Power
April 8, 2011
TEPCO the owner and operator of the Damaged Fukushima Nuclear Plant reproted that its Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant in the Miyage Prefeture also leaked very small amounts of radioactive water.About 3.8 kgs of radiated water from one of the spent fuel rod pools spilled as three out of four external power supply units in Onagawa shut down leaving only one power source to cool the spent fuel. at the Nuclear Plant failed after the 7.4 Richter Scale Earthquake off the seas near Fukushima.The cooling systems have been restored and there is no more damage at the Nuclear Plant like Fukushima.Note the workers at the Damaged Dai-ichi were evacuated due to the Tsunami Warning issued in the aftermath of the Earthquake.These workers have again returned in their radiation fighting work at the Plant.USA said that it seems that the worst scenario of serious contamination from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident has probably passed.
April 8, 2011
India's Wind Energy Market is the 5th largest in the world and is the biggest renewable energy sector in India (non-hydro).Wind Power forms almost 70% of the Alternative Energy Capacity in the country and will have an important role to play to meet India's target of 10% Renewable Energy from Electricity by 2020.Wind Energy is very cost effective in terms of cost and is approaching Gas Electricity Prices.Combined with the favorable tax treatment,accelerated depreciation,subsidies by different sates,Wind Energy has become the favored Green Energy Sector for investment by large private sector companies.Wind Power Plants are increasing in number and scale as larger companies like Caparo enter the Wind Power Sector.Wind Turbine Manufacturers in India are fast expanding capacity and investment to capitalize on this opportunity.Suzlon remains the Bid Daddy of the Wind Industry in India,however a number of foreign and domestic Wind Turbine Manufacturers are giving it a run for its money.Global Wind Turbine Leaders like Siemens,Enercon,GE have started Wind Turbine Equipment Manufacturing in India in recent times to lower their costs.Here is a list of the Major Wind Turbines available in India of different types and capacities from the various Different Wind Manufacturers.
April 8, 2011
Wind Power Plants has seen a phenomenal growth of around 33% CAGR in the last 5 years and the total capacity at end of 2010 was 11800 MW with most of the capacity installed in the state of Tamil Nadu which is the largest state in terms of Alternative Energy Capacity in India.GWEC has set an ambitious target of 65 GW for Wind Energy in India by 2020 which means an addition of 5 GW each year which seems too high given the wind power potential in India is only around 65 GW.However using low wind speed sites may increase the potential besides the use of offshore wind power in India.A number of Wind Turbine Manufactures in India have set up facilities attracted by the domestic market with Suzlon being the biggest Wind Company in India.
The Indian Wind Energy already has the 5th largest installed capacity in the world and is set to grow at a rapid pace driven by investments from the private sector attracted by the generous wind subsidies from the state and central government in India.Most of the Installed Wind Capacity in India is located in the southern and industrial states of the country.The other states like UP,Bihar lacks sufficient Wind Energy Capacity despite having high power tariffs and substantial electricity deficits.It can be said that Wind Power in India is being developed only in the progressive states like Gujarat,Maharashtra and others.To continue to grow at the same rate,the industry needs to diversify geographically but that would need the backward state governments to pull up their socks.
April 7, 2011
Solar Carports are a relatively new Solar Energy Product compared to other Solar Products like Solar Heaters and Solar Cooking.Solar Carports are fast catching on as their dual use of protecting,shading a car as well as providing electricity to nearby offices and buildings.It makes use of real estate that would go waste so it provides a lot of value add besides helping in protecting the environment as well.
April 7, 2011
Seoul witnessed Radioactive Rain as winds blew from neighboring Japan which has witnessed the second biggest nuclear energy accident after Chernobyl.Though the the Rain contains cesium and iodine particles they are well within the safety limits according to the South Korean Nuclear Safety Regulator.South Korea has already protested against the lack of information about the Nuclear Emissions and the Deliberate Dumping of Toxic Seawater by TEPCO.However many schoolchildren stayed at home as worried parents were concerned about the impact of the radiation.China the other major close nation in proximity to Japan has also detected low levels of iodine in spinach in 3 provinces.China had earlier reported trace levels of radiation in Guangdong and Shanghai.Note Iodine has a very low half-life so that problem should not persist for long.However cesium is another matter as it can lodge inside human body and keep emitting for a long time internally.
