EcoRadio

Category: Sustainable Settlement and Agriculture

The Generator is founded on the simple premise that we should leave the world in better condition than we found it. The news items in this category outline the attempts people have made to do this. They are mainly concerned with our food supply and settlement patterns. The impact that the human race has on the planet.

  • Solar thermal baseload comes on line

    In the high desert of southern Spain, not far from Granada, the Mediterranean sun bounces off large arrays of precisely curved mirrors that cover an area as large as 70 soccer fields. These parabolic troughs follow the arc of the sun as it moves across the sky, concentrating the sun’s rays onto pipes filled with a synthetic oil that can be heated to 750 degrees Fahrenheit. That super-heated oil is used to boil water to power steam turbines, or to pump excess heat into vats of salts, turning them a molten, lava-like consistency.

    The salts are just fertilizers – a mix of sodium and potassium nitrate – but they represent a significant advance in the decades-old technology of solar thermal power production, which has traditionally used mirrors to heat water or oil to generate electricity-producing steam. Now, engineers can use the molten salts to store the heat from solar radiation many hours after the sun goes down and then release it at will to drive turbines. That means solar thermal power can be used to generate electricity nearly round-the-clock.

    The plant in southern Spain, known as Andasol 1, began operating last November and now provides 50 megawatts of power, enough electricity to supply 50,000 to 60,000 homes year-round. Andasol 2 will come online later this summer, with Andasol 3 already under construction. When the entire Andasol complex is completed in 2011, it is expected to generate enough electricity to power 150,000 households – about 600,000 people.

    In the face of mounting concern about climate change, developing alternatives to coal and natural gas

    Seville
     

    Wikimedia
    At this 11-megawatt power tower outside Seville, Spain, sunlight reflects off 624 moveable mirrors to heat water pipes atop the 40-story tower, creating steam that drives a turbine.

    combustion has taken on a new urgency, and the construction of utility-scale solar thermal power plants in deserts and arid areas is looking like an increasingly promising option. In the United States alone, solar thermal power projects are now being built near fast-growing centers of electricity consumption, such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The first major solar thermal plant to be completed in decades, dubbed Nevada Solar One, started providing 64 megawatts of power to the neon lights of Las Vegas in 2007, although it lacks the latest molten-salt technology. Across the globe, utilities are currently building or planning solar thermal projects in North Africa, Spain, and Australia, among other regions.

    Some of the recent claims for solar thermal power have been stunning. Researchers at the German Aerospace Center have estimated that 16,000 square kilometers of solar thermal power plants in North Africa – paired with a new infrastructure of high-voltage, direct-current transmission lines – could provide enough electricity for all of Europe. And scientists have estimated that constructing solar thermal power plants on less than 1 percent of the world’s deserts – an area roughly the size of Austria – could meet the entire world’s energy needs.

    Of course, solar thermal has been here before, experiencing a boom in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Its progress then was stalled by collapsing fossil fuel prices, as well as a lack of government support. Today, some critics of the technology fault it for taking up acreage in fragile deserts.

    The case for solar thermal power hinges on economics. The sun bathes the Earth with an average of 6 kilowatt-hours of power per square meter over the course of a day, and a concentrated solar power plant like Andasol is the cheapest way to harvest a portion of that. Photovoltaics – semiconductor panels that convert sunlight to electricity – deliver power at roughly 40 cents per kilowatt-hour, while conventional solar thermal power plants can do so for around 13 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This is only marginally more expensive than the average U.S. price for coal-generated electricity in 2008 of 11 cents per kilowatt hour. The cutting-edge technology of using molten salts to store solar-generated heat is considerably more expensive, but experts expect that price to fall steadily as the technology improves and is mass-produced.

    “One of the great things about molten salt technology is that you can get more energy out of the same facility,” says Barbara Lockwood, manager for renewable energy at Arizona Public Services.

