Bio Energy

Integrated Solar Cooking

2012-05-16T12:33:00.003+02:00

Integrated Solar Cooking:
An Underutilized Solution
Paul Arveson
Forty years ago, Francis Schae er challenged Christians to set an example of care
for the environment. Now, as the earth has a population of more than seven billion,
how well have we responded to this challenge? What have we done about global
stewardship? This article describes a low-cost technology available to the poor of
the world—not a “high tech” electrical device or a new energy source, but simply
a technique to cook with the sun—using a fuel-free, labor-saving device, the solar
cooker. The author’s own experience and that of NGOs is reported. Solar cooking
requires not only a radical shift in thinking about how we cook our food, but
it also has many potential environmental, economic, and social benefits for billions
of people.
I
n 1970, Francis Schaeffer published
a paperback with the depressing title,
Pollution and the Death of Man.1
Although Schaeffer is widely known
among evangelical Christians, this is not
one of his more widely known books.
It was one of the first books by an evangelical on the subject of “ecology” (actually, environmental ethics or what today

is often called “creation care”). In it,
Schaeffer recognized the serious problems of environmental damage in modern life, which cry out for solutions that
can harness our Christian zeal in order
to reduce pollution and rescue the environment. I was reminded of Schaeffer’s
book while reading Jack Swearengen’s
comprehensive book, Beyond Paradise:
Technology and the Kingdom of God.2
Schaeffer challenged the church to act
as a “pilot plant,” to set an example of
environmental stewardship to the world.
Stewardship should inspire Christians to
practical action, both locally and globally,3
and it should lead them away from
eschatological fatalism.4
The Challenge of
Environmental Stewardship
It is not just about us. As Americans, our
thinking about creation care naturally
tends to focus on issues close at hand.
We consider the fuel economy of cars
and the cost of utilities for our homes.
We worry about contamination of our
food, excessive use of pesticides, and
the reliability of electric power for our
freezers and computers. These are the
problems of a developed country. Meanwhile, there are billions of people around
the world who live in comparative poverty. They are vulnerable to their environment in many ways, they suffer
greatly, and we live alongside them on
the same planet. This is an area in which
scientists and technologists can intervene to offer innovative and appropriate
solutions—especially when motivated
by an ethic of other-centered Christian
compassion.
5
But to be appropriate,
interventions need to be carefully considered from the bottom-up viewpoint of
62 Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith
Article
As an undergraduate, Paul Arvesonbecame a Christian in 1963. He received
a BS in Physics from Virginia Tech and an MS in Computer Systems
Management from the University of Maryland. He served as a civilian
employee in the Navy, conducting research in acoustics and oceanography,
and designed systems for signal processing and analysis. In 1998 Paul
cofounded the Balanced Scorecard Institute, a management consulting firm.
Paul has maintained a lifelong interest in issues of faith and science through
his work with the ASA; he now serves as Secretary of the DC Metro Section.
Paul facilitates a Sunday adult class at his church and was a cofounder of the
C. S. Lewis Institute. Recently he has joined the Board of Solar Household
Energy. He also currently serves on the Board of Managers of the Washington
Academy of Sciences.
Paul Arvesonthe recipient. Thus, a first step in planning aid programs is to visualize in some detail the actual situation of the person in need. Constructing scenarios of
people different from ourselves may lead to a better
understanding of their needs. Such a scenario is provided in the example below, based on a compilation
of field data.
A Day in the Life of Sarah
Sarah lives in a very sunny and warm part of the
world. She lives with her husband in a stick-andboard house in a small village. It has a bedroom and
a kitchen. They grow enough food to subsist, including beans, squash, and tomatoes, and Sarah trades
some of these for corn and meat at the village marketplace. The family has to drink water from a muddy
creek, because they often cannot afford to buy water
from the tank truck that occasionally comes through
the village. Sarah cooks in the traditional way. She
moves three large stones together, then lights a fire in
a pile of sticks and sets a pot over it. Sarah and her
children are always coughing due to cooking smoke
from burning sticks and dried dung. One of her
children died of a lung disease last year.
Sarah’s husband works in a field all day. For this,
Sarah is grateful; many men have either left their
wives or spend the day drinking and hanging out.
They have four children. The older children stay
around home and play; they cannot afford to buy
the uniforms required to go to school.
Sarah gets up about 5:00 a.m. and lights a fire of
sticks. She boils some water and makes hot cereal for
breakfast. Sarah also makes a lunch for her husband
to bring to the fields. Next she feeds her children,
and then herself. After cleaning up, Sarah gathers
clothes that need cleaning and walks to the creek to
wash them, with one child strapped to her back and
escorting a toddler. She brings home the wash and
hangs it up to dry in the hot sun.
Her children help in gathering sticks for firewood.
They sometimes have to walk several miles to find
sufficient wood, and then they must carry the load
back on their heads. All the local wood has been
gathered already, and nearby landowners are scaring away poor people from gathering on their land.
Often children get injured by thorns and insect bites.
And it is always dangerous for women and children
to be out in the woods alone.
Sometimes Sarah runs out of wood for the fire,
because her children could not walk far enough to
find a sufficient quantity. At these times she has to
trade food for firewood. In the hot afternoon, she
prepares lunch for the children and herself, by once
again cutting up some sticks and starting the threestone fire. After lunch she has some time to gather
vegetables from her garden; she shells some beans
and puts them into a soaking pot.
By late afternoon her husband returns home, tired
and hungry. Sarah has prepared a meal of vegetables
and rice over the fire. She feeds the children, scrubs
out the cooking pots, and goes to bed—exhausted,
coughing, and hot.
Billions of Sarahs
It is estimated that 2.5 billion people depend on food
cooked indoors over open fires with biofuels, much
as humans have done for hundreds of thousands of
years.
6
According to the World Health Organization,
this practice leads to respiratory diseases, accounting
for nearly two million deaths per year, mostly of
women and children.
7
In rural Peru, for instance, a typical household
will burn 3.6 tons of wood per year for heating and
cooking.
8
Such consumption of firewood has many
ripple effects. This wood must be either gathered
by hand or purchased—one of the major household
expenses. Fuel and food preparation consume so
much time that women cannot earn extra income.
They cannot send their children to school because
they do not have enough money for school uniforms,
and they need the children to gather wood and do
other chores.
9
So, in many areas, the education level
is not improving. These are chronic lifestyle habits
that are not affected much by short-term government
or NGO interventions.
The cumulative effect of a billion cooking fires (as
well as slash-and-burn agriculture and other fires)
adds significantly to the amount of black carbon,
10
aerosols,
11
and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Pollution of air, water, and earth (soil erosion) are
evident in many places. The constant gathering of
living and dead wood leads to deforestation and
habitat loss. For example, in Haiti, the contrast
between its barren land and the forests of the Dominican Republic can be seen clearly on satellite maps.
12
Volume 64, Number 1, March 2012 63
Paul ArvesonThe Energy-Poverty-Climate
Nexus
In the year 2000, the United Nations announced eight
global goals that must be achieved to meet the needs
of people like Sarah.
The Millennium Development Goals
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education.
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower
women.
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality.
Goal 5: Improve maternal health.
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
diseases.
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability.
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development.13
In reaching these goals, we need not assume that
development in the less developed nations will take
the same path that Western civilization took—along
with its excesses. It is not necessarily desirable that
the solution forthemis to havewhatwe have. The ultimate consumer “dream” may not be to have a big
home with a dishwasher, a freezer, and an electric
stove (along with all the resource demands, infrastructure costs, and environmental impacts that these
products entail). In the colonial era, the USA was
powered by wood. In the twentieth century, petroleum and its plastic and chemical products dominated. But with the advent of technologies such as
the Internet, cell phones, satellites, fiber optics, vaccines, and nanotechnology, it is becoming possible
for developing countries to “leapfrog” over energyintensive products and to develop by more efficient
paths. In some cases, it only takes a small amount
of technology transfer to achieve significant economic impacts. This article will describe one such
technology.
Daniel Kammen, a climate expert at the World
Bank, noted that there is a “nexus” between energy,
poverty, and climate change.
14
All three challenges
are complementary; they impact each other. For
example, as the story of Sarah’s lifestyle indicates,
reducing the need for firewood can also have
an impact on poverty and climate change. Cooking
over a fire is a major part of daily life, primarily of
women. Moreover, the cost of fuel, or the labor in
collecting firewood, is often a significant fraction of
total household costs.
15
Because biomass fire-based
cooking takes so much time and labor every day,
it robs women and children of other opportunities
such as education and small business. Hence, inefficient, fire-based cooking is one of the main causes
of many social, health, economic, and environmental
problems.
16
The Solar Cooker
For many regions of the world, one approach to
address the “nexus” is solar cooking. A solar cooker
is a device that uses concentrated sunlight to cook
foods. It does not require photovoltaic (PV) or other
complex technologies; the only innovation required
is a polished metal surface such as aluminum foil
or metalized plastic film. Although it is “high tech”
in terms of manufacturing, metalized film is very
inexpensive and is now widely used as food
packaging.
There are three basic types of solar cookers (figure 1), with many variations available:
1. Parabolic cookers, which use curved reflectors
to focus sunlight onto a small area where a pot
or teapot is mounted. Some designs include
a sun-tracking device.
2. Panel cookers, in which flat sheets of shiny metal
are arranged to focus sunlight on a black pot.
3. Box cookers, in which an insulated box covered
with a transparent window captures sunlight
to heat a black pot in the box.
There is a continuum from devices that heat by
concentrating sunlight (parabolics) to devices that
cook simply by retaining heat. Thus fuel-free cooker
designs may be arranged in this order:
1. True parabolics with a high light concentration
factor;
2. Modified parabolics (e.g., troughs);
3. Panel cookers with a transparent enclosure to
reduce convective heat loss (This also includes
evacuated tubes and solar hot water collectors.);
4. Boxes with shiny reflectors internally and
externally;
64 Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith
Article
Integrated Solar Cooking: An Underutilized Solution5. Boxes with shiny external reflectors and black
internal surfaces;
6. Boxes with no reflectors and black internal
surfaces; and
7. Retained-heat insulated containers (no light
input).
Solar cookers can also be characterized by three
physical parameters:
• food and container mass
• light concentration factor
• net heat loss factor
The time it takes to heat food or water can be
obtained from Newton’s law of heating and cooling.
The cooking time is directly proportional to the mass
of the food and the pot, and the mean specific heat
of the food and the pot, and inversely proportional
to the reflector area and light concentration factor.
Typically, a solar cooker takes from 1.5 to 2.5 hours
to cook a meal. It performs like the slow cooker or
“crock pot” in many American kitchens.
The maximum temperature achieved by a solar
cooker is also dependent on the rate of heat loss;
at equilibrium, the losses will equal the solar input.
To reduce cooking time, the cooking pots and container walls are usually painted black. But at equilibrium, radiation loss will equal incoming solar
radiation energy (Kirchhoff’s law). Convection is also
an efficient cause of heat loss, so box cookers must
use a tightly sealed box. Of course, for water-based
foods such as rice, polenta, or stews, the maximum
internal temperature is self-limited to around 100°C.
Thus the main cooking requirements—quantity of
food and cooking time—lead to solar cooker design
requirements. Each type and size of cooker has its
appropriate uses. For frying foods, parabolic or other
curved reflectors can attain very high temperatures
by concentrating sunlight on a small spot where a
pot or frying pan is placed. These devices cook food
in a short time, although the reflector must be turned
frequently to keep it aligned to the sun direction.
For emergencies, and in refugee situations, a lowcost cardboard-and-aluminum panel cooker called
the CooKit has been developed by Solar Cookers
International (SCI). Tens of thousands of these
devices have been distributed in camps in Africa.
17
The CooKit design is simple and can be made locally
with existing materials such as cardboard and any
kind of shiny material, e.g., aluminum foil, or even
potato chip bags, candy wrappers, or cigarette
packs.
18
The reflective panel can be used with any
black pot, as long as it is enclosed in a roaster bag to
reduce convection. It can reach temperatures around
120°C.
19
In addition to cooking food, the CooKit is
used for pasteurizing water and milk, because experiments have shown that to pasteurize water it is
only necessary to achieve a temperature of 65°C;
it is not necessary to boil the water.
20
A more durable general-purpose panel cooker is
the HotPot, which includes a polished aluminum
reflector, a glass bowl and cover, and an inner black
enameled steel pot. The glass bowl acts to prevent
convective heat loss. This product is well made and
will last for many years. The author has personally
used a HotPot cooker for a couple of years to cook
Volume 64, Number 1, March 2012 65
Paul Arveson
Figure 1. Solar Cooker Types.
Parabolic Cooker Panel Cooker (“HotPot”) Box Cooker (Sun Oven™)vegetables, rib roasts, hot dogs, hamburgers, and
cakes. He is one of many people in Washington DC,
and other places around the USA who cook frequently with a solar cooker (figure 2).
Box cookers can be made of plywood, cardboard,
or molded polymers. A simple box cooker design
tested in Guatemala achieved 120°C in 30 minutes.
21
One commercial product, the Sun Oven™, claims
to achieve temperatures of over 180°C.
22
Panel and
box cookers do not need to be turned or adjusted
frequently, and the pot does not need to be tended
during cooking. These realities free up time for
other activities. The American Society of Agricultural Engineers has published a standard for performance measurements of box cookers; international
standards for solar cookers are currently being
developed.
23
Integrated Solar—Biomass
Cooking
What does a solar cook do on cloudy days, or after
dark? To provide for this, a modern fuel-e icient stove
is recommended. Many designs have recently been
developed. They are small and lightweight, typically
made of clay or steel with insulated walls. They are
efficient because of carefully designed air flow and
reduced thermal mass. They can cook a meal quickly
with only a small handful of wood or other biomass.
Within the past year, a major effort has been
launched to scale up the introduction of fuel-efficient
