New Energy Plus » Hydro

Energy Battle Groningen 2010

Jacqueline Wijbenga — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:20:53 +0000

Energy Battle is organized by Student Stock and takes place on February 19, 2010. Students work out a case study and ‘battle’ against each other. In the case studies the participating companies present their strategic energy questions to the students. Bachelor and master students go into the energy questions for a whole day. A judge selects the finalists for the qualifying round which will be held in September. The grand finale will take place in November. The best three groups of students are asked to work out the case even better. They will present their studies at the Energy Delta Convention in Groningen.

“The Energy Battle is a think tank for the energy sector”, says organiser Geertje Dam, new business director of StudentsMedia. “Very often companies have current questions that remain on the shelf due to lack of time. This event provides teams of students who will work all year long on these questions, a huge benefit for companies.”

Students can focus on energy storage, energy transport, bio energy, solar energy, energy consumption patterns, energy rights, sustainable energy and energy policy. The winning teams will be selected with the help of three criteria: novelty, utility and non-obvious of character.

World’s first osmosis power station

Jacqueline Wijbenga — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:14:33 +0000

The Norwegian company Statkraft opened the first prototype osmosis power station in the world. The prototype generates energy by using the power that is released when freshwater blends with seawater. For more than ten years Statkraft researches osmosis as a renewable and emissionfree energy source. This way of energy-production can contribute to a worldwide environmentally friendly production of energy.
“This new technology generates energy just by mixing water. New solutions to stop climate change, seem to be closer than we think. I am therefore optimistic about the future”, says Bård Mikkelsen, CEO for Statkraft. The prototype has a limited capacity and is mainly used for testing and developing the technology. The aim is to build a commercial osmosis power station within a few years.

The capacity of osmotic energy worldwide is valued at 1.600 – 1.700 TWh a year. This equals 50 percent of European’s total energy production. Osmosis power stations can actually be built at any location where freshwater flows into the ocean. They do not cause noise or pollution and they can be integrated in existing industrial areas, for example in cellars of industrial buildings.

Draka expands subsea power solutions

Jacqueline Wijbenga — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:57:06 +0000

Draka Offshore announced the expansion of their subsea power manufacturing capabilities for the Offshore Wind Energy, Oil & Gas, and subsea power distribution markets. Draka has expanded its production capabilities to manufacture medium voltage XLPE power cables up to 36kV at its factory located in Drammen, Norway.

Draka has been delivering subsea power cables to the oil and gas sector for close to 30 years. The new investment in expanded capabilities demonstrates Draka’s commitment to being a market leader in this area. “Our close relationship with the market has enabled us to see the growing power requirements for deepwater oil exploration”, stated Endre Espeseth, vice president for Draka Offshore. “Our expanded capabilities better enable us to supply the increased power and communication needs in umbilical and platform-to-platform operations for the oil and gas market.”

Improvement amount of energy from water

Jacqueline Wijbenga — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:07:45 +0000

‘Blue energy’ is a relatively new but promising sustainable energy source. Piotr Długołęcki from the University of Twente and Wetsus improved the most used method in The Netherlands to generate blue energy. Due to this a three to four times higher energy output can be obtained.
When salt dissolves in water it will fall apart in loaded parts: positive and negative ions. Saltwater has more loaded parts then freshwater to generate electricity. This is done with special membranes that allow either positive or negative parts through. The resulting charge is converted over the membranes into electricity.
Piotr Długołęcki aimed specifically for the transport of ions to optimalize the amount of energy. Because of his improvements the energy profits will be much higher. Długołęcki obtained his doctorate for this research on November 18th, 2009.

Bioenergy claims more water

Jacqueline Wijbenga — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:47:38 +0000

Scientists of the University of Twente (The Netherlands) have calculated that bioenergy production needs more water than other types of energy. The water footprint of bioenergy (the amount of water needed to produce biomass) is a lot less favourable with the exception of bioelectricity.