  • Suburbanites flock to Farmday

    Hundreds of Australian families will leave the city on the last weekend of this month to spend time on a farm and learn more about where their food and fibre come from. National Farm Day is an annual event organised by the National Farmers Foundation which has seen enthusiastic response from city dwellers keen to find out more about life on the land. The relatively tiny number of farmers in Australia and currently tough times on the land mean that there are currently more visitors than available hosts. Farmers willing to participate are encouraged to register at the Farmday website.

  • Monsanto files suit against Germany over GM ban

    Related story from  Food Production Daily

    Monsanto has filed a lawsuit against the German government after the EU member state banned planting of its genetically modified MON810 maize last week.

    MON810 maize is genetically engineered to produce Bacillus thuringiensis, which is toxic to the corn borer pest. Permitted in Europe since 1998 for animal feed, it is marketed as a way to save farmers money on insecticides and other pest controls.

    However German agriculture minister Ilse Aigner claimed last week that she had “legitimate reasons” to believe the maize to be a danger to the environment – and believes the Environment Ministry to agree with the view. Although MON810 has been permitted in Germany since 2005, she scrapped plans for 3,600 hectares (8,892 acres) to be planted in the eastern states for this summer’s harvest.

    Now the biotech giant has hit back, according to a Reuters article, filing a lawsuit against the Germany government in the administrative court in Braunschweig, northern Germany.

    The wire quotes a spokesperson for Monsanto as saying the ban is “arbitrary”. A clause in EU law does allow member states to impose such a ban, but Monsanto claims they can only do so once a plant has already been approved if new scientific evidence has come to light.

    If the outcome of the lawsuit is in Monsanto’s favour, the cost to the German government has been estimated at between €6m and €7m.

    Aigner, a member of the Christian Social Union, has denied that the decision to ban the MON810 plantings is politically motivated. She said the ban is an individual case, and should not be taken as an indication of future policy on genetically modified crops.

    Other bans

    Germany is not the only country to have banned MON810. France also invoked the clause on new scientific evidence that cast doubt over its safety last year.

    However a review conducted by the European Food Safety Authority, requested by the European Commission, concluded that “in terms of risk to human and animal health and the environment, the provided information package does not present new scientific evidence that would invalidate the previous risk assessments of maize MON810”.

    Other countries to implement bans are Hungary and Austria. Last month European ministers voted – for the fourth time – against forcing these countries to lift their bans, despite EFSA’s view.

  • Texas wind farm pioneers radar technology to protect migrating birds

    Texas wind farm pioneers radar technology to protect migrating birds

    US wind farms kill about 7,000 birds a year but radar systems developed for Nasa can prevent fatal collisions by detecting approaching birds and analysing weather conditions

    It could be considered an air traffic control system for birds who have flown perilously off course. A wind farm in southern Texas, situated on a flight path used by millions of birds each autumn and spring, is pioneering the use of radar technology to avoid deadly collisions between a 2,500lb rotating blade and bird.

    US wind farms kill about 7,000 birds a year, according to a recent study. Other studies of individual wind farms suggest a higher toll on bats and birds, who crash into towers, blades, power lines and other installations. Estimates from a single wind farm in Altamont, California showed as many as 1,300 birds of prey killed each year – or about three a day.

    Such direct threats to wildlife, and concerns for habitats, have increasingly pitted conservationists against the renewable energy industry. A handful of wind power projects in the US have been shelved because of wildlife concerns.

    But new radar technology now in use at the Peñascal wind farm in Texas claims to have found a balance between competing environmental concerns – taking action against global warming and protecting wildlife – by protecting migrating birds at times of peak danger.

    The 202MW farm, operated by the Spanish firm, Iberdrola Renewables, is the first in the world to use radar systems to enable it to shut down automatically if bad weather hits in peak migration times.

    The installation, which opened late last month, uses radar systems originally developed for Nasa and the US Air Force to detect approaching birds from as far as four miles away, analyse weather conditions, and then determine in real time whether they are in danger of flying into the rotating blades.