stoves, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
(GACC). Funded by hundreds of partners, the GACC
seeks to distribute 10 million efficient stoves (including LPG stoves).
24 With widespread recognition,
celebrity endorsements, and numerous meetings, the
GACC has rapidly succeeded in focusing government and NGO efforts, primarily aimed at improving
indoor air quality.
If food is cooked on a sunny afternoon in the solar
cooker, how is it kept warm for the evening meal
after sunset? For this purpose, a third component is
required: a large insulated basket or box, which is lined
with a thick insulating material such as straw or
wool to reduce the heat loss factor. If a pot of hot
food is stored in such a container, it will continue to
cook and stay warm for hours.
The combination of these three simple devices—
a solar cooker, a fuel-efficient stove, and a heat
storage container—provides a complete “integrated
cooking solution” for people in sunny regions all
over the world, particularly in northern Africa and
the Middle East, Central America, India and central
Asia, Australia, and western South America. Haiti,
for example, is dry for at least half the year—
an excellent candidate for solar cooking.
25
Fuel-efficient stoves reduce firewood requirements significantly. But solar cookers use no fuel at
all. Thus, solar cookers can serve to drive down fuel
costs for the poor, as well as reduce the environmental and health impacts from burning fuels.
Ongoing Solar Cooking Projects
Solar cooking devices are in widespread use in India,
and production of solar cookers is growing rapidly
in China.
26
For instance, there is an institution that
feeds 30,000 people each day from a large solar
cooker installation in India.
27
Solar Cookers International (SCI) has distributed tens of thousands of
CooKits and other cooker products to African countries and Haiti.
28
Solar Household Energy (SHE) is a nonprofit
organization located in the Washington DC area to
build awareness and support for solar cooking. (The
author joined the board of this organization
recently.) SHE has conducted field projects in El Salvador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia,
Haiti, Senegal, and Chad. These projects are being
evaluated to assess long-term acceptance by cooks
66 Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith
Article
Integrated Solar Cooking: An Underutilized Solution
Figure 2. Solar cooking on a snow day in DC, Feb. 2010.in these countries. SHE also conducts research on
cooker designs and is partnering with other US nonprofit organizations to collect detailed measurements to improve cooker performance.
This year SHE established or advanced several
important relationships, and provided technical
assistance to these new partners. The United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) contracted with SHE to train 48 women in the Gaga
refugee camp in Chad to solar cook, and to distribute HotPot solar ovens for them to use (figure 3).
UNHCR was interested in this project as a pilot to
determine if a larger-scale program of solar ovens
is warranted in the camps. The preliminary results
are positive. The following description of the project
is excerpted from SHE’s final report to UNHCR:
The preliminary results indicate that introducing
solar cooking has caused them [the participants]
to reduce their wood use by an average of 25–40%
after only two months. These savings are likely to
grow over time and could be further increased
by additional measures. The users are extremely
enthusiastic about their new HotPots and have
adapted their cooking to use them every midday
meal.29
These results indicate that cultural acceptance and
lifestyle changes are feasible. However, the scale of
the projects so far has been small. SHE and SCI hope
to scale up the size and duration of these projects,
and many plans need to be prepared in order to be
ready for this. SHE is currently working on ways to
develop and test microfinancing practices, so that
in-country entrepreneurs can enable solar cooking
practices to grow organically within a country. This is
a challenging, multidisciplinary long-term effort.
Challenges to the Introduction of
Solar Cooking
It is gratifying to see the beginning of a large-scale
introduction of more fuel-efficient biomass and LPG
stoves around the world. However, fuel-efficient
stoves of any kind still use fuels, they still generate
CO2, they reduce but do not eliminate deforestation,
and they still require users to pay fuel costs and fuel
distribution costs. In sunny regions, solar cooking
can drive down costs, labor, pollution, and deforestation still further. But scaling up of solar cooker use
faces several serious challenges. As Steve Jobs has
said, “A lot of times, people do not know what they
want until you show it to them.”
30
Many people in developing countries do not recognize solar cooking as a potential solution because
it is such a paradigm shift in their thinking about
how food is cooked. This is certainly understandable, and it implies that adequate training and careful adaptation to the local cooking practices is
necessary for effective acceptance. However, based
on recent pilot field projects, there is ample evidence
that many users do accept solar cookers, especially
as they begin to realize the economic, labor, and
health benefits.
Despite the great potential benefits, currently
there is little recognition of solar cooking in the
USA. Field projects are small, because there are few
significant sources of funding, either from nonprofit
organizations or government agencies. Many people
in developed countries, accustomed as we are to gas,
electric, and microwave cooking, are unfamiliar
with the concept of solar cooking. This is indicated
in some common objections or misconceptions, such
as the following.
“Two hours is too long to cook a meal.” This objection
is based on a misconception. Although solar cooking takes more “wall clock time,” it takes much less
actual labor time because food does not have to be
stirred, as it does over a fire. Panel or box cookers
work like an oven or slow cooker in a developedworld kitchen. You put the food in, then go away
and do some other productive work. Moreover, solar
Volume 64, Number 1, March 2012 67
Paul Arveson
Figure 3. Women solar cooking in refugee camp in Chad.cooking significantly reduces the labor and time for
wood gathering, cutting, preparing the fire, and other
tasks. By visualizing “a day in the life” of the solar
cook, one can begin to recognize more benefits that
follow from this labor-saving use of the sun.
“Solar cookers don’t get hot enough.” Of course they
do; people cook with them all over the world.
But like any technological product, a solar cooker
must be “the right tool for the job.” Selection of the
product must begin from the end user’s requirements (including food types, latitude, climate, etc.)
to derive design parameters such as those suggested
above. Users need to know how to orient the cooker
to the sun angle, anchor it properly, and so forth.
Some well-intentioned interventions have reported
poor performance because the products were not
appropriate for the conditions, or because users were
not properly trained in their use.
31
“Solar cookers cost too much for the poor.” It is true
that the initial product cost may be prohibitive—
for clean cookstoves as well as for solar cookers—
but microfinancing methods are being implemented
to reduce initial cost, and the reduction in fuel cost
over time will decrease total cost of ownership. The
economic rationale is parallel to that for fuel-efficient
cookstoves. But more research is needed in order
to design cookers that use lower-cost materials and
reduced manufacturing labor, and to refine funding
methods.
A key challenge is the lack of long-term evaluations of previous field projects. Often interventions
begin with great enthusiasm, but follow-up reports
are inadequate. Cooking is a daily routine that varies
widely around the world; the appropriateness of a
technological solution needs to be carefully matched
to the “cooking facts” of a particular region or village. This requires anthropological data (e.g., “a day
in the life of Sarah”) as well as feedback from users,
in order to optimize the fit for maximum usage.
Video ethnography is a new technique that could be
very helpful in this regard.
32
There are numerous challenges of solar cooking
that can be discouraging—until we are reminded of
the large potential benefits of this technology for
many people, as well as for the global environment.
In fact, solar cooking has benefits that directly or
indirectly cover every one of the eight Millennium
Development Goals.
The Role of Christians in Meeting
the Challenges
Christian organizations are playing a key role in
achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
Faith-based NGO’s have advantages over government-sponsored programs in ensuring environmental sustainability. In a recent white paper, Amy
Gambrill, a USAID official quoted advice from the
findings of the African Biodiversity Collaborative
Group as follows:
Reach out to faith communities for dialogue and
collaboration. The global urgency for a sustainable
world demandsmultidimensional approaches and
a persistent push for ideals based on innovative
and pragmatic strategies. Faith-based communities comprise the largest social organizations in
Africa, representing a repository of opportunities
to spread the cause for sustainability in the continent. Conservation leaders should reach out
to religious communities to collaborate in implementing these recommendations, with a view to
enhancing the capacity for value-based sustainability decisions that link nature and human wellbeing.33
Gambrill notes that a purely technical approach
to environmental challenges may overlook human
values and motivations in the local culture, which
frame the worldview of the people we intend to
reach with interventions. Government-based aid
programs typically have a short lifespan and cannot
sustain long-term efforts. But mission organizations
are often more trusted than governmental agencies,
and they are going to be around for the long term
to encourage adoption of new methods and products.
Hence, some mission organizations are learning to
partner and “piggyback” each other’s programs to
provide better care for the whole person’s physical
and spiritual needs.
Summary: The Sun Is Manna
from Heaven
During the Exodus in the wilderness, the Israelites
became hungry, and they suffered and grumbled to
Moses (Exodus 16). God gave them manna. In the
68 Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith
Article
Integrated Solar Cooking: An Underutilized Solutiondryer areas of the earth, the sun is energy “manna”
from heaven. It is distributed freely each day and
almost every day. Like manna, each one can gather
as much as she needs. Like manna, it cannot be stored
but must be used on a daily basis. But until recently,
it has not been possible to gather this “manna.” One
bit of new technology has changed that: metallized
film and aluminum foil—materials that are now
available cheaply everywhere, and are often considered trash. With this shiny material and other lowcost materials, the Sarahs of this world can obtain
appropriately designed solar cookers and start gathering the “manna,” cease gathering so much firewood, and immediately begin to enjoy the many
benefits of solar cooking. 쉆
Notes
1
Francis A. Schaeffer, Pollution and the Death of Man
(Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1970).
2
Jack Clayton Swearengen, Beyond Paradise: Technology and
the Kingdom of God (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2007), 275.
3
Joseph K. Sheldon, Rediscovery of Creation: A Bibliographical
Study of the Church’s Response to the Environmental Crisis
(Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1992), 29.
4Al Truesdale, “Last Things First: The Impact of Eschatology
on Ecology,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 46
(June 1994): 116–22.
5Daniel A. Salomon, Creation Unveiled (Xulon Press, 2003),
101.
6
International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2009
(Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2009), 134. Regarding the earliest use of fire, see
R. Rowlett et al., “Friendly Fire: The First Campfires Helped
Hominids Survive the Night,” Discovering Archaeology 1,
no. 5 (1999): 82–9.
7N. Bruce, R. Perez-Padilla, and R. Albalak, “Indoor Air
Pollution in Developing Countries: A Major Environmental
and Public Health Challenge,” Bulletin of the World Health
Organization, 78, no. 9 (2000): 1078.
8
P. N. Bodereau, “Peruvian Highlands, Fume-Free,” Science
334 (October 14, 2011): 157.
9
“Lack of a school uniform is often the single obstacle to a
child getting an education,” SOMB report, http://www
.sombstyle.com/pages/story.
10
V. Ramanathan et al., “Indian Ocean Experiment: An
Integrated Analysis of the Climate Forcing and Effects of
the Great Indo-Asian Haze,” Journal of Geophysics Research
106, no. D22 (Nov. 27, 2001): 28,371–98; and Black Carbon
e-Bulletin, United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) 1,
no. 1 (July 2009).
11
Carolyn Gramling, “Aerosols Altered Asian Monsoons,”
Science 333 (September 30, 2011): 1808.
12Ann Gibbons, “Greening Haiti, Tree by Tree,” Science 327
(February 5, 2010): 640–2.
13United Nations Millennium Development Goals Report,
2011.
14
C. E. Casillas and D. M. Kammen, “The Energy-PovertyClimate Nexus,” Science 330 (November 26, 2010): 1181–2.
15United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
State of the World’s Forests 2011 (Rome: FAO, 2011).
16World Health Organization, Health in the Green Economy:
Co-benefits to Health of Climate Change Mitigation—Housing
Sector (Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Press, 2011).
17
B. Loskota, “Solar Cooker Project Evaluation: Iridimi
Refugee Camp, Chad, October 2007,” http://www
.jewishworldwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06
/Solar_Cooker_Project_Evaluation.pdf; and D. B. Wood,
“Simple Sun-Cooker Takes Off as a Way to Help Darfuris,”
Christian Science Monitor, July 26, 2007.
18
Patricia McArdle, Farishta (New York: Riverhead Books,
2011), 180.
19
SolarCookers International,http://www.solarcookers.org/.
20D. A. Ciochetti and R. H. Metcalf, “Pasteurization of Naturally Contaminated Water with Solar Energy,” Applied and
Environmental Microbiology (February 1984): 223–8.
21D.M. Kammen andW. F. Lankford, “Comparative Study of
Box-Type Solar Cookers in Nicaragua,” Solar andWind Technology 7, no. 1 (1990): 463–71.
22
Sun Oven™, http://www.sunoven.com/.
23American Society of Agricultural Engineers, “Testing and
Reporting Solar Cooker Performance,” ASAE S580 (January
2003).
24N. Adams, Household Cookstoves, Environment, Health, and
Climate Change: A New Look at an Old Problem (Washington,
DC: The World Bank, 2011).
25Gibbons, “Greening Haiti, Tree by Tree,” 640.
26United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change, Project 2307: Federal Intertrade Pengyang Solar
Cooker Project, Validation Report, November 23, 2007.
27
http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Tirumala_Tirupati_
Devasthanam.
28G. Simbriger-Williams, “Solar Cookers Everywhere—
Assessing Progress in Iridimi Refugee Camp,” Solar Cooker
Review (March 2008).
29
Solar Household Energy Annual Report, FY 2011, http
://she-inc.org/ar2011.pdf.
30Quoted in Bloomberg Business Week special issue,
October 10, 2011.
31D. M. Kammen and W. F. Lankford, “Cooking in the Sunshine,” Nature 348 (November 29, 1990): 385–6.
32
J. H. Schaeffer, “Videotape: New Techniques of Observation and Analysis in Anthropology,” in Principles of Visual
Anthropology, ed. Paul Hockings (Berlin: Mouton de
Gruyter, 1995).
33Amy Gambrill, “From Practice to Policy to Practice: Connecting Faith and Conservation in Africa,” USAID White
Paper, January 2011.
Volume 64, Number 1, March 2012 69
Paul Arveson
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at www.asa3.org 숤 FORUMS 숤 PSCF DISCUSSION.
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Sources : http://www.she-inc.org/docs/143.pdf

S o l a r C o o k i n g

2012-05-16T11:06:00.000+02:00

Solar cooking is using the sun to cook food. It is a simple, safe, and convenient way to cook without consuming fuel. Solar cooking can help alleviate the burden on more than 3 billion people who must walk for miles to collect wood or spend their meager income on fuel. The map above illustrates the countries which have abundant solar energy for cooking.LINK While this passive technology cannot entirely replace traditional fuels, it can significantly reduce their use.
Solar cookers can bake, braise, stew and fry food. The 3 most common solar cooker designs are parabolic, box and panel cookers.

