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  • Portable solar for African villages

    Solartech International from Luxembourg has released a Portable Solar panel
    designed for use in sub saharan Africa, which it claims can free
    villagers from the tyranny of darkness or reliance on dirty and
    increasingly expensive kerosene. The unit is the size of a shipping
    container and will power a village of 1,500 inhabitants.

    The unit stores enough energy to deliver power evenly over a 24 hour
    period regardless of the weather.

    By delivering the solar power station as a complete unit designed for a
    small community, the system avoids the infrastructure cost of
    building an electricity grid. Individual units can be attached to
    high energy use buildings like hospitals and backed up by other forms
    of generation.

    There
    are a number of companies in Europe under the brand SolarTec. Solar
    Tec AG in Germany     uses solar concentrating technology, such as that
    pioneered by Green and Gold Energy in Australia. Green and GoldEnergy won the ABC television program New Inventors in 2005 for their original suncube and were featured on the first ever Generator here on Bay FM. 

    The
    concentrator focuses the sun on a smaller area, making more efficient
    use of the photovoltaic cells that convert the sun’s energy into
    electricity and reducing costs. By using fresnel lenses, similar to
    the plastic lenses available for rear windows of cars, the unit can
    be manufactured very cheaply.

    It
    does not appear that this technology is being used in the portable unit being shipped to African villages.

    A
    range of portable solar solutions are now available, ranging from
    units designed for camping and other traveling applications, through
    to semi-permanent installations that need to be able to be moved when
    necessary.

    The
    Generator’s own Malcolm McKenzie has developed one such solution
    using thin film panels that fold up into a flat pack that can fit
    into a car boot.

    Www.solartec.lu

    Www.portasolar.com.au

    www.solartec-ag.com

    www.greenandgoldenergy.com.au

  • Yarrow

    One of the oldest herbs used by humankind, yarrow has always been associated with ritual & tradition.
    Counted as one of the nine herbs sacred to the Anglo-Saxons, the name Yarrow is in fact a modern corruption of its Anglo-Saxon name – gearwe.
    Yarrow was also sacred to the Druids who used the stems to divine the weather, and if we are to believe ancient writers, with much more accuracy than we do today with modern satellite imaging.
    Similarly in Chinese divination the dried and stripped stalks of yarrow were thrown to consult the I Ching – Book of Changes.
    The highlanders of Scotland traditionally made yarrow ointment for application to wounds, a tradition which has continued up until modern times.

    Known to the ancients as ‘ herba militaris’ or ‘the soldiers herb’, it is on the battlefield throughout the ages that yarrow  provided one of its greatest services.
    Wounds from swords, spears or arrows were not stitched; instead yarrow was applied directly to the wound and even packed inside the wound to staunch blood loss and reduce the amount of swelling, enabling the wound to swiftly close by itself. Many other common names reflect this usage including “Wound-wort”, “Staunchgrass”, “Sanguinary” and “Knight’s Milfoil”.
    We may attribute this valuable function of yarrow to its potent astringency. Astringent herbs tighten, tone, bind and contract, effectively equalising fluid levels in body tissue. Because of this balancing effect astringents have on fluid levels in the body, herbalists prescribe yarrow for conditions which involve fluid loss including diarrhoea, dysentery and both internal and external haemorrhages; and for those involving fluid retention i.e. oedema.
    Another common name “Nosebleed” gives further testament to its astringency.
    A fresh leaf of yarrow placed in the nose will cause a nosebleed and relieve the pressure which is caused by certain types of migraine. Alternately a much smaller dose of yarrow can staunch a nosebleed. A treatment which should not however be attempted by anyone who does not possess professional training and experience.

    Yarrow is of most use in the household when the dried aerial parts of the plant are brewed into a tea. Prepared as such, yarrow can be used to help overcome cold and flu, lower a fever and as a general tonic when the days load seems more than you can bare.
     It is not a drink that should be relied on regularly but rather one that should be used only in times of real challenge, for that extra bit of strength. Pick a piece of yarrow from the garden next time you happen to cut yourself whilst preparing dinner or shaving, apply it to the wound, and watch as this truly amazing plant goes to work.

