1.1 Haryana makes solar power must for all buildings.
1.2 Solar Batteries - Achilles heel of solar power systems.
1.3 The solar enthusiast's best friend.
1.4 Western Australia's mining boom ebbs along with China's economy
1.5 Rural, self-reliant gardeners remain unfazed by Russia's economic collapse
1.6 Solar Power and SEBs
1.7 I liked this Ad :-)
1.8 Growing inequality
1.9 Can Organic Agriculture Feed the World's Hungry?
2.1 Use of Night Soil in Agriculture (China)
2.2 Live cycle analysis (LCA) of nuclear power plants
2.3 Black Gold
2.4 Grid-connected solar power generation (Kerala)
2.5 Elon Musk in Detroit, the lions den
2.6 Comparison of lead acid and lithium-ion batteries
2.7 Fingers jamed in their ears
-----------------
1.1 Haryana makes solar power must for all buildings (3/1/2015)
Professor Hilal Elver, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, would agree. In her first public speech in September, Elver noted that the focus on small farmers and alternative agricultural models “is critical for future agricultural policies. Currently, most subsidies go to large agribusiness. This must change. Governments must support small farmers.” According to the UN, 80% of subsidies and 90% of research funding in the European Union goes to supporting conventional industrial agriculture.
I. Selvaraj, IITM, 72
2.1 Use of Night Soil in Agriculture (China) (2/2/2015)
http://www.
2.2 Live cycle analysis (LCA) of nuclear power plants (5/2/2015)
Using 0.005% ore, nuclear has higher carbon emissions than gas
Nuclear fuel preparation begins with the mining of uranium containing ores, followed by the crushing of the ore then extraction of the uranium from the powdered ore chemically. All three stages take a lot of energy, most of which comes from fossil fuels. The inescapable fact is that the lower the concentration of uranium in the ore, the higher the fossil fuel energy required to extract uranium.
Table 12 in the Berteen paper confirms the van Leeuwen result that for ore with uranium concentration around 0.01% the carbon footprint of nuclear electricity could be as high as that of electricity generation from natural gas.
This remarkable observation has been further confirmed in a report from the Austrian Institute of Ecology by Andrea Wallner and co-workers. They also point out that using ore with uranium concentration around 0.01% could result in more energy being input to prepare the fuel, build the reactor and so on, than will be generated by the reactor in its lifetime.
According to figures van Leeuwen has compiled from the WISE Uranium Project around 37% of the identified uranium reserves have an ore grade below 0.05%.
A conservative estimate for the future LCA of nuclear power for power stations intended to continue operating into the 2090s and beyond would assume the lowest uranium concentration currently in proven sources, which is 0.005%.
On the basis that the high concentration ores are the easiest to find and exploit, this low concentration is likely to be more typical of yet to be discovered deposits.
Using 0.005% concentration uranium ores, the van Leeuwen, Berteen and Wallner analyses agree a nuclear reactor will have a carbon footprint larger than a natural gas electricity generator. Also, it is unlikely to produce any net electricity over its lifecycle.
http://www.counterpunch.org/
2.3 Black Gold (11/2/2015)
On a normal day, Kansas City, Mo., processes more than 70 million gallons of raw sewage. This sewage used to be a nuisance, but Kansas City, and a lot of municipalities around the country, are now turning it into a resource for city farmers hard up for fertilizer.
After the sewage has been processed at a treatment plant, it's piped out to Birmingham Farm on the north side of the Missouri River.
Tim Walters is the chief agronomist for Kansas City who runs Birmingham. He's got the 1,350-acre farm plumbed with pipes to disperse the smelly stuff.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/
It was a farm idea with a big payoff and supposedly no downside: ridding lakes and rivers of raw sewage and industrial pollution by converting it all into a free, nutrient-rich fertilizer.
Then last week, a federal judge ordered the Agriculture Department to compensate a farmer whose land was poisoned by sludge from the waste treatment plant here. His cows had died by the hundreds.
The Associated Press also has learned that some of the same contaminants showed up in milk that regulators allowed a neighboring dairy farmer to market, even after some officials said they were warned about it.
In one case, according to test results provided to the AP, the level of thallium — an element once used as rat poison — found in the milk was 120 times the concentration allowed in drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/
-----------
Please read the comments, very interesting and intriguing, with two sides facing off on the use of 'Black Gold'.