    If they are, the turbines are programmed to shut down, restarting once the birds are safely on their way, said Gary Andrews, the chairman of DeTect, Inc, the Florida company that developed the technology.

    The system spots the birds and assesses their altitude, numbers and the visibility. “With all these pieces coming together properly … the turbines will shut down,” said Andrews.

    Conservationists however are sceptical of such an easy fix. They argue that wind farms should still be sited away from migration routes in the first place, and that the technology does nothing to solve the problem of installations that disturb bird and animal habitats and nesting grounds.

    “The bottom line with wind energy is that it has great potential but it must be done correctly,” said Doug Inkley, a senior scientist at the National Wildlife Federation. “The windiest site may not be the most suitable and one may have to live with having less windy conditions and less impact on wildlife.”

    Even in Texas – where there are virtually no environmental restrictions on wind farms – there was controversy when the Peñascal project was first proposed and local conservationist organisations tried to block the project in the courts.

    The Peñascal wind farm is located on the Central Flyway, a main route for migratory birds in the Americas.

    Millions of birds funnel through the narrow air corridor during the semiannual migration. A study in the autumn of 2007 found 4,000 birds an hour passing overhead.

    More than 30 species of warbler alone fly the route, along with waterfowl, raptors, and hawks. The area is also known as a nesting ground for reddish egret, which the Audubon Society views as threatened, terns and pelicans.

    In ordinary circumstances, the birds would be thousands of feet above the wind farm, passing the turbines without incident. But that can change dramatically in a sudden storm.

    A sudden cold snap, like the legendary Texan “Blue Northern”, can prove fatal for migrating birds, bringing strong head winds and fog. The birds, which typically fly at night, become disoriented and exhausted, elevating the risk they will lose altitude and crash into 400ft wind towers along their route, wildlife experts say.

    “If inclement weather hits the birds that are aloft at that point may be very vulnerable,” said Christopher Shackleford, an ornithologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

    Andrews says his radar systems can avoid such consequences – and at relatively little cost to the wind farm. Forecasts suggest the wind farm would be forced to close only between 40 to 60 hours during peak migration times.

    The US Air Force has been using similar technologies for more than a decade. Nasa also turned to such systems after a turkey buzzard flew into the Discovery shuttle moments after its launch in 2005.

    The radar sets developed by DeTect draw on a network of 148 weather radar to provide real-time information about bird activity. It is updated every six minutes.

    The wind power industry has used such data before when planning wind farms, Andrews said. It is illegal, under US law, to kill migratory birds or damage their nesting areas. But this is the first time that a wind farm will use such data in real time.

    Andrews’s company is also working on a variation that will allow wind farms to detect raptor if they start diving to close to the turbines as they chase down their prey.

    Conservationists are reserving judgment. “The wind energy industry makes bold claims, and they need to prove them,” said Andrew Kasner, director of bird conservation for Audubon Texas.

    He added: “It’s possible for them to do [switch off the turbines], but I don’t know whether they would do it during peak wind time.”

  • Local groups take Gunns fight to Europe

    Local groups take Gunns fight to Europe

    Posted 3 hours 15 minutes ago

    Gunns has described as

    Gunns has described as “sad and pathetic” the latest attempt to derail its pulp mill project. (ABC News)

    Gunns has described as “sad and pathetic” the latest attempt to derail its pulp mill project in northern Tasmania.

    The Wilderness Society and lobby group GetUp! have taken their fight against the mill to Europe, using a leading financial publication to warn overseas banks against financing the project.

    The group’s advertisement in Britain’s Financial Times warns European banks they will be “pulping their profits” if they finance the $2.2 billion mill.

    Gunns is looking for overseas finance after ANZ withdrew its financial backing for the project.

    “It’s littered with lies,” a Gunns spokesman said of the advertisement, adding it was a “pretty sad and pathetic” attempt by the Wilderness Society.

