viernes, 31 de julio de 2009

Abengoa Solar inaugurates second-generation solar tower

Abengoa Solar’s first high-temperature power tower, Eureka, was unveiled today by Martín Soler Márquez, Director of Innovation, Science and Enterprise for the Andalusian Regional Governmen

This power tower is intended to test, the only plant featuring these
characteristics in operation in Andalusia and Europe, on an
experimental basis, a new type of receiver that will achieve the higher
temperatures needed for higher-efficiency thermodynamic power cycles.
The aim of this new technology is to increase plant performance,
thereby reducing both generating costs and the area of the solar field.

This experimental plant occupies a 16,000-squarefoot portion of the
Solúcar Platform and uses 35 heliostats and a 164-foot tower which
houses the experimental superheating receiver. The power output
capacity of the experimental plant is approximately 2MW. The plant
includes a thermal energy storage system supplying power supply to the
grid for short periods when there is no sunlight.

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Sun Day Analysis: Renewables Account for 11% of US Energy Production


Washington, D.C., United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]


The latest issue of the Monthly Energy Review by the U.S. Energy Information Administration reveals that production of renewable energy for the first third of 2009 (January 1 - April 30) was six percent higher compared to the same time period in 2008. In April 2009 alone, renewable energy sources accounted for 11.1 percent of domestic energy production and exceeded the amount contributed by nuclear power, according to analysis done by the Sun Day Campaign

U.S. domestic energy production for the first four months of 2009 totaled 24.394 quadrillion Btu’s (quads) of which renewable sources (biofuels, biomass, geothermal, solar, wind, water) accounted for 2.512 quads. In April 2009 alone, though, total U.S. energy production was 5.980 quads with .664 quads (11.1%) coming from renewable sources.

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ENERGY EFFICIENCY COULD SAVE U.S. $600 BILLION

Timothy Gardner

The United States could save about $600 billion in energy costs by 2020 if it hiked annual efficiency spending about five-fold, business consultants McKinsey and Co said in a report on Wednesday

WASHINGTON, US; July 31, 2009.- Governments, businesses and the general public would have to boost annual spending on existing energy-saving measures, like insulating walls and more efficient appliances, from about $10 billion annually to $50 billion per year. The upfront costs would pay off by saving $1.2 trillion by 2020, according to the report called "Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy."

The report, which did not look at energy used in transportation, said the savings would cut energy used for heating and to generate power about 23 percent.

It would cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by about 1.1 gigatons annually — or the equivalent of taking the entire fleet of U.S. vehicles off the road, the report said.

"The potential to reduce the energy we waste is compelling,"
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jueves, 30 de julio de 2009

An energy answer is blowing in the wind

Palm Bay company works on ways to boost power from turbines

Executives at Advanced Magnet Lab Inc., a 14-year-old company based in an industrial area here, see great opportunities in the national push toward clean energy, particularly when it comes to wind technology.

Advanced Magnet Lab believes it has developed the technology to pack lighter and smaller but more powerful superconductor systems to operate large wind turbines that could provide up to 10 megawatts of electricity — enough to provide power to more than 5,000 homes.

The company’s efforts in this area comes as clean energy is increasingly in the spotlight. During his prime-time news conference Wednesday, President Barack Obama mentioned boosting investments in clean energy and has made it a high-profile part of his first year in office, and a bill calling for the cap-and-trade of greenhouse gases has made its way through the House.

Currently, wind power generates about 1 percent of the electricity produced in the United States
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Wind energy industry weathers the storm

The second quarter of 2009 presented the expected slowdown in wind energy project activity as banks underwent stress tests, governments reshuffled budgets to deploy stimulus packages, and the industry adjusted capacity accordingly, says Emerging Energy Research’s (EER) Research Director Keith Hays.

While wind turbine orders and project financing announcements declined, the increasingly long-term vision of the wind industry’s place in the energy mix has lead to growth in newer markets, a more assertive role played by China and solidifying US policy.

EER says the slowdown in the “frenetic development” of onshore markets in Western Europe and the USA has been balanced out by established wind energy developers moving ahead with plans in areas such as Romania, Ontario and offshore wind energy projects.