    As every organic gardener knows, this herb is as useful in the garden as it was on the battlefield in days gone by. One of the five herbs used in composting, yarrow acts as a catalyst in the process, speeding up the rate of fermentation to such an extent that you will be astonished, and the pile will be ready to turn out within 8 weeks. Only a couple of leaves is all that is required for an average sized compost bin, if you add any more it will have the opposite effect.
    Not only does yarrow provide strength to humans, but it also has a healthy effect on all plants in the garden that grow within a close proximity to it.
    Being such a hardy plant, rarely troubled by insect pests and spreading rapidly, once introduced into the garden you will always have more than enough yarrow on hand to meet your household and garden needs as well as those of your neighbours.

  • Hot tub Technology

    Dr Barrett says the heaters could be switched on and off rapidly to compensate for the erratic output of wind turbines and solar panels, each heater controlled by a gadget that responds to signals sent through the electricity grid – a system used since the second world war. “Everybody is always looking for a shiny new silver-bullet solution” says Dr Barrett, “but this idea is cheap, safe, and based on technology that’s been around for decades”.

    Tea-time troubles

    Renewables are a problem for the grid, as currently configured, because supply has to match unfettered demand minute-by-minute. In Britain power consumption ranges between about 20GW and 60GW (gigawatts) depending on season and time of day. But unlike coal- and gas-fired power stations, wind turbines and solar panels are “non-dispatchable”, meaning they cannot be cranked up at a moment’s notice during half-time in the cup final if the nation is gasping for tea. This limits the proportion of renewables that can be absorbed into the grid – although the level of that ceiling is hotly debated.

    But renewables are only a problem when demand is taken as the given. If demand could be actively managed as well, a far greater proportion of renewables could be absorbed, slashing carbon emissions and raising energy security. And that’s where the immersion heaters come in.

    Dr Barrett explains that 19m domestic tanks, each fitted with a standard 3kW (kilowatt) immersion heater, would provide over 55GW of potentially flexible demand, which could be adjusted to suit the output of renewable generators. The immersion controller would ensure the water temperature stays above a set minimum – so the house would never be without a hot shower – but within a range of 45C-65C the grid would be in control. Along with hot-water storage in commercial buildings, this would provide balancing capacity greater than peak consumption today, and is a key feature of the computer model Dr Barrett has devised to investigate how Britain could best achieve a high proportion of renewable power.

    The model assumes a massive increase in wind and solar capacity; smaller amounts of wave, tidal and hydro; expanded interconnectors to France; and increased electricity storage such as the Dinorwig pumped storage facility in Wales. Existing fossil fuel stations are “mothballed” for use only as a last resort. Using a range of hourly demand forecasts and weather data, the model has shown Britain could on average generate 95% of its electricity consumption from renewables.

    In this system, hot-water storage is crucial for balancing supply and demand: when renewable generation exceeds demand, the surplus is exported to the continent, and used to recharge electrical storage and hot water tanks; when demand exceeds renewable generation, the shortfall is made up by turning off water heaters, drawing on electricity storage and imports, and firing up old fossil fuel stations.

    Dr Barrett claims the immersion heaters could be controlled using a system called ripple control, where high-frequency pulses are sent through the mains and received by a device on each water heater that turns power off and on as required. The system has been used for decades in New Zealand, where the grid company can now reduce peak demand by about 13%, and so defer expensive investments in new power stations. In Florida, where the local power company has struggled to cope with demand caused by a 50-year housing boom, 700,000 customers receive a monthly rebate for handing over control of their hot water heaters, and the utility has avoided building a 1GW power station as a result. In South Africa, ripple control is being introduced to prevent a repeat of the rolling blackouts that crippled the country last year.

    Peak practice

    Experts warn balancing the entire grid in real time is massively more complicated than occasionally reducing peak demand, and question whether ripple control could do the job. Dr Graeme Bathurst, technical director of the Manchester-based grid consultancy TNEI, says that different numbers of water heaters would need to be turned on and off every minute of the day, yet a traditional ripple-control system – which only transmits instructions, and cannot receive information from water tanks – would not know how much flexible capacity was available at any moment, nor how many heaters to control. “There is massive potential in heat storage, and this concept is eminently achievable,” says Bathurst, “but I think it will need a more intelligent system to make it work”.

    Dr Barrett argues that the aggregate heat demand of 20m households would be fairly predictable, but concedes that a modern interactive system would be better. He says it is vital the new “smart meters” the government plans to install in every home by 2020 should be capable of controlling hot-water storage. “But this isn’t rocket science,” says Dr Barrett. “It is quite clear we can go hell for leather installing renewables because we can deal with intermittency using heat storage.”

