Green Cool Hip

Now that Ford, Nissan and Tesla Motors will collectively receive $8 billion dollars in government loans to build green cars, let’s hope America can once again become a leader in auto manufacturing.  Both Ford and Nissan plan to retool some of their plants toward the production of energy efficient vehicles and associated parts, while Tesla will continue its vision of bringing the first fully electric sedan to market.  Although Ford was never among those begging the government for a bailout, it always expressed interest in getting a loan from the U.S. government in order to meet its green initiatives.

Because these loans are strictly for companies that stand a chance to survive in this current economic market, General Motors and Chrysler don’t qualify.  We can however expect to see new jobs as a result of this effort since these cars will be made in the United States.

I’m sure by now everyone has heard about solar panels and how they generate electricity, or even seen one mounted on a roof or a pole.

How about a solar mirror?

A company in Spain has introduced a technology known as Concentrated Solar Thermal Energy which uses the heat from the sun to run turbines that in turns generates electricity. The cool thing is that no greenhouse gas is produced during the process.

Abengoa Solar develops, builds and operates solar plants and installations throughout the world and believes it has the solutions to climate change. Among, their current Concentrated Solar Power or CSP technologies, are Power Tower and Power Through systems. It collects and transfers solar radiation energy to a fluid which is in turn used to turn a conventional power cycle.

The first commercial plant, a power tower plant  (Figure 1) has been in operation for about two years and produces about 11megawatt of electricity, enough to power roughly 6000 homes.

Figure 1.

How it works. A field of movable mirrors referred to as a heliostat field, reflects the solar radiation on a receptor located on the upper part of the tower. It is this heat that will contribute to the generation of steam that expands on a turbine to produce electricity.

A metal tower acts as a support for the receiver. With all that heat, comes the natural need to use water to cool the tower and keep it from melting. However, a cloudy sky or the onset of dusk does not presage an end to the production of electricity. Molten salt storage tanks (Figure 2) are used to store heat collected from the solar field during the day. This system produces the heat needed to generate steam to run the plant at night and produce electricity.

Figure 2.

Currently, Abengoa has a 280 megawatts-electrical output plant planned for Gila Bend in Arizona, which will be the largest solar power plant in the world. It will deliver clean power to 70,000 homes and reduce CO2 emission by 400,000 tons.

Although this will be based on parabolic through technology which allows curved mirrors to track the sun movement, the principle ise the same as a Power Tower. Radiation from the sun is collected and concentrated onto a reflector to generate heat which eventually leads to the production of electricity.

Figure 3.

This plant will create about 1500 jobs during its construction phase and 80 to 100 permanent jobs to keep it humming.

According to Abengoa Solar, “Just using 2% of the radiation that reaches the world desertic area could satisfy current world energy needs”.

Not to be political here, but imagine how far the U.S. could have been with Solar Technology, had president Reagan not ordered the solar panels installed on the roof of the white house by Carter, removed.

Gas powered vehicles are wonderful, for there are many gas stations and filling our tanks only takes a few minutes.  It does not matter if one lives in an apartment building and has to park on the streets or a house in the suburbs with a garage, filling up is a very easy and simple task.  You are certain to find a gas station nearby.

Can we claim the same convenience for a plug-in hybrid or a plug-in electric vehicle?

Currently, the answer is no.  But a fast growing company known as BetterPlace promises change as it aims to bring battery recharging and swapping stations to communities around the world.

Now, imagine being able to travel from state to state in an electric vehicle and not having to worry about when its battery will run out of charge.  With BetterPlace software installed in your car, you will be bale to locate near proximity battery servicing stations, where you can either recharge your battery or swap it in about six minutes for a fully charged one.  Assuming this ambitious goal comes to fruition, once these stations reach our cities, owing an electric vehicle will no longer seem only suitable for those who live in the suburbs.

Image Wired Magazine

So, Can BetterPlace really make the world a better place?

With partnerships and development efforts in Israel, Denmark, Australia, Japan, Canada and the United States, and already emerging as a leader in bringing standards to the EV market, BetterPlace will surely contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions on our planet.

That’s pretty cool Green technology.

Shall we say Planet BetterPlace anyone?

1. Turn off your engine.  Idling for more than 10 seconds burns more fuel than it does to start the engine.

2. Turn off the water when brushing and shaving.  The average person spends 5 minutes brushing his teeth or shaving. On average, 3.75 gallons of water are used during those 5 minutes.

3. Use a compact fluorescent light bulb whenever possible.  It uses about 75% less energy and lasts roughly 10 times longer.

4. When going on vacation, unplug electrical devices instead of simply turning them off.  They still consume electricity when plugged in.

5. Adjust your water heater temperature twice a year to account for seasonal change.

6. Use rechargeable batteries.

7. For couples with more than one car, use the most fuel efficient one whenever possible.

8. Recycle whenever possible.

These Cool and Green tips will lead to a greener lifestyle and a greener wallet.