CleanTechnica blog describes the recent signing of the DESERTEC proposal, an action that will see the sun of Africa power that continent and 15% of Europe, it is anticipated.
You can learn more about the DESERTEC Project here.
Solarkent has produced the Renewable Energy Map UK – a online map that uses Google to show the renewable and alternate energy projects in the UK. At first glance the sheer number of projects and sites is amazing. There is a significant amount of this work in the UK and sites are evenly spread throughout the country.
Solarkent operates additional web sites and readers may be interested in exploring them.
The Department of Interior announced an initiative to speed the development of utility-scale solar energy development in the western United States by identifying prime Solar Energy Study Areas. The effort identifies two dozen study areas that encompass 670,000 acres in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The designated tracts will receive funding for environmental studies and a coordinated effort by federal agencies to speed review of industry proposals. The federal funding comes under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The study areas that are currently being evaluated could generate as much as 100,00 megawatts of solar electricity. These areas are undergoing landscape-scale planning and zoning with environmental impact assessments and resource suitability studies. Maps of these study areas are now available online in PDF format.
As part of the effort, these areas will be removed from mining claims and other actons for two years. This moratorium on other uses will give the BLM time to complete environmental review. Evaluation of these areas is expected to be completed in late 2010.
The Interior Department continues to work with the Western Governors Association to develop renewable energy zones and transmission corridors.
EURACTIV discusses the issue of solar energy production from the African Sahara desert. There has been a long history of discussion about such a project or series of linked projects, although technological and political issues have been prominent.
Even though a small area would be needed to development such a site, these issues are not readily overcome. The feasability of such projects is significantly related to economics.
The world’s largest solar energy project is being proposed by a consortium of 20 firms as Munich Re reports. Other partners would include Siemens and Deutche Bank. The project partners plan to meet in July to discuss the proposal of producing North African solar energy.
From the article - A German-led consortium wants to fund an international solar-energy plan to the tune of €400 billion. The idea is to gather solar heat in North Africa and send the electricity to Europe. If it works, it would be the largest green-energy project in the world.
Many renewable energy sources provide intermittent power that can fluctuate with weather and time of day. Wind power can vary considerably with the seasons. Solar power is affected by cloud cover, and obviously can’t produce power at night. Hydro power is also somewhat variable dependent on rainfall levels. These fluctuations of power supply need to be factored much differently than the traditional power sources that can be dispatched and can be made to produce more power as demand increases.
As more of these intermittent energy sources come online, it becomes increasingly important to understand the base line of power that these sources can generate. Significant seasonal increases of renewable power would allow a utility to decrease their power generation from less clean sources. Prolonged weather events can curtail renewable power and must be planned for in order to avoid disruption in service.
Predicting Reliability
Historical weather data provide a key metric to predict power supply from renewable energy. The most effective strategy is to develop sophisticated and long-term weather models prior to renewable energy siting decisions. These models, along with sensors at the power source, provide a means for close monitoring and performance evaluation.
Different sources of renewable energy require different levels of modeling and prediction. Some renewable sources are very variable and others are much more consistent.
Wind power is much more variable than solar. Wind speeds, wind direction, and air density all factor into wind turbine performance. Turbines depend on consistent mid-range wind speeds, because if the wind is too low it can’t generate electricity and if it’s too high the turbines need to be shut down to avoid damage.
Solar energy is an easier energy source to predict, because the amount of light energy in a specific spot is fairly consistent, with some seasonal fluctuation, but greatest intensity in times of greatest demand. Power producers are working on ways to extend the availability of solar power after dark by deploying such ideas as thermal power generation and storage. Generating steam from the sun rather than direct conversion to electricity provides a more consistent and longer lasting power.
Hydro power is one of the more consistent and reliable renewable energy sources. Hydro plants that rely only on river flow aren’t all that common, with most drawing on a water reservoir for more consistent power.
Location Factor
Location is the most important factor when determining the variability or consistency of renewable energy. Siting renewable energy close to the source, but also close to demand, is a problem that require spatial analysis and modeling in order to optimize the performance and predictability of the power source.
Areas with consistent wind are typically at higher elevations or closer to the coast, and sea breezes are much more predictable and consistent than breezes on land. Solar power relies on clear skies, and some areas are much more ideal than others given their amount of sunshine. Hydro power relies on consistent and abundant water sources in areas that aren’t susceptible to drought.
A single wind turbine will be much more variable than a large array of turbines that are gridded together. Solar power can be complementary to wind, because wind is often strongest at night and during cloudy weather. Wind can also be a good complement to hydro power. As more renewable energy comes online, there will be a number of strategies deployed to balance intermittent supply with demand, and to align different sources to ease fluctuation.
