BNP Paribas Fortis renewable energy monthly - Virtual Metals

BNP Paribas Fortis/VM Group December 2009 | BNP Paribas Fortis renewable energy monthly | 17
Technology & research
News
• Dec 4 th : Japanese electronics group Panasonic said it will invest $1bn in solar
power and energy-saving products by 2012.
• Nov 30 th : China announced plans to build a remote-sensing satellite receiving
station in Antarctica to monitor the global ocean environment.
Analysis
New frontiers
Space-based solar power took another tentative but genuine step forward in early
December when the California Public Utilities Commission approved a 15-year
electricity supply contract between technology start-up Solaren and one of the
leading utilities in the state, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). The power
purchase agreement means that Solaren is now well placed to seek investors for
the 200 MW orbiting power station, which hopes to generate 1,700 gigawatt
hours of power annually from 2016. Although details of the rate that PG&E will
pay remain confidential, Solaren said it would be above the Commission’s
benchmark rate of 12.9 cents/kWh. The Commission said the agreement was
“consistent with the state’s objective of increasing its reliance on a diverse
supply of renewable energy resources and of supporting renewable technologies
at reasonable costs and risks to ratepayers.” Founded by former employees of
Hughes Aircraft, Boeing and Lockheed, Solaren was granted a US patent for the
technology (No 7,612,284) in November. Central to the scheme is a 1km wide
free-floating lightweight Mylar mirror that will reflect sunlight onto a smaller
mirror, which in turn will focus the light onto photovoltaic modules.
Boost for wind-power research
US wind-power research received a further shot in the arm when the Department
of Energy awarded grants in late November totaling $45m to Clemson
University in South Carolina. Energy Secretary Steven Chu was in full flow
when he announced details of the new test facility: “We are at the beginning of a
new Industrial Revolution when it comes to clean energy and projects like these
will help us get there faster.” The Large Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing
facility will be located at the Charleston Naval Complex, a former Navy base in
North Charleston, and will conduct accelerated testing of onshore and offshore
turbines with ratings off up to 15 MW.
Norway trials osmosis plant
Statkraft, the largest producer of renewable energy in Europe, started trial
operations of a revolutionary prototype osmotic power plant in late November.
The Norwegian state-owned company began generation of up to 4 kW of power
(enough to boil a kettle) by mixing fresh water with seawater through a
membrane, which creates higher pressure, which in turn can drive a turbine.
“We believe osmotic power will be an interesting part of the renewable energy
mix of the future,” Statkraft Chief Executive Baard Mikkelsen said at the launch
of the scheme. The principle technical hurdle Statkraft is trying to resolve is
increasing the efficiency of the membrane from the current 1 Watt per square
metre to 5 Watts. Statkraft has estimated that a scaled-up plant capable of
generating 25 MW of power would require 5m square metres of membrane,
enough to cover an average football stadium. As any chemistry student will
recall, osmosis can occur anywhere any time fresh water mixes with saline
solutions, suggesting that the process could be more reliable than the intermittent
nature of wind and solar power.
Masdar looks for new cement mix
Masdar, the Abu Dhabi developer behind the zero carbon concept of Masdar
City, has launched a competition to create a sustainable method of producing
concrete. First prize is a cash sum of $150,000 while a second $50,000 prize will
be awarded for the lowest carbon footprint concrete mix. Specifically, the
organisers are looking for: a process that will allow a minimum of 50kg/m 3 of