Researcher assessed the water footprint of thirteen crops. Based on these results a responsible choose can be made for a specific crop en production area. The results of the findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) van June 2nd, 2009.

The researchers assesed the amount of water needed -both irrigation and rainfall- per Gigajoule energy produced. By connecting wateruse to location and climatological information the most optimal location for the specific crop was assessed. ,,This way it is possible to prevent the production of certain crops in less favourable areas, especially in areas where food and water are already scares resources”, according to the researchers.
The results of this research add a new element to the discussion about crop production for biofuels. Up until now this discussion focussed on the competion between food and fuel. ”Beneath that question lies the question how we should utilize our fresh water supplies in the world. Water that is used for either a food crop such as corn or a non-food crop such as jatropha can not be applied for food production or the maintenance of the ecological system.” The water footprint was developed by prof. Arjan Hoekstra and has proven a powerfull aid in this debate. For example, according to Hoekstra’s model, 1 liter diesel needs 14,000 liter of water when produced from soy or canola. However the production in Western Europe requires a lot less water than that in Asia. Usins soy the water footprint is highets in India and most favourable in Italy and Paraguay. Jatropha, popular as a non-food crop for biodiesel production, claims the most water. To produce 1 liter of diesel around 20,000 liter of water is needed.

Bioelectricity
Research shows that the production of bioelectricity has a smaller water footprint than biofuel production. Reason for the difference is the fact that in the first situation the whole plant is utilized whereas for the production of biofuels only part of the plant e.g. sugar, starch, oil or fibre is needed. Improved techniques can make the water footprint of biofuels smaller.
According to the model the production of bioelectricity from sugar beets is most efficient with regard to the water use. Jatropha is ten times less efficient. A litre bioethanol from sugar beets requires 1400 liter water, using Brasilian sugar cane 2500 liter water is needed.

Het onderzoek is uitgevoerd door de groepen Waterbeheer en Thermische Werktuigbouwkunde, die deel uitmaken van het instituut IMPACT van de Universiteit Twente. Het multidisciplinaire onderzoek naar verantwoord waterbeheer en -gebruik vindt verder plaats in het Twente Water Centre (www.water.utwente.nl).

http://www.utwente.nl

Het artikel ‘The water footprint of bioenergy’ van Winnie Gerbens-Leenes, Arjen Hoekstra en Theo van der Meer, verschijnt op 2 juni in de Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Het kan op verzoek toegestuurd worden.

Contactpersoon voor de pers: Prof. Arjen Hoekstra, Twente Water Centre, tel (053)4893880, email a.y.hoekstra@utwente.nl of Communicatie UT, Wiebe van der Veen, tel (053) 4894244 of 06 121 85 692, email w.r.vanderveen@utwente.nl

ANP Pers Support, het ANP is niet verantwoordelijk voor de inhoud van bovenstaand bericht.

ANP Pers Support is een joint venture van het ANP en PR Newswire.

URLs
 http://www.utwente.nl

Training centre Renac to improve new energy skills

Jacqueline Wijbenga — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:45:53 +0000

The Renewables Academy (RENAC) has enlarged its Training Center for renewable energy technologies. Now occupying a total of 200 square meter, it includes technical equipment for solar thermal, photovoltaic and, from June, also wind energy systems.

Coinciding with the expansion of the Training Center, RENAC has also published their course program for the second half of 2009. For the first time the open program of training courses will, in addition to the solar thermal and photovoltaic training, now offer courses on energy efficiency in buildings, energy efficiency in industry and commerce as well as on wind energy.

Since its founding in December 2007, over 500 engineers, technicians, energy suppliers, network operators, project developers, employees from government, public authorities and banks, entrepreneurs and sales staff have trained with RENAC. The extended RENAC Training Center now offers sufficient capacity for the technical and non-technical training requirements of these different target groups. The practical training is supplemented through the computer suite, where training in software for planning and dimensioning of installations is carried out.