Evidently humans are not too smart. We all know that a forest is kept verdant by all the poop that is dumped by animals and which is neatly recycled. Quite obviously the poop is not contaminated by chemicals, heavy metals etc.
Concentration of poop in the forest must be important, since we do not get any background smell in a forest. On my visit to the Singapore open air zoo I could get a faint smell of poop!
We need smarter humans who can compete with nature :-)
Selvaraj
2.4 Grid-connected solar power generation (Kerala) (12/2/2015)
Meanwhile, the Anert has shortlisted 15 from among those who responded to a call for expression of interest from companies for empanelment for the Solar Connect project, which involves distributed power generation through rooftop grid-connected solar power generation facilities. The price bids are expected to be opened this week.
The Anert’s plan is to install rooftop grid-linked solar power generation facilities aggregating 12 MW. The capacity of the power generation facilities will range between 2 kW and 50 kW and their multiples, depending on the choice of beneficiaries who have registered with the agency. The programme has the financial backing of both the State and Union governments.
The State will extend a financial assistance of Rs.10,000 per kW to the sanctioned project while the Central assistance is to the tune of Rs.24,000 per kW or 30 per cent of the cost of the facility, whichever is less.
The benchmark cost is roughly Rs.80,000 per kW and it may vary. ...
http://www.thehindu.com/news/
--------
The aggregate of 12 MW is too less.
Selvaraj
2.5 Elon Musk in Detroit, the lions den (16/2/2015)
Elon Musk in Detroit, the lions den (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
2.6 Comparison of lead acid and lithium-ion batteries (19/2/2015)
An emerging market where stationary energy storage is expected to play a significant role is the electrification of rural villages. The cost to run transmission lines is often prohibitive (>$1M/mile), so renewable systems with energy storage offer an attractive option. Coincidentally, many of the prospective installation sites are in warmer climates, which tips the balance toward lithium-ion.
http://www.altenergymag.com/
2.7 Fingers jammed in their ears (27/2/2015)
2.8 Haryanal buildings (3/2/2015)
1.2 Solar Batteries - Achilles heel of solar power systems.
1.3 The solar enthusiast's best friend.
1.4 Western Australia's mining boom ebbs along with China's economy
1.5 Rural, self-reliant gardeners remain unfazed by Russia's economic collapse
1.6 Solar Power and SEBs
1.7 I liked this Ad :-)
1.8 Growing inequality
1.9 Can Organic Agriculture Feed the World's Hungry?
2.1 Use of Night Soil in Agriculture (China)
2.2 Live cycle analysis (LCA) of nuclear power plants
2.3 Black Gold
2.4 Grid-connected solar power generation (Kerala)
2.5 Elon Musk in Detroit, the lions den
2.6 Comparison of lead acid and lithium-ion batteries
2.7 Fingers jamed in their ears
-----------------
1.1 Haryana makes solar power must for all buildings (3/1/2015)
GURGAON: The Haryana government has decided to usher
in the New Year with one of the biggest pushes for solar power in the
country. The state has made it mandatory for all buildings on plot size
of 500 square yards or more to install rooftop solar power systems by
September 2015.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes
---------------
http://timesofindia.indiatimes
Several
experiences with substandard products in rural India have started
making people suspicious of solar technology, forcing some Indian brands
to launch awareness campaigns to counter this.
---------------
My
experience with solar power so far has been that it works like a charm
during the day - fridge, T.V., fan and lighting. The problem comes when
you attempt to store power in a battery for use in the night. Batteries
are expensive and I am told they are likely to pack up.
Since
I have invested Rs 32000 in two 150AH, C10, batteries (actually I need
four for my system to work satisfactorily in the night), I am now
limiting the depth of discharge of the batteries in the night. I switch
the system off sometimes as early as 7 PM, and switch the system on
again at 8 AM (at this time the power consumption is low). Switching the
system off in the night saves some energy since the inverter is
maintained at around 60 degrees C. Using solar power during the day is
OK for businesses and retired people, but it would not be OK for people
who are employed.
For
small solar power systems it would be ideal if all the switching which
needs to be done is automated using an intelligent controller.
The
ideal would be too dispense with the batteries altogether (have a small
battery system if required) and evacuate the power using the state
grid. If this plan is adopted I could easily accommodate a 5 KW system
on my rooftop, in a cost effective way.
