Hydrogen Fuel - India's move towards energy security

Indian Oil Corporation is going to open a hydrogen fuel dispensing station in New Delhi, India. First of its kind in the country. This is planned as a start of new era in new year i.e. 2009 January.

The hydrogen fuel to be dispensed at this pump will use atmospheric air to synthesize pure hydrogen, which will be used to fuel vehicles. The process is called "electroliser" technology, which is the fuel cell technology.

As a by-product the vehicles using this technology will emit only water, while the CNG and Petrol/Diesel based vehicles emit harmful gasses.

Initially this dispenser will supply the mix of hydrogen and CNG roughly in ratio of 20:80. It will cost Rs 50 million (Rs 5 crore) to set up this dispenser. Many Car manufacturers will be involved in this experiment to test their hydrogen powered vehicles. To start with General Motors will test 'Equinox' and later on joined by more manufacturers.

It is in interest of whole world that country like India can resort to Hydrogen Fuel. This will not only lessen the burden from fossil fuel but also promote greener air. And hope so that the prices of crude oil can be controlled. I know that i am being too optimistic, but we have only hope to live on untill we have greener air!!


More news can be read at:

IOC to open India's first hydrogen fuel pump

Fuel Cell

Fuel Cell technology is the one which is used to power the electric devices. For example vehicles developed with this technology gives the benefit of electric vehicles such as low emissions and cleaner running while it gives the running performance and easy refueling, the benefits of conventional engine vehicles.

Fuel Cell is a power source that generates electricity from the chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is fuel and the oxygen is the oxidant. There are several fuels from which hydrogen can be used, the most common is the Methanol.

Electricity produced from fuel cell uses less fuel than competing technologies and emit no pollution when used. The quality of electricity produced is very high and the operation is very quiet.
Fuel cell can power any device that requires energy like mobile phone, automobile, computer, houses, portable electrical equipment, etc.

There is a difference between a battery and fuel cell, i.e. whilst a battery chemically stores and releases electricity, a fuel cell produces energy by reacting a fuel with air. A battery will therefore run out of power and have to be recharged or disposed of. A fuel cell, however, will continue to function and produce power as long as the fuel and oxygen are supplied to it.

Fuel cell are not considered as a source of renewable energy. Fuel cells themselves are not a power source: rather they use a fuel to produce power. If this fuel is obtained from renewable sources, then fuel cells can be an important part of the energy chain, perhaps with hydrogen being used to store intermittent energy and fuel cells converting this hydrogen back to power when required.

The cost of fuel cell is high due to low commercialization but in due course of time as the volumes pick up then the price is certainly going to go south.

There are many organizations working in development of fuel cells like Yamaha motors is developing the Fuel Cell Motorcycle, MTI MicroFuel Cells announced a new fuel cell charger called Mobion, that will give you up to 25 hours of power for recharging cell phones, etc.

more readings for Fuel Cells can be found at:

Fuel_cell

fuelcelltoday

liquid cooling

Now a days we are interested in faster processing and hence faster CPUs, and as the speed of CPU is increasing, more transistors are required and hence more power is drawn. This is in-turn increasing the heat being generated from CPUs. To reduce this heat being dissipated into environment and faster cooling of CPU, there is new technology called as liquid cooling. More can be found out for the same at below link.

Liquid Cooling

Many organizations are working into this direction of using heat sinks via liquid cooling technology. This will increase the energy efficiencies, result in a a reduced carbon footprint and lead to environmental sustainability.

Alcatel-Lucent is having technology fair where such technologies will be showcased.
below is the link where more can be read about the product on display.

Alcatel-Lucent Innovation Days

Save Energy, Save Money

need more tips on saving energy?
Google is trying every bit of it to pitch in the cause.

some tips from them:

http://www.google.com/hauntedhouse08/tips.html

Calculate your savings on energy

just an eyewasher.
below is a link where one can retrospect how much can be saved on energy. The savings will be from efficient usage of power and some common sense. There are no sacrifices to be made but one has to be bit rational in his/her activities.

http://www.google.com/hauntedhouse08/

Floating Wind Turbines

While our oceans house an eco-system, they also house a massive store of WIND ENERGY for us. The sea is becoming the prime real estate for generating renewable energy. Wind Turbines can be placed in sea where the large amount of alternate energy can be tapped. This energy will be cheaper and eco-friendly, as usual.

North Sea is first place where this is being carried out. Each turbine can be generating 5 MW energy to power atleast 3000 homes.