April 6, 2011
American Superconductor (AMSC) which is one of the top rated wind stock in the US crashed by more than 40% as its largest customer AMSC is mainly a seller wind turbine core electrical components and full wind turbine electrical control systems (ECS).It has also made pilot sales of high capacity super conducting equipment to some customer like Tres Amigas.Sinovel which is also the 2nd biggest Wind Power Company in the world refused to take contracted shipments of wind turbine core electrical components and spare parts.The reason given was high inventory levels but the company failed to explain why Sinovel which is a multi billion dollar company has refused to pay AMSC for certain contracted shipments made in fiscal year 2010.Note $56 million in payments related to Fiscal 2010 quarters have been not paid to AMSC ( which would have been recognized as revenue).None of this was disclosed till now leading to a class action shareholder lawsuit against the company.It is quite perplexing why your largest customer will not pay you for past shipments and then cancel shipments as well.Is it because of some acrimony or is just Sinovel using its massive size to squash a small supplier.
April 6, 2011
The ongoing problems at the stricken Japanese Nuclear Plant at Fukushima may see new problems given the prolonged cooling by water.Note it has already manifested itself as 11,500 tons of radiated water was dumped into the Pacific leading to protests from South Korea and dangerously contaminated fish.Further problems may arise as NY Times reports from a nuclear assessment report on each of the 6 reactors at the Dai-ichi plant.The tons of seawater being used to cool the temperature could result in a dangerous structural damage to the containment vessels of the reactors.Note this unconventional cooling of the Nuclear Plant may give rise to unthought of problems and complications.The spent fuel rods where hydrogen is being generated may react violently with oxygen in the air leading to violent explosion as was seen in Reactor 2 in the early part of the crisis.Salt has also been accumulating in the reactor from the seawater which may prevent circulation of newly added water.
April 6, 2011
Islands mostly are depended on diesel generators for their electricity requirements which is considerably costlier than the normal coal,hydro,gas and nuclear forms of energy.Unless you are Saudi Arabia and can get oil at $4/barrel,the price of electricity from oil based energy sources is one of the costliest.Hawaii in USA pays around 30c/KwH for electricity because of the high cost of transporting and buying fossil fuels for its power plants.These islands have a huge incentive in moving towards renewable energy because it not only reduces costs,carbon emissions but also helps in energy security.Hawaii has installed a large number of wind farms,is building a big energy storage facility and promoting other alternative energy forms like solar as well.Hawaii Feed in Tariff has been implemented despite opposition by the utilities.
April 6, 2011
USA has been sorely lacking in the fight against Climate Change and Global Warming.Greenhouse Gas Emissions by the US has increased tremendously from 1990 the benchmark year when countries under Kyoto Protocol pledged to reduced their Carbon Emissions.However US has refused to do anything and has not even signed the Kyoto Protocol.The hopelessly rudderless leadership in the US has failed to pass any Clean Energy Laws like Cap and Trade ( not my favorite),Federal RPS etc.Some states have been showing proactive leadership like California despite massive opposition by the powerful oil and gas lobby (Valero,Koch Brothers).Their efforts are being stymied by the very rich who don't care about global warming as they can easily use their money to mitigate any affect on them and the powerful fossil fuel lobby with their thinktank puppets.
April 5, 2011
The total installed nuclear generating capacity in the world is around 375 GW (WNA) with another 170 GW in planning g state and another 170 GW being proposed. The largest nuclear power is Europe with an installed capacity of 131 GW, ie. 34% of the total world capacity. The second largest country is the USA with around 27% of the world nuclear capacity. The installed capacity of USA is 101 GW. These figures are projected to accumulate to 144 GW & 136 GW respectively by the end of year 2035, according to the EIA. Japan & Russia are the 3rd & 4th in the list with an installed capacity of 49 GW & 23GW respectively.