I. Selvaraj, IITM, 72
1.2 Solar Batteries - Achilles heel of solar power systems (6/1/2015)
1.3 The solar enthusiast's best friend (11/1/2015)
I. Selvaraj, IITM, 72
1.4 Western Australia's mining boom ebbs with China's economy (12/1/2015)
With China's slowing economic growth, one of the biggest mining booms in Australian history is over, leaving behind a trail of jobless workers and struggling local businesses in places such as Karratha, which thrived in recent years but is now at risk of becoming a ghost town.
China's once-insatiable appetite for iron, copper and other metals led to such a surge in commodity prices that even manhole covers were stolen from streets in some countries to be sold for scrap. Exports from mineral-rich nations such as Australia soared, sending the cost of an ordinary three-bedroom home here to a million dollars.
Today, China's weaker growth has sent government budgets reeling. Currencies once bolstered by surging investments and exports to China are tumbling. Unemployment is shooting higher.
It's a problem around the world, from Brazil to Indonesia to South Africa. Australia, in particular, is feeling the pain.
http://www.latimes.com/
1.5 Rural gardeners remain unfazed by Russia's economic collapse (13/1/2015)
1.6 Solar Power and SEBs (16/1/2015)
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu's power purchase from private sources has gone up by 238% in the last 10 years while the losses during the same period have increased by 882%.
.... Tangedco in order to meet the shortage, is purchasing 2,950 million units at Rs 12.50 per unit. Though there is a long term agreement to purchase power from these sources, this option is utilized only during exam and festival seasons to meet the high demand," said the official.
http://timesofindia.
Tamil Nadu currently has about 120 MW of installed capacity and is working towards further capacity creation. In September last year, the state announced a scheme where solar power producers can sign up with the state electricity utility to sell solar power at a tariff of Rs 7.01 per unit, and several companies have evinced interest to set up a total of about 2500 MW. The tariff of Rs 7.01 offered by Tamil Nadu is higher than tariffs in other neighboring states like Karnataka where tariffs are around Rs 6.9 per unit, Telangana where tariffs range between Rs 6.45 and Rs 6.9 per unit, giving government officials the confidence that independent power producers will come to Tamil Nadu to set up their power plants. The state is planning to sign power purchase agreements for about 1,000 MW soon.
http://timesofindia.
1.7 I liked this Ad :-) (18/1/2015)
--------
I was not aware that economists were interested in science, technology and the arts :-) Are they also interested in our environment?
I. Selvaraj, IITM, 72
1.8 Growing inequality (20/1/2015)
A newly released report by the Southern Education Foundation says a majority of all public school students across the United States come from low-income families. Experts say that could have important implications for the nation.For more about that, we’re joined now from Washington by Lyndsey Layton. She covered the story for The Washington Post.
So, the numbers have been getting worse over time, right? I mean, 10 years ago, it was only four states that had more than half their populations, the schoolchildren populations qualify for free or reduced lunches. Now it’s 21 states.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
Good nutrition, particularly in the first three years of life, is important for establishing a good foundation that has implications for a child’s future physical and mental health, academic achievement, and economic productivity. Unfortunately, food insecurity is an obstacle that threatens that critical foundation. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 15.8 million children under 18 in the United States live in households where they are unable to consistently access enough nutritious food necessary for a healthy life. [i] Although food insecurity is harmful to any individual, it can be particularly devastating among children due to their increased vulnerability and the potential for long-term consequences.
http://www.feedingamerica.org/
-----------
1.9 Can Organic Agriculture Feed the World,s Hungry? (25/1/2015)
It is important for a battery to never be fully discharged, so your
inverter will normally disconnect the supply when the voltage is around
22 volts.
An interesting point to note here is that when an inverter or other power load is drawing a high current from the battery, the voltage will drop. This may mean that the battery needs to be somewhere over 50% charged to avoid the inverter cutting out due to low voltage.
The larger the battery, the smaller this voltage drop will be, and the greater the % of the charge will be useable when drawing high currents.
http://www.solar-facts.com/
-------------
An interesting point to note here is that when an inverter or other power load is drawing a high current from the battery, the voltage will drop. This may mean that the battery needs to be somewhere over 50% charged to avoid the inverter cutting out due to low voltage.
