vision2020
Fwd: WWN: New Worldwatch Paper: Micropower
Hopefully this post about alterative electricity generation reported
by the "Worldwatch" people will be of general interest.
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>Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 00:15:36 +0100
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>From: "K.H. von Kaufmann" <kenn@freenet.co.uk>
>Subject: Fwd: WWN: New Worldwatch Paper: Micropower
>
>Coincidentally, on the subject of renewable energy.........
>
>>Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2000 16:06:56 -0400
>>Subject: WWN: New Worldwatch Paper: Micropower
>>
>>NEWS FROM THE WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE
>>
>>
>>Worldwatch is pleased to announce the publication of Worldwatch Paper 151,
>>Micropower: The Next Electrical Era, by Seth Dunn. Today's giant coal and
>>nuclear plants are failing to produce the high-quality, reliable electricity
>>needed to power the new digital economy. The paper calls for adopting a new
>>generation of micropower devices that will provide more stable
>>electricity with
>>much less pollution.
>>
>>The press release attached below describes the paper's principal findings. A
>>RealAudio version of the press conference will be available on the Worldwatch
>>web site soon at http://www.worldwatch.org/pubs/paper151.html.
>>
>>You can download this paper today as an Adobe PDF file for $5 on
>>the Worldwatch
>>web site at: http://www.worldwatch.org/pubs/paper/151.html
>>
>>The paper is also available in print for $5.00 (plus $4 shipping
>>and handling,
>>$5 in Canada, $8.00 in all other countries). Discounts for multiple
>>orders are
>>available.
>>
>>To order the printed version, you can:
>>
>>1. Call our toll-free number, (800) 555-2028 and order by credit card.
>>
>>2. Go to the order page on the Worldwatch web site
>>(http://www.worldwatch.org/pubs/paper/151.html)where you can use your credit
>>card to order.
>>
>>3. Send your order by fax to 202-296-7365.
>>
>>4. Send your order by email to wwpub@worldwatch.org.
>>
>>**************************************************************
>>20TH CENTURY POWER SYSTEM INCOMPATIBLE WITH DIGITAL ECONOMY
>>Study Calls for Greater Use of Micropower
>>
>>Today's giant coal and nuclear power plants are failing to provide the
>>high-quality, reliable electricity needed to power the new digital economy,
>>according to a new report from the Worldwatch Institute, a
>>Washington, DC-based
>>research organization. Power interruptions due to the vulnerability
>>of central
>>power plants and transmission lines cost the United States as much as $80
>>billion annually.
>>
>>"We're beginning the 21st century with a power system that cannot take our
>>economy where it needs to go," said Seth Dunn, author of Micropower: The Next
>>Electrical Era. "The kind of highly reliable power needed for today's economy
>>can only be based on a new generation of micropower devices now coming on the
>>market. These allow homes and businesses to produce their own
>>electricity, with
>>far less pollution."
>>
>>The new micropower technologies, which include fuel cells, microturbines, and
>>solar roofing, are as small as one-millionth the scale of today's coal or
>>nuclear plants-and produce little if any of the air pollution of their larger
>>cousins. Already, the multi-billion-dollar potential of the market for
>>micropower has sent investors scrambling to buy into some of the
>>new companies,
>>sending their share prices soaring earlier this year.
>>
>>One group of micropower technologies generates electricity by combustion.
>>Reciprocating engines, traditionally fueled by diesel oil and once
>>used largely
>>for backup power, are increasingly fueled by natural gas and run
>>throughout much
>>of the day. Microturbines, advanced gas turbines derived from aerospace jet
>>engines, are just starting to be mass-produced, shipped by the hundreds, and
>>installed in drugstores, restaurants, and other U.S. commercial buildings.
>>Stirling engines, which can run on wood chips and even solar heat,
>>are becoming
>>popular in European homes.
>>
>>Other micropower systems rely on processes that do not involve
>>combustion. Fuel
>>cells are electrochemical devices that combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce
>>electricity and water. Several hundred fuel cells are already operating
>>worldwide, and will become commercially available for homes in the
>>next one to
>>two years.