April 5, 2011
Nuclear Power has come under assualt in the aftermath of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident with Nuclear becoming a four letter word.However Nuclear Energy cannot be ignored becauses its benefits are unique in some applications and cannot be substituted by any other means.Nuclear Power also cannot be replaced in the short term from its most widely used application of generating Electricity.Note Nuclear Power accounts for almost 15% of the Global Electricity and in some countries is the major source of energy.For example France which has 80% of its power coming from Nuclear Fission,its impossible to think of shutting down nuclear plants like Germany which gets around 20%.Note even for USA which has the largest installed base of nuclear reactors shutting down almost 200 GW of Nuclear Capacity is quite unthinkable.Besides Nuclear Energy has massive uses in medical and other applications.This cannot be substituted by other means at all.For example its possible to replace Nuclear Electricity by other means like Solar,Wind even Coal and Gas though its costs will be astounding.But you can't replace Nuclear Energy in Medical Applications like Scanning and X-Rays.Here is a list of the main uses of Nuclear Energy.
April 5, 2011
The massive dumping of radiation seawater by TEPCO into the Pacific Ocean has triggered outrage amongst various stakeholder groups.Fishermen are angry at is will massively affect the marine life who are bound to get poisoned by the 11,500 tons of radioactive water which is 100 times over the legal limit.A fishing industry group in Fukushima prefecture has asked Tepco to stop releasing toxic water into the sea near the power plant as Radioactive iodine and cesium were found in fish caught off the coast of Ibaraki, north of Tokyo.The Fishermen are already facing a bad time are bound to get hit even worse from this.Green Groups are protesting this deliberate ejection and say that it might be unethical to dump the water if not illegal under international laws.Green Groups are protesting the fact that more efforts could not have been made to store the water in ship tankers or overland facilities instead of taking the easy way out and dumping it in the Pacific.Note the radioactivity spewed from the Japanese Nuclear Plants is affecting nations globally.South Korea which lies very close to Japan has expressed concerns over the toxic water being dumped into the ocean.
April 4, 2011
Marine Life is expected to be badly affected from the radioactive water.Note IAEA has already found high levels of radiation well beyond the evacuation zone and Greenpeace too has warned about high levels of radioactivtiy.TEPCO has its reputation badly tarnished as it has failed to disclose the levels of radiation and different radioactive elements like Cesium.Note the Japanese Farmers are already facing years of losses and the Fishermen too seems destined to join them as the thousands of tons of water will probably lead to Fishes becoming toxic in that region.
April 4, 2011
Hydro Power is one of the largest sources of energy accounting for roughly 20% of the worldwide demand of electricity and for well resourced countries it accounts for majority of the energy.For Paraguay 100% of the electricity comes from hydro power and lot of it is exported as well.Compared to other sources of Energy, Hydroelectric Power is one of the cheapest,non Carbon Emitting,non Polluting,Mature Energy Source.Hydro Power plants have been developed to almost full potential in developed countries because of their superior characteristics and many more are being constructed by developing countries like China and India.However Hydro Power like all other thins in life suffers from disadvantages as well.The failure of a Hydro Dam can result in massive losses of human life and cause widespread devastation.Large Dams have always been controversial leading to displacement of people and ecology.They have also been cited as the reason for earthquakes due to large land changes.Here is a list of the advantages and disadvantages of Hydro Power
April 4, 2011
India is going to be the biggest Markets for Clean Technology in the world in the lines of China which has already become the largest investor in Green Industry with over $50 billion in public and private investment.India is investing heavily in solar and wind energy and its only a matter of time before other Green Sectors like Electric Vehicles,Energy Efficiency and Smart Grids receive massive investments as well.Finnish Firms with strengths in Electricity Distribution,Wind Energy,Automation are setting their sights on the Indian market which requires large infusions of Technology and Investment.