    “We’ve already indicated the mill will use plantation timber only, and not from old-growth forests.”

    The project also will need to meet the most stringent environmental standards.

    Gunns denies claims by the society that a number of banks have shunned the company’s overtures for finance.

    “We have told the ASX, we will be making an announcement about financing mid-year and the project’s start date is still the end of the year,” the spokesman said.

    The society says a number of banks, including Deutsche Bank, UBS, the Bank of Scotland and the Bank of China, have indicated they will not finance the mill.

    The Tasmanian Forest Industries Association has described the society’s action as “tantamount to economic sabotage”.

    “The advertisement … is filled with misinformation and untruths,” spokesman Julian Amos said.

    – AAP

  • Living off the grid

    Q. Hi Umbra,

    You’ve made several mentions of living off the grid in previous columns, and I was wondering where someone should find such things? It seems as though there are secret communities and communes that everyone seems to know about but me. How would you find an off the grid community, or go about living off the grid yourself?

    Anica
    Corvallis, Ore.

    A. Dearest Anica,

    No one is hiding anything from you, don’t worry. You just haven’t met any off-the-grid folks. By the way, if you do find anything that could qualify as a secret community, off the grid or no, I would bicycle fast in the other direction. Especially in Oregon or Southwest Washington.

    woman in gridGrid expectations.iStockYou have two distinct questions, but of course pursuing either may result in an answer to both. Living off the grid mainly refers to finding some way to produce your own electricity and hence eschew reliance on the public electric grid. This is done firstly through reducing the need for electricity, and secondly through alternative power generation via wind, solar, or hydro. So, to go about living off the grid, I would start researching the potential for wind, solar, or hydroelectric power at my own home. If I were a renter, I would start looking for a home to buy in an area where one of these things was possible. I wrote about micro-wind and solar some time ago, and mayhap it will soon be time for this column to touch on microhydro as a home power source.

    Meanwhile, let’s say you do own a home, and you want to start researching whether you can afford a solar array, or put up a wind turbine. You can start with my old columns, which could give you some basics on whether you have enough sun or space for a turbine, but then I would immediately start an internet hunt for solar interest groups or vendors in Oregon in general, and in Portland, Corvallis, and Eugene. I would also keep a sharp eye out at co-ops, natural food stores, libraries, and other places frequented by well-meaning environmentalists who like to post fliers, and I would read those very fliers, hoping for workshops about anything related to off-the-grid living.

    The larger “off-the-grid” scene could include workshops on growing your own food, raising your own animals, serious energy conservation, home energy efficiency … things like that. I would go to available workshops, or events, or festivals, and if I were feeling less shy than usual, I might even work up the nerve to talk to someone who looked friendly. If there were a solid-looking solar or wind group on the internet, I might pump myself up to give them a phone call and start getting information. If you want to meet likeminded people, workshops are a good place to start, whether or not they are directly related to your specific needs. Eventually you’ll meet enough people, and they’ll know people, and you’ll find that the secret club has let you in.

    In terms of entire communities living off the grid, or at least less reliant on the grid: if the word of mouth and flier technique above does not lead you to them, then you’ll need to formally look for “intentional communities” that have an off-the-grid focus. Start with Communities Magazine and see where it takes you. Some of those Oregon intentional communities could be pretty darn fun to visit (this one has hot springs).

    One crazy human wonderful thing I learned about over the winter is kind of related to off-the-grid communities: the Haul of Justice. It’s a group of bicycling volunteers who originally joined together in Eugene and now do yearly rides in various parts of the country, helping anyone who needs assistance. Thanks to my off-the-grid, intentionally communitizing best bud for the inspiring reading about these bicycling wonders, who are now in their own off-the-grid community in Missouri. See, it’s no secret cabal, it’s just human connection—I know my friend, she knows all these people … you will soon know such people too.

    Best of luck in your quest for an ungridded life.

    Zingily,
    Umbra