	(1) Parabolic Cooker: The sun’s rays are captured in a reflector which focuses them at a point under a pot. The effect is like a stove top burner or a campfire. Temperatures can reach above 400 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to fry food.
	(2) Box Cooker: The sun’s rays are received in an insulated black box with a transparent lid which lets in the sun’s rays. Inside the box, this sunshine turns to heat which is trapped in the box. The effect is similar to the oven in your kitchen. Temperatures can reach around 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
	(3) Panel Cooker: A combination of the two systems which is portable and less expensive. Temperatures can reach around 250 degrees Fahrenheit. (This is ample because cooking begins at around 180 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Solar cookers address seven of the eight United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Achieve universal primary education
Promote gender equality and empower women
Reduce child mortality
Improve maternal health
Ensure environmental sustainability
Develop a global partnership for development

Sources : http://www.she-inc.org/cooking.php

Multiple links between household energy and the Millennium Development Goals

2012-05-16T10:54:00.000+02:00

Energy underlies all economic activity and thus represents a prerequisite for economic development. With respect to household energy, dependence on polluting and inefficient fuels and appliances is both a cause and a result of poverty: Poor households often do not have the resources to obtain cleaner, more efficient fuels and appliances. Conversely, reliance on simple household fuels and appliances limits opportunities for economic development, continuing a vicious cycle of poverty and reliance on polluting, inefficient fuels.

Worldwide, around three billion people continue to depend on solid fuels, including biomass fuels (wood, dung, agricultural residues) and coal, to be able to meet their most basic energy needs. Cooking and heating with solid fuels on open fires or traditional stoves results in high levels of indoor air pollution. Indoor air pollution comprises a range of health-damaging pollutants, such as small particles and carbon monoxide, and is responsible for up to 1.6 million deaths every year, most of them due to acute respiratory infections (ARI) in children under five. In high-mortality developing countries, this neglected health risk is to blame for 3.7% of all deaths, making it the most lethal killer after malnutrition, unsafe sex and lack of safe water and adequate sanitation.

All 191 Member States of the United Nations committed themselves to making the right to development a reality for everyone, and agreed on a series of specific goals that tackle many problems simultaneously across a broad front. Household energy is inextricably linked to many of the Millennium Development Goals, and improvements in access to cleaner energy and cleaner energy practices can make multiple contributions to achieving them (see table).

Eradicating extreme poverty: One of the targets established to measure progress in achieving Millennium Development Goal 1 is halving the proportion of the world's people living on less than $1 a day by 2015. Based on the strong link between income and access to energy services - whether at the global level or national level - the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that this goal can only be achieved if "governments act decisively to accelerate the transition to modern fuels and to break the vicious cycle of energy poverty and human underdevelopment in the world's poorest countries".

In particular, the poverty-reduction target can only be met if the number of people relying almost entirely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating is reduced to less than 1.85 billion. Yet, according to the IEA's reference scenario, this number will increase from 2.40 billion in 2002 to 2.55 billion in 2015 and, even further, to 2.63 billion in 2030. Therefore, to accomplish the poverty-reduction target in the light of population growth, governments will need to extend the use of modern cooking and heating fuels to an additional 700 million people by 2015. Responding to this need will require a concerted effort from stakeholders in different sectors at the local, national and international level.

Reporting the Millennium Development Goal indicator on solid fuel use: WHO is the agency responsible for reporting the "proportion of the population using solid fuels" as an indicator for reporting progress towards Millennium Development Goal 7 to ensure environmental sustainability. While this indicator is used for assessing progress towards the integration of the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reversing the loss of environmental resources, the multiple links with all the other Goals must be made more explicit.

Millennium Development Goals	Contribution of improved household energy practices
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger	· The security of household livelihoods rests on the health of its members. Being ill or having to care for sick children reduces earning capacities and leads to additional expenses for health care and medication.
	· Where fuels are bought, spending money on large quantities of inefficient fuels places additional constraints on scarce household budgets.
	· Improved household energy practices provide opportunities for income generation and the development of small enterprises: improved stoves that use less fuel facilitate more efficient food preparation; electricity access ensures a source of light for economic activities in the evening and a source of energy for operating a sewing-machine or refrigerator.
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education	· With less time spent on fuel collection and lost due to ill health, children will have more time available for school attendance and homework.
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education	· Better lighting allows children to study outside of daylight hours and without putting their eyesight at risk.
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women	· Where fuels are collected, this imposes a serious time burden on women. Alleviating this drudgery and reducing cooking time through more efficient devices will free women's time for productive endeavours, adult education and child care.
	· Eliminating the dependency on fuel collection far from home will reduce the risk of assault and injury for women and girls.
	· Involving women in household energy decisions contributes to promoting gender equality and empowering women. Owning a less-polluting stove raises a woman's prestige - both as a sign of wealth and, indirectly, through a soot-free kitchen environment.
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality	· Every year, indoor air pollution is responsible for nearly one million deaths in children under five years of age. Reducing exposure to indoor air pollution will make a significant contribution to reducing child morbidity and mortality.
	· Exposure of the developing embryo to indoor air pollution may contribute to perinatal mortality and low birth weight, a major risk factor for a variety of diseases during childhood.
	· Kitchen fires and kerosene wick lamps are a major cause of burns for infants and toddlers.
Goal 5: Improve maternal health	· Women, who are usually in charge of cooking, are most at risk of chronic respiratory problems, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Cutting down indoor air pollution will contribute to better respiratory health, in particular among young mothers spending time close to the fire after having given birth.
Goal 5: Improve maternal health	· Carrying heavy loads is linked with an increased risk of prolapse. A more accessible source of fuel will reduce labour burdens and associated health risks.
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases	· Several studies show that exposure to indoor air pollution increases the risk of tuberculosis. With approximately 1.6 million deaths every year, tuberculosis is one of the leading global causes of death.
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability	· The reliance on fuelwood can put considerable pressure on forests, particularly in areas where biomass is scarce and the demand for wood outweighs natural re-growth. Depending on the environmental context, deforestation is a driving force for land degradation and desertification.
	· Traditional stoves typically have a low efficiency. As a result, a large percentage of the fuel energy is lost as products of incomplete combustion. These include the gas methane which has a greenhouse effect many times greater than CO2. Environmentally sound technologies, such as energy-efficient devices based on renewable sources, can substantially reduce harmful impacts on the environment and human health.
	· The proportion of the population relying on solid fuels (see map) constitutes one of the indicators to monitor progress towards Target 9, which aims to integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and to reverse the loss of environmental resources.
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development	· Development agendas and partnerships must recognize the fundamental role that clean

Sources : http://www.who.int/indoorair/mdg/energymdg/en/

Cook Stoves on Biomass Gasification

2012-05-05T13:34:00.000+02:00

The technology can be applied in households, institutions (such as schools) and industries where it is used for boiler heating. Biomass gasification household stoves work by a high temperature conversion of biomass in a restricted oxygen environment to a mixture of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and methane. The hydrogen and methane are then burned without emitting pollutants. For larger applications pure oxygen may be used which gives a higher calorific value gas without the nitrogen.

Introduction :

Gasification is the process of converting a solid fuel to a combustible gas. To this process usually a restricted amount of oxygen is added, either pure or from air. A carbonaceous solid material can also be gasified to produce a hydrogen-rich gas by bringing it in contact with steam at a high temperature. Air gasification of biomass produces a low calorific value gas, the producer gas containing about 50% nitrogen, and can fuel engines and furnaces. Gasification of biomass with pure oxygen results in a medium calorific value gas free of nitrogen.
According to Practical Action (2007), 2.4 billion people use traditional biomass for cooking, either wood, crop residues, charcoal, or animal waste. IEA (2006) states that an extra 200 million people worldwide will rely on biomass for their cooking and heating needs by 2030. Switching to cleaner fuels and having access to those fuels is one strategy for dealing with the problems of the health effects caused by the smoke and other pollutants released in enclosed cooking areas. The UN millennium project aims to half the number of households using traditional biomass.
Improved biomass cookstoves can aim for 30% efficiency and reduces the amount of wood fuel used and thus decreases pollutant emissions.In small-scale gasifiers, solid fuels are gasified in a fixed bed; these can be of three types: updraft, downdraft, and cross-draft reactor. With the escalating costs of fossil fuels and gas as a preferred cooking fuel (than fuelwood, residues, kerosene and others), biomass gasifiers are attracting renewed interest. The possibilities for biomass gasification technology for cooking applications are leading to a number of initiatives to demonstrate the potential benefits of introducing them in developing countries. Gasification based cooking systems can be classified in to two broad types: gasifier stoves and central gas production with pipe network for producer gas supply for cooking. Gasifier stoves, which are basically compact gasifier-gas burner devices, have been tried since mid-nineties for cooking applications. Several hundred biomass gasifier cookstoves are already in operation in countries such as China and India.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

Biomass gasification household stoves work by a high temperature conversion of biomass in a restricted oxygen environment to a mixture of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and methane. The hydrogen and methane are then burned without emitting pollutants. For larger applications pure oxygen may be used which gives a higher calorific value gas without the nitrogen. The technology can be used at household, community and industry level.
As a result of an EU technology transfer process the Biomass Fuel gas cooker Model JXQ-10A has been commercialised and is marketed by Wattpower.The Wattpower JXQ-10A stove has fast gas production within 1-2 minutes and can be used in continuous operation with easy recharge of fuel or can be shut down for up to 20 hours and then started again by opening the air entry. It is compact (1m x 0.5m x 1m) for household use but incorporates a blower system which requires 80 watts AC electricity.
[media: image: 1]

In most Asian countries, governments are actively promoting renewable energy projects, including biomass gasification, by providing incentives, although lack of investment capacity remains an important barrier. Firstly, biomass gasification projects are perceived to be expensive as their initial investment costs tend to be much higher than the conventional energy production means. Secondly, it is still difficult to obtain financing for such projects due to financial institutions’ non-familiarity with financing renewable energy projects. Hence, the barriers to a successful application of the biomass gasification technologies in developing countries can be summarised as follows (Asian Regional Research Program in Energy, Environment and Climate Change, 2005):

Failure of past projects which has negatively affected people’s perception of biomass energy,
Risk of being the first to fail, and
Finite size of biomass energy technologies.

Improved funding opportunities encourage the development and demonstration of biomass-based technologies. At the same time, in order to avoid the risk of being the first to fail, technology suppliers need to guarantee the quality of the technology and make spare parts easily available. In order to avoid reluctance to invest in gasification technologies due to non-successful projects in the past, it is important that the latter activities are clearly analysed on shortcomings.
Other barriers to the implementation of biomass gasification technologies are both of a technical and non-technical nature. Important technical barriers are: problems with the feedstocks due to their varying characteristics; gasifier reactor which is fuel flexible, scaling-up aspects and multi-reactor designs; and gas cleaning which is also application dependent (Knoef, 2005).

Though wood handling, storage, drying, comminution and screening are well-established processes without uncertainties in operation and performance, other forms of biomass are not always so well defined and understood. Many harvested grasses can be delivered in bales and these can be handled like straw, but the materials like miscanthus and arundo require specification of harvesting systems and in the case of billets and bundles, reception, storage and handling is not well established. Similarly, good feeding practice is essential for the smooth operation of gasifiers and due to the varying characteristics of feedstock, feeding is often an important technical challenge, especially the feeding of the pressurised systems is seen as problematic due to mechanical problems, gas tightness, etc.

In addition to the development of fuel-specific gasifiers, at present, there is a strong need for fuel-flexible gasifiers that are also able to convert difficult fuels like high alkali and high ash content fuels. Scale up issues should be considered carefully. The designs for more difficiult types of fuels and under very extreme conditions like supercritical water gasification are still under development. The reactor design of gasifiers has not been optimised yet, which requires design and modelling of gasifiers by co-operation between manufacturers and universities. However, there is a confidentiality problem in providing commercial data and funding is not being spent sensibly in supporting the modeling studies when real data is being provided. Hence, the available good models for gasification seem to remain unused.

The consequences of the presence of micro pollutants in biomass and waste-like metals and organo-metals, are unidentified and needs attention in the present context, particularly for synthesis gas production. Gas cleaning for chlorine, sulphur and nitrogen, however, seems to be sufficiently reliable at the moment, although it has very high cost components. Hence, niche markets have to be found for further commercial applications, which requires commercial demonstration plants for long-term testing in association with research and lab-scale experiments. In addition to this, there should be more emphasis on hot gas cleaning such as the removal of sulphur, however, solutions for hot gas cleaning must be cost effective. Similarly, tar removal without producing toxic waste water or cracking is a major point of concern in gasification plants. Another important concern is the quality of the ashes and tendencies for sintering and ash melting; biomass with a high alkali content can create erosion problems in turbines.

Non-technical obstacles to the research, development, demonstration and commercialisation of biomass gasification activities are: financial aspects such as high intial investment costs, competing technologies, long-term contracting, etc.; procedures to acquire permits for gasification installations; and possibly negative public perceptions.

The international development of biomass gasification could be promoted by European Directives, tax measures, fiscal instruments, convenants, action plan biomass, green credits. In addition, networks like the gasification network is a very effective way of supporting development, identifying and prioritising issues, and directing future directions, particularly if they can be provided with financial resources to address the most critical problem areas. Also education and training is recognised as an important tool for promotion of biomass gasification (Knoef, 2005).