The technology used is deep water technology, where the system holds a 200 meter tall steel tube with an attached turbine and three 60-meter-long blade. The tube is 50-70 meter deep in water, rest above sea level. The turbine is tied to sea bed to keep it in place. Being far from sea shore there is less disturbance and disruptions, hence generating more power than surface turbines. Also the WIND is stronger at the mid of sea.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/oct/14/windfarms

Google is promoting research to generate Energy from beneath...

The energy from the heat beneath the earth's surface is essentially an unlimited resource. What if it could be developed to help solve our energy challenges and fight global warming? Enhanced Geothermal Systems, or EGS, attempts to do just that. EGS produces heat and electricity by harnessing the energy from hot rock deep below the earth's surface, expanding the potential of traditional geothermal energy by orders of magnitude. EGS is a big challenge, but with the potential to power the world many times over, it demands our immediate attention.

http://google.org/egs/index.html

http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/aug/22forbes.htm

Environment Services - New Wave of upcoming opportunity

Environmental services is becoming one India's the fastest-growing services sector, as an increasingly industrialised economy and wealthy population elevates the need for clean air and water and the recycling of scarce natural resources.
The Indian government is looking to the private sector to build and manage numerous aspects of environmental services to include waste-water treatment, hazardous waste disposal and air-quality control systems.
There are lots of foreign funds looking to invest in this sector.

Considering that approximately 70 per cent of India's cities do not have adequate waste-water treatment, the financial opportunities in this area alone are significant.

i have found a good paper on Environment Services, link to which is given below.
http://ideas.repec.org/p/ind/icrier/102.html

Thermocole Sheet for Heat Insulation in Rooms

The thermocole sheet is a good insulaion material, used for trapping the air, which will insulate the room from tempreature variations and save on power consumption.

There are ready made insulation tiles suitable for homes, showrooms, office, hospitals, IT buildings, banks and hotels. Thermocole (EPS) sheets are available in snow-white color, which can be easily painted in any color by brush or spray only with water based paints and emulsion. EPS sheets are lightweight product, rigid containing 98% by volume still air entrapped in its millions of minute closed cells. EPS false ceiling and under ceiling facilitate to avoid external radiation flowing directly into the room, either air-conditioned or non air-conditioned. If it is non-airconditioned room then these sheets help in keeping the room cool, and if it is air-conditioned room then these help in reducing the power consumption.

A related article which describes certain ways by which the power consumption can be reduced, is shared below.
http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/jun/23infla6.htm

Centre for Environment Education (CEE)

I have found an NGO, Centre for Environment Education (CEE), which is doing a march ahead in the direction of educating the people on how to protect its environment.
Today, CEE works for a wide range of sectors, target groups and geographical areas. CEE sees a major opportunity in the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-14) to further contribute towards sustainable development.

They have a grants program ie Small Grants Programme (SGP), funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), seeks to support initiatives, which demonstrate community-based innovative, gender sensitive approaches and lessons learned from other development projects in order to reduce threats to the local and global environment.
SGP is administered by the UNDP and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), Government of India. It is being implemented by Centre for Environment Education (CEE) as the National Host Institution (NHI) since September 2000.

The areas in which the work by local/global bodies is supported :
Biodiversity conservation
Climate Change Mitigation
Protection of International Waters
Prevention of Land Degradation
Phasing out Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Under the SGP program the financial support is also provided, depending on the project report.
more details are available at below link:

http://www.ceeindia.org/cee/partners_sgp.html

one can also participate in this:

http://www.ceeindia.org/cee/pr/campaign.asp#vote

Tips to use AC efficiently

When buying an Air Conditioner consider an ENERGY STAR qualified model. They use at least 10 percent less energy than standard models.
Be sure to insulate room air conditioners from the outside with a tight-fitting a/c unit cover, available at your local home improvement center or hardware store. This keeps heated/cool air from escaping outside. Alternately, you can remove the window unit in the winter months to prevent energy losses. Be sure the window unit fits tightly in the window so outdoor air is not getting in. Large window a/c units should have their own separate electrical circuit so the system is not over-loaded.

A proper sizing and quality installation are critical to your home's energy efficiency and comfort. Remember: Bigger doesn't always mean better. Oversized equipment can cause reduced comfort and excessive noise. Oversizing also can shorten the life of the equipment by causing it to cycle on and off more frequently than a properly sized unit. However, undersized equipment can reduce the efficiency and accelerate wear on system components, leading to early failure.