UK counts more jobs in new energy

Jacqueline Wijbenga — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:06:04 +0000

Despite the reseccion recruiters say there are plenty of job opportunities in renewable energy. Recruiter Acre Resources says job opportunities grew over 50 percent in the past year in Britain’s renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainability and corporate social responsibility sectors. Absolute figures were not availble. ”The green job market has proven resilient despite the recession and we have seen a steady increase of jobs being created,” said Andy Cartland, managing director at Acre Resources. Read full story

All Energy, exhibition and conference 20-21 May

Jacqueline Wijbenga — Mon, 11 May 2009 07:54:38 +0000

The countdown to All-Energy ’09 - the UK’s largest renewable energy exhibition and conference – has begun. The event will kick of on May 20th in Aberdeen. This year’s show has the largest-ever exhibition with more than 360 exhibitors from 13 countries taking up the two exhibition halls at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre. Over 4500 people have registred to visit the exhibition.

“We certainly look well set for success at this the ninth annual All-Energy,” says project director, Judith Patten. All-Energy is run in association with the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA), Scottish Renewables (SRF) and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG); the Society for Underwater Technology is its learned society patron, and it has more than 30 government departments (from Westminster and Holyrood), trade associations, and professional institutes as official supporting organisations. The two-day event is free to attend for all with a professional / business interest in renewable energy – online registration is at www.all-energy.co.uk

1000 Megawatt from renewable sources

Jacqueline Wijbenga — Sat, 02 May 2009 09:40:24 +0000

A group of major corporate energy buyers announced that they have reached their collective goal of purchasing 1,000 megawatts of new, cost-competitive power generated from renewable-energy sources – enough power to displace a large coal-fired power plant.

The chart published here compares the economic cost of electricity produced by the renewable technologies most commonly deployed onsite to the average retail price paid by commercial users in 2008. The comparison shows that several renewable applications compare favorably, including solar hot water, large wind, and geothermal heat pump. Solar PV is especially attractive in states that offer policy support.

Founded in 2000 by the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Green Power Market Development Group was designed to help some of the largest energy consumers in the U.S. purchase and support clean, renewable energy. The Group reached what was an ambitious 10-year goal in nine years. The GPMDG consists of 15 companies: Alcoa Inc., Dow Chemical, DuPont, FedEx, General Motors, Georgia-Pacific, Google, IBM, Interface Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Michelin NA, Natureworks LLC, Pitney Bowes Inc., Staples and Starbucks.
WRI also worked with Apple, BT Americas, HP, Intel, J.P. Morgan, Toyota Motor Sales, Wal-mart, Wells Fargo and Whole Foods to complete renewable energy projects that contributed to meeting the goal.

“New markets for renewable energy, emerging under state leadership, are already available, and energy prices are expected soon to incorporate the costs of emitting greenhouse gases,” said Alex Perera, a WRI senior associate and director of the GPMDG. “Forward-thinking business managers are taking advantage of these opportunities to bring clean technologies to scale and take a lead in renewable energy deployment.”

Great potential of sustainable energy in Asia

Jacqueline Wijbenga — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:59:01 +0000

Developing countries such as China and India offer great opportunities for sustainable energy. At present much of the energy demand is met by char coal fed power plants. Dutch scientist Frauke Urban studied the impact of changes made in energy production in China and India.

“In China the energy sector is one of the major producers of green house gasses”, says Urban. Sustainable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydro power, and cleaner energy for example natural gas and nuclear power could drastically lower the output of green house gasses in China, according to Urban. She calculated a reduction of 60 percent of green house gas output by the year 2030 if China were to replace fossile fuel by sustainable energy sources.
This would however increase the cost of energy by 20 to 180 percent depending on the measures taken. Not all sustainable energy is more expensive. ‘There is a large benefit in rural areas on social and economical level.’ In general however the development of sustainable energy in China and India will need a boast. Urban is of the opion the Western countries should invest in sustainability in developing countries such as China and India.

Urban completed her PhD-theses at the University of Groningen on February 27th, 2009.