At the same time, China’s own wind turbine industry is expanding onto the world stage with an eye on entering the US market.

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Energy efficiency could yield energy savings worth $1.2 trillion, says McKinsey

A new report from consultants McKinsey says that a large-scale, holistic approach to energy efficiency could yield the US economy energy savings worth more than $1.2 trillion.

The US has the potential to reduce annual energy consumption 23% – excluding transport – by 2020, says the report Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the US Economy. The commensurate reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would be equivalent to taking all US cars and light trucks off the road.

This significant level of saving will require the US to make an initial up-front investment in energy efficiency measures of $520 million and overcomes the “widespread and persistent” barriers to their implementation.

The major issue, says the report, is that the potential of energy efficiency measures are “highly fragmented, spread across more than 100 million locations and billions of devices used in residential, commercial and industrial settings.”

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martes, 28 de julio de 2009

Prenden el foco con energía solar


Los hogares mexicanos podrían obtener ahorros de hasta 50 por ciento en la factura eléctrica mediante la instalación de paneles solares, mismos que generarán electricidad en el día y permitirán al usuario consumirla durante la noche.

El esquema se analiza como una ventana de oportunidad para el desarrollo de energías renovables a pequeña escala que traerá el nuevo marco regulatorio derivado de la reforma energética aprobada en noviembre del año pasado.

Mario Pavón Félix, director general de Energías Alternas, empresa que participó en la instalación de paneles solares en el primer conjunto de interés social que entrega luz durante el día a la CFE y ésta se la regresa por la noche para el consumo, dijo los cambios normativos son una oportunidad para detonar este tipo de proyectos en el resto del País.

Explicó que el proyecto desarrollado en Valle de Las Misiones, Mexicali, Baja California, podría replicarse a nivel nacional bajo condiciones económicas más atractivas.
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lunes, 27 de julio de 2009

Algae: The ultimate biofuel?


With traditional biofuels under fire for driving up food prices and wreaking environmental havoc, industrialists are stepping up research into algae as a sustainable alternative

With traditional biofuels under fire for driving up food prices and wreaking environmental havoc, industrialists are stepping up research into algae as a sustainable alternative - but many obstacles remain before algae oil finds its way into our cars and planes.

Milestones:

  • Dec. 2008: EU leaders agree revised directive on renewable energy, agreeing a 10% target for 'green fuels' by 2020 (EurActiv 5/12/08).
  • 5 Dec. 2010: Deadline for all EU countries to comply with new Renewables Directive. Greenhouse gas savings from biofuels to reach minimum 35%.
  • 2012: EU countries to submit first report on national measures taken to respect the sustainability criteria for biofuels.
  • By Dec. 2014: Commission to review greenhouse gas emission saving thresholds for biofuels, taking available technologies into account.
  • 2017: Greenhouse gas savings from biofuels to reach minimum 50%.
  • 2018: Greenhouse gas savings from biofuels to reach minimum 60%.
  • 2018: Commission to present renewable energy roadmap for post-2020 period.
  • 2020: Transport sector mandated to source 10% of its energy needs from renewable energy, including sustainable biofuels and others.

In December 2008, the EU struck a deal to satisfy 10% of its transport fuel needs from renewable sources, including biofuels, hydrogen and green electricity, as part of negotiations on its energy and climate package (EurActiv 05/12/08).

"The mandatory 10% target for transport to be achieved by all member states should […] be defined as that share of final energy consumed in transport which is to be achieved from renewable sources as a whole, and not from biofuels alone," says the final text of the EU Renewables Directive.

The new directive obliges the bloc to ensure that biofuels offer at least 35% carbon emission savings compared to fossil fuels. The figure rises to 50% as of 2017 and 60% as of 2018.

The conditionality is linked to increasing concerns about the sustainability of the so-called first-generation biofuels currently available - such as biodiesel and bioethanol - which are made from agricultural crops (including corn, sugar beet, palm oil and rapeseed).