Move the AC thermostat up and save energy

Move the thermostat of the room AC to 25 C and save about 900 kg of CO2 per year. Cleaning your A/C filters each month can save 150 kg of carbon dioxide per year. These simple adjustments can be a big saving for you.

Correct room temperature and regular cleaning of air filter will increase cooling and energy effeciency.

Laptop is energy efficient

Laptop is more energy efficient than Desktop as it uses 5 times lesser energy than a PC. A laptop uses around 15 - 30 Watts of electricity whereas a desktop uses around 100 - 150 Watts of electricity.
Even if someone plans to buy a desktop then better to go for a a LCD screen than a normal CRT colour monitor. Since LCD would use around 30-40% of power used by a CRT monitor. For example LCD would take 40Watts compared to around 100 Watts of electricity by CRT monitor.

Laptop is designed to run with battery most of the time, so the energy quotent is very low while designing the desktop there was no such consideration in mind. THough it is always suggested to enable to energy saving ode for the PC.

Today is World Environment Day

Today is the World Environment Day, and we all are celebrating by using our cars, ACs, Refrigerators etc. Normally we human beings exhale around 900 grams of CO2 every day, but each person’s ‘direct’ emissions, from household energy and transportation, amounts to about 10 tons of CO2 per person. In 2002, the US emitted 6,862 million tons of carbon dioxide, or 23.66 tons per person. The rest is from the commercial, industrial and non-residential transportation sectors, essentially producing the products and services we consume every day. This CO2 emission has to reduce otherwise one day will come when we will starve for Oxygen and water.

New York City produces nearly 1% of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions - an amount that puts it on par with Ireland and Portugal - according to a city study.

This environment lets take a pledge to reduce the carbon footprint. If each individual particpates then we can achieve the target of a happy earth and fresh environment around us. We should look for resources and initiatives that promote low carbon economies and lifestyles, such as improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, forest conservation and eco-friendly consumption.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Earth/Developmental_Issues/Lets_kick_the_CO2_habit/articleshow/3101562.cms

CO2 is one of the major greenhouse gases which has trigerred the global warming, and before the situation becomes unrepairable we have to act now to reduce its emissions.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Earth/Pollution/World_Environment_Day_calls_for_end_to_carbon_addiction/articleshow/3101575.cms

New Delhi Government's Bhagidari Scheme

Under the government of National Capital, New Delhi, there is a bhagidari program under which many programs are being taken up or backed by the government bodies.
These programs are under the 1) Plantation/Greening Delhi 2) Environment Awareness Campaigns 3) Waste Management and 4) Conservation of water.

http://delhigovt.nic.in/environment.asp

India budget 2008-2009 disappoints green brigade

The budget 2008-2009 disappoints the green brigade. It does not offer anything new to accelearate the renewable energy mission. As it was being expected that some new public-private partnerships plan may be announced, nothing has came in that direction.

There are many areas where the Indian Government can steer the usage of renewable energy, but no new directives from big bosses. Presently this sector needs a big push to make steps in right direction, yet it lacks support from New Delhi.

As in my previous post there were some indicatives of funds which may get allocated to municipalities, some energy effeciency projects which the state governments may undertake, but there are no such funds getting allocated from centre, so lets hope for least from the state governments.

Excise duty cut for Hybrid cars

In the Union Budget 2008-2009, the excise duty cut have been proposed, this should boost the sales of hybrid cars.

Finance Minister has provided relief to auto manufacturers of hybrid cars by reducing the excise duty on them from 24% to 14%. These cars are currently not on sale in India, and use a combination of electric motors with gasoline/diesel engines to enhance efficiency and reduce pollution.

Effective April 1, 2008, the move paves the way for manufacturers such as Honda Siel, Toyota India and Mahindra & Mahindra to immediately launch their vehicles that were on display at the Auto Expo in January. These include the Honda Civic hybrid and the Mahindra Scorpio hybrid, while Toyota have displayed the technologies surrounding the Prius in past years.

Both the Prius and the Civic will enter through the import route, while the hybrid Scorpio will be developed and locally manufactured.

This budget may go green!!

This year's budget may bring heaven for people going green!!!!!
lots of opportunities to entrepreneur looking into venturing this field. A 'green venture fund', which could provide seed capital to municipalities ready to undertake citywide energy efficiency along with private partners, is also under consideration. So lots of space here...