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

There are several existing research, development and demonstration programmes on biomass gasification going on in different countries around the globe. For instance, in India, a large number of gasifier projects have been installed in the field so far, including demonstration projects with grid-connected biomass gasifiers. Among the current objectives of the biomass gasification programme ofMNES is promotion of R&D and commercialisation of biomass gasifiers (MNES, 2006). Similarly, in China, the Energy Research Institute of the Shandong Academy of Sciences has developed a crop straw/stalk based gasification and centralised gas-supply system. The system essentially consists of a unit downdraft gasifier (Model XFF-2000) coupled to a gas clearing storage and supply sub-system (China New Energy, no date; Bhattacharya and Salam, 2006).

The University of the Philippines has initiated research on gasification by developing a rice husk-gasifier with two combustion zones and a rather complex gas cleaning train with funding coming from the Philippine Department of Energy (then: Bureau of Energy Development). The primary objective of the project was to demonstrate the technical viability of a small-scale pyrolytic converter using agricultural and forestry residues, especially rice husk. Test runs were conducted at the National Food Authority compound in Northern Luzon. The result showed that pyrolysis of rice husk is difficult, but manageable. The processing of the material is particularly sensitive to temperature changes in the bed and the moisture content of the fuel. Studies on the use of other fuels then charcoal were also undertaken by other agencies such as the Industrial Technology Development Institute and the Forest Products Research and Development Institute under the Philippines Department of Science and Technology. Wood and agricultural waste such as corn cobs, coconut husk and rice husk were analysed and it was concluded that these fuels could be successfully gasified and used to run internal combustion engines for a limited number of hours (Knoef, 2005; Bhattacharya and Salam, 2006).

In Sri Lanka, the National Engineering Research & Development Center is the key institute involved in R&D activities on gasifiers. Several conceptual designs have been developed and tested during the past few decades, but none of them have been commercialised. Therefore, the systems and technologies used at present are basically the designs adopted from India, particularly the systems designed by Ankur Scientific Energy Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Several other research institutes such as University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, Coconut Research Institute, and Tea Research Institute are also involved in studies on gasifiers; up to now they are involved mainly in feasibility studies and field testing rather than technology development. However, at present there is an emerging interest in the subject and these institutes are likely to become involved in the design, development, transfer, and adoption of the technology in the near future (Knoef, 2005; Bhattacharya and Salam, 2006).

The capacity of most developed stoves ranges from 3kWth to20kWth, making them suitable for domestic as well as community cooking applications. Compared to the 5-15% efficiency of traditional cook stoves in the Asian region (Battacharya et al, 1999; Battacharya, 2005), theefficiency of these gasifier stoves is in the range of 25-35%. Some indicative stoves already widely used in the market are:Wood-Gas Cook Stove of Reed and Larson use small wood chips and sticks for operation (Reed and Larson, 1996), producing charcoal as a by-product, Elsen Karstad’s Charcoal Making Wood Gas Cooking Stove for the East African households (Karstad, 1997), the Holey Briquette Gasifier Stove developed by Stanley and Venter (2003) operates using a single biomass briquette with a central hole, The San San Rice husk Gasifier Stove (SSIC, 2005) developed in Myanmar offers smokeless combustion of rice husk in an efficient manner and others.

For the future market potential of biomass gasification it is important that technical issues related to feeding the biomass into the gasifier, thereby increasing efficiency, and the subsequent cleanup of the syngas are properly addressed. One example of an activity which aims at using more efficient gasification combined cycle processes is a project carried out at the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) located in Wilsonville, AL, USA. The project aims at improving the efficiency of power production from biomass from 26-30% to 40%. The effect will be a corresponding reduction in capital costs and electricity production costs. In addition to production of combined cycle power, commercial gasification plants could also produce clean syngas for use as a carbon-neutral feedstock for the production of combined heat and power at industrial sites or for the production of chemicals at biorefineries. PSDF offers a unique opportunity for utilities to collaborate cost effectively and leverage existing capital infrastructure to develop biomass gasification technology.

How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protection :

In terms of social sustainable development benefits, biomass plantation and the gasification of this biomass would help poor rural areas to acquire access to electricity produced in decentralised power plants. This would also create more employment for local people, better opportunities for basic health care, and, as a result, will increase welfare for the rural communities.

Contribution of the technology to economic development (including energy market support) :

Conversion of solid biomass into combustible gas has all the advantages associated with using gaseous and liquid fuels such as clean combustion, compact burning equipment, and high thermal efficiency. Gasifier systems offer economic advantages in locations where biomass is already available at reasonably low prices (e.g. rice mills) or in industries using fuel wood. Biomass gasification technology has the potential to replace diesel and other petroleum products in several applications (see Cogeneration.net). The circulating fluidised bed gasification technology has the advantage of enabling the substitution of expensive fossil fuels with cheaper ones such as wood wastes. In addition, through gasification noxious ash and gas constituents can be separated from the fuel gas prior to combustion in the boiler. It also provides opportunities for replacement of natural gas in heat recovery steam generators.

Contribution of the technology to protection of the environment :

Climate :

Gasification can be considered a clean energy production technology and it can be used to produce fuel gas from different feedstock types. By using gasification instead of direct biomass combustion, non-GHG emissions can be significantly reduced to almost zero and, at the same time, the fuel gas quality can be improved to meet the requirements of different machinery (internal combustion engines included) for heat and electricity production.

Gasification has a unique characteristic in that can even convert waste (from municipal solid waste to agricultural or crop residues, like coconut shells, rice husks and straw, wood residues, bagasse, and others) to a high quality energy source. Gasification has the advantage that it separates the noxious substances from the fuel gas prior to combustion.

Additionally, the internal combustion engines using fuel gas from gasification emit less pollutant than engines running on petroleum derivates. SO₂ and NO_x are, normally, absent in fuel gas from biomass gasification (Tsamba, no date).
Apart from being fuel efficient, gasifier stoves are also emission efficient in comparison totraditional cook stoves.

The traditional cook stoves, because of their very low efficiency, emitmore than 10% of their carbon as products of incomplete combustion (PIC) comprisingvarying amount of tars. In addition, about 100-180 g of carbon monoxide and 7.7 g of particulate matter are also emitted per kg of wood. Gases such as methane, total non-methaneorganic compounds (TNMOC) and N2O are added to this. These PIC emissions are evenhigher in the case of loose biomass or cow dung used as fuel in these stoves (Grover, 2003).

The greenhouse gas emission reduction effect from using biomass for energy production is subject to some controversy as it is important to consider the full life cycle of the fuel and the materials used in the technology and the products of incomplete combustion. Important aspects to consider are:

the feedstock used (by-product of sugar production, biomass distillation or from sorghum, or raw materials which could have been used for food production). If ethanol is produced from a raw material that would otherwise have been used for food production, then the greenhouse gas emissions related to producing this food in an alternative manner need to be incorporated as well.
the supply chain: the distance to transport feedstock to ethanol production site (or whether produced domestically or imported) and the transport mode used,
the production process itself, and
what is replaced by the ethanol: e.g. unsustainably harvested wood stove or fossil fuelled kerosene stoves

For calculation of these GHG emission reductions, it is recommended to apply the approved methodology for thermal energy production with or without electricity project (small scale activities) which has been developed under the Clean Development Mechanism of the UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol (CDM). This methodology helps to determine a baseline for GHG emissions in the absence of the project (i.e. business-as-usual circumstances), how emission reductions below this baseline can be calculated, and how these reductions can be monitored. General information about how to apply CDM methodologies for GHG accounting can be found at: http://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/PAmethodologies/approved.html.

Financial requirements and costs :

Several economic studies have been made on the feasibility and long-term prospects of biomass gasification. The first demonstration projects implemented in Europe showed that investment cost are far too high for commercially acceptable activities; investment costs of € 5,000/kWh or higher are not exceptional. However, it is expected that due to learning effects with operational experience and value engineering, the investment costs can be reduced to approximately € 1,000/kW electricity within the coming decade. Another aspect is the operational costs, in particularly the price of the feedstock, which can both be high (e.g. short rotation coppice) and low (e.g. waste residues). Other costs are related to transportation, fuel handling and processing, as well as labour costs, which could be lowered by process control and automation, and maintenance. Remuneration of electricity and heat can also be decisive in the overall economics of biomass gasification investments. Nonetheless, as explained above, in the short to medium term, biomass gasification is unlikely to compete with fossil-fuel produced power. However, several studies have shown that biomass gasification can compete with other renewable energy systems when capital costs can be reduced and favourable conditions created (see Btgworld).

The relative cost advantage of gasifier systems over conventional oil-based systems depends on a number of factors, such as plant size, cost of biomass fuel, cost of fossil fuel substituted, gasifier system cost, operating hours per year, interest rate, etc. The cost of gasifiers depends quite heavily on the degree of automation and instrumentation. The gasifiers currently used in China and India have low levels of automation and instrumentation in order to keep the capital cost low, but their operational and maintenance costs are consequently relatively high.
The cost of biomass gasification systems for thermal applications excluding fuels and ash handling facilities has been reported to amount to about USD 55,000 for a unit that substitutes 100 litres/hour of furnace oil; the cost per liter of oil substituted per hour tends to be higher for lower capacities. The economic and financial aspects of using a gasifier to replace liquid fuels are extremely favourable across different unit capacities; the payback period for a small and medium gasifier is around 6 months. The replacement of traditional, inefficient biomass-based heat is also favourable though not as much as in the liquid fuel case. In this case, the payback period is approximately two years (Gosh et al., 2003).

In 1998, the first US commercial scale biomass gasification demonstration plant based on the SilvaGas process began at the McNeil Power Station in Burlington, Vermont. The SilvaGas process is a particular form of biomass gasification which indirectly heats the biomass using heated sand in order to produce a medium Btu gas. The McNeil power station is capable of generating 50 MW of power from local wood waste products (Knoef, 2005).
In Sri-Lanka, two companies are involved in the design and manufacture of gasifiers. The leading company is EnerFab (Pvt) Ltd., which has recently been established and produces gasifiers for both thermal and electricity generation applications. In the case of electricity generation, the engines used are gas engines imported from China. The capacities of thermal gasifiers are in the range 100 kW to 350 kW. The efficiencies of these gasifiers are claimed to be in the range of 70 to 80% and the installation costs are in the range USD 200-300/kW. There are a few requests for installation of 5 MW range thermal gasifiers based on Indian technology. The capacities of the gasifier, designed by EnerFab (Pvt) Ltd, are in the range of 1 to 250 kWe. The overall efficiency of these plants are claimed to be around 30% and the installation costs are USD 800 to 1,500/kW. The other company involved with the design and fabrication of gasifiers is Puritas Ltd. The company has developed and constructed a 120-kW gasifier for brass melting industry under a project funded by UNDP (Bhattacharya and Abdul Salam, 2006).

China appears to have suitable conditions to develop biomass based technologies because of the vast territory and abundant biomass resources in the country. As an important decentralised power technology, biomass gasification and power generation (BGPG) has a potential market in making use of biomass wastes (Wu et al, 2002). In spite of the relatively high cost for controlling secondary pollution by wastewater, BGPG is economically feasible and can give a financial return because of the low price of biomass waste and insufficient power supply at present in some regions of China. In this work, experimental data from 1 MW-scale circulating fluidised bed BGPG plants constructed recently in China have been analysed and it was found that the unit capital cost of BGPG is only 60-70% of that of a coal power station and its operation cost is much lower than that of conventional power plants (Wu et al, 2002). A next step would be the development of medium-scale BGPG plants with capacity ranging from 1000 to 5000 kW. Generally, BGPG is a suitable technology in, e.g., rice and timber mills in developing countries due to the large amounts of biomass waste available, so that biomass collection and transportation can be avoided and the operation cost can be lowered (Wu et al, 2002).

UNDP and local authorities have launched a sustainable village-level CHP biomass gasification plant in Jilin Province in China based on the modernised use of biomass (agricultural residues from corn). The project seeks to demonstrate a viable business model and commercialisation strategy to promote project replication on a wider scale in rural China. It has facilitated a co-generation facility which obtained a power purchase agreement with the local electric utility to sell surplus power to the grid, producing additional revenue and ensuring the project’s economic sustainability.
Biomass gasification for thermal applications has become commercial in some European countries, although not at a large scale. Eight commercial Bioneer (updraft fixed bed) gasifier plants of capacity 4-5 MWth have been operational in Finland and Sweden since the mid-1980s; another plant of capacity 6.4 MWth was installed in Finland in 1996. For larger applications, fluidised bed gasifiers have been used for a number of applications; co-firing with coal has emerged as the most important option so far. Seven co-firing gasifiers have been identified thus far in Finland in the capacity range 0.5-100 MWth, including two commissioned in 1998 and one not yet realised. The most well-known among these is the 60 MWth gasifier which has been operational at Lahti, Finland, since 1998; the gas in this case is burned in a boiler along with natural gas and coal (Bhattacharya and Abdul Salam, 2006).