The directive also states that the EU should take steps to promote "the development of second and third-generation biofuels in the Community and worldwide, and to strengthen agricultural research and knowledge creation in those areas".

Issues:

Second-generation biofuels facing challenges

With ethanol and biodiesel coming under fire for driving up food prices and putting biodiversity at risk, the EU has committed to 'second-generation' biofuels as a cleaner alternative.

Second-generation biofuels are made from ligno-cellulosic biomass - the "woody" part of plants - that do not compete with food production. Sources include residues from crop and forest harvest such as leaves, tree bark, straw or woodchips as well as the non-edible portions of corn or cane.

However, converting the woody biomass into liquid sugars requires costly technologies involving pre-treatment and fermentation with special enzymes, meaning that second-generation biofuels cannot yet be produced economically on a large scale.

"It is unlikely that second-generation biofuels will be competitive with first generation by 2020," said the European Commission's Joint Research Centre in a 2008 study. And if they do, they will use largely imported biomass anyway, the JRC added, as latest studies indicate there will not be enough wood available to meet energy needs while continuing to supply Europe's existing wood industries.

Algae: High yields, no competition for land

To overcome these problems, some start-ups have now turned to so-called third-generation biofuels.

The United States Department of Energy (DoE) defines those as crops "designed exclusively for fuel production" such as perennial grasses, fast-growing trees and algae. These plants are not normally cultivated for agro-alimentary uses and have a particularly high percentage of biomass, it says.

Chief among those are algae. They are considered the most efficient organisms on earth, because of their rapid growth rate (some species can double their biomass in a day) and their high oil content.

Research into algae for the mass-production of oil is mainly focused on microalgae or phytoplankton – organisms capable of photosynthesis that are less than 0.4 mm in diameter.

"Algae can produce more biomass and more biofuel molecules much more efficiently in time and space than any terrestrial plant," says Greg Mitchell of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego (UCSD). "For example, algae can produce 100 times more vegetable oil per acre per year than soy beans and 10 times more than oil palm," he told WIPO Magazine, a publication of the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

According to US oil giant ExxonMobil, which recently launched a $600 million research and development project on the issue, algae could yield more than 2,000 gallons of fuel per acre per year of production (7,580 litres). Approximate yields for other fuel sources are far lower, it pointed out:

  • Palm — 650 gallons per acre per year (2,463 litres).
  • Sugar cane — 450 gallons per acre per year (1,705 litres).
  • Corn — 250 gallons per acre per year (947 litres).
  • Soy — 50 gallons per acre per year (190 litres).

As a consequence, algae need much less land to grow than conventional biofuels, ending the potential for conflict with food production which comes with increased energy crop cultivation.

No need for freshwater

Algae have many other advantages. Aside from better yields, they are able to grow on ocean or wastewater, avoiding tapping into scarce freshwater resources for irrigation.

Algae grow best in seawater, which comes in virtually unlimited supply, says Raffaello Garofalo, executive director at the European Algae Biomass Association (EABA). And the micro-organism seems to be particularly fond of polluted seawater, which helps it grow at exponential rates.

"In all polluted sea places, there is a phenomenon which happens naturally called eutrophisation, which means there is an over-growth of algae," says Garofalo. "Precisely because pollution brings excess nutrients to the algae and therefore they grow exponentially."

The idea, he says, is to feed polluted water to the algae via transparent plastic tubes which industry specialists call photo-bioreactors. The algae absorb the pollution as a nutrient, and the water can then be returned back to the sea cleaner than when it entered, he explains. In the meantime, the algae have grown into biomass, which can be used for biofuels.

As a result, algae can be grown on so-called marginal lands, such as in desert areas where the groundwater is saline. Besides, they can feed on waste nutrients, including polluted water produced by the oil and gas industries.

Carbon 'recycling'

In addition, microalgae have proved to grow more quickly when fed with carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas. When injected into a photo-bioreactor, the CO2 helps the plant grow faster while at the same time providing a way of "recycling" the CO2.

If algae plants are fitted next to factories or power stations, this could even open prospects for reducing emissions from industry.

