I wrote about this new venture with promising technology. Here’s a picture of a demonstration plant which can process 25 tons of waste a day using technology developed by the startup InEnTec. (Credit: InEnTec)
Companies using similar technologies have failed in the past so lets hope that this time the effectiveness and economic feasibility is there.
This is a topic which receives a lot of attention and I have seen pages and pages of discussions. This is also something which holds a lot of promise for developing countries. Read more from Technoloy Review about the company Waste Management.
Waste gasification, a process for converting garbage into fuel and electricity without incinerating it, may be a step closer to large-scale commercialization. Last week, Houston’s Waste Management, a major garbage-collection and -disposal company, announced a joint venture with InEnTec, a startup based in Richland, WA, to commercialize InEnTec’s plasma-gasification technology.
InEnTec’s technology, originally developed at MIT and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, in Richland, WA, uses a multiple high-temperature processes–including subjecting garbage to plasma arcs–to break down organic materials into syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Syngas can either be directly burned in gas turbines to produce electricity, or it can be converted into other fuels, including gasoline and ethanol. Metals and other inorganic materials in garbage can be isolated and recycled. The combination of high temperatures and an oxygen-poor environment that prevents the garbage from catching fire eliminates the production of dioxins and furans, two toxic chemicals produced during incineration.
Clean Technology, Energy, Environment, Green, Renewable Energy
A good summary article on what is happening to the coal and green industry in US, courtsey of Technology Review.
Plans to build a power plant featuring integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology and carbon capture and storage (CCS) hit a wall in January 2008 when the Bush administration withdrew support, citing cost overruns. Those concerns have since been exposed as an artifact of specious financial accounting that overestimated the cost of the plant by $500 million.
Those involved say that FutureGen may now be far more politically palatable and expedient. With five years of development already completed, they say that FutureGen is positioned to quickly advance two of the Obama administration’s top goals: economic stimulus and reduction of carbon emissions. “You have a project here that is shovel ready, and with the advancement of technology and importance of CCS, it’s very worthy of a large government infusion,” says Nick Akins, executive vice president for generation at utility giant American Electric Power (AEP), a member of the FutureGen Alliance.
FutureGen remains attractive because IGCC plants that capture and sequester CO2 are expected to offer one of the cheapest ways to achieve carbon-neutral power generation by 2020. Generating a megawatt-hour of power with CCS-equipped IGCC would cost $99 to $119 in 2020, according to European Commission cost estimates released this winter. That beats their estimates for the price of power from conventional coal plants with CCS, natural-gas generators with added CCS, and solar thermal power. (The cost of generating power from offshore wind farms was harder to predict, with estimates ranging from $86 to $152 per megawatt-hour.)
The continuing economic recession in the US and overall around the globe has impacted a number of large solar and biofuels projects. However venture capitalists are increasingly interested in smaller ventures and most of the investments are in this area. There are investors around the world are interested in ventures which require little in the way of expensive equipment and facilities, or those that have managed to attract foreign investment. Those were some of the conclusions of clean-tech investors who gathered at this week’s GoingGreen East conference in Boston.
As the credit markets have tightened, many capital-intensive projects have stalled. For example, OptiSolar, a company based in Hayward, CA, has sold planned solar-farm projects because it couldn’t raise money to expand manufacturing. Corn-ethanol plants are being shut down and some sold in bankruptcy proceedings for a fraction of their value. Meanwhile, some next-generation biofuels companies, such as Mascoma, based in Boston, have put plans for new plants on hold.
Projects requiring hundreds of millions of dollars have fallen from favor, says Jim Matheson, a general partner at Flagship Ventures. Don Wood, managing director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson, says that his firm is turning to businesses that require smaller plants, such as those that desalinate water and cost only $10 million.
Perhaps the biggest winners will be companies with technologies to improve energy efficiency. Wood says that in the coming years, “efficiency is where you’ll get the highest marginal return on investment,” in large part because costs are low. Some such ventures take advantage of cheap sensors, communications hardware, and software packages to monitor and control energy use both in buildings and on the electricity grid, says Chuck McDermott, a general partner at Rockport Capital. He says that sensors are cheap enough now that they can be distributed throughout a building, even in the ductwork. A pair of sensors on each side of an air filter in a heating system can detect when the filter needs to be changed to save energy. Sensors and controls on appliances will allow homeowners and utilities to reduce energy use.