References :

Asian Regional Research Program in Energy, Environment and Climate Change, 2005. The Third National Dissemination Workshop on Asian Regional Research Program in Energy, Environment and Climate Change (ARRPEEC III), Thailand.
Bhattacharya, S.C. and Abdul Salam, P., 2006. A Review of Selected Biomass Energy Technologies: Gasification, Combustion, Carbonization and Densification, A publication of Asian Regional Research Programme in Energy, Environment and Climate (ARRPEEC).
Bhattacharya, S.C., Attalage, R.A., Augustus Leon, M. and Thanawat, C., 1999. Potential of Biomass Fuel Conservation in Selected Asian Countries. Energy Conversion and Management, pp. 1141-1162.
Bhattacharya, S.C. and Leon, A., 2005. Prospects for biomass gasifiers for cooking applications in Asia. Renewable Energy Technologies in Asia – A Regional Research and Dissemination Programme.
China New Energy, no date. Biomass Gasification, Current Status of Development. Available at:http://www.newenergy.org.cn/english/biomass/science/gasification.htm
Ghosh, D., Sagar, A. and Kishore, V.V.N., 2003. Scaliing up biomass gasifier use: aplications, barriers and interventions. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and TERI School for Advanced Studies. Available at:http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/scalingup.pdf
Grover, P.D., 2003. Cost Estimates for a ‘Dream Stove’ for Asia. Available at: http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Dream/paper-grover.htm
IEA, 2006. World Energy Outlook 2006, OECD/IEA, Paris, France.
Karstad, E., 1997. Elsen Karstad's Charcoal Making Wood Gas Cooking Stove. Available at:http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/ELK.htm
Knoef, H.A.M., 2005. Status of Small Scale biomass gasification and prospects, BTG biomass technology group B.V, the Netherlands.
MNES, 2006. Demands for Grants (2005-06), Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources.
Practical Action, 2007. Available at: http://practicalaction.org/?id=energy
Reed, T.B. and Larson, R., 1996. A Wood-Gas Stove for Developing Countries. The Biomass Energy Foundation, Golden, CO., USA. Conference on "Developments in Thermochemical Biomass Conversion", Banff, Canada.
SSIC, 2005. SAN SAN INDUSTRIAL Cooperative., Ltd., Myanmar. Available at: http://www.benergyssic.com/sansanrice.htm
Stanley, R. and Kobus, V., 2003. Holey Briquette Gasifier Stove Development. Available at:http://www.repp.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/Stanley/BriqGassstove.htm
Tsamba, A. J., no date. Biomass Gasification for Sustainable Development. Available at:http://exergy.se/goran/hig/re/01/biomass/index.html#4.5.%20%20%20%20Gasification%20and%20Sustainable%20Development
Wu, C.Z., Huang, H., Zheng, S.P. and Yin, X.L., 2002. An economic analysis of biomass gasification and power generation in China, Bioresour Technol, pp. 65-70.

Source : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/cook_biomass

Combined Heat and Power (CHP): large-scale

2012-05-05T13:20:00.001+02:00

Co-generation is the combined production of useful thermal energy and electricity (Combined Heat and Power, CHP) from the same primary fuel. CHP can take on many forms and encompass a range of technologies, but will always be based upon an efficient, integrated system that combines electricity production and heat recovery. By using the heat output from the electricity production for heating or industrial applications, CHP plants generally convert 75-80% of the fuel source into useful energy, while the most modern CHP plants reach efficiencies of 90% or more (IPCC, 2007). CHP plants also reduce network losses because they are sited near the end user.

Introduction :

The principle of CHP

In the operation of a conventional power plant, large quantities of heat are wasted in the cooling circuits and in the exhaust gases (Figure 1). Using this waste heat for industrial processes or space heating increases the overall efficiency of the process.

Figure 1: The principle of Combined Heat and Power (IEA, 2008)

Since transporting heat over long distances is difficult, CHP systems are usually located nearby the place of heat demand and, ideally, are built to a size to meet the heat demand. If also the electricity is used locally, transmission and distribution losses are smaller.

By utilising the heat, the fuel-efficiency of a CHP plant can reach 90% or more. CHP therefore offers energy savings of 15 - 40% when compared to the separate production and supply of electricity and heat from conventional power stations and boilers, depending on the type of system it replaces (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Efficiency rates of separate and cogenerated production of electricity and heat (IEA, 2008)

CHP technologies and systems

A CHP site consists of four basic elements (Figure 3):

Turbine or engine
Electric generator
Heat recovery system (in case of cooling, an absorption cool unit)
Control system

Figure 3: Elements of a CHP plant

The fuel combustion either creates mechanical energy directly, or first produces steam, which is subsequently converted to mechanical energy. The mechanical energy is used to spin a generator producing electricity.

Large CHP systems in industry and district heating use the same turbines as conventional power generation, i.e. steam turbines in the case of solid fuels (biomass, coal) or gas turbines for using natural gas or biogas. These turbines are mature, reliable and proven technologies.

Figure 4: Typical data for mature cogeneration systems

The vast majority of large CHP systems are installed for industrial use or for district heating & cooling. More than 80% of total global electric CHP installations are used in energy-intensive industrial sites (IEA, 2007), i.e. in food processing, pulp & paper, chemicals, metals and oil refining. District heating primarily focuses on supplying low- and medium-temperature heat demand (i.e. space heating and hot tap water preparation), using the heat output from CHP plants.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

Sufficiently large heat demand (or cooling demand)

The size of a CHP demand is determined by the demand for the most important product. Heat-driven CHP systems are most efficient as any excess electricity produced can be fed into the grid, whereas heat cannot easily be transported over great distances. Therefore, in most cases, the heat demand determines the size of the CHP plant.

The on-site heat load must be large enough to justify the investment in a CHP system. The heat load also needs to remain sufficiently constant during the day and between seasons to ensure that the system can operate at full load most of the time. Many systems can be operated at partial load, but this reduces their efficiency.

Characteristics of the heat demand

The type of system most suitable for a specific application depends on the characteristics of the heat demand:

The ratio between the heat and power demand should be similar to that of the turbine. For example, steam turbines are well suited for sites where most energy is needed in the form of heat, as they have a power-to-heat ratio of 1:5.
The technology chosen should be able to generate heat at the temperature and pressure required. Steam turbines and gas turbines can supply high-temperature pressurised steam for industrial processes

Fuel availability

CHP systems using natural gas or biomass-derived fuels are cleanest and therefore most relevant for supporting sustainable development (although even coal-fired systems can improve efficiency when displacing separate generation using the same fuel).

Natural gas is currently the most used fuel for CHP in Europe and North America, as technologies for its use are proven and reliable. However, natural gas is not always available in developing countries, and is relatively expensive when compared to other fuels, like coal. In these cases biomass or biogas can be appropriate alternatives.

Other criteria

Other conditions facilitating the use of CHP include:

The possibility to connect to the grid (if present) for grid supply at a reasonable price with the availability of back-up and top-up power at reasonable and predictable prices. This increases the flexibility of the system, and it enhances its economic viability as excess power can be sold to the network.
Availability of space for the equipment at short distance from the heat demand.

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

The IEA (2008) estimates that CHP currently accounts for around 9% of global power generation. Its contribution to meeting energy demand is particularly high in Northern Europe, where it produces over 30% of electricity (Figure 4).

Figure 5: CHP share of total national power production (IEA, 2008)

The IEA’s “Accelerated CHP Scenario” suggests that total CHP capacity in the G8+5 countries region could reach 430 GWe in 2015 and 830 GWe in 2030 (Figure 5). (IEA, 2008) All countries can increase its use, although to different extents.

There is large potential for CHP in many developing countries where its penetration is still relatively low and the power sector experiences high growth. For example for India, a study (TERI & SEED, 2007) analyzing 300 small and medium sized existing industrial units in 10 different sectors suggests that there is technical potential of 7.5 GW of cogeneration plants. Nearly 69%of this estimated potential was identified in the sugar industry. This compares to a total estimated capacity of around 10GW in 2005.

Figure 6: Potential for CHP until 2030 (IEA, 2008)

Barriers to the future uptake of CHP
Experience from many countries suggests that CHP does not need financial support to make it viable if market conditions are good – it is a mature technology. Rather, targeted policies to remove existing barriers to its uptake can be sufficient (IEA, 2009).
The most common barriers are:

Economic and market issues, relating to the difficulty in securing fair value for CHP electricity exported to the grid.
Regulatory issues, relating to non-transparent, inconsistent interconnection procedures and backup charges.
Social and political issues, particularly in relation to the lack of knowledge about CHP benefits.
Difficulty in integrating the GHG emissions benefits of CHP into emissions trading regulation.

The IEA provides a good and recent analysis of the most common barriers for CHP development and policies to address them.

Technology development
Biomass-based CHP
Biomass based CHP plants generally use solid biomass as fuel. Supply chains are sometimes poor, making it difficult for CHP installations to procure the fuel they need. Social and political considerations include the sustainability of the sources of biomass, the energy balance of fuel processing, and potential trade-offs between using biomass for food and for energy production. For biogas-based CHP, there are additional costs compared to natural gas applications because the fuel requires processing and cleaning.

How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protection :

The main contribution of CHP to socio-economic development and environmental protection is due to the efficiency benefits of CHP compared to conventional power generation primarily through potential cost savings, CO2 emissions reduction, and less reliance on (imported) resources.

Costs
Country-perspective
The IEA (2008) has estimated the potential benefits of increasing the uptake of CHP in the G8+5 countries in 2008 by modelling an “Accelerated CHP Scenario” (ACS) which assumes favourable market conditions and ambitious policy support. In this IEA’s analysis, CHP reduces the required power sector investment by 3% up to 2015 (US$150 billion), compared to the Alternative Policy Scenario (APS) of the World Energy Outlook (IEA, 2008). By 2030, the savings climb to 7% (US$795 billion). (IEA, 2008) They are derived through:

Savings in T&D network investment – since CHP generates electricity at the point of use, the requirement for T&D is reduced as CHP market share increases
Savings through a significant reduction in non-CHP generation. The capital cost of new CHP investment is lower than the average capital cost of the central generation plants that is displaced. In particular, since greater use of CHP reduces T&D network energy losses, it reduces the overall generating capacity required to meet demand.

If these savings in power sector investments were passed on to consumers, they could benefit from lower energy prices.

Reliable supply of energy
Country perspective
Through efficient use of fuel, countries would reduce their dependence on fuel imports from abroad, or increase opportunities to export indigenous fuels. This, in turn, can improve a country’s balance of payments. (Delta Energy and Environment, 2009)
End-user perspective
Blackouts are common in many places, often because peak demand exceeds the capacity that the transmission network can handle. This has stimulated industrial energy users in countries like India to install their own captive (CHP) power generation systems, so that their production process is not affected by supply interruptions. This indirectly benefits other users as well, as it lowers the load on the network, reducing the chance that demand exceeds the capacity of the power grid.

Contribution of the technology to protection of the environment :

Air pollution
As with CO2 emissions, fuel efficiency improvement through CHP can also reduce emissions of other pollutants from power generation, like NOx, SOx and particulates. However, this depends on the combustion processes used.
Gas engines in particular can affect local air quality through NOx emissions, but effective cleaning systems exist. These are essential when considering sustainable development as a whole, and should therefore not be omitted for financial reasons
The World Bank Group has developed emission standards for generators to ensure that their application does not jeopardise air quality (World Bank Group, 1998). These have become the global standard for power generation projects in developing countries, including CHP.

Climate :

CO2 emissions reductions
In 2015, in the IEA’s “Accelerated CHP Scenario”, CO2 emissions arising from new generation fall by more than 4% (170 Mt / year), while in 2030 this saving increases to more than 10% (950 Mt / year). (IEA, 2008)
CO2 emissions of specific plants depend on the fuel used.

Financial requirements and costs :

Four parameters affect the economic viability: technology costs, energy prices, operating regime and policy measures.

Technology costs

For the developer of CHP, the upfront costs of installing CHP are usually higher than of heat-only boilers, the usual alternative. However, users benefit over the lifetime of the system through lower energy costs (reduced need to purchase electricity from the grid), so that CHP can save money overall.

Figure 7: Financial requirements for CHP systems

Figure 7 shows the costs of different large scale, mature CHP technologies. They are between US$1,000 and US$1,500 per kWe. Gas engines have the highest operating costs, but are cheaper to install than other systems.

Energy costs
Energy costs determine the value of the costs savings that CHP can deliver. For a natural gas based CHP plant, the relative difference between gas and electricity prices, the so-called spark-spread, is particularly important, as a CHP plant operator has to buy natural gas and sells electricity. As a rule of thumb, developing CHP is feasible if electricity prices exceed gas prices by a factor 2.5. (IEA, 2008)

Operating profile and on-site energy demand
The economic performance of CHP systems during their lifetime depends on the operating profile and on-site energy demand.
The number of operating hours determines the absolute energy savings that can be achieved: the longer the operating time, the higher the revenue. Typically, a CHP plant must run at least 5,000 hours per year to make to economically viable (IEA, 2008).
In most cases, the value of the electricity consumed on-site, which is equivalent to the retail electricity price, is higher than the price the CHP operator receives fro selling its electricity to the grid. This again highlights the importance of sizing a CHP system based on the on-site energy needs.

Policy measures
Government policy also affects the economic conditions for CHP plants. It can impose costs through taxes (for instance taxation of natural gas) and charges (for instance for exporting electricity to the network). At the same time, many governments provide financial incentives for CHP, including capital grants, favourable export tariffs and tax benefits.

Clean Development Mechanism market status :

[Part of this information is kindly provided by the UNEP Risoe Centre Carbon Markets Group.]
CHP is a significant technology in the CDM. As of 2006, most CDM cogeneration projects were in food manufacturing and large industries in India and Brazil (WADE, 2006). As of January 2010, there were 78 registered CDM projects based on sugar cane bagasse energy, most of which use cogeneration plants, and 22 natural gas based cogeneration projects (UNEP Risoe, 2010).
For large-scale natural gas based CHP projects, project developers mainly use the methodology AM14: Natural gas-based package cogeneration. As of March 2011, there were 5 registered CDM projects using this methodology, for one of which CER's have been issued. Other CDM methodologies applied for cogeneration projects include AMS-II.B.: Supply side energy efficiency improvements – generation.

Example CDM project: MEN-Tangerang 13.6MW Natural Gas Co-generation Project

PT Manunggal Energi Nusantara (“MEN”) is a cogeneration project using natural gas as fuel. The electricity that the Project generates will be supplied to three textile manufacturing companies. The purpose of the Project is the generation of 13.6MW of electricity and 9.5tonnes per hour of high quality steam at 8-10 bar pressure for industrial users who are currently using grid electricity and generating steam from fuel-mix with higher carbon intensity than natural gas. The Project scope is the installation of five natural gas power generators; each is equipped with a waste heat recovery boiler. (UNFCCC project ref. no.: 1313).