"You could for example put algae next to a cement plant or a thermo-electric plant and you inject the carbon coming out of the plant in the bioreactor," Garofalo explains. "This means that the CO2, instead of coming out of the chimney, goes into the bioreactor to produce algae, which is burnt a second time as a fuel and then only goes into the atmosphere. So the same CO2 can be re-used twice."

In Arizona, GreenFuel, a private company, has developed a large-scale algae-to-biofuel plant, which uses CO2 emissions from a nearby power plant, the Arizona Public Service Redhawk power facility. The facility, which opened in 2005, won the 2006 Platts Emissions Energy Project of the Year Award.

Cost the main challenge

However, a number of challenges remain before algae can reach mainstream commercial applications, with uncertainties about cost the greatest obstacle.

Various algae species typically cost between US$5–10 per kg dry weight, according to US reports, with further research looking into ways of reducing capital and operating costs to make algae oil production commercially viable.

Bernard Raemy, executive vice-president at the Carbon Capture Corporation (CCC), a US-based company which claims to be a leader in the nascent algae-based biofuel industry, acknowledges that algae face a string of challenges. Speaking to WIPO Magazine, Raemy said these include "algae harvesting, dewatering, drying, lipid extraction and conversion". "Coordinated research efforts are required to bring research from the lab to the field," he said.

Research challenge: Bringing costs down

In the United States, several R&D activities have taken place since the 1950s. The largest was the Aquatic Species Programme, launched in 1978 by the US Department of Energy (DOE). The programme focused on finding the best strains which produce the highest yield and have the highest lipid content, while resisting fluctuations in temperature, particularly when cultivated in outdoor ponds.

Over 3,000 strains of microalgae were collected and screened, with the number later narrowed down to 300. However, no single strain was found to be perfect for all kinds of climate or water and the programme was closed in 1996, when US gasoline prices went down to $26/litre.

According to a review by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), outdoor mass production of algae in open ponds faces a number of challenges, including:

  • Temperature variations, which affects productivity and growth;
  • Invasion by native microalgae species, which may wipe out the cultivated strain;
  • Water loss due to evaporation, and;
  • Lower lipid content of algae produced in ponds.

When cultivated in photo-bioreactors, other issues come up, mainly:

  • Finding the right type of plastic or glass for the transparent tubes in order to prevent algae from accumulating and obstructing the light;
  • The cost of bringing the water via pipelines when algae are grown in desert areas, and;
  • High maintenance cost of the installations.

It is therefore still an open question whether algae are best grown in photo-bioreactors or in open ponds. And the economics are a large part of the problem, as widespread mass production of algae for biofuel production is being hampered by the cost of the equipment and structures needed to begin growing algae in large quantities.

"For most algae applications we are still in fundamental research," says the EABA's Garofalo. "There is still research in order to identify the algae kinds or families which are most appropriate in order to produce biofuels. There is still research on what is the best bioreactor shape or plastic that is best to do this."

Harvesting and oil extraction

Then comes the question of how to harvest the plants. "Because algae are micro-organisms of a size ten times smaller than hair, you cannot harvest them with a net for example," Garofalo says.

Options for harvesting include centrifugation or chemical flocculation, which pushes all the microalgae together, but there are high costs associated with these processes too.

Whatever the species concerned, harvesting algae and extracting the oil from it appears to be "one the most critical steps" in producing algae-based biofuels, according to research foreseen under the European Commission's FP7 research programme.

The project, called Aquafuels, intends to bring together researchers and industry in order to streamline European algae research in the future.

But with oil prices up again, new research is being carried out with renewed enthusiasm. And genetic modification seems to open entirely new prospects, with new algae strains being tested for their capacity. The US national biofuels action plan, published in October 2008, appears to hedge its bets on genetic engineering: "Third generation feedstocks should be developed to increase drought and stress tolerance; increase fertiliser and water use efficiencies; and provide for efficient conversion," the plan says.

Future profitability lying outside biofuels

According to the European Algae Biomass Association (EABA), the key to future commercial profitability is to understand that there is more to algae than just biofuels production.

