Waste offers potential energy storage solution for solar and wind

Solar and wind energy industries are growing rapidly in many countries all across the globe. These two fast growing industries, despite all the growth, are still in search of adequate energy storage solution that would solve intermittency issue of these two renewable energy sources.

There are many ongoing researches working on various solutions to save excess solar and wind energy for times when the sun is down and the wind isn't blowing. The perfect storage solution still hasn't been found, and batteries are usually the most talked about as the most promising solution.

There have been many proposed solutions, and one that is currently most often used is pumped hydroelectric storage. According to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) pumped hydroelectric storage accounts for more than 99% of bulk production capacity worldwide.

In 2010 the United States had 21.5 GW of pumped storage generating capacity, and U.S. is also the home to the largest operational pumped-storage plant in the world, the Bath County Pumped Storage Station.

Another potential approach for new energy storage solution is using sugar alcohols in mix with carbon nanotubes as reported in ACS’ Journal of Physical Chemistry C. Sugar alcohol is a readily available waste product of the food industry.

Scientists want to store energy as heat and have been exploring sugar alcohols as a possible material for making thermal storage work. There are still plenty of limitations in this technology, but also a big potential that should open the door for further research.

Turning waste into any useful form of energy and doing it cost-effectively would certainly revolutionize our entire energy industry.

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Why most wind turbines have three blades instead of four and two?

Wind energy industry is rapidly growing. Together with solar energy they currently represent the two fastest growing renewable energy industries in the world. Wind turbines are located not just on land but also offshore and are becoming common sight in many countries of the world.

But what about wind turbine design in terms of number of blades? Did you ever wonder why most wind turbines have three blades instead of two or four?

If wind energy developers would to use two wind turbines instead of three, the turbine would be faster, and more speed in most cases results in increased energy output. However, using two wind turbines instead of three would make turbine far noisier and that would be serious downside, because some people even argue that turbines with three blades contribute to noise pollution let alone two.

And why not use four blades instead of three? Well, blades cost lot of money so using four blades instead of three would significantly add to overall costs of new wind energy projects.

In this sense, turbines with three blades are really the most balanced solution in three very important areas: efficiency, costs and noise. Future designs may come up with different solutions, not only in relation to the number of blades but also with the size and the location.

But for now, there are turbines with three blades that dominate the wind energy market.

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Biomass as preferred renewable energy option?Not because of carbon-neutral label

Solar, hydro, wind, geothermal, biomass - these are all renewable energy sources. Every renewable energy source has its pros and cons but this time let us focus on biomass this time, and discuss whether or not  biomass should become one of the most preferred renewable energy options.

The main advantage that biomass has over all other renewable energy sources is that it is locally sources and sustainable source of renewable energy. That is something I completely agree upon.

The proponents of biomass industry often claim that biomass is carbon neutral. In a world where climate change and greenhouse gases have become talk on almost any political agenda being labeled as carbon-neutral would give biomass significant advantage over many other renewable energy sources. But is this really the case here?

I personally do not look at biomass as carbon-neutral no matter how you're looking at it. Is it better than sticking with coal and oil, generally speaking yes, but is it carbon neutral, no.

Why is that? Cutting trees and using them as source of energy we prevent these trees from sinking carbon dioxide in a process called carbon sequestration. To put it as simply as possible the less trees there are the less forests are able to sink CO2 from the atmosphere.

Some would say let us use dead trees. They will do the trick and biomass can be labeled as carbon-neutral. Sadly not, because science has showed that even deed trees contribute to carbon sequestration by adding organic matter to the soil.

Many scientists prefer other renewable energy options and claim that biomass harvesting contributes to CO2 rise in the atmosphere. Thus when discussing advantages of biomass we should avoid carbon-neutral labeling.

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Obama focuses primarily on solar energy

There are plenty of different renewable energy sources to choose from such as wind and hydropower but for U.S. president Obama solar seems to be the biggest thing of them all.

This was clearly seen at the National Clean Energy Summit, where Obama couldn't stress enough the importance of solar energy. Among other things Obama noted that "solar industry now employs twice as many Americans as mining coal."

This shouldn't come as surprise because his administration already announced series of measures to increase solar power construction, such as additional $1 billion in loan guarantee authority available in a federal program for innovative versions of residential rooftop solar systems.

The biggest effect on making better use of solar power should however come from the Clean Power Plan, which requires states to cut carbon emissions by an average of 32 percent. This recently announced plan should provide incentives for much of those reductions to come from renewable energy projects, and with solar energy industry booming, it is expected to take a frontrunner seat.