The larger the battery, the smaller this voltage drop will be, and the greater the % of the charge will be useable when drawing high currents.
http://www.solar-facts.com/
-------------
Quite clearly there is a need to:
1. Reduce the cost of solar batteries
2. Increase the life when undergoing deep discharge cycles.
The life of solar panels is in the range of 25 years, this is not matched by the life of batteries.
Alternatively avoid batteries.
Good quality solar panels seem to cost about $1.2 / watt
One
Kw of this array will cost Rs 1.2x1000x65 = Rs 78,000. Will it be
possible to have a one Kw system for Rs 100,000, without batteries?
Let's
assume that three units of power are produced / day. This works out to
1095 units / year. If the power is priced at Rs 10 / unit, the income
will be Rs 10,000/year. This will be sufficient to continuously pay
interest @ 10% on the capital of Rs 100,000. If the interest is 0% as it
appears to be in many advanced countries :-) the capital can be paid
back in seven or eight years.
I
think the future of solar power is bright. Price is bound to drop in
the years to come with improvement in technology. Future of Coal and Oil
on the other hand is dim. With Nuclear we have to keep our fingers
crossed, if there is one serious accident (just one), there will be a
clamor to shut down all the nuclear plants and all the investment made
till then will go down the drain.
Let's
keep in mind that Einstein discovered the photoelectric effect in 1905,
the powers that be were determined to finish all the coal and oil
before they looked in that direction.
Selvaraj, IITM, 72
1.3 The solar enthusiast's best friend (11/1/2015)
If you plan to experiment with solar the one instrument you cannot do without is a Clamp Meter to measure current.
The one I purchased is Fluke 362,
which is available for Rs 4500 without tax and Rs 5100 with tax. (I
purchased mine paying tax since I wanted proper record for my purchase,
in case I have to have the instrument repaired in the distant future; I
rationalized to the shopkeepers, since they tend to look upon you as a
fool if you pay tax, that the government would need the money to repair
the potholed road in front of their shop).
A
normal ammeter that I had, got fried, probably due to loose contact;
with a clamp meter there is no such danger. With the Clamp Meter you can
check the flow of DC current anywhere in the system. Current x voltage
will give you the watts being generated.
Flow
of current from individual panels, any reduction in current flow due to
shadowing, total current flow to the charge controller, current
flowing to the battery (or from the battery), can all be measured.
Presently
I have four panels on four separate pods which can be tilted
individually. At present my layout of panels is such that when I tilt
the panels by 30 degrees to catch the morning sun, two panels cast
shadows on two panels at the back, till around 9:30 AM - the effect of
shadowing is clearly revealed by the Camp Meter. I am now planning
design changes to mount my four panels on two pods, so that there is no
shadowing.
1.4 Western Australia's mining boom ebbs with China's economy (12/1/2015)
With China's slowing economic growth, one of the biggest mining booms in Australian history is over, leaving behind a trail of jobless workers and struggling local businesses in places such as Karratha, which thrived in recent years but is now at risk of becoming a ghost town.
China's once-insatiable appetite for iron, copper and other metals led to such a surge in commodity prices that even manhole covers were stolen from streets in some countries to be sold for scrap. Exports from mineral-rich nations such as Australia soared, sending the cost of an ordinary three-bedroom home here to a million dollars.
Today, China's weaker growth has sent government budgets reeling. Currencies once bolstered by surging investments and exports to China are tumbling. Unemployment is shooting higher.
It's a problem around the world, from Brazil to Indonesia to South Africa. Australia, in particular, is feeling the pain.
http://www.latimes.com/
1.5 Rural gardeners remain unfazed by Russia's economic collapse (13/1/2015)
Russia is a huge country, with much of its population scattered across a
largely empty landscape where modern conveniences such as electricity
and running water are often simply not available. Many Russian villagers
grow their own food, and thus are completely unaffected by events in
Moscow, or the rest of the world for that matter.
The inhabitants of rural Russian villages are a hardy lot -- people who have learned through experience that self-reliance is the key to survival.
Russian citizens have lived through more struggles than many of us would care to imagine. The first and second World Wars were devastating, and life under communism was no cakewalk either. Millions of Russians died of starvation and exposure to the cold during the tumultuous 20th century, not to mention those who perished in battles.
As a result, the Russian people have developed a survival instinct that should serve as a lesson to those in the West, particularly in America, where most of the citizenry is too young to remember the Great Depression -- the only serious domestic crisis this country has endured in the past hundred years.
