Small-scale wind power blows into SA
August 28, 2008
Posted in Renewable energy
I’d always thought that to generate electricity from wind you’d need a great expanse of open space that the wind could howl across to turn giant turbines, but you don’t. Recently, in South Africa, I’ve come across two types of turbine that prove that you don’t need to live on a farm to have a wind turbine. You could, in fact, generate wind power for your home or office. How exciting is that?
The first wind turbine system was installed on a billboard in Bryanston, Johannesburg, see right. It comprises lots of little round turbines joined together. James Lech, the director of Phieco, the local company that sells and installs these turbines says they are designed for urban and rural environments and the system can be scaled to suit your needs. They can be installed on buildings to generation power for lights or air conditioning, for example. What’s more, these little turbines start turning at wind speeds of 1m/s. They also come in different colours, so you could design your system to look like the South African flag, or some other picture, if you like. Go to Phieco’s website to find out more information.
The other turbine is the hybrid wind/solar generator that’s on trial at Cape Town’s N2 Gateway low-cost housing project. It’s known as the Little Wind House (LWH), see left.
From what I can gather, Swiss company Greentecno designed it specifically for developing markets as a cheaper and more sustainable alternative to diesel generators for small-scale electricity generation in rural/off-the-grid locations. It’s described as extremely sturdy, resistant to very high winds and extreme weather conditions, it’s easy to assemble, installation and construction costs are low, and it’s said to need nearly no maintenance.
The LWH’s average generation capacity is 15kWh/day. It’s peak capacity is 4,8kW. It stands 7m high, has a small, vertical-axis wind turbine and eight photovoltaic panels with a peak capacity of 170W each and a maximum power output of the solar component is 1,4kW.
The Times reports that the Cape Town generator will provide power to 10 houses. It sells for R310,000 and the housing department is assessing its cost-effectiveness.
Update (03.09.08): The LWH’s generating capacity is now 25kWh/day. They are also manufactured locally, says Maurits Perold of Greentecno Africa.
Sources: The Times, All Business.com , Stopbigfoot.com, Greentecno
Mystery of how wind turbines kill bats solved
August 26, 2008
Posted in Renewable energy
The number of bats killed by wind farms is higher than birds, researchers say. But many of these bat casualties show no signs of external injuries caused by the turbine blades, so the cause of their deaths has been a mystery. A Canadian researcher may have found the answer, though. She dissected 75 bats found dead around a wind farm in Calgary and found that they had ruptured blood vessels in their lungs. The pulmonary barotrauma, as it’s officially called, is caused by a drop in air pressure. It was found that wind turbines lower the air pressure as they cut through the air, especially around the tips of the blade. Bats flying within a meter of the blades get caught in the depressurised zone and suffer the lung trauma. Birds’ lungs apparently aren’t affected in the same way because they are more rigid. Now researchers are looking for ways to prevent bat deaths at wind farms.
[Via :: ScienceNow Daily News]
Green energy gold rush: but not in Africa
August 14, 2008
Posted in Business
Sustainable energy is attracting a rush of investment, says the UN Environment Programme. Last year, $148-billion in new funding entered the market, up 60 percent from 2006, according to a UNEP-commissioned report, “Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2008”. But Africa is lagging behind the rest of the world in green energy finance.
Sub-Saharan Africa, “arguably the region that has the most to gain from renewable energy,” remains largely unexploited, says the report. Though it did mention that South Africa’s renewable energy targets and the commissioning of the first wind farm were signs of change. Read more
Texas plan will get wind power to major cities
August 12, 2008
Posted in Renewable energy
Texas utility regulators have approved a $4.9-billion plan to build transmission lines to carry wind generated electricity from remote parts of the state to major urban centres such as Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, the US National Acadamies reports.
It is the largest renewable-energy investment in the United States, the report says. Read more
New ‘climate bonds’ could help SA meet clean energy targets
May 29, 2008
Posted in Renewable energy
The United Nations is considering a new type of bond to help developing countries finance renewable energy projects, Bloomberg reports.
Yvo de Boer, the UN’s top climate change official, said yesterday that the idea was that “climate bonds” would be sold to investors by developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. They would simplify the funding of wind farm and solar projects and encourage investment in nations struggling to meet their renewable-energy targets, de Boer said.
The plan had not yet been presented to countries or investors, de Boer said.
Simplifying the funding of renewable energy projects would be good news for South Africa which has got off to a slow start in meeting its renewable energy target of 10 000 GWh/year renewable energy consumption by 2013.
For example, Business Report recently reported that Eskom was struggling to find investors for its 100MW concentrating solar power demonstration plant in Upington.
The CSP plant will cost R5-billion, of which Eskom can put up R3-billion. It is looking for partners to fund the remaining R2-billion, the report said.
Eskom’s other renewable energy project, a 100MW wind farm in the Western Cape, received a R1.4-billion loan from the French Development Agency which will reportedly cover most of the costs. According to BR, it is expected to be operational in 2010.
The country’s first commercial wind farm, with a 5.2MW capacity, was officially switched on on Friday.
Read the full report on Bloomberg
Cape Town to sell SA’s first wind power
May 28, 2008
Posted in Renewable energy
The City of Cape Town plans to sell green electricity from July, according to the city’s website.
The electricity will be supplied by the Darling Wind Farm, which was officially switched on last Friday by the minerals and energy minister, Bulyewa Sonjica. It is South Africa’s first commercial wind farm, situated in the town of Darling, 70km from Cape Town.
The wind farm’s four 1.3MW turbines can generate 5.2MW of electricity. There are plans to add six more 1.3MW turbines in the future, bringing the total capacity to 13MW.
The electricity produced by the wind farm will be added to the national grid and sold to the City of Cape Town as part of a long-term power purchase agreement. This will go towards the city’s target of sourcing 10% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
The city will sell the electricity to customers interested in buying sustainable energy “initially at a premium (surcharge) of 25c/kWh above the cost of conventional electricity”, according to the city’s website.
The Darling Wind Farm is a R75-million national demonstration project developed by a group consisting of private developers, including Darling Independent Power Producer, the Central Energy Fund and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. The Danish International Development Assistance programme provided a third of the funding in the form of a grant.
Over its 20-year predicted life span, the Darling Wind Farm will reportedly save 142,500 tons of coal and 370-million litres of water. It will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 258,100 tons, sulphur dioxide by 2,200 tons, nitric oxide by 1,100 tons, particulates by 58 tons and ash by 42,200 tons.
To find out more about buying Cape Town’s green electricity, click here
Via: IOL
and Engineering News
Solar ‘leaves’ to flutter on your walls
March 9, 2008
Posted in Renewable energy
This clever renewable energy concept is the brainchild of an American design group called SMIT (Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology). The house pictured below has been fitted with solar leaves (seen close up on left) These small flexible solar cells are apparently wired together and then onto the side of a building. They were inspired by ivy climbing up a wall. The cells flutter prettily in the wind – though one wonders how much wind they could withstand before they start to blow off. The designers also have a solar leaf that is also a wind power solution. You can find out more about the solar leaves on the SMIT website.
World’s biggest wind turbine
February 17, 2008
Posted in Renewable energy
This huge wind turbine, being installed in Emden, Germany, by Enercon, is expected to produce around 7MW (20 million kilowatt hours a year), which is apparently enough to power 5,000 four-person households in Europe. Its rotor blades are 126 metres long and its hub height is 135 metres.
As a comparison, the four turbines at South Africa’s Darling Wind Farm will generate 1.3MW each, an annual total of 13.2 million kilowatt hours.
Via :: Metaefficient
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