Despite the rapid growth of solar energy industry, solar power still provides less than 1 percent of the electricity generated in the United States. In 2014, renewable energy sources provided just 13 percent of the nation’s electricity, meaning that the nation is still heavily dependent upon fossil fuels.

Despite the rapid growth, solar energy industry still has to be wary of inadequate planning. The last thing solar energy industry needs is another failure like Solyndra.

Solar energy offers potential solution against climate change as well as clean electricity.  Solar can certainly make a big difference on national as well as global energy market and having president that understands this is big plus for the entire nation.

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Is nuclear power one of the best solutions to halt climate change?

Many people, especially environmentalists have negative opinion about nuclear power. The recent Fukushima accident certainly played its part in shaping of the public opinion because this was yet another major nuclear accident after the Chernobyl. But is nuclear power really that bad?

First of all, renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are said to be far safer from the environmental point of view but this does not mean that we should completely turn away from nuclear power, especially given the imminent climate change threat.

World must move away from its reliance on fossil fuels because decarbonization of our entire electricity generation is the only solution to halt climate change.

The recent open letter signed by the 60 scientists that was organized by the researchers at the University of Adelaide says that even renewable energy sources aren't 100“ environmentally friendly and that nuclear power should get more substantial role in global fight against climate change.

The researchers point out that our environment is also threatened by „land transformation resulting from renewable energy sources, such as flooded areas for hydro-electricity, agricultural areas needed for biofuels and large spaces needed for wind and solar farms“.

The major conclusion in their letter was that when nuclear power is compared objectively with renewables it performs as well or even better in terms of safety, cost, scaleability, land transformation and carbon emissions. Nuclear power is also said to minimize impact to biodiversity in comparison to all other energy sources.

The scientists propose using nuclear power systems with complete fuel recycling as one of the sustainable energy technologies. They also propose appropriate use of renewable energy sources and various energy storage and energy efficiency solutions.

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Middle East needs to push for more solar

In energy world, Middle East is a region associated with oil with countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Yemen having vast oil resources at their disposal. But oil resources won't last forever, and region will have to look for other sources of energy in order to ensure sustainable energy future. Solar power looks to be the most logical energy solution to replace oil, especially on the long run.

This region is blessed with abundant sunlight. Developing strong solar energy sector is really a necessity for Middle East not just because massive oil export won't last forever but also because of increasing consumer demand for oil in their own countries.

If oil prices continue to remain low this will put the pressure on domestic budgets of these countries, and with less profits they will find it difficult to maintain their current luxury because their entire energy policies are based strictly on oil export.

These countries will have to invest in solar, sooner or later. Solar technologies are becoming increasingly cost-competitive with traditional energy sources and are thus more attractive to investors. Strong solar energy sector in this area could not only conserve region's vast oil resources but could also result in cleaner environment. Many cities in this region are infamous for their poor air quality.

Saudi Arabia, a leading economic power in the region, has already announced a $109bn investment plan to generate a third of its electricity from solar power. This positive example should be followed by many other countries in the region.

The enormous Middle East’s solar potential means that with the proper investment this region can not only remain a world leader in fossil fuel production, it can also become a world leader in solar energy production as well.

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Solar energy environmental downsides - Sustainability is the key

Solar energy industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, in fact global solar power capacity increased sixfold in the last five years. Solar panels do not emit greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change but manufacturing process still has some notable environmental downsides.

Solar panel manufacturing requires some toxic metals, and it also requires electricity most of which currently comes from burning coal meaning that solar panel production actually emits greenhouse gases. Solar panel manufacturing also creates toxic waste which if not treated properly could create significant environmental damage. The water use is also significant.

There is also the question of solar panel recycling. Solar panels have an average lifespan of 20+ years meaning that some of the panels installed in early 90's are reaching the end of their life cycle and are about to become obsolete.

At this moment, the biggest problems connected with solar panel recycling are the inadequate number of recycling facilities and small market size. There are still not enough obsolete solar panels to attract big investors because market is still not big enough.

Solar companies from all over the world should adopt different sustainability measures in order to reduce potential environmental damage as much as possible. Some countries have adopted several important environmental standards in solar panel production, in US for instance there is federal law on disposing the toxic wastewater. In some countries, such as China, environmental standards are still poor and there is lack of sustainability measure to make solar panel production greener.

Solar energy will in years to come rule global energy market. Though solar energy is clean energy, manufacturing solar panels is still connected some significant environmental downsides. The rapid growth of solar energy industry needs to be accompanied with rapid growth of different sustainability measures connected with solar panel production

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