And, as Joshua Krause points out in a recent article published by ReadyNutrition.com, almost any prepper will tell you that your chances of survival are much greater when the SHTF if you live in a rural setting, as opposed to an urban area.
The inhabitants of rural Russian villages are a hardy lot -- people who have learned through experience that self-reliance is the key to survival.
Russian citizens have lived through more struggles than many of us would care to imagine. The first and second World Wars were devastating, and life under communism was no cakewalk either. Millions of Russians died of starvation and exposure to the cold during the tumultuous 20th century, not to mention those who perished in battles.
As a result, the Russian people have developed a survival instinct that should serve as a lesson to those in the West, particularly in America, where most of the citizenry is too young to remember the Great Depression -- the only serious domestic crisis this country has endured in the past hundred years.
And, as Joshua Krause points out in a recent article published by ReadyNutrition.com, almost any prepper will tell you that your chances of survival are much greater when the SHTF if you live in a rural setting, as opposed to an urban area.
1.6 Solar Power and SEBs (16/1/2015)
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu's power purchase from private sources has gone up by 238% in the last 10 years while the losses during the same period have increased by 882%.
.... Tangedco in order to meet the shortage, is purchasing 2,950 million units at Rs 12.50 per unit. Though there is a long term agreement to purchase power from these sources, this option is utilized only during exam and festival seasons to meet the high demand," said the official.
http://timesofindia.
Tamil Nadu currently has about 120 MW of installed capacity and is working towards further capacity creation. In September last year, the state announced a scheme where solar power producers can sign up with the state electricity utility to sell solar power at a tariff of Rs 7.01 per unit, and several companies have evinced interest to set up a total of about 2500 MW. The tariff of Rs 7.01 offered by Tamil Nadu is higher than tariffs in other neighboring states like Karnataka where tariffs are around Rs 6.9 per unit, Telangana where tariffs range between Rs 6.45 and Rs 6.9 per unit, giving government officials the confidence that independent power producers will come to Tamil Nadu to set up their power plants. The state is planning to sign power purchase agreements for about 1,000 MW soon.
http://timesofindia.
1.7 I liked this Ad :-) (18/1/2015)
What always goes before a healthy body?
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I was not aware that economists were interested in science, technology and the arts :-) Are they also interested in our environment?
1.8 Growing inequality (20/1/2015)
The richest 1 percent are likely to control more than half of the
globe’s total wealth by next year, the charity Oxfam reported in a study released on Monday.
The warning about deepening global inequality comes just as the world’s
business elite prepare to meet this week at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/
A newly released report by the Southern Education Foundation says a majority of all public school students across the United States come from low-income families. Experts say that could have important implications for the nation.For more about that, we’re joined now from Washington by Lyndsey Layton. She covered the story for The Washington Post.
So, the numbers have been getting worse over time, right? I mean, 10 years ago, it was only four states that had more than half their populations, the schoolchildren populations qualify for free or reduced lunches. Now it’s 21 states.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
Good nutrition, particularly in the first three years of life, is important for establishing a good foundation that has implications for a child’s future physical and mental health, academic achievement, and economic productivity. Unfortunately, food insecurity is an obstacle that threatens that critical foundation. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 15.8 million children under 18 in the United States live in households where they are unable to consistently access enough nutritious food necessary for a healthy life. [i] Although food insecurity is harmful to any individual, it can be particularly devastating among children due to their increased vulnerability and the potential for long-term consequences.
http://www.feedingamerica.org/
-----------
A nation can have enough food, yet children can starve?
I. Selvaraj, IITM, 72
1.9 Can Organic Agriculture Feed the World,s Hungry? (25/1/2015)
Professor Hilal Elver, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, would agree. In her first public speech in September, Elver noted that the focus on small farmers and alternative agricultural models “is critical for future agricultural policies. Currently, most subsidies go to large agribusiness. This must change. Governments must support small farmers.” According to the UN, 80% of subsidies and 90% of research funding in the European Union goes to supporting conventional industrial agriculture.