Project CO₂ reduction over the first crediting period of 7 years: 298'353 tCO₂e (per/year: 42'622)

References :

Delta Energy & Environment (2009), A High-level Assessment of the Impact of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Development on the UK Fossil Fuel Trade Balance, Report for the Renewable Energy Association

IEA (2007), Tracking Industrial Energy Efficiency and CO2 Emissions, OECD/IEA

IEA (2008), Combined Heat and Power – Evaluating the benefit of greater global investment

IEA (2009), Cogeneration and District Energy – Sustainable energy technologies for today…and tomorrow

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007), Climate Change 2007 - Mitigation of Climate Change: Working Group III contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC (Climate Change 2007), IPCC, Cambridge University Press.

TERI, SEED (2007) Indian Market Potential for introducing CHP in SMEs and future collaboration strategies with European CHP suppliers

UNEP Risoe (2010), CDM/JI Pipeline Analysis and Database, January 1st 2010. available at http://cdmpipeline.org/

World Alliance for Decentralised Energy (WADE) (2006), Clean Development through Cogeneration - Combined Heat and Power Generation Projects in the Clean Development Mechanism

World Bank Group (1998), Thermal Power: Guidelines for New Plants

Author affiliation:

Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Policy Studies

Source : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/1a1

Carbon Capture and Storage

2012-05-05T13:05:00.000+02:00

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a combination of technologies designed to prevent the release of CO₂ generated through conventional power generation and industrial production processes by injecting the CO₂ in suitable underground storage reservoirs. Basically, capture technology separates CO₂ emissions from the process, after which the compressed CO₂ is transported to a suitable geological storage location and injected. Feasible methods of transporting of CO₂ include both pipelines and shipping. Appropriate geological storage locations for CO₂ include abandoned oil and gas fields, deep saline formations and unminable coal seams. The dominant reason to do CCS is CO₂ emission reductions from industry and power generation; without incentives for such emission reductions, little CCS can be expected. The deployment of CCS in the industrial and power generation sectors would allow fossil fuel use to continue with a significant decrease in CO₂ emissions. However, a full CCS chain has yet to be implemented, and many technical, environmental and economic uncertainties remain.

Figure 1: The possible appearance of a power plant incorporating CCS (Bellona, 2009)

Introduction :

There are several technologies that are employed in the capture, transport and geological storage of CO₂. The majority of research and development has been directed towards efficiency improvements in the technologies used to separate CO₂ from other compounds normally emitted by an industrial process. These technologies are generally referred to as ‘capture technologies’. Capture processes can be grouped in three categories, whereby the suitability of each approach depends on the industrial process or type of power plant in question.
Post-combustion: CO₂ is removed from the flue gas resulting from the combustion of a fossil fuel. Post-combustion separation involves the use of a solvent to capture the CO₂. Typical applications for this technology include pulverized coal (PC) plants, and natural gas combined cycle plants (NGCC). This technology is particularly suited to retrofit applications (Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology, 2009).
Pre-combustion: The primary fuel in the process is reacted with steam and air or oxygen, and is converted to a mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, often called a ‘syngas’. The carbon monoxide is subsequently converted to CO₂ in a ‘shift reactor’. The CO₂ can then be separated, and the hydrogen is used to generate power and/or heat. This technology is particularly suitable to be applied to integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants (IPCC, 2005).
Oxy-fuel combustion: The primary fuel is combusted in oxygen instead of air, which produces a flue gas containing mainly water vapour and a high concentration of CO₂ (80%). The flue gas is then cooled to condense the water vapour, which leaves an almost pure stream of CO₂. Additional equipment is required for the in situ production of oxygen from air (Mckinsey & Company, 2008).
Industrial processes: The separation technologies can also be used in various industries, such as natural gas processing, and in steel, cement and ammonia production (IPCC, 2005).

Figure 2: CO2 capture systems (IPCC, 2005)

CCS could capture between 85-95% of all CO₂ produced (IPCC, 2005), but net emission reductions are in the order of 72 to 90% due to the energy it costs to separate the CO₂ and the upstream emissions (Viebahn et al., 2007).
Once CO₂ has been effectively ‘captured’ from a process, it will be required to transport it to a suitable storage location. CO₂ is most efficiently transported when it is compressed to a pressure above 7.4 MPa, and a temperature above approximately 31˚C. Under these conditions, the CO₂ displays supercritical properties; it is a liquid with gas characteristics. Thus, CO₂ would normally be transported at high pressures in pipelines made of carbon steel, not dissimilar to normal natural gas pipelines, or in ships if it needs to cross a great expanse of water. CO₂ pipelines already exist at large scales, albeit primarily in sparsely inhabited areas, particularly in the US for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). CO₂ ships have not been implemented, but are unlikely to cause technical problems.

Suitable CO₂ storage locations include abandoned oil and gas fields or deep saline formations, with an expected minimum depth of 800 m, where the ambient temperature and pressures are sufficiently high to keep the CO₂ in a liquid or supercritical state. The CO₂ is prevented from migrating from the storage reservoir through a combination of physical and geophysical trapping mechanisms (IPCC, 2005). The technologies used to inject the CO₂ are similar to those used in the oil and gas industry. In addition to well-drilling and injection equipment, measurement and monitoring technologies are essential to observe the remaining capacity of the storage site, and the behaviour of the CO₂. While certain injection technologies are known, improvements specifically for CO₂ storage are still under development. Once the injection phase has been completed, the well will need to be sealed by using a suitable (usually cement) ‘plug’, placed at an adequate depth to prevent the CO₂ rising up the well and possibly escaping or contaminating groundwater.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

Technical feasibility

The application of technologies elsewhere suggests that CCS is technically feasible in most large, stationary CO₂ point sources. CO₂separation technologies are already applied in natural gas processing (NGP), where CO₂ removal from natural gas is necessary to improve the heating value or to meet pipeline specifications. CO₂ capture has also been applied in small coal-fired power stations and in other industries, but would need to be scaled up significantly to enable large-scale, economy-wide diffusion. This is expected to lead to considerable though surmountable technical challenges. CO₂ injection is implemented in the oil industry to enhance the recovery of oil, but has only in one project (the “Weyburn project” in Canada) been done with the objective of reducing CO₂ emissions.

Regulatory uncertainty and public perception

Any new technology with potential risks faces regulatory uncertainty in its initial stage. For CCS, these impediments are in the process of being resolved. In recent years, there have been modifications made to international legislative provisions, namely the London Protocol (Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972 and 1996 Protocol) and the OSPAR Convention (Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic) to accommodate for the offshore storage of CO₂. However, there remain a number of legal questions concerning issues of storage liability, monitoring responsibility and the transboundary transport of CO₂. The lack of regulatory frameworks has the potential to hinder progress of CCS projects, given the associated level of risk faced by project developers. In the EU, Canada and Australia, legal frameworks for CCS have been adopted; in the United States discussions on it are ongoing.

The position of environmental NGOs on CCS is mixed; while some support the technologies, others oppose it. A general lack of awareness and understanding among the lay public has been observed by social scientists. In several communities where CO₂storage projects were planned, local stakeholders have shown concern about the risks of CCS, and have in some cases protested. Public perception of CCS is currently seen as a significant barrier if CCS demonstration projects are not accompanied by unbiased information provision and community engagement processes.

Environmental impact and risks

The environmental and safety risks of CCS depend on the legal regime in which the technology operates. Most experts expect that CO₂storage can be done safely and permanently, but if the selection of reservoirs is not consistently and strictly regulated, the storage operation not continuously monitored and the site not suitably abandoned, CO₂ seepage may occur, which would result in greenhouse gas emissions and in extreme cases could lead to health and other environmental damage.

There are a number of negative environmental impacts that cannot be avoided, and a number of others that can be managed. Due to the increased energy requirement of the capture, additional coal will have to be mined, potentially leading to greater landscape deterioration at extraction sites and emissions to air and water. Depending on the type of capture equipment used, spent solvents can lead to effluents of hazardous wastes which may have consequences for the environment, and water use may increase.

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

Worldwide, there are currently four examples of full-scale CCS projects, all of them in the industrial sector and not in electricity production. In addition to Weyburn, which uses CO₂ from a coal gasification facility in the United States, the Norwegian oil company Statoil has been injecting around a million tonnes of CO₂, separated from natural gas, per year into deep saline formation under the North Sea since 1996, and since 2008 similar technology is applied in the Snohvit project, also in Norway. A consortium of BP, Statoil and Sonatrach have been injecting CO₂ at In Salah in Algeria, also with CO₂ originating from gas production. Technology similar to pre-combustion capture is used in fertilizer and hydrogen production, where the CO₂ captured is used in other industrial processes, or vented. Oxy-fuel combustion technology for use in power generation is still in the demonstration stage but is currently tested in Germany by Vattenfall, a European electricity company.

The global capacity to geologically store CO₂ is large, with recent basin-wide potentials estimated between 8,000 Gt and 15,000Gt (IEA, 2008b). However, the level of knowledge concerning storage potentials varies on a global, regional and local scale (IPCC, 2005). Estimates of storage capacities are most advanced in Europe, North America, Japan and Australia. Depleted oil and gas reservoirs are estimated to have a global storage capacity of between 675-900 GtCO₂, and this storage option appears suitable because of the existing knowledge of such locations, as well as the potential to re-use existing infrastructure from oil and gas extraction processes (IPCC, 2005). Deep saline formations are understood to have a storage capacity of at least 1000 GtCO₂, and are believed to be distributed in many of the world’s sedimentary basins. It has been stressed that more information regarding storage capacities is required in areas experiencing accelerated growth in energy use, including China, India, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Southern Africa (IPCC, 2005).

Figure 3: Stages of maturity of CCS capture, transport and storage components ( IPCC, 2005)

How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protection :

The level to which CCS supports sustainable development is a widely debated topic. The discussions around allowing CCS into the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism exemplify the varying opinions between stakeholders. It is argued by some that no technology involving the combustion of fossil fuels can be associated with sustainable development, due to the finite nature of such resources. Others point towards the effects of fossil fuel use, beyond emissions of CO₂ alone, including the environmental impacts of coal mining (Coninck, 2008).

Climate :

As stated above, CCS could capture between 85-95% of the CO₂ produced in a plant (IPCC, 2005), but net emission reductions are in the order of 72 to 90% due to the energy it costs to separate the CO₂ and the upstream emissions (Viebahn et al., 2007)

Financial requirements and costs :

Currently, by far most applications of CCS are not economically feasible. The additional equipment used to capture and compress CO₂also requires significant amounts of energy, which increases the fuel needs of a coal-fired power plant by between 25-40% and also drives up the costs (IPCC, 2005). CCS demonstration projects in the power sector are expected to cost $90-130/tCO₂ avoided, with the cost possibly dropping to $50-75/tCO₂ for full scale commercial activities taking place after 2020 (Mckinsey & Company, 2008). These costs take into account the energy penalty of CO₂ capture, but not the upstream emissions, so they assume an emission reduction of 80 to 90% compared to a conventional plant.

At present, major emitters of CO₂ are not given sufficient incentive through regulatory or economic instruments to invest in abatement technology. To support the development of CCS, governments are providing funding for research and the implementation of demonstration projects. For example, in 2008 the European Union announced to aim for up to twelve demonstration plants operational by 2015, with an aim of commercializing CCS by 2020 (European Commission, 2009). These demonstrations are expected to be funded through a pool of reserved carbon credits from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and through the economic stimulus packages. According to the IEA (2009), there have also been significant national funding announcements by Canada ($1.2bn), Australia ($1.65bn), Japan ($116m), Norway ($205m), United Kingdom ($140m) and the United States ($2.3bn).

It must be noted that although CCS applications will raise the costs of energy generation and industrial production, the IEA (2008a) has calculated that an exclusion of CCS from the global mitigation portfolio will increase the cost of achieving climate stabilization by 70%. Based on this information, inclusion of CCS in the mitigation portfolio can be justified from a long-term economic efficiency standpoint.

Clean Development Mechanism market status :

At the 2010 climate conference in Cancun, Mexico, the Conference of Parties to the Kyoto protocol (CMP) decided to include CCS projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

References :

Bellona, 2009. Technology. Available at: http://www.bellona.org/ccs/Tema/technology
Coninck, H.C.De, 2008. Trojan horse or horn of plenty? Reflections on allowing CCS in the CDM. Energy Policy 36, pp. 929-936.
European Commission, 2009. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Demonstrating carbon capture and geological storage (CCS) in emerging developing countries: financing the EU-China Near Zero Emissions Coal Plant project. Brussels, Belgium.
IEA, 2008a. Energy technology perspectives 2008: Scenarios and Strategies to 2050. IEA/OECD, Paris, France.
IEA, 2008b. CO₂ capture and storage: A Key Abatement Option, IEA/OECD, Paris, France.
IEA, 2009. Technology roadmap – carbon capture and storage. International Energy Agency, Paris, France. Available at:http://www.iea.org/papers/2009/CCS_Roadmap.pdf
IPCC, 2005. Special report on carbon dioxide capture and storage. Metz, B. and Davidson, O. and Coninck, H.C.De and Loos, M. and Meyer, L.A. (eds.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, USA, pp. 442.
Mckinsey & Company, 2008. Carbon capture and storage: Assessing the economics. Available at:http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/ccsi/pdf/ccs_assessing_the_economics.pdf
Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, 2009. Postnote 335 – carbon capture and storage. The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, London, United Kingdom. Available at: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/postpn335.pdf
United Nations, 1987. Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. General Assembly Resolution 42/187. Available at: http://www.un-documents.net/a42r187.htm
Viebahn, P. and Nitsch, J. and Fischedick, M. and Esken, A. and Schuwer, D. and Supersberger, N. and Zuberbuhler, U. and Edenhofer, O., 2007. Comparison of carbon capture and storage with renewable energy technologies regarding structural, economic, and ecological aspects in Germany. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 1 (1), pp. 121-133.
Author affiliation:
Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Policy Studies

Source:http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/ccs

Private Vehicle Demand Management

2012-04-21T05:36:00.000+02:00

Reducing private vehicle use, or curtailing its growth, is vitally important if our world is to reduce levels of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Examples from around the world demonstrate that it can be achieved. It is generally only achieved when other transport options are good, and when travellers are helped to realise that they don’t have to be dependent on cars or other private vehicles to get around. As this section has described, this can come about through information and education, through price mechanisms, through the way streets are designed and used, through parking policies, and through measures to encourage the sharing of cars. Localities that have taken these measures come to realise that reducing greenhouse gas output is just one of many benefits that can follow.

