Wiki World

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Australian Blog ★ Adventure Australia
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► Q(BLOG HOME PAGE)

Elecric Cars are a Mistake

Adopting battery powered cars is the worst thing societies can do. It is just a transfer from dirty oil engines to dirty oil power station. Removal of carbon at power stations is talked about a lot. However, nothing has been achieved. Experiments have largely failed.

The distance barrier is still a problem for battery cars. To go more than two hundred miles requires an enormous battery, far to heavy to put in vehicles. Price is still an issue: there is little hope of a reduction even with mass production. Weak demand continues.

Planners are saying that the lack of battery "charge" centers is the main barrier. This is only secondary. Where does the capital come from to build them? Battery swap stations were established by the Electric Light Company to service a fleet of electric trucks a century ago. Buses in China get new batteries en route. The trucks disappeared and Chinese buses are government run.

Changing to a recharged battery is not cost effective. If you have to do this you may as well keep the petrol car. A charge-up at home is the only way to go. Long distance truckers will never adopt battery power. There is little torque in the powertrain, certainly not enough to transport heavy goods.

✴ Transport Transport by Ty Buchanan ✴

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Australian Blog★
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)

Australia Breaks Supercritical Steam Record to Replace Coal

Australia has made a new world record in "supercritical" steam. This involves the use of solar panels to generate heat that boils water and generates steam. The steam could be used instead of coal in power plants.

Pressure reached 3,400 psi at a heat of 1,058°F. This is peak performance "stuff". It rivals coal in its efficiency. The first time a non-carbon source has at least equalled the efficiency of coal.

Six hundred mirrors (heliostats) were used and their beams were directed at two towers housing solar receivers and turbines. In the future power generation could be virtually free from the sun during daylight hours.

This technology is new and supersedes older "subcritical" steam production. More work has to be done but there is no doubt power generation will eventually not need coal. It is not good news for Australian exports. It is good for the world though.

Science by Ty Buchanan

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Australian Blog★
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)

Vast Solar Builds New Solar Thermal Plant

With such a hot sunny climate Australia should invest more in solar energy. The heat also needs to be converted into electricity. With the sun beating down on us, there is almost free energy to be had. Sure there is a cost. Even if it costs as much as coal generation we should go ahead and develop it. China has signed a gas agreement with Russia. As time goes by they will reduce their purchases of coal from Australia. This country should heed the signs and change policy at home as well.

Vast Solar had built the nation's first solar thermal standalone plant at Forbes, NSW. It will generate 6MWth of electricity. Storage will enable electricity to be pushed into the grid 24 hours a day. There are plans to construct a 30MW operation, and other countries are showing interest in having similar plants established by Vast Solar. The big step has been with improved storage making a viable day and night supply. The new plant has been called the concentrated solar thermal (CST) system because it continually provides power.

Wind generation is changeable. Some days there is no wind so no electricity is produced. Plants can be built in windy regions with wind generators alongside as backup.

Tony Abbott's intention to close all such plants to protect the coal industry is backward looking. He is blind to the changes that are occurring in the world. Demand for coal will fall as countries move to gas and pollution free production systems. Anyway, Tony Abbott's plans will not pass the Senate.

Technology by Ty Buchanan

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Australian Blog★
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)

Individual Solar Power Systems Will Replace Power Stations

So the energy companies have Australians by the "..." in regard to charging what they like for electricity? This may be fact now but in a few years the tables will be turned. By 2018 the cost of off-grid power will be on par with charges by electricity producers and distributors.

Battery storage from solar generators will be adopted by people living in the bush. Some are so far away from the main grid that they do not have an electricity connection at all. The methods they find cost effective will be copied by city people. There are varied methods and combinations so choices can be made.

Rural towns could pool resources and create a generating system for the whole town. They will have to solve the problem of the unevenness of power flow to households which results in failing TVs, fridges and washing machines first though.

Because of costs saved from higher scale production those in higher populated centers could set up non-carbon electricity system cheaper, so hobbyists and experimenters could be first to go off-grid.

With this trend, the part-privatization of electricity by allowing another level of distributors into the market will prove to be a problem. These distributors will face falling profits and cost cutting could begin. The average consumer could face lower charges.

Non-carbon energy methods no longer need government subsidies. They are now cost effective. Indeed, set up costs are falling very rapidly. Increases in recent electricity charges due to generating companies repairing old infrastructure could be money wasted. The new electricity poles could be left standing with no active wiring in the very near future.

Conservation by Ty Buchanan

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Australian Blog★
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)

Natural Gas Must Not Be Used as a Substitute for Clean Power Generation

It is proposed that natural gas be used instead of coal for electric power generation. The national climate summit put a deadline of 2012 for this to happen with the dirtiest power station, Hazlewood. Environment Victoria took up the challenge saying that natural gas with renewable energy resources could reduce Hazlewood's pollution by 14.4 million tonnes to just 1.8. Wind generation would gradually replace natural gas.

The claim is exceedingly optimistic. Too much faith is placed in wind generation despite the fact that electricity production by this means has peaked in northern Europe and it still does not make a profit. Beyond Zero Emissions is even more optimistic. Its plan aims to end Hazlewood's use of coal by 2013. Failure to reduce emissions means it could be closed.