April 4, 2011
Terra Firma,the multi billion pound Private Equity firm has continued its Renewable Energy Asset Buying Spree spending a monstrous 641 millino Euros to buy Rete Rinnovabile a solar plant owner and operator in Italy.The acquired company is a susdiary of Italian market grid operator Terna and owns around 150 MW solar capacity in Italy which witnessed a massive solar boom in 2010.The acquisition values 1 MW at 4.5 Euros which would be considered not an expensive price given the large returns available for Italian solar power assets which gets a generous government mandated feed in tariff.The solar power plants are well located near distribution end points which is not a surprise since the company was a subsidiary of the grid power operator.
April 4, 2011
Smart Grid as a Clean Technology Industry is gaining traction in the West and countries like China,South Korea .Smart Grid has become important to increase energy […]
April 3, 2011
A crack in a concrete pit near the Reactor 2 of the Fukushima Plant has been found to be the source of leakage of highly radioactive seawater which was said to reach around 4585 times the legal limit.TEPCO had found the crack in a pit near the Reactor 2 which was leaking this dangerous seawater which was being used to cool the damaged nuclear reactors.An attempt to fill the crack in the pit by pouring concrete failed as the water made the sealing process through concrete impossible.Now a new polymer will be tried to seal the crack though it beats me why it did not occur to the engineers there that the water will make the process of pouring concrete fail.After almost 4 weeks since the nuclear crisis began in Japan operators of the plant are no closer to regaining control of damaged reactors, as fuel rods remain overheated and high levels of radiation are flowing into the sea.
April 2, 2011
Vestas the No.1 Wind Turbine Manufacturer in the world has been hurt drastically from low cost competition from Asian companies particularly the Chinese Sinovel and Goldwind which have won massive chunks of marketshare.Vestas has seen a slowdown in demand for its Turbines as Western Markets have cooled off.Vestas was forced to dramatically restructure its operations laying off thousands of workers mainly from its domestic Denmark base.The company is now targeting the fastest growing segment of the Wind Power Market- Offshore Wind Energy.Note a number of companies in the Wind Turbine Industry are testing or introducing Offshore Wind Turbines.Siemens,Gamesa,GE are all looking to steal a first mover advantage in this segment.Even shipbuilders like Daewoo,Hyundai,Northrop Gruman are making aggressive moves in the offshore wind market.
March 31, 2011
Nuclear Energy is facing a global backlash after the Fukushima incident in Japan as countries race to review their existing nuclear reactors.Nuclear Power had been enjoying a Renaissance in the 21st century as the Chernobyl and Three Mile Radioactive incidents faded from public memory.China is the principal driver of growth constructing reactors at a rapid clip to meet its growing needs with thermal power fast reaching a saturation point.Other growing developing countries like India,Vietnam are also planning to heavily invest in nuclear plants.However all those plans may change as the Japanese earthquake shakes up the nuclear energy industry more than the landmass in Japan itself.Note despite the catastrophic tails risks of nuclear power,it is not going to go away soon due to the large installed base and no fast substitutes available.Note more than 430 nuclear reactors are currently operational globally today and lots more on the drawing board.Note Nuclear Power accounts for around 18% of US electricity capacity and 30% plus for Europe,Japan and Korea.France is the leader with 80% of the electricity generated coming from nuclear fission.Here is a list of the Pros of Nuclear Energy.
March 31, 2011
Hydroelectricity is one of the largest sources of energy accounting for roughly 20% of the worldwide demand of electricity with around 800 GW of capacity installed.There is considerable potential still left and developing countries like India and China can be expected to install another 500 GW over the coming years.Hydroelectricity is very important as it does not lead to GHG emissions and contribute to global warming.It also does not have the drawbacks like other renewable energy forms of high costs and intermittency.The advantages of hydroelectricity are substantial enough to far outweigh any disadvantages.But like nuclear energy,hydro power has some tail risks which can lead to catastrophic damage.The costs of hydroelectricity are not a simple function of dollar costs.It should also take into account the massive displacement costs in case of massive hydro dams,the loss of ecology and potential tails risks which can lead to massive payments.