Via Technology Review.
Clean Technology, Energy, Green, Investment, Renewable Energy
With the recent global economic recession, green technology spending and development has taken a hit. But the stimulus spending plan can bring spending on green and clean technology back. The question is that how can Pakistan become part of this push and develop some technology and expertise to benefit with local situation and also as a service provider. MSNBC reports that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009–the stimulus package provides about $80 billion altogether for renewable energy, energy efficiency, mass transit, updating the electrical grid and research. The hope is that investing in solar power and other forms of renewable energy will create jobs, help businesses grow, make our economy more productive, and create a cleaner world for the future.
Excerpts:
The package helps bring clean energy businesses to the forefront by using tax incentives, bonds, grants and loan guarantees. Two measures that will help solar are the grants and loan guarantees for renewable energy. Tax credits are great when you’re making money, but many investors aren’t profiting in the current economy, dampening appetites for tax credits. The stimulus allows those installing solar power to apply for a cash grant instead of a tax credit and get the money back in 60 days. These grants will bring investors back into solar and wind, ensuring strong growth.
The stimulus also provides $6 billion in loan guarantees that will help solar energy grow by making more credit available. Solar energy is a low-risk investment, about as safe as they come. If you put solar panels on a roof, the sun produces power, which in turn makes money. Still, credit has gotten so tight that even safe investments like solar can’t get credit.
“A solar power system generating electricity has a forecastable income stream over the next 30 years,” says Lyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity, a Foster City, Calif.-based solar installer. “But it’s hard to get credit for these systems. By backing up loans, the government gets lenders to start lending again, which leads to more systems being installed, more jobs and more businesses.”
Other measures to support renewable energy and energy efficiency are also being developed, like on-bill financing in California. On-bill financing of energy efficiency projects will help businesses fund energy efficiency improvements that are paid back through their utility bills, helping them save money overall. Cities in California and other parts of the country are creating solar power and energy efficiency funding for homeowners, who pay back the money over many years through their property taxes. The SBA has a little-publicized 7a loan program to fund energy efficiency projects. The more innovative funding for clean energy and green building that’s available, the more rapidly the field will grow and help the economy.
Clean Technology, Energy, Green, Policy, Renewable Energy, Solar
Although this article applies to the US architecture style, but this concept is something we all need to research and adopt. We cannot justify the century old ways we use to build our homes in Pakistan. Overall I think homes and offices are one the biggest consumers of energy and we need to make them efficient. Many times it does not take a huge effort or special technology, just common sense.
Via Wall Street Journal.
Here are five remodeling “future-proofing” tips experts recommend. Before you…
1. . . . Tear down sheetrock or take off siding.
Figure out where you can beef up insulation, particularly in exterior walls, basements and attics. Today there are multiple forms of insulation, many promoted as “green,” including soy-based foams, loose-fill cellulose (recycled newsprint) and denim. Go for the highest R-value (thermal resistance) — typically, the bigger the number, the better the insulation — you can afford and fit with proper installation.Batt or blanket insulation is often cheapest; fiberglass is still widely used. The main drawback is that batts must be trimmed to fit around pipes and fixtures, leaving spaces susceptible to air leaks.
Loose-fill insulation made of fiberglass and cellulose can flow better around wires, pipes and other obstructions. Spray-in, expanding foam insulations do a particularly good job at this and don’t settle or sag over time, though are often pricier because of the materials’ high R-values. Many are urethane-based but some now substitute petroleum content with soybean material. “Fill the cavity any time a wall is open,” says Bruce Harley, author of “Insulate and Weatherize.”
Resources:
BioBased Insulation (www.biobased.net) and Soy Therm (www.soyol.com): soybean-based spray urethane foams with low or no VOCs.
air krete (www.airkrete.com): a lightweight spray foam made from cement, air and water, containing no CFCs or formaldehyde.
GreenFiber (www.greenfiber.com): a blow-in insulation made from 85% recycled-paper fiber.
SafeTouch (www.building.dow.com/na/safetouch): fiberglass-free batts made from non-irritating polyester fibers.
2. . . . Replace kitchen cabinets.