"It will never be economically viable to produce biodiesel or bioethanol from algae biomass if we don’t think about the co-products," says the EABA's Garofalo. "For instance, when you produce biodiesel, the lipid or the oil part of the algae represents about 25-30% of the product. But what do you do with the remaining 70%? We call it a by-product but actually it is the same product in terms of weight."

Aside from biofuels and jet fuels, the EABA says other applications include nutrients, pharmaceuticals, animal feed or bio-based products. In all these sectors, the EABA says algae and aquatic biomass hold an outstanding potential to achieve a real revolution towards a fully sustainable economy.

Positions:

With high oil prices driving the push to find alternatives, oil majors are showing increasing interest in algae fuel.

US oil major ExxonMobil recently launched a $600 million research programme in cooperation with Synthetic Genomics, Inc. (SGI) to develop, test, and produce biofuels from photosynthetic algae.

"While significant work and years of research and development still must be completed, if successful, algae-based fuels could help meet the world’s growing demand for transportation fuel while reducing greenhouse gas emissions," said Michael Dolan, senior vice-president of ExxonMobil.

Dolan said research will focus first on testing different strains of algae for their fuel-making potential. Research there can proceed more rapidly than for other crops with longer lifecycles, he said. The second phase will look into the best method for producing algae on a large scale: open pond, closed pond or photo-bioreactor. The last phase will see the development of "small to midsize plants" with a view to scaling up to a commercial module, which Dolan said could be "five to ten years away".

If successful, bio-oils from photosynthetic algae could be used to manufacture a full range of fuels, including gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel, meeting the same specifications as today's products, ExxonMobil said.

In December 2007, Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell built a research centre in Hawaii to study the commercial viability of selected algae strains. The facility will grow only non-modified, marine microalgae species in open-air ponds using proprietary technology. Shell says algae can double their mass several times a day and produce at least 15 times more oil per hectare than alternatives such as rape, palm soya or jatropha. Some algae species grow so fast that they double their size three or four times in one day, it said, highlighting their potential for large-scale commercial fuel production.

"Algae have great potential as a sustainable feedstock for production of diesel-type fuels with a very small CO2 footprint," said Graeme Sweeney, Shell executive vice-president for future fuels and CO2. "This demonstration will be an important test of the technology and, critically, of commercial viability."

UOP, a subsidiary of Honeywell, and Boeing have teamed up with leading airlines to create the Algal Biomass Organisation (ABO), a trade group which aims to test and develop algae fuels for use in aeroplanes. Air New Zealand, Continental, Virgin Atlantic and Boeing will work together through the new group to push for long-term innovation and investment in algae as an energy form.

By May 2009, Bill Glover, managing director of environmental strategy at Boeing, said the group had concluded four successful test flights using different kinds of biofuel blends, including algae, camelina and jatropha. The international standards board that approves fuels and chemicals could certify the plant-derived biofuels within a year, Glover said, meaning they could be immediately used as a drop-in replacement.

"There is significant interest across multiple sectors in the potential of algae as an energy source and nowhere is that more evident than in aviation," said Glover, who co-chairs the Algal Biomass Organisation (ABO). "Air transportation is a vital contributor to global economic prosperity, but is being threatened by record rises in fuel costs. Together we recognise that algae have the potential to help offset those fuel costs, while also contributing to improved environmental performance for the aviation industry."

In a statement, the Algal Biomass Organisation (ABO) said algae fuels can annually deliver up to 2,000-5,000 gallons of fuel per acre of non-arable land, and can be a central part of an overall strategy to reduce oil dependency, without competing with food crops.

Raffaello Garofalo, executive director of the European Algae Biomass Association (EABA), says there are many potential benefits form using algae in biofuels production, particularly because it does not need to compete with land used for food crops.

But he warns against over-enthusiasm for the technology, saying there are still many obstacles before it can be developed on a commercial scale. And he refuses to be drawn into predictions about when the technology could become commercially viable. "It would not be responsible to give you dates," he told EurActiv in an interview. "What we want to avoid is a kind of Internet bubble where people make speculations about the quantities and prices of microalgae in the future."

