17 May 2012
“It is so easy to develop such waste management projects because there really is so much support out there across all sectors for such projects.”
Exclusive interview with Palesa Mathibeli, Senior Project Manager, Waste Treatment Technology Project, City of Johannesburg. She will address the Waste Management track at African Utility Week in May on the first PPP in South Africa to create a waste-to-energy facility.
What will the City of Johannesburg waste-to-energy project entail?
The waste-to-energy project, or more specifically, the Waste Treatment Technology Project will entail a new waste disposal method in which in...
16 May 2012
The factors that influence changes in the electricity sector … Nissan and GE prepare the grid for the EV “culture” … and California is ready to rumble about the net-metering cap!
Smart Grid Sherpa – Power grid changes from Japan to California – the inevitable shift in our energy industry
Elaine Hsieh of DNV KEMA writes that California’s governor issued a “bold executive order” that targets net-zero energy consumption for:
Half the square footage of all state-owned buildings by 2025
All new or renovated state buildings beginning design after 2025
It also requires new or renovated state buildings larger than 10,000 square...
14 Mar 2012
This is the power which will be generated by an ancient technology, “Archimede’s screw," invented 2,000 years ago.
The Queen has installed two 40-ton screws along the River Thames to power Windsor Castle. On connection, the castle will receive sufficient power 90% of the time, reports Smart Planet.
The eco-friendly “screw” is set in to a spinning motion by rushing water. This then drives a turbine, generating electricity. Each 12m by 4m “screw” costs US$1.1m. Installation costs US$1.55m. The contraption does not trap fish due to tubes that run alongside the turbine.The use of these...
09 Mar 2012
US Congresswoman Michele Bachmann often asks why government should tell us which kind of light bulb to choose. Turns out it’s a question with a trillion dollar answer.
We will save US$1.1tn through 2035 because of existing energy efficiency mandates for light bulbs and appliances, according to a report issued this week by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project.
“The Efficiency Boom: Cashing In on the Savings from Appliance Standards” says the standards will cut our energy use 200 quads, the equivalent of the US using no energy for two years. The standards already have reduced our energy...
06 Mar 2012
Bolivia’s panoramic salt flats contain almost half of the world’s lithium stocks but the country lacks the expertise to exploit this sought-after resource, say experts.
What happened
Delays in industrial production of Bolivian lithium are due to a lack of scientific expertise and skilled workers, writes SciDev.Net. But, Luis Alberto Echazú, manager of lithium extraction at Bolivia's state-owned mining corporation, Comibol, says unsigned contracts, and “technical, social and environmental challenges” are to blame.
A research pilot plant, which was due for completion by 2009, will now only be ready in May 2012, and the first industrial...
05 Mar 2012
According to the Plant Vogtle Factsheet, (dated March 2011) seismic instrumentation has been installed for more than 20 years, and has never recorded any earthquake ground movement.
In fact, in the past 300 years, the largest earthquake in the surrounding areas registered 307 on the Richter Scale.
Source
Plant Vogtle Factsheet, March 2011 [PDF]
29 Nov 2011
A continuing black-eye for how US utilities handle Smart Grid conversions. The City of Boulder in Colorado, US has voted to convert its electric infrastructure from private to public ownership. The private utility, Xcel Energy had spent a lot of money attempting to make Boulder the world’s first Smart Grid City. It seems Xcel should have spent...
What Happened
One of the world’s first smart grid cities, designed to prove that smart grid technologies could deliver value to customers, has created a political, and eventually economic, dispute between one of the bigger publically-owned utilities in the US, Xcel Energy, and one of the most progressive, technology-friendly communities in the US, Boulder, Colorado, resulting in bad news for all concerned.
Background
Xcel Energy, an electric utility serving eight Southwest and...
18 May 2012
This is according to the US Energy Information Administration. (2010 figures.)
Read more on the Africa and Middle Eastern energy sector.
Source
EIA - US Energy Information Administration
28 Feb 2012
Brazil tries to overcome 20 years of opposition and plans to build new dams on the Amazon.
What happened
Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, approved the construction of five new hydroelectric dams along the Tapajós River, in the Amazon basin, reports Merco Press. The Brazilian government insists that precautions will be taken to preserve the Amazon forest during construction. The construction system will use platforms similar to those used for offshore oil drilling. This will eliminate the need for urbanization and land links with highways. Access to the dams will be...
18 May 2012
This is according to the US Energy Information Administration. (2010 figures.)
Read more on the Africa and Middle Eastern energy sector.
Source
EIA - US Energy Information Administration
Visit our archive for Global