The larger the electric grid, the less a factor intermittent power is to the overall grid. But with large percentages of renewable power on smaller grids, the grid design needs to made more intelligent and adaptable in order to manage fluctuations.
The viability and reliability of prediction models will improve over time as more data is collected and analyzed. The most variable, and most efficient, source of wind power is relatively new and the models are improving significantly each year.
Forecasting and predicting demand and supply are going to be of increasing importance as our power generation sources become more diverse and more distributed. Matching power demand with a wide variety of power sources also calls for a more sophisticated and intelligent transmission and distribution network.
Resources
3Tier, a company that does global renewable energy assessment and forecasting
Siting Renewable Energy Facilities: A Spatial Analysis of Promises and Pitfalls, Shalini Vajjhala, Feb. 2006
In an article from the Scotsman the value of produced energy is discussed. A rebuttal within the article outlines the costs of nuclear energy production.
From the Scotsman article – “Calculations by the International Atomic Energy Agency show the energy consumed in the construction of a nuclear power plant varies between 1.7 and 9.5 (average 4.35) per cent of that produced over its life cycle. This compares with hydro (2 per cent), coal (5.5 per cent), wind (9 per cent), solar (16.5 per cent) and liquefied natural gas (17 per cent). Consequently, it is not true, as Mr Elliot claims, that “at some stage within the lifetime of global new nuclear build, producing electricity from that source will require more energy than will be generated”
The German government says that Bonn based SolarWorld AG is the country’s fastest growing company in 2008. While providing goods and services within Germany, Solarworld AG operates largely around the world, particularly across Europe and China. “SolarWorld AG’s main business area lies in solar power applications for domestic house roofs as well as large installations in Germany, Europe and the growing solar-power market of the future, the US. SolarWorld also funds power access in regions of the world far from any electricity supply grid, such as in western China, where the company has powered up more than a hundred villages that were isolated from the national power supply.“
Energy is two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional 4D). Any land manager looking at a map, mine drawing or a global positioning (GPS) instrument will be familiar with 3D. Designers, planners and those involved in calculating volume will know about 3D. Those working in 3D through time – wind, solar, mining, pipelines and so on, will readily appreciate 4D. How do they impact energy?
Every workflow connected to energy can be understood through space and time. They are not only located somewhere on the planet, but our ability to plan, build and operate energy related projects involves space and time. Wind energy is dependent upon location. Determining where to site a wind turbine is not simply a flip of the coin, instead, it involves the calculation of wind speed and duration present upon certain points across the landscape.
Consequently, knowing the landscape in 3D is important – hills, valleys and mountains matter. Sometimes these are not as easily identifiable by eye though, and this is where detailed elevation models of the terrain come in. These models are calculated through airborne measurement technologies usually, and the data for whole regions can be purchased, leased or rented.
Many pipeline operators will know that terrain also has a role to play in terms of the landscape. It impacts construction costs for building pipelines and operating them. The calculation of volume within geological basins is similarly dependent upon the determination of 3D volumes. When data is viewed within the office through visualisation technologies, it is often available in 3D form, which alows decision makers to move through the data in a simulation environment, determining where and how geology relates to the findings.
Waves are not always consistent. They vary over time and are impacted by climate conditions, water depth and other factors. As a result they are 4D in nature, moving up and down over time – their volumes change over time. Additionally, their occurence also changes spatially. A growing number of building architects and plant design specialists are interested in designing structures that consider the environment. With changing climate and location, the meteorological impacts on a given structure, as it relates to the design, can be considerable.
This directly connects to the ability to design structures that are energy efficienct, or use energy more efficiently and effectively. The development of specialised sensors that are capable of acquiring 2D, 3D and 4D spatial information is constantly under research. With each new sensor comes the ability to understand the processes of wind, solar, geothermal, oil and even nuclear energy management, for example.
We should not lose track of the fact that new technologies bring new possibilities for designing wind turbines, solar panels and their placement. Similarly, the management of facilities infrastructure and the design of those structures is also impacted by understanding the dynamics surrounding the workflows and processes.
Policy and administration are now becoming more significntly connected to energy supply, operation and management. Greater transparency and accountability in terms of energy use and efficient will need to be communicated. That communication area, particularly through collaboration, is going to become more specialised and involve 3D and 4D technologies – so they can understand – and speed up the design, build and operations.
Both non-renewbable and renewable resources will see greater use of these tools and technologies in the future. The economics and communication factors will demand that.
Purdue University has just launched a Renewable Energy Web site that provides access to decades-old, but still relevant, information that was spurred by the late-1970s energy crisis. The new site combines these rich archives with cutting edge research and interactive tools that calculate the cost of small wind electric systems.