March 31, 2011
India's Green Companies are seeing tremendous growth backed by the nation's massive energy demand increase.The 8% Plus Economic Growth coupled with the already massive electricity deficit which makes brownouts of 8 hours a day normal in many places in the country provides the macro background underpinning the growth.India's Green Industry is still in a nascent state compared to the massive solar and wind industries in countries like China and Germany.However attracted by the massive potential a number of companies small and large have entered the fray.Most of India's large energy groups,utilities have already established a small presence or are in process of doing so.While Wind Energy is the largest Renewable Energy Industry in India after HydroElectricity,Geothermal Energy is non-existent without a single large commercial plant.Biomass Energy is quite well developed and Solar Energy is the fastest growing Green Industry.Here is a comprehensive list of the Green Companies in India operating in the different Alternative Energy Sectors.
March 29, 2011
Hydroelectricity power plants are the biggest power stations in the world dwarfing the biggest nuclear and coal power projects.The world's biggest power plant is the Three Gorge Dam in China which at 22.5 GW is more than 50% larger than the 2nd biggest power station in the world.Most of the world's largest hydroelectricity plants in the world are situation in China and South America.North America also has some of the larger hydro power plants.China is the by far the world leader in hydro power plant capacity with around 200 GW which it aims to double to around 400 GW by 2020.Other major hydroelectricity countries are Canada,USA,Brazil and India.Note Hydroelectricity is responsible for producing around 20% of the world's electricity.Here are some of the major world hydroelectricity power plants .
March 29, 2011
Hydroelectric Dams have disadvantages which are quite different from those of other forms of renewable energy like solar, wind, geothermal or nuclear energy. Hydro Power in […]
March 29, 2011
Hydroelectricity is the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water.Hydroelectricity capacity is around 800 GW accounting for almost 20% of the global electricity capcity.China and Canada have the largest hydro capacities in the world.If you consider Hydropower as renewable energy,then Hydro is the most widely used renewable energy in the world.In fact Hydroelectricity is the 3rd biggest source of electricity in the world after coal and oil/gas.Hydroelectricity power plants can have massive capacities with the Three Gorges Dam in China being the world's largest at 22.5 GW.The Itiapu and Guri Dams in South America are the 2nd and 3rd largest with 14 GW and 10 GW capacities.China is set to double its massive hydroelectric capacity to almost 400 GW by 2020 from 20 GW currently.The advantages of Hydroelectricity are many
March 29, 2011
The world's total electricity generating capacity is around 4500 GW (2007 figures) which is expected to increase by 1.7% each year to rise to 7000 GW by 2035 according to EIA.USA is still the world's largest electricity producing country with more than 20% of the world's power capacity with around 1 Terawatts of Electricity Capacity.China has been rapidly adding capacity in the last decade and the second biggest electricity producing country with more than 700 GW more than 70% of which is from coal fired power plants.Japan,Russia and India are No.3,4 and 5 on the list with 280 Gw,220 GW and 159GW respectively.Europe is the third largest region in terms of electricity capacity with more than 800 GW.India is rapidly increasing capacity and is projected to be the No.3 in the list by 2020 as it looks to more almost treble its current electricity capacity of around 150 GW (in 2007).
March 19, 2011
Chinese companies have risen from virtually nothing 5 years ago to become Top 5 Global Wind Energy Players.The Chinese companies have seen massive growth on the back of a strongly growing domestic market.China which now accounts of 50% of the world Wind Turbine market in 2010 is expected to see continued strong growth with the Chinese government setting a target of more than 100 GW by 2015.The growth of the Chinese Turbine Producers has been mainly due to the domestic content requirement set by the Chinese government earlier.The government owned utilities also favor the domestic companies leading to their astounding growth.