Introduction :

While the use of private vehicles – cars, trucks, motorcycles and motor scooters – is much lower in the developing than the developed world, this is changing with existing rapid economic growth in some developing countries, and the likelihood of such growth in others. Given the much higher levels of greenhouse gas emitted from private vehicles than from mass transit and non-motorised transport, it is imperative that rates of private vehicle usage be dramatically reduced in developed countries, and prevented from reaching high levels in the developing world. This can be done in ways that enable developing cities to be better places to live and work as traffic congestion is a chronic issue for health and the economy. The switch from private vehicles to mass transit can significantly reduce overall travel levels. This technology description deals with measures that can be taken to reduce private vehicle use, or to curtail its increase, whilst enabling transport development goals to be achieved. The measures are:

behaviour change programs
parking policy
other price incentives and disincentives
restricting areas within which private vehicles can travel
street design and traffic calming measures
car-pooling
car-sharing schemes.

The seperate technology description 'Electronic Road Pricing' describe this related measure in more detail.

With the exception of car-pooling and car-sharing, the measures described here will only be effective in reducing private vehicle use if other means of transport – namely, public transit and walking and cycling facilities – are available when and where people need them, or if information and communication technology (ICT) can be used in place of travel.

All of these measures have been implemented in many parts of the world, and examples of their use are described in this section. In general, they have so far been applied much more in the developed than the developing world, because car dependence and its adverse consequences are much worse there. But efforts are now being made to introduce demand management measures in developing countries, and some examples are included here.

Private vehicles transport both people and goods. This section focuses on reducing the demand for passenger vehicles; freight vehicles are covered in the technology description 'Freight'.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

Behaviour change programs

Reductions in private vehicle use can be achieved through behaviour change programs, as described in the technology description 'Influencing Travel Choices'. Such programs – which can be run by government, businesses or community groups – seek to inform people about transport alternatives like walking, cycling and mass transit, and the many personal and environmental benefits these offer. Participants are then encouraged to try these alternatives out, starting with trips where the transition is easiest, for example, taking a bus to work if the bus-stop is close by, or walking the short distance to the shops or school.

Behaviour change programs can be delivered to groups of people meeting in community centres, workplaces, schools, homes or other places where people can congregate, or that can involve working with individuals and households through home visits or phone communication. Information about transport alternatives can also be available in print and online, as well as being publicised through street signage. One very successful behaviour change program, TravelSmart, has consistently achieved reductions in car trips of 10% or more.⁵ TravelSmart and other behaviour change programs are described in more detail in the technology descrition 'Influencing travel choices' with information on levels of reduction of private in the vehicle use in different regions of the globe.

Parking policy

Private vehicle use can be reduced by reducing the supply of parking or by raising its price.⁶ If it is difficult or expensive to park a car, particularly for regular trips such as commuting to work, people will be more willing to consider alternatives. Whether it is for on- or off-street, public or private parking, drivers should pay at least its full market cost– because this acts as a disincentive, because there is no valid reason for governments or businesses to subsidise it, and because governments can use the funds for other transport improvements. Moreover, when governments go in the other direction and impose price controls on private parking, as they have in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hanoi and Jakarta, this inevitably suppresses supply, while inflating – rather than reducing – demand for it. Many cities in the developing and developed world charge for parking, but too often it is provided free.

In the allocation of parking space in urban localities, priority should be given to public transport, emergency vehicles, parking for the disabled, taxis, delivery vehicles and short stay parking. And at certain times of the day or week, it may be necessary to convert on-street parking into dedicated lanes for buses or bicycles. A broad plan that cities can adopt is to have a traffic-free centre, surrounded by on-street parking for the special groups just mentioned, and general parking only permitted further out. Urban planning regulations should impose maximum rather than minimum parking ratios, to restrict the number of parking spaces in a locality, and thus encourage the use of other transport modes. Very limited parking provision is a feature of Transit Oriented Developments, which are described in another section of this chapter. Large expanses of ground level parking should be avoided, as these are unattractive, use up much land, and act as a barrier between neighbourhoods. Park-and-ride facilities at transit stations are better than inner city parking, but it is better still to provide feeder bus services and good cycling routes and facilities. Park-and-ride should be avoided in high-density localities.⁷

Governments have the ability – through their urban planning powers, local parking regulations and their own parking provision – to determine urban parking policies, and these are an important tool in reducing private vehicle use. They need not be concerned about vocal groups demanding additional parking, or about an apparent ‘lack’ of parking spaces, as the restricting of parking will in time reduce demand for it as people switch to other transport. Kampala, Uganda, reduced its heavy congestion in the city centre with stricter parking regulations, including one hour maximum parking tickets, and also reduced road accident levels and increased city revenue, while Shenzhen, China, increased parking fees to a level that sometimes equalled half the cost of keeping a car, and saw demand for parking drop by 30%.⁸

Other price incentives and disincentives

The cost of parking is just one example of the ways in which prices can be used to encourage the switch from private vehicles to more sustainable transport modes. Others include:

tollways for freeways, major roads and bridges
vehicle registration charges, which are universal, but can be increased to manage demand as they have been in Singapore, where registration charges are now 150% of the car’s cost
congestion taxes to reduce traffic in central city areas, for example, in London, Stockholm and over a dozen other developed world cities (see also technology description 'Electronic Road Pricing' and figure 1)
fuel taxes, which favour the most fuel efficient vehicles.

Figure 1: London’s Congestion Charging Zones clearly marked on the roads. (Picture credit: Duffman , Wikimedia Commons,

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/London_Congestion_Charge%2C_Old_Street%2C_England.jpg viewed 22 March 2011)

Congestion taxes and even tolls can vary in amount (from zero upwards) at different times of the day or week, to manage demand when it tends to be higher, and the toll or tax can be collected manually or electronically (so that, in the latter case, vehicles do not have to stop). London’s congestion tax has seen a 21% decrease in traffic, and local residents and businesses have supported it.⁹ A similar traffic reduction followed a trial of a congestion tax in Stockholm. London exempts hybrid vehicles from the tax, while Milan exempts fuel efficient and lower emission cars, and schemes in Norway offer discounts to lighter vehicles. In Singapore the tax varies according to the time of day and the level of congestion on particular roads.¹⁰ Removal of fuel subsidies in Indonesia has seen the price of petrol and diesel rise by 126%, and instead the government is offering monthly allowances to around 19 million poor families to help them with living costs.

Increases in fuel prices do not adversely affect prosperity, as shown in the figure 2. Economic productivity tends to increase with higher fuel prices, indicating that substantial increases in vehicle fees can be achieved without reducing overall economic productivity.

Figure 2: Per capita GDP versus gasoline prices in different countries. (Source: Source: Todd Litman, Are Vehicle Travel Reduction Targets Justified? Evaluating Mobility Management Policy Objectives Such As Targets To Reduce VMT And Increase Use Of Alternative Modes, Victoria Transport Policy Institute, 12 Nov 2010)

Other taxation policies can be changed to discourage, or refrain from encouraging, private vehicle use. For example, laws that allow car travel to and from work as a tax free expense should be avoided, or if there are to be tax free travel expenses the same tax free amount should apply to all transport modes or even favour the more sustainable modes. Similarly, companies should either refrain from subsidising their employees’ travel to or from work or in their free time, subsidise all modes, or favour the more sustainable ones. For example, they can provide transit passes or discounted tickets, and if done in collaboration with a transit agency the agency may supply these at a lower price. Policies that make car transport tax free, and company allowances covering employees’ commuting and personal car travel, also fuel inequality, because they are usually only available to the higher paid employees. The Astra Zeneca Drug Company located in Britain has 4,200 employees but only 3,277 parking spaces. They encourage the use of public transport by subsidising buses and providing an inter-site shuttle bus free to all employees. They also provide reserved parking spaces for car sharing and offer flexible working practices (ie, tele-working), as well as improved on-site facilities for cyclists. These changes have led to 17% fewer solo drivers between 1997 and 2001.

Restricting areas within which private vehicles can travel

Another way to reduce car use is to restrict the areas within which private vehicles can travel. Some cities have defined an area, usually in the city’s core, that is restricted to pedestrians and perhaps other special vehicles (such as bicycles, delivery vans, taxis and public transport). These restrictions may apply at all times or at just some parts of the day or week. Cities that have successfully implemented these measures generally have excellent transit (with public transit every five minutes or so) and high density living. The technology description 'The Walkable Locality - encouraging walking' describes how Curitiba pedestrianised its town centreWhen Bogotá restricted car access during peak hours, there was a 28% decrease in road accidents. Bogotá’s citizens have now voted to ban private vehicles from the streets for six peak hours a day from 2015. Calle Florida Street, Buenos Aires’ (see picture on top) famous shopping district, was pedestrianised in 1913, making it one of the oldest car-free zones in the world. As well as adopting such measures in the centre of cities, they can be adopted in any urban development. The technology description 'Transit oriented developments' describes such areas in more detail. The Vauban neighbourhood in Freiburg, Germany, is completely car-free. A car-space can be purchased in a multi-story car park on the edge of town, but 70% of the residents have chosen not to have a car.

An alternative to keeping cars off the roads altogether in certain localities, is to simply restrict the road space available to them. For example, a road carrying two or three lanes of motorised traffic in both directions might be redesigned to provide one lane each way for private vehicles, with the rest of the space being taken up by transit lanes, cycle ways, expanded pedestrian areas or roadside planting. All cities introducing Bus Rapid Transit systems with dedicated lanes have done this. Another option is to turn the whole road into a shared transport zone, that is, an area with very low speed limits and less demarcation between pedestrian, cycle and vehicle space.

Street design and traffic calming measures

Related to these ways of reducing private vehicle traffic within urban areas are overall street design techniques and the ‘calming’ of traffic. A range of measures can be introduced to make transport safer, to ensure that different travel modes (such as walking and cycling) have fair access to transport space, and to ensure that different kinds of motorised vehicles use the right roads for the distances they are travelling. Bogotá removed kerbside parking to widen footpaths, and erected barriers to stop cars driving onto them. A part of this process involves traffic calming: making changes to roads which – through a range of physical and psychological devices – cause vehicles to travel more slowly, more safely, and with greater consideration for local residents, pedestrians, cyclists and public transit users. The St George Street Revitalization project in Toronto, Canada, aimed to calm traffic on a busy thoroughfare. It implemented a ‘road diet’ (reducing the number of car lanes from four to two), improved pedestrian and cycling safety and amenities, and made the area more attractive as well. As a result, speed and road accidents decreased. Traffic calming and other road design measures are described more fully in the technology description 'Traffic management'. Although they are not designed primarily to reduce car and other private vehicle use, they do have this effect, and they therefore deserve to be included as a part of the range of demand management measures that should be considered.

Car-pooling

People who regularly travel along a similar route to the same workplace, school, university or other destination can car-pool, that is, travel together in the same car and thus save money and reduce fuel use and car emissions. They can either take turns travelling in each other’s car, or travel in one person’s car with the others paying petrol money. Parents driving their children to school can take turns driving other children as well. Car-pooling works best when people already know each other or have something in common such as their school or workplace. They will need to ensure that they can agree on matters like times of travel, punctuality, and smoking and music in the car. Workplaces and schools can encourage employees or students to consider this arrangement. Car-pooling appears to be mainly practised in developed countries, but there is no reason why it should not also be practised in the developing world.

Car-sharing schemes

Car-sharing schemes are cooperative or commercial arrangements enabling people who sign up as members to use cars within the scheme. These cars are parked at various publicly accessible points in a locality, and members – who may be individuals or businesses – pay for the time they use the vehicle and the distance travelled, as well as joining and annual fees. Car-share provides additional mobility for those who mostly rely on walking, cycling and public transport and don’t need frequent car access.

In fact, the average privately-owned car spends 95-97% of its life parked and only 3-5% on the road travelling. If a car’s use is shared across a number of users, then many of its costs are also shared. In addition, car users and local communities need to allocate less space for parking and, with more frequent use of vehicles, they are changed over more often and members get to use the most recent, efficient, environmentally sustainable models. Moreover, members of these schemes don’t need to drive more than necessary in order to ‘justify’ a large investment – as private owners may feel they have to do – and members are also less likely to drive simply out of habit, instead of taking other transport modes.

Car use is booked and members have a special key, card or code number to access the vehicle. Carsharing schemes work best if they make use of computer facilities, the internet and smart cards. This enables them to have online booking, on-board computers, car access through smartcards, wireless reporting and monitored, automated billing. While this may seem like a big investment in technology, it is not nearly as big as the investment in multiple cars and parking spaces that those members would be making if they were private car owners. Local councils usually provide the schemes with guaranteed parking, often free or at lower rates, because the councils benefit from the reduced pressure to provide parking spaces, and because they want to support more sustainable transport.

There are now many successful care sharing schemes around the world, in Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and Asia. One scheme in Singapore is linked to a residential development, with a ratio of one vehicle for every forty residents. Zurich has 10,000 members of car-sharing schemes – about 2.3% of its population. Further information on such schemes and on similar arrangements can be obtained online.

Figure 3: Many local councils provide car share schemes with dedicated parking spots. (Picture credit: Sarah G.)