>>
>>Solar cells, or photovoltaics (PV), which use sunlight falling on
>>semiconductor
>>chips to produce electric current, have already entered the residential and
>>commercial building market in nations such as Japan and Germany, and for
>>off-grid use in developing nations. Wind power, the most cost-competitive
>>renewable energy technology, is poised for rapid expansion in rural
>>plains and
>>offshore regions. Small geothermal, microhydro, and biomass
>>systems also hold
>>important roles in the emerging decentralized electricity system.
>>
>>These small-scale generators have numerous advantages over large-scale power
>>plants. Located close to where they are used, small-scale units can save
>>electricity consumers millions of dollars by avoiding costly new
>>investments in
>>central power plants and distribution systems.
>>
>>Micropower can also save homeowners and businesses millions of dollars by
>>lowering the threat of power outages and subsequent lost productivity. An
>>electricity grid with many small generators is inherently more stable than a
>>grid served by only a few large plants. Banks, hospitals,
>>restaurants, and post
>>offices have been among the early adopters of micropower systems as a way to
>>reduce their vulnerability to power interruptions. The First
>>National Bank of
>>Omaha, in Omaha, Nebraska, for example, responded to a costly computer system
>>crash in 1997 by hooking its processing center up to two fuel cells
>>that provide
>>99.9999% reliability.
>>
>>Use of more efficient combustion-based micropower systems, relying
>>primarily on
>>natural gas, will substantially lower emissions of particulates,
>>sulfur dioxide,
>>nitrogen oxides, and heavy metals. These reductions would range
>>from 50 to 100
>>percent, depending on the technology and pollutant.
>>
>>The use of wind, solar power, and fuel cells fueled by hydrogen can also help
>>reduce global carbon dioxide emissions, one third of which come
>>from electricity
>>generation. In the United States, widespread adoption of
>>micropower could cut
>>U.S. power plant carbon dioxide emissions in half. In developing nations,
>>small-scale power could lower carbon emissions by 42 percent relative to
>>large-scale systems.
>>
>>Micropower will allow developing countries to leapfrog to power
>>sources that are
>>cheaper and cleaner than building more coal or nuclear plants and extending
>>existing transmission lines. Many of these countries lose the
>>equivalent of 20
>>to 50 percent of their total power generated through leaks in their
>>transmission
>>and distribution systems. In rural regions, where 1.8 billion
>>people still lack
>>access to electrical services, small-scale systems are already economically
>>superior to the extension of transmission lines-and environmentally
>>preferable
>>to continued reliance on kerosene lanterns and diesel generators. To date,
>>solar PV systems have been installed in more than half a million homes.
>>
>>Despite micropower's potential benefits, current market rules in
>>most countries
>>favor the incumbent centralized model. Many electric utilities, moreover,
>>perceive micropower systems as an economic threat, and are blocking their
>>deployment by charging onerous connection fees and by paying low prices for
>>power fed into the grid. Failure to reform these rules and practices could
>>result in the construction of another generation of marginally improved
>>large-scale power plants of questionable long-term economic and environmental
>>value.
>>
>>The extent to which current power markets favor short-sighted solutions is
>>highlighted in the rush to construct some 100,000 megawatts of
>>"merchant plants"
>>worldwide. These large gas-fired power plants, marketed as the
>>answer to power
>>shortages, are designed to make money by selling power in newly deregulated
>>electricity markets when demand and prices are high. But they have raised
>>serious concerns among investors for their financial riskiness, and among
>>grass-roots groups for their negative ecological impacts-as many
>>are located in
>>rural or pristine areas.
>>
>>The risk of locking in outdated central power plants is even greater in the
>>developing world. Over the next 20 years, some $1.7 trillion of capital
>>investment in new power capacity is projected to take place in developing
>>countries. "These nations have a golden opportunity to get the
>>rules right the
>>first time, and set up markets that support power systems suitable
>>for the 21st
>>century and not the 20th," concludes Dunn.
>>
>>-END-
>>
>>*************************************************************
>>Worldwatch News is maintained by the Worldwatch Institute
>>for subscribers interested in keeping up-to-date on global
>>environmental issues.
>>Postings to this list will include news releases and notification of new
>>publications. The Worldwatch Institute is a nonprofit research organization
>>that analyzes global environmental and development issues.
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>>end
>>To contact Worldwatch directly, send email to <worldwatch@worldwatch.org>
>>*************************************************************
>
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