I. Selvaraj, IITM, 72
2.1 Use of Night Soil in Agriculture (China) (2/2/2015)
Economic effects
Roughly estimated, at least 800 million kg nitrogen, 400 million kg phosphate and 500 million kg potash can be annually acquired from night soil produced in urban areas. This is equivalent to some 4 million tonnes of commercial fertiliser, which is about 4% of all commercial fertiliser used throughout the country. Some 30% of urban night soil and 2.6% of city waste are presently utilized. This means that still some 3 million tonnes of chemical fertiliser could be replaced if all night soil and urban waste were used. The reuse of night soil is officially stimulated by extension. Sanitation departments of local governments are responsible to collect and transport night soil from toilets to storage tanks located in the suburbs. All fees, 1.8 yuan per tonne-km, including labour, and costs of vehicle and gasoline are paid by local governments. Farmers pay 12 yuan per tonne and transport from storage tanks to farmland at an average cost of 0.2 yuan per tonne-km (1 US$ = 8.6 yuan). The price of commercial fertiliser is much higher (urea 1,400 yuan/tonne; Ammonia phosphate 2,500 yuan/tonne). Collecting, transporting and processing night soil is not very convenient and it takes much time as compared to handling commercial fertiliser. Statistics show that if 200-500 kg/mu (1 ha = 15 mu) night soil and 80 kg/mu commercial fertiliser (20-20-20) were used instead of 100 kg/mu commercial fertiliser, rice production could increase with 15 kg/mu, wheat with 30 kg/mu, high-quality onions by 20% and grape can reach 2000-2500 kg/mu. This will be profitable as long as transport distances are not too long.Health effects
Night soil contains various kinds of pathogenetic bacteria, virus and parasitic ova, such as the pathogen of typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis A, poliomyelitis, schistosomiasis, anchylostomiasis and ascariasis. Therefore, a potential health risk exists in the practice of reusing excreta. In fact, excreta-related diseases, such as intestinal infectious diseases and parasitosis are very common in the countryside. For example, in the spring of 1988, hepatitis A struck approximately 2 million people in Shanghai, who had eaten shellfish contaminated by night soil. At present, diarrhoeic infectious disease accounts for over 70% of all kinds of infectious diseases. The number of typhoid cases surpasses 100,000 per year. About 490 million people have caught ascariasis, and 200 million have anchylostomiasis. Schistosomiasis is now reappearing in areas previously under control, especially in Hubei and Hunan provinces and a total of 1.5 million people have been affected.Treatment of night soil
In order to prevent diseases, raise fertilising efficiency and protect the environment, night soil management and treatment are particularly important. In the past 20 years, several night soil treatment facilities have been built. Since the launching of the national campaign to become "Sanitary City", which means that a city has facilities such as running water, toilets, septic tanks, sewer systems as well as collection, transportation and treatment/disposal of night soil and city waste, this work has developed considerably. However, on the whole, urban night soil treatment is still in the primary stage and treatment coverage is very low. A sound system has not yet been developed and treatment processes has not been standardised. Treatment processes include mixed composting, ferment fertiliser manufacturing, storage tanks and biogas digesters. ....http://www.
2.2 Live cycle analysis (LCA) of nuclear power plants (5/2/2015)
Using 0.005% ore, nuclear has higher carbon emissions than gas
Nuclear fuel preparation begins with the mining of uranium containing ores, followed by the crushing of the ore then extraction of the uranium from the powdered ore chemically. All three stages take a lot of energy, most of which comes from fossil fuels. The inescapable fact is that the lower the concentration of uranium in the ore, the higher the fossil fuel energy required to extract uranium.
Table 12 in the Berteen paper confirms the van Leeuwen result that for ore with uranium concentration around 0.01% the carbon footprint of nuclear electricity could be as high as that of electricity generation from natural gas.
This remarkable observation has been further confirmed in a report from the Austrian Institute of Ecology by Andrea Wallner and co-workers. They also point out that using ore with uranium concentration around 0.01% could result in more energy being input to prepare the fuel, build the reactor and so on, than will be generated by the reactor in its lifetime.
According to figures van Leeuwen has compiled from the WISE Uranium Project around 37% of the identified uranium reserves have an ore grade below 0.05%.
A conservative estimate for the future LCA of nuclear power for power stations intended to continue operating into the 2090s and beyond would assume the lowest uranium concentration currently in proven sources, which is 0.005%.
On the basis that the high concentration ores are the easiest to find and exploit, this low concentration is likely to be more typical of yet to be discovered deposits.
