Sunshine is NOW Deployable

"Now is the Time for Deployment of Emission Free Dispatchable Power"

This week I will be presenting a Global snapshot of Large Scale Solar Power Generation -looking at the larger systems operating in both PV (photovoltaic) and Solar Thermal and also taking a peek at what's on the drawing board around the world.

When I first began preparing this talk for the Sydney Group of ANZSES, there was very little to say about Australia. Other than one system under development in Victoria, we do not come close to having any operational system that could be deemed commercial. Fortunately, the recent budget proposals make Australia's utility level solar power scene much more interesting. It's not a technical discussion - this talk is about deployment, what's happening and what's planned. If you are interested to attend the session at 6pm Tuesday May 26th at UTS in Sydney, then see details here.

pic by Sun ex Flickr by onlinewoman

Clear Nights + Sunny Days = Power

This month's speaker at the Sydney Group of the Alternative Technology Association was Geoff Smith, Professor of Applied Physics at the University of Technology (Institute of Nanotechnology)

Geoff presented a fascinating talk on what is currently being done in terms of heating and cooling, by new surface coatings and materials and by understanding the processes involved. He explained some of the science and he then offered some insights into the potential. According to Geoff: "using what the environment has to offer for cooling is the hidden gem in the renewables toolkit. Not only does it offer totally new paradigms for low or zero energy cooling of buildings ( a “must” for global warming adaptation), but opens the door to new concepts for generating 24/7 electric power at scales and costs which have the potential to undercut all current renewable and conventional approaches. Using the cool in the deep ocean or at height in the atmosphere are known examples; attractive but technically difficult and expensive. Making the most of our radiative links to outerspace and the atmosphere are however much easier. An example recipe: clear night skies plus clear sunny days , add materials knowhow and quite low cost infrastructure covering about 3 sq. km (1km radius) and you should be able to produce between 70 MW and 100 MW of power."

And he added that : "If the system is pressurized with CO2 it could work even better and in the process, sequester a few thousand tonnes of carbon. "

Seems to me that we should be looking all around us for the solutions we need - they may be closer than we think. Just take the time tonight to look up and ponder about that.

Pic ex Flickr Milky Way + Banyanda by Kasi Metcalfe

Intelligent Grid = Opportunities

Yesterday, I attended the launch of the Intelligent Grid Research Program (iGrid) at UTS in Sydney. This is a 3 year series of research projects and a collaboration between the CSIRO and several Australian Universities to investigate "smaller, greeener energy generators and advanced control systems".

The launch was a smorgasbord of ideas from industry, Energy providers, Universities, and CSIRO, and included two video conference keynotes - one from Nancy Ryan, California Public Utilities Commission, and the other from Associate Prof. Ho Hiang Kwee, Director A*Star Sinergy Centre, Singapore. While there was obviously a huge amount of expertise (virtual and in real time time space) in one room, it also became clear that no one person or entity had all the answers. And that the ideas would come out of initiatives such as these. But ideas must be turned into practical solutions, and that's the opportunity for business and industry.

Intelligent grid's of the future will provide the flexibility that we need to integrate local power generation and help us manage peak loads. Smart metering is a key to engaging users and to help modify energy patterns, and will provide important data for planning. Some of the seven identified projects will also address the regulatory barriers to the Intelligent grid -and this will underpin the next steps - a Grid that meets our needs in a world where smarter and smaller are an integral part of the solution. I see this as a hopeful and necessary part of future intelligent grids, where businesses, or individual homeowners are able to make intelligent choices about sourcing power from a range of suppliers of all levels and sizes.