"There is a lot of investment in research and this research is driven by the conviction that economies of scale, improvement in yields and output are achievable. It is a matter of time."

Fuente:http://www.worldofrenewables.com/index.php?do=viewarticle&artid=3535

viernes, 24 de julio de 2009

Europe considering mandatory energy efficiency targets

European energy and environment ministers meeting this week in Åre, Sweden have been debating whether the EU’s target of reducing energy consumption 20% by 2020 should be made mandatory, according to reports.

Last year the EU pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 20% on 1990 levels by 2020 and increase its proportion of renewable energy to 20% by the same deadline. The third part of the 20-20-20 target, to reduce actual consumption by 20% by 2020 is voluntary.

Individual EU nations are responsible for drawing up their own energy efficiency plans to reduce consumption, but critics say the measures lack the necessary bite.

Sweden, which has taken over the presidency of the EU, is backing moves to make the energy consumption target mandatory.

Meeting the target would require a massive increase in the energy efficiency of buildings, household appliances and transport.
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jueves, 23 de julio de 2009

Water efficiency key to cutting household emissions, says report

The UK Government’s efforts to reduce household emissions are overlooking the energy wasted by water heating, says a report from the Energy Saving Trust and the Environment Agency.

The report, Quantifying the energy and carbon effects of saving water, reveals that 6% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions are associated with water use – and nearly 90% of those emissions come from water use in the home.

However, the Government’s current proposals to improve the energy efficiency of homes will not impact on water heating. In the future, as measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation reduce a household’s overall energy usage, water heating could become the largest source of emissions.

Currently, water heating accounts for around 23% of a household’s energy use, but this proportion could rise to over 70% in future.

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First Thin Film Solar Cells Made from Compound Semiconductors Reaching 12 Percent Efficiency

Researchers around the globe are racing to develop efficient thin film solar
cells. The solar cells made in Luxembourg are based on a semiconductor made
of copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS) and made by a process with the
potential for highest performance. Furthermore, the scientists of the University
of Luxembourg produced another solar cell based on a new cheaper material, which
does not contain the costly indium, and made by a low cost galvanic process.
This solar cell has reached an efficiency of 3.2 percent. This is already close
to the world record: the worldwide best cell based on this new material and
prepared by a similar low cost process shows an efficiency of 3.4 percent.

Thin film solar cells
are considered the next generation of solar cells and are expected to be considerably
cheaper because they need much less material and energy in their production
than today's photovoltaic modules.

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California ya Tiene 50,000 Sistemas Fotovoltaicos Instalados

California lleva tiempo siendo el líder en cuanto a energía solar, pero ha dado un salto muy grande para distanciarse de sus “perseguidores”. En los últimos 10 años, el número de instalaciones solares en el estado ha crecido de sólo 500 a 50,000, con lo que cuenta con una tercera parte de la capacidad solar instalada en Estados Unidos, y continuará creciendo.

El New York Times publica: “Como resultado, California, el líder en energía solar desde hace mucho tiempo, tiene una capacidad de más de 500 MW de energía solar, lo mismo que una planta muy grande”.

La energía solar en California creció 33% del 2007 al 2008.

La energía solar se ha expandido en lugares muy concientes de su impacto con el medio ambiente, como San Francisco y Sacramento. San Diego es el líder en el estado, ya que hasta finales del 2008 tenía instalados 19 MW en más de 2,200 azoteas, seguidos por San José con 15.4 MW en 1,300 azoteas y Fresno con 14.5 MW en poco más de 1,000.

Aunque parecen ser muchos watts e inclusive más techos utilizados, toda esa energía sólo representa el 0.25% de las necesidades energéticas de California, y considerando que una instalación de energía solar fotovoltaica ronda los 20,000 dólares en costo, la cantidad de dinero que se ha invertido es muchísima. Aún así bien por California en posicionarse como líder indiscutible en energía solar.