Using 0.005% concentration uranium ores, the van Leeuwen, Berteen and Wallner analyses agree a nuclear reactor will have a carbon footprint larger than a natural gas electricity generator. Also, it is unlikely to produce any net electricity over its lifecycle.
http://www.counterpunch.org/
2.3 Black Gold (11/2/2015)
On a normal day, Kansas City, Mo., processes more than 70 million gallons of raw sewage. This sewage used to be a nuisance, but Kansas City, and a lot of municipalities around the country, are now turning it into a resource for city farmers hard up for fertilizer.
After the sewage has been processed at a treatment plant, it's piped out to Birmingham Farm on the north side of the Missouri River.
Tim Walters is the chief agronomist for Kansas City who runs Birmingham. He's got the 1,350-acre farm plumbed with pipes to disperse the smelly stuff.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/
It was a farm idea with a big payoff and supposedly no downside: ridding lakes and rivers of raw sewage and industrial pollution by converting it all into a free, nutrient-rich fertilizer.
Then last week, a federal judge ordered the Agriculture Department to compensate a farmer whose land was poisoned by sludge from the waste treatment plant here. His cows had died by the hundreds.
The Associated Press also has learned that some of the same contaminants showed up in milk that regulators allowed a neighboring dairy farmer to market, even after some officials said they were warned about it.
In one case, according to test results provided to the AP, the level of thallium — an element once used as rat poison — found in the milk was 120 times the concentration allowed in drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/
-----------
Please read the comments, very interesting and intriguing, with two sides facing off on the use of 'Black Gold'.
Evidently humans are not too smart. We all know that a forest is kept verdant by all the poop that is dumped by animals and which is neatly recycled. Quite obviously the poop is not contaminated by chemicals, heavy metals etc.
Concentration of poop in the forest must be important, since we do not get any background smell in a forest. On my visit to the Singapore open air zoo I could get a faint smell of poop!
We need smarter humans who can compete with nature :-)
Selvaraj
2.4 Grid-connected solar power generation (Kerala) (12/2/2015)
Meanwhile, the Anert has shortlisted 15 from among those who responded to a call for expression of interest from companies for empanelment for the Solar Connect project, which involves distributed power generation through rooftop grid-connected solar power generation facilities. The price bids are expected to be opened this week.
The Anert’s plan is to install rooftop grid-linked solar power generation facilities aggregating 12 MW. The capacity of the power generation facilities will range between 2 kW and 50 kW and their multiples, depending on the choice of beneficiaries who have registered with the agency. The programme has the financial backing of both the State and Union governments.
The State will extend a financial assistance of Rs.10,000 per kW to the sanctioned project while the Central assistance is to the tune of Rs.24,000 per kW or 30 per cent of the cost of the facility, whichever is less.
The benchmark cost is roughly Rs.80,000 per kW and it may vary. ...
http://www.thehindu.com/news/
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The aggregate of 12 MW is too less.
Selvaraj
2.5 Elon Musk in Detroit, the lions den (16/2/2015)
Elon Musk in Detroit, the lions den (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
2.6 Comparison of lead acid and lithium-ion batteries (19/2/2015)
An emerging market where stationary energy storage is expected to play a significant role is the electrification of rural villages. The cost to run transmission lines is often prohibitive (>$1M/mile), so renewable systems with energy storage offer an attractive option. Coincidentally, many of the prospective installation sites are in warmer climates, which tips the balance toward lithium-ion.
http://www.altenergymag.com/
2.7 Fingers jammed in their ears (27/2/2015)
Within a couple of years, those of us who
have spent most of the past two decades warning about the approaching
peak may see vindication by data, if not by public opinion. So should we
prepare to gloat? I don’t plan to. After all, the purpose of the
exercise was not to score points, but to warn society. We were seeking
to change the industrial system in such a way as to reduce the scale of
the coming economic shock. There’s no sign we succeeded in doing that.
We spent most of our efforts just battling to be heard; our actual
impact on energy policy was minimal.
There’s no cause for shame in that: the
deck was stacked against us. The economics profession, which has a
stranglehold on government policy, steadfastly continues to insist that
energy is a fully substitutable ingredient in the economy, and that
resource depletion poses no limit to economic growth. Believing this to
be true, policy makers have effectively had their fingers jammed in
their ears. ..
http://www.countercurrents.2.8 Haryanal buildings (3/2/2015)
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