    • David Strahan is the author of The Last Oil Shock: A Survival Guide to the Imminent Extinction of Petroleum Man

  • Chamomile – The herb of ‘humility’

    By Luke Hughes

    Listen to the interview with Luke online.

    Herbs have been used for centuries to assist human kind in many and varied ways.  A look at the herb, chamomile, gives a good insight into just how herbs can be as relevant to man today as they were  to the ancients in bygone eras.

    There are two types of chamomile widely used by herbalists today: German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) which is a hardy annual and grows upright with fern-like foliage; and  English Chamomile ( Anthemis nobilis)which  is a creeping perennial, growing low to the ground and commonly used for lawns or along garden paths in Europe. Chamomile is well suited to this purpose.  It seems to grow more vigorously when walked, on and releases a delicate scent underfoot,, earning it the title “herb of humility

    Both varieties have small daisy-like flowers. It is the flower-heads which are chiefly employed medicinally.

    Called Maythen by the Saxons,it was counted as one of their nine sacred herbs, and was placed under the sign of the Sun for its virtues.

    In days gone by, it was grown and used by English country folk for their domestic medicine while the whole herb was used to make herb beers.

     

    Strengthens bones

     

    Chamomile was also considered the ‘Plant’s Physician,’due to its beneficial effect on the health of  any plant growing next to it, and indeed the garden as a whole. Organic gardeners still use it today as one of the five main herbs for composting, and as a rich source of phosphates for soil conditioning.

    It is this rich supply of minerals in chamomile, which herbalists find so useful both nutritionally and therapeutically, especially when treating the very old and young. Growing bodies need calcium phosphate at times when young bones, hair, teeth etc., are developing; likewise in older age when degenerative processes lead to diseases like osteoporosis.

    As a tea, chamomile is traditionally taken by all, from babies to the elderly.

    Chamomile acts on the Vagus nerve which runs from the brain down to the pancreas affecting the areas of the face, lungs, heart and stomach. Therefore it has a calming effect on digestive and respiratory processes as well as the emotional and intellectual nerve centres.

     

    Calms children

     

    Chamomile tea is particularly good for hyperactive children and is best given to them as soon as they come in from school and just before bed to calm excited minds to sleep. This in itself may contribute to a better nights sleep for parents provided they themselves have not over indulged in food and wine too close to bed time. A cup of chamomile tea in this case will help digestion and calm any nervous tension left over from the day  for parents as well.

     

    Helps skin and hair

    A bag of chamomile placed in the bath will also sooth skin irritated by overly acidic perspiration, or sunburn. The dried flowers boiled in water also make a great rinse for fair hair.

    Plant chamomile in your backyard today and in the future both your garden and your family will thank you!

     

     

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  • Dandelion

    Luke Hughes – herbalist, organic gardener and permaculturist – introduces the first of his five part series on the five compost activators, the Dandelion. Not only is it useful in the garden but Dandelion is the only known vegetable source of Vitamin D and one of the few plants that supplies vitamin B through its leaves.

    Hear the full segment here.

  • Hemp – Cannabis Sativa

    The hemp plant has been an integral part of human society for time immemorial. In the era of sail, hemp and flax fibres literally fuelled the global economy, money and bibles have traditionally been made from hemp paper, and hemp fabric is warm, resilient and soft.

    The plant also provides a rich source of high protein oils that are useful in cosmetics and food. The health benefits of hemp oil have been respected by many different cultures over the millenia.

    The pith or, more properly, hurd of the plant also makes a strong concrete that lasts for centuries as opposed to the decades that modern cement is rated for. Hemp masonry was used in some of the Roman aqueducts that are still standing in Europe, making it one of the most resilient building materials known to humanity. In this Miracle Plant segment, Klara Marosszeky and Dr Keith Bolton discuss their work to bring a hemp industry about in Northern NSW. Listen to the interview

    Of course, the leaves and flowers of the hemp plant also provide a powerful drug that is used for religious and recreational purposes in many societies. The banning of marijuana by the United States in the early twentieth century has unfortunately led to the demise of the plant’s central role in western society. It is the fervent wish of those working to promote the benefits of hemp that a new attitude to drugs in the White House may see an end to the unsuccessful and counterproductive abolition of many recreational drugs.