The future looks good for natural gas production with gas being obtained from coal seams and 20 gas power plants being planned. Natural gas is not really clean though. Indeed, leakage of methane gas occurs. Replacing coal power generation with gas as a temporary measure is a mistake. What is the point of wasting millions of dollars in investment on the premise that something better will come along?

The best way to go in the short term is to build solar thermal power sites alongside existing coal power stations. Note that solar thermal only produces electricity during the day. A final solution will undoubtedly be tidal generation because the moon continues to circle the earth making oceans rise and fall day after day.

Environment by Ty Buchanan

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Society by Ty Buchanan

Australian Blog★
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)

Investment in Clean Energy Production Predicted to Rise

It is predicted that the use of solar and wind power will rapidly increase as costs falls. There has been an improvement in the efficiency of wind turbines. Solar panels also put out more power at a lower cost.

Australians have strongly adopted solar power while governments offer high payments for electricity going back into the system. Making an end date of 2026 of such overpayment was a silly idea. It is too far ahead for future governments to guarantee this "lopsided" subsidy that only helps the wealthy. The financial burden has been pushed onto the elderly.

Solar power has hidden costs. Power surges burn out televisions and computers. New ones must be purchased. Many consumers are saying someone has to fix this. Considering solar power generation will fluctuate throughout the day with this is near impossible.

Frank Calabria, CEO of Origin Energy, favors the elimination of all subsidies on clean energy. This indicates a probable back down considering Origin is the largest investor in wind farms. Coal remains the cheapest form of power production in Australia. This economic advantage will continue. Whether new calls for nuclear power are supported is unknown are present.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conservation

Australian Blog★
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)

No-Car Future Is the Only Sustainable Option

The National Sustainability Council presented its long awaited report called the Sustainable Australia 2013: Conversations with the Future. This is the first of a series of biennial papers to advise the government about the state of the economy vis-a-vis the environment.

Full of optimism, the newly founded council said the future looked bright if we changed to building sustainable communities. However, the type of community needed is far more radical than envisaged by the council. Despite Australia having many of the most livable cities in the world we need to start planning immediately for the kind of balanced society of the future.

Oil will not be around forever and coal is too polluting to be used at such high rates. This means individuals driving around in five seater cars will not be possible. Electricity use is skyrocketing with Internet cloud servers and hungry mobiles gobbling up tonnes of coal and oil in power stations. Future cities will have to be designed with houses laid out in a manner that allows public transport to easily be used to get to work. Little is said about this now, but it will be in the future.

Somehow workers will have to be able to get from side roads to main roads where buses or vehicles on rails can travel. This will involve many more stops than at present and it will take longer to get to places of employment. We could see the return of bicycles or low-powered slow speed electric vehicles.

A place without car ownership will be an odd place to people of the current era. Nonetheless, it will have to happen eventually. Modern cities are car dependent. If an economic crisis stops the flow of oil these cities will die.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

History

Australian Blog★
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)

Power Generation Via Hydrogen Is Not Taking Off

It is amazing how people will see something new, then run with it to the extreme saying this will change the world. This is true for virtually all non-fossil energy producing systems, but all of them have drawbacks and none have revolutionized the power sector. The two major problems have been high cost and non constant energy production during the 24 hour period.

Scientists have worked on hydrogen systems for decades and success seems very distant. It is not being accepted for widespread use. Actually, hydrogen is a "byproduct" of energy production. When electricity is generated by any method the excess not used at a point in time is passed through water. It splits into oxygen and hydrogen via electrolysis with the fuel stored to be used in the future. When hydrogen is recombined with oxygen, electricity is generate. Heat from the process can also be used directly for heating purposes.

As with other environmentally friendly electricity producing methods time will tell if hydrogen is accepted for general use. Perhaps hydrogen can be made in significant quantities from solar and wind generation. It could potentially make for a hybrid system producing electricity 24 hours a day. Until now, governments have been the main source of funding for hydrogen experiments. Apparently, the private sector sees little future in it. For non-fossil energy systems to flourish it is necessary for the community to work together. Unfortunately, individualism is the norm. Perhaps this is why there is very little progress.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Technology

Australian Blog★

Energy Use Due to Mobile Phones Is Unstainable

There is an energy crisis slowly creeping up on us. We go about our daily business enjoying the benefits of computer advances while not realizing that massive amounts of energy are being consumed.

Mobile phones are designed with very little hard storage. Reliance on cloud services is increasing at a rapid pace. Many developing countries do not enjoy continuous energy supplies. When the electricity goes off so does cloud storage. In advanced countries aluminium producers were blamed for eating up too much power, now everyone is responsible.

A new study, The Power of Wireless Cloud, clearly shows that the continuing use of electricity is not sustainable. Energy use by cloud services will be equivalent to 4.9 million cars over the period 2012-2015. This is known by comparing energy from petrol to power station input.

It is not just the cloud. Wi-Fi will use more power than anything else. Computing networks are not "clean". Many do not consider that most electricity is still being produced with dirty energy inputs. Even nuclear is dirty - it contaminates.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Society