Inquire whether materials contain added urea formaldehyde, which is used in the adhesives of certain pressed-wood products, including those used to make kitchen cabinets. Formaldehyde has been classified as a human carcinogen by the World Health Organization and the National Cancer Institute recommends that “buyers should ask about the formaldehyde content” of such products.The Formaldehyde Council Inc., a group of formaldehyde producers and users, says that at the low levels to which people are exposed there “is essentially no risk” and that formaldehyde-based products are harmless when used as directed. However, starting this year, California began regulating formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products sold in the state.
More mainstream wood-product manufacturers are adjusting product lines. Armstrong World Industries Inc. is developing a line of cabinetry boxes with no added formaldehyde.
Air Commodore (Retd) Azfar A. Khan has written another post about renewable energy in Pakistan here at ATP. I have written about Wind energy projects in Pakistan. Azfar Khan presents views and evidence on how to make wind energy a local indigenous solution:
During one of my recent lectures on Wind Energy in one of the universities of the country, the same question was posed by a participant, “If we go for the wind energy option, we would be needing hundreds of wind turbines in order to make up for the shortfall of electricity. Why can’t we manufacture these turbines ourselves indigenously?” I replied, “Yes, we can, if there’s a will!” I further explained that we can’t expect the foreign manufacturers to provide these turbines to us as and when we need them due to the long lead time involved.
During my brief survey of the country’s existing manufacturing facilities, I got convinced that all the parts and components of the wind turbine could be easily manufactured indigenously.
According to this article in Entrepreneur magazine, green sector is still red hot and brimming with opportunities for entrepreneurs.
A word of caution accompanies the praise:
Green fatigue is on the rise: Of those who recall seeing green advertising (and a solid majority do), 12.1 percent say they never believe the green claims therein; 65.3 percent say they sometimes do, according to a 2008 survey by Burst Media.
To spread the word without igniting skepticism, consider foregoing traditional advertising, says Steve French, managing partner at the NationalMarketing Institute.Of those people who want to learn about a company’s environmental activities, 54 percent of general U.S. consumers (and 60 percent of lifestyle of health and sustainability, or LOHAS,consumers) prefer to get information from a TV, radio or print news story, according to an NMI survey. “Focus on attracting media attention,” says French, “whether through hosting or participating in innovative green events or simply by building relationships with media sources.”
This post has information about an event offered by OPEN Silicon Valley.
Even during these challenging times, innovation in clean-tech is happening at a rapid pace. New businesses and business models are challenging the traditional methods of energy generation, storage, transmission, trading, management, monitoring, and usage.
The new administration is considering investments in infrastructure, job creation initiatives specifically in the clean-tech Sector, and expanding incentives, rebates, as well as regulation. Climate change solutions need to deliver real results. Successful technologies not only have to be fashionable but they have to be relevant at scale.
During these changing times there are opportunities for entrepreneurs and professionals. Learn from leading experts about:
Register Today.
The event is expected to be sold out. Register early and save over on-site registration costs.
When:March 12, 2009, 6pm – 9pm
Where: Quadrus Conference Center, 2400 Sand Hill Road Menlo Park, CA
Keynote:Saul Griffith, President & Chief Scientist, Makani Power
Saul is the President and Chief Scientist at Makani Power. He has multiple degrees in materials science and mechanical engineering and completed his Ph.D. in Programmable Assembly and Self Replicating machines at MIT. He is the co-founder of numerous companies including: Optiopia, Squid Labs, Potenco, Instructables.com, HowToons and Makani Power.
Engadget has a nice post about green gadgets competition.
Recompute is a fully sustainable design for a desktop computer — meaning that it makes use of low-impact manufacturing, uses fully recycled materials, and is easily dismantled at the end of its life for… you guessed it: more recycling. We don’t have full specs on this puppy right now, but we know it’s got 8 USB ports, and that we’re getting one if it ever makes it to production. Also in the running is the RITI eco-friendly printer, which uses coffee and / or tea dregs in place of costly, old, boring and non-eco-friendly ink. The printer is also manually operated, and does not use electricity — which may not make it the speediest device in the world — but we don’t print that much, anyway. Next up, there’s Harddrive — which is a simple USB flash drive encased in concrete to stave off harmful leaching into landfills once disposed of — though the concrete obviously makes the drive a bit nastier to haul around town. Finally, the Inlet Outlet is a whole-home concept that combines a standard outlet — which eats up the juice — with an inlet right next to it, which returns some electricity to the grid. The design is for adapter kits which could easily be used to green up your home.
Energy News