Fuente: http://www.gstriatum.com/energiasolar/blog/2009/07/17/california-ya-tiene-50000-sistemas-fotovoltaicos-instalados/

miércoles, 22 de julio de 2009

Moda, combustibles a partir de algas

NUEVA YORK.— La elaboración de combustibles a partir de algas es una tendencia al alza en Estados Unidos, donde una pequeña empresa ya ha hecho realidad un proyecto que Exxon Mobil, la mayor petrolera del país, empieza a estudiar.

PetroAlgae es una de las pioneras en Estados Unidos en la obtención de carburantes mediante el cultivo de algas, así como otros organismos naturales, que han recibido con los brazos abiertos el anuncio de Exxon Mobil de que va a estudiar cómo producir ese combustible.

“Estamos entusiasmados con el paso que ha dado Exxon porque otorga más atención al sector y a lo que nosotros hacemos”, dijo hoy a Efe el portavoz de la compañía, Andrew Beck, quien estos días ha participado en Nueva York en la Cumbre Mundial de Tecnología, donde apostó por esos combustibles “no en el futuro, sino en el presente”.

Exxon Mobil anunció la semana pasada que invertirá 600 millones de dólares en estudiar cómo producir biocombustibles a partir de algas
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martes, 21 de julio de 2009

UE quiere ser líder en vehículos ecológicos

BRUSELAS.- La Unión Europea (UE) se ha puesto las pilas para que la industria automotor desarrolle vehículos ecológicos, ofreciendo préstamos a bajo interés y un sistema de co-financiamiento de proyectos, pero las ONG son incrédulas.

Un total de cinco mil millones de euros (siete mil millones de dólares) se están inyectando en la industria automotor para que se encargue de fabricar autos menos contaminantes, de los cuales cuatro mil millones de euros son prestados por el Banco Europeo de Inversiones (BEI).

El resto será aportado a partes iguales por asociaciones público-privadas y deberá servir para invertir en investigación y desarrollo de tecnologías ecológicas, según aprobó la UE en diciembre, como parte del plan de reactivación económica.

“Tecnológicamente estamos por delante de Estados Unidos, pero por detrás de Japón”, dijo Franziska Achterberg, experta en transporte europeo de Greenpeace.

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'Revolucionan' plan para el ahorro de agua

El problema de escasez de agua en el Valle de México será atacado por la Comisión Nacional del Agua (Conagua) a través de varias estrategias, entre las que se encuentra la sustitución de viejas regaderas e inodoros de las viviendas.

Actualmente las presas del Sistema Cutzamala trabajan entre el 40 y 20 por ciento de su capacidad, y, debido a la sobreexplotación, los pozos que abastecen al DF dan signos agotamiento, aunado a las fugas de agua, derroches y tomas clandestinas.

Para ello las autoridades de la Conagua han diseñado el Programa de Ahorro y Eficiencia en el Uso de Agua, previsto para iniciar a fines de agosto y cuya aplicación se extenderá hasta 2012.

Alberto Esteban Marina, gerente de Normatividad de la Conagua, dijo que se busca incentivar el mercado con productos ahorradores de agua que cumplan con las normas oficiales mexicanas 008 (regaderas), 009 (inodoros) y 010 (válvulas de doble flujo), las cuales este año fueron revisadas y actualizadas.
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Urgen a promover energía renovable

clipped from www.cemda.org.mx
Sólo cinco empresas globales facturan la mitad de los paneles solares.
Sólo cinco empresas globales facturan la mitad de los paneles solares. Foto: Jason Reed/Reuters

Promover una política pública que busque desarrollar más la energía renovable sobre el uso de los hidrocarburos requiere subsidios gubernamentales; sin embargo, hacerlo en México le permitirá construir de la nada una industria altamente exportadora hacia países que tienen un crecimiento en las compras de este tipo de productos de 30 por ciento anual.

Para Francisco Damián, vocero de Underwriters Laboratories (UL), la mejor oportunidad que hay de colocar a México en el mercado de las energías renovables es convertirlo en uno de los mayores proveedores de equipo, sobre todo porque anualmente se mueven en este rubro cerca de 300 mil millones de dólares, al menos así ocurrió el año pasado.

