strong graphene paper from graphite with a tensile strength ten times greater than that of steel. It is also six times lighter, two times harder, and exhibited thirteen times more resistance to bending than steel, and of course, it does not rust.

Graphene is a material consisting of carbon nanotubes which has very unique property combinations which composite materials do not, such as malleability, exceptional thermal and electrical conductivity, high strength, the ability to be rigid as well, very light weight, and the material required to construct it is not rare. Nothing on the planet has ever even come remotely close to these exceptional characteristic combinations.

The lead researcher Ali Reza Ranjbartoreh said: “No one else has used a similar production and heat testing method to find and carry out such exceptional mechanical properties for graphene paper. We are definitely well ahead of other research societies.”

Ali Reza Ranjbartoreh also added: “The exceptional mechanical properties of synthesised GP render it a promising material for commercial and engineering applications. Not only is it lighter, stronger, harder and more flexible than steel it is also a recyclable and sustainable manufacturable product that is eco-friendly and cost effective in its use.”

There are many implications of such a technological advancement. If affordable, it can:

• Make significantly stronger, very efficient, more environmentally sound, and lighter vehicles, from economy cars, to trains, buses, ships, and passenger jets.
• Extend the range and performance of electric vehicles due to its light weight, and reduce the required battery capacity due to less weight, because less weight requires less power, and power is provided by the batteries.
• Make much stronger, lighter, and more efficient wind turbine blade designs possible. Blades could bend instead of break. It would be able to prevent damage to wind turbine blades caused by lightning strikes. Wind turbine blades are normally constructed with composite non-metals which do not conduct electricity well and therefore cannot safely channel lightning into the ground. When lightning strikes a composite wind turbine blade, the temperature of the air inside it can increase 30,000 degrees Celsius, causing it to expand rapidly (explode). The blades are equipped with lightning receptors at the tip which channel the current into the ground, and this is helpful, but not always enough. Like lightning rods, wind turbines need to be designed so that they attract lightning to conductive materials such as metals that channel them into the ground. In other words, they divert them into the ground so they don’t reach sensitive components, because electricity follows the path of least resistance.
• All portable devices such as notebook computers, tablet PCs, cellphones, music players, could be stronger while still being lightweight.

Another key advantage of this material is that it is recyclable.

Australian mines happen to contain a large amount of graphite, meaning that the widespread use of such a material in the future could be very beneficial to Australia. This industry is likely to grow in the foreseeable future as it strides up a long path to becoming mainstream.

Mr Ranjbartoreh said that the results of this project promise significant benefits to the use of this material in the aviation and automotive industries.

h/t Physorg

Images via University of Technology Sydney

Related Articles:

• SiEnergy Lowers Solid-Oxide Fuel Cell Temperature by 300-500 °C
• “Intense Magnification” Could Produce Solar Power without Solar Cells
• Machine Invents New Li-ion Battery
• Dr. Nocera’s Invention May be the Future of Alternative Energy. But it’s Not a Leaf!

While many smart grid networking technologies use wireless networks, a startup called Power Tagging has developed a way to fingerprint energy on the grid using digital signal processing. It’s basically a set of algorithms that hug the power line and help utilities with applications like voltage reduction, electric vehicle management, mapping the grid, and demand side management. At Green:Net last week, I interviewed John LoPorto, CEO of Power Tagging, which was one of our 10 Big Ideas winners. Check out my video interview:

Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):

• Smart Grid Apps: Six Trends That Will Shape Grid Evolution
• Green IT Q1: Cleantech Breaking Out — and Bracing for Hard Times
• Report: An Open Source Smart Grid Primer

New plastic bottles are being introduced to the consumer marketplace, made primarily from sugar cane instead of petroleum.

Proctor & Gamble’s Pantene brand shampoo bottles that are made from sugarcane will represent the newest development in new forms of sustainable packaging. The bottles are scheduled to be released in Western Europe by mid-year. The product brand will be “Nature Fusion.”

The technology to create plastic from plant material is fairly new. Its use for commercial packaging is even newer. Beverage companies such as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have begun using plant-based plastic for their soda bottles.

According to P & G, Pantene is the first major hair care brand to use this new type of sustainable packaging. Switching to sustainable shampoo bottles for Nature Fusion is part of Procter & Gamble’s overall sustainability strategy, which includes a 25 percent switch from petroleum-derived packaging to sustainable packaging by 2020.

European consumers can expect to see the new plant-based bottle on shelves in summer 2011. No release date has been announced for these bottles in the United States. P&G claims the sustainable shampoo bottles will look and function the same as their petroleum-derived predecessors. The plant-based plastic shampoo bottles can be tossed in the recycling bin just like any other plastic bottle.

While they may look like other plastic bottles, plant-based plastic bottles have a reduced environmental impact. The bottle made from natural and renewable sugarcane instead of a complete fossil fuel formula. The bottle uses 70 percent less fossil fuel in the production process. P&G reports that using plant-based material for plastic bottles decreases greenhouse gas output by 170 percent.

Some recycling groups have applauded the efforts to replace petroleum-based products, however, they are quick to point out that say some plant-based plastics aren’t as recyclable as they might appear. A number of recycling facilities aren’t yet set up to handle the plastic.

David Cornell, technical director of the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers, told Associated Press that high-density polyethylene made from plant material is identical, “chemically and functionally,” to polyethylene made from natural gas liquids.”