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Crece el mercado de los calentadores de agua solares

clipped from www.cemda.org.mx

La creciente conciencia entre los mexicanos sobre el ahorro y el uso eficiente de los energéticos ha impulsado la penetración de tecnologías como los calentadores solares, afirmó Gonzalo Gómez, director de Finanzas de la firma Sistemas de Energía y Agua (SEA).

En entrevista con Excélsior, dijo que el mercado presenta importantes oportunidades de crecimiento, sobre todo en lo que se refiere a las actividades industriales.

“Fundamos la empresa en el 2000, pero tenemos una experiencia en este sector de más de 20 años”, señaló, “nuestros socios estratégicos alemanes nos han ayudado a perfeccionar esta tecnología, que sacamos finalmente al mercado en diciembre de 2007.”

Sin embargo, hace cinco años, cuando se comenzó a hablar de los calentadores solares, el desconocimiento de la sociedad sobre estas alternativas fue uno de los principales obstáculos a vencer.

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LUZ VERDE A ENERGÍA VERDE

CHIHUAHUA, Chih. 21 julio 2009.- La empresa Biogas de Juárez recibió autorización de la Comisión Reguladora de Energía para generar energía eléctrica a través de la transformación del gas metano capturado en el relleno sanitario de Ciudad Juárez.

Este recurso será utilizada para abastecer el sistema de alumbrado público de Ciudad Juárez, conformado por más de 48,000 lámparas, informó el presidente del Consejo de Administración, Jaime Cruz Russek.

Anunció que la generación de energía eléctrica estará en operación en unos tres meses a cargo de la subsidiaria Transformadora de Energía Eléctrica de Juárez. Este es el segundo proyecto en su tipo que aprueba la Comisión Reguladora de Energía en todo el país, dijo, ya que el primero fue otorgado en Monterrey (Bioenergía de Nuevo León, una alianza entre la privada Bioeléctrica de Monterrey y Simeprode, del gobierno estatal). 

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martes, 14 de julio de 2009

APRUEBAN A BIOGAS DE JUÁREZ PRODUCIR ENERGÍA A TRAVÉS DEL GAS METANO

La empresa Biogas de Juárez recibió autorización de la Comisión Reguladora de Energía para generar energía eléctrica limpia a través de la transformación del gas metano capturado en el relleno sanitario de Ciudad Juárez, la cual será utilizada para abastecer el sistema de alumbrado público de Ciudad Juárez

CD. JUÁREZ, Chihuahua; 14 julio 2009.- El presidente del Consejo de Administración, Jaime Cruz Russek, informó que el proceso estará en operación en unos tres meses a cargo de la subsidiaria Transformadora de Energía Eléctrica de Juárez S.A. de C.V.

Este es el segundo proyecto en su tipo que aprueba la Comisión Reguladora de Energía en todo el país, ya que el primero fue otorgado en la ciudad de Monterrey, Nuevo León.

Destacó que este avance tecnológico proyecta de nuevo positivamente a Ciudad Juárez en el ámbito nacional e internacional, cuando ha sido tan golpeada por la inseguridad, pero esto demuestra que también hay cosas muy buenas
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Dan banderazo de salida a proyecto de suministro de energía limpia para Europa

clipped from www.cemda.org.mx

Munich, Alemania, 13 de julio. Una docena de empresas, en su mayoría alemanas, dieron el lunes el banderazo de salida a un proyecto faraónico: una vasta red de centrales solares en el norte de África y en Medio Oriente para alimentar a Europa con energía

limpia
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El protocolo de acuerdo fue firmado en Munich para la creación de una oficina de estudios de este proyecto, que necesitará una inversión de unos 577 mil 700 millones de dólares.

Entre las empresas que participan se encuentran los gigantes alemanes de la energía EON y RWE, la aseguradora Munich Re, el banco Deutsche Bank, fabricantes solares como la española Abengoa Solar, la argelina Cevital y Desertec, fundación creadora de este proyecto.

La oficina de estudios, que se creará de aquí a finales de octubre, elaborará planes de inversión para los tres próximos años.

Solución a los grandes desafíos

En teoría, Desertec se presenta como la solución a todos los grandes desafíos ambientales y económicos actuales.

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