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

See section on 'Feasibility of technology and operational necessities'

Contribution of the technology to social development :

Reduced private vehicle use is linked to more compact and less sprawling cities, better integrated communities, lower accident rates, more equal transport opportunities, and fewer harmful effects of pollution on health. People are also healthier because they are walking and cycling more.

Contribution of the technology to economic development (including energy market support) :

Cities with a lower share of private transport spend less on transport overall than do comparable cities with a higher share¹. Moreover, as there are many citizens who cannot afford to own private vehicles, nations and localities with a higher share of public transit can provide transport for more of their citizens. As a result, these citizens have better access to employment, education, shopping and services, all of which contribute to economic development. Reduced levels of pollution and reduced traffic accidents mean that a nation’s health costs are lower, and there are fewer working days lost from illness and accidents.

Contribution of the technology to protection of the environment :

Decreased private vehicle use reduces local and global pollution of the air, land and water, including emissions of greenhouse gases. Noise and congestion are also reduced and fewer finite resources are consumed.

Climate :

Greenhouse gas reductions from private vehicle demand management are not easy to estimate but potentially large.³ Elasticities of demand for car use have been calculated for fuel price changes and parking charges, so these can be used to estimate reductions in car use, but invariably these calculations use developed country data. Elasticities for fuel price suggest that a 10% increase in price will lead to a 3% decline in fuel use in a year or so, and 5% in 5 to 10 years; about half of this is due to reduced vehicle use.⁴ It is probable that changes due to price will be very inelastic in developing cities where the alternatives to car use are dramatically more difficult (highly crowded buses, dangerous cycle roads and very busy footpaths). Thus it is even more reason to ensure that these demand management policies are introduced only if better transit, cycling or walking options are being provided at the same time. It is not possible to estimate the greenhouse gas reduction potential of the other measures considered in this technology description.

Financial requirements and costs :

Each of the above policies require some expenditure to implement but nothing like the large infrastructure projects that characterise the other measures discussed in transport policy. Furthermore they can be made either to raise revenue or to at least cover costs. Fuel taxes remain one of the major sources of government income to enable wealth to be created and distributed for long term projects. As shown in the Figure 4, the amount of fuel tax charged varies enormously and in the high taxing nations like Norway is set aside for long term infrastructure projects.

Figure 4: Transport fuel prices across countries. (Source: based on data from Todd Litman, Appropriate Response to Rising Fuel Prices: Citizens Should Demand, “Raise My Prices Now!”, Victoria Transport Policy Institute, 15 March 2010, http://www.vtpi.org/fuelprice.pdf, viewed 23 Feb 2011)

References :

P Newman & J Kenworthy, Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence, Island Press, Washington DC, 1999.
Robert Cervero et al., ‘Influences of Built Environments on Walking and Cycling: Lessons from Bogotá’, International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 3: 4, 203 — 226, 2009.
Cambridge Systematics (2009), Moving Cooler: Transportation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Urban Land Institute, www.movingcooler.info, viewed 23 Feb 2011, and summarised athttp://commerce.uli.org/misc/movingcoolerexecsum.pdf, viewed 23 Feb 2011.
Todd Litman, Transportation Elasticities: How Prices and Other Factors Affect Travel Behavior, Victoria Transport Policy Institute, 2011, www.vtpi.org/elasticities.pdf, viewed 23 Feb 2011.
Personal communication with Colin Ashton-Graham, Department of Transport, Western Australia.
Paul Barter, Parking Policy in Asian Cities, Asian Development Bank, 2010 https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0ByEszG9z8sBUYTBhNzdmZmQtNjc3Zi00MmRkLWIzMWEtZWUxNGY0ODJmODRi&hl=en&authkey=CN6Rg-0J, viewed 23 Feb 2011.
Donald C. Shoup, ‘The High Cost of Free Parking’, Journal of Planning Education and Research, 17: 3-20, 1997.
Tom Rye, ‘Parking Management: A Contribution Towards Liveable Cities’, 2010, Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in Developing Cities, GIZ, www.sutp.org, viewed 23 Feb 2011.
‘London Congestion Charging: Impacts Monitoring 5th Annual Report 2007’, Transport for London,http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/fifth-annual-impacts-monitoring-report-2007-07-07.pdf, viewed 23 Feb 2011.
Karlson Hargroves, Associate Professor, Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute, Western Australia, personal communication.
Tom Rye, ‘Mobility Management at the Employer Level’, Napier University, March 2005
Rye
‘Car-Free Planning’, Online TDM Encyclopedia, Victoria Transport Policy Institute, http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm6.htm, viewed 23 Feb 2011.
K Hargroves & M Smith, The Natural Advantage of Nations, The Natural Edge Project, Earthscan, London, 2005.
Rye
Rye.
Abu Dhabi Urban Street Design Manual, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, 2009, www.upc.gov.ae/guidelines/urban-streetdesign-manual.aspx?lang=en-US, viewed 23 Feb 2011.
Rye.
‘ St George Street Revitalization: “Road Diets” in Toronto’, Transport Canada, http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/programs/environment-utsp-st-1171.georgestreetrevitalization.htm, viewed 23 Feb 2011.
‘Car pooling for the planet’, Green living tips, 18 Sept 2009, http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/150/1/Car-pooling-forthe-planet.html, viewed 23 Feb 2011.
George Brown, Department of Planning, Western Australia, personal communication.
Car Sharing: An overview, Australian Govt (Dept of Heritage and the Environment, Australian Greenhouse Office),http://www.environment.gov.au/archive/settlements/transport/publications/carsharing.html, viewed 23 Feb 2011.
Car Sharing: An overview.
For example, Car Sharing: An overview

Source:

Salter, R., S. Dhar, and P. Newman (Eds.) (2011). Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation –Transport Sector. UNEP Risø Centre, Roskilde, March 2011, available at http://tech-action.org/

(The authors of this technology description would like to acknowledge the support received from George Brown, Paul Barter and Tammy Laughren in writing this description.)

Supporting Cycling

2012-04-21T05:18:00.002+02:00

Cycling is a cheap, healthy, efficient form of transport that only produces greenhouse gases in the production and distribution of bicycles, and it is very well suited to short to medium travel distances. It is also very inexpensive for cities and other localities to develop cycling routes, relative to the cost of other transport infrastructure. If measures are taken to provide this infrastructure, and to address issues of urban density, bicycle affordability, access to servicing, security, and the status of cycling, it is likely to increase in popularity as an important part of low-carbon transport systems in developing countries.

More general information on non-motorized transport can also be found in the technology description 'Non-motorized Transport'.

Introduction :

There are more bicycles in the world than cars, and the manufacture of bicycles continues to outstrip car production. In 2009, 59 million cars were produced, down from 69 million in 2007, but in 2007 130 million bicycles were manufactured. Bicycles are a practical, zero-carbon transport solution the world over (Gardner, 2008).

In order to increase the level of cycling it is necessary to address the barriers to it, barriers like:

a lack of safe and interconnected cycle routes
the cost of bikes
shortages of mechanics and spare parts
concerns about bicycle security
perceptions that cycling is unsafe, unsuitable in certain weather conditions or terrains, low status, culturally inappropriate or impractical.

And while some see a high level of bicycle use as a sign of low economic development, in fact many of the world’s wealthiest cities have a relatively low mode share for private cars (motorised personal transport), whilst public transport, walking and cycling play a far greater role, as the Figure 1 shows. (Note: the City of Copenhagen lies on the ‘most efficient pattern’ although ‘Greater Copenhagen is in the ‘European pattern’.)

Figure 1: The relationship between GDP and motorised personal transport. (Source: UITP 2006)

This technology description outlines how cycling can play a much more significant part in meeting transport needs in the developing world, as part of a mix of low or no carbon transport modes for the twenty-first century. This can be achieved through measures to:

provide safe cycling routes
address other urban planning issues
make bicycles more affordable
enable access to servicing and parts
increase bicycle security
educate the public and raise the status of cycling.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

The benefits of cycling can only be realised if cycling is supported through appropriate measures that are implemented by all spheres of government, in pursuit of the following goals:

Better and safer cycling routes

The biggest barrier to cycling in urban areas is the lack of safe cycling routes. Off-road cycle paths can provide a safer and less stressful environment for cyclists, but such paths are not without their problems. For example, they can become unusable if they attract too many pedestrians, and they can be dangerous where they cross streets or driveways and bring cyclists into contact with motorised traffic. One solution to the latter problem is to make these crossings more noticeable through on-road painting, as occurs in Copenhagen where the blue colour of cycleways crossing a road is very distinctive. However, in many places road use is the only option for cycling and, where this is the case, roads should provide cycling facilities that are safe, pleasant and appropriate.

Some key principles for the planning and design of cycle networks are as follows:

Coherence and directness: Cycling routes should take people as directly as possible from their point of origin to their destination. However, constructing a network of cycling routes that allows this to occur takes time to achieve. It can be built incrementally by prioritising those routes or sections of routes that have the greatest potential for cycling, or involve the greatest risks to cyclists. Over time existing routes can be linked to create a continuous and interconnected network of routes that provides coherent connections between the places where people live, work, shop and play. And, as is the case with the road network, signage on the cycle network can increase coherence for users.
Safety: Busy arterial roads are often the main impediment to cycling. Removing safety risks to cyclists within the road corridor, or providing high standard alternative routes can greatly increase levels of cycling. Cyclists need to be protected from other vehicles travelling on the same road, and from other vehicles at intersections.
In Bogotá, Columbia, bicycles were allowed on all urban streets. These streets were however hazardous for cyclists and in 1998 bicycle trips were less than 1% of total trips. By 2001, after 250 km of new bicycle facilities were constructed ridership had increased to 4% of total trips. In the same period, traffic fatalities in Bogota fell from 2-3 a day to 1-2 a day, largely as a result of dramatic improvements in cycling and walking facilities (Hook, 2003). In Bangalore the new 88 km long BRT ‘Janmarg’ was opened with cycling and pedestrian facilities all the way along it. Although there are some issues with the number of cross streets the system seems to be working well and has given a big boost to cyclists, who are a vanishing group in most Indian cities (Ramesh, 2011).
Cycle lanes should be clearly distinguishable, perhaps in a different colour and using a different road material. In some countries cycling lanes are placed between parked cars and the footpath. Whichever side of parked cars a bike lane is located on, there should be a space between these cars and the lane that is wide enough for a car door to open without colliding with cyclists or forcing them into traffic. Cyclists should be protected at major intersections, preferably with traffic lights, which may have ‘bicycle-jumps’ to allow cyclists to take off first. Two (or more) lane roundabouts are not safe for cyclists because changing lanes in the roundabout in order to turn can be dangerous.
Unsafe cycling infrastructure has been identified as a particular barrier for women, who tend to be more risk averse than men and have greater responsibility for transporting children. Women also tend to carry a higher load of domestic tasks than men and therefore planning safe cycling routes should include connections between residential areas and places for shopping and education (Garrard et al., 2008). In cities with good cycling facilities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen women of all ages are regular cyclists.
Comfort and attractiveness: Cycle facilities, whether on-road or off-road, need to have a smooth riding surface, as few as possible steep inclines, and little or no need for cyclists to stop and dismount. This can be achieved through good engineering design, appropriate materials, quality construction and ongoing maintenance. To be attractive, cycle routes do not necessarily have to go through scenic areas, but it helps if unattractive routes are avoided. Cycle routes are unattractive where users’ personal safety may be threatened, such as isolated and badly lit routes. Community safety through environmental design (CPTED) principles should be applied to planning and designing cycle facilities, and more information about this can be found atwww.cpted.net. Busy pedestrian pathways are also unattractive for cyclists, and thus cycle and pedestrian routes should only be combined if there is light use by both modes, and clearly separated if there is potential for heavier use.

Appropriate land use, development planning and regulation
Integrated land use and transport planning are essential if sustainable transport is to be achieved. Planning and regulation can help to ensure that walking and cycling are supported by the following conditions recommended by the International Bicycle Fund (www.ibike.org):

safe and convenient access to education, recreation, shopping, services and other facilities
secure parking areas for bicycles, [including at public transport stations], and encouragement of workplaces to provide changing rooms, showers and lockers for cycling employees
mixed-use, higher-density urban development well served by public transport
integrated public transport and cycling networks and facilities so that cycling can be a feeder mode for public transport, [and bikes can be carried on public transport]
avoidance of massive parking lots that separate urban areas and the provision of public access routes through major developments to increase their ‘permeability’.

More affordable bicycles

In many countries, bicycles are classified as luxuries and subject to high taxes and import duties, resulting in bicycles and spare parts becoming unaffordable for many potential owners. In 2002 Kenya scrapped import duties on bicycles and components to make them more affordable to those most vulnerable to rising fuel prices (ITDP News, 2002).

Moreover, in many countries the cheapest bicycle is not always the most appropriate one. Mountain bikes with multiple gears and off-road tyres – often the cheapest bikes available – are meant for infrequent, recreational cyclists. Their over-complicated components are not of sufficient quality or toughness for more regular use, and cyclists may not know how to repair them. More sturdy and appropriate bicycles are often much more expensive and spare parts may not be readily available. Thus, durable bikes for everyday use are often not accessible or affordable, unless they are made locally, as they are in India and China.

In response to this, in 2003 the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) designed the California Bike, an affordable, rugged bicycle designed for African conditions. The bicycle uses good quality mountain bike components, thus reducing later maintenance costs. A rugged design that can carry heavy loads is produced in a six-speed and single-speed model, the latter specifically aimed at rural areas. The ITDP works with a network of small bicycle distributors, and has partnered with the South African Department of Transport to make these bicycles available to urban and rural communities most in need. South Africa’s Shova Kalula (Ride Easy) program has distributed thousands of subsidised California Bikes in poor rural and outer-urban communities to address high levels of transport disadvantage in these communities (see picture at the top).

Developing countries should also consider the setting up of local bicycle assembly and/or manufacturing businesses, perhaps initially with the help of government and/or cycling support organisations. In this way bikes can be designed to suit local conditions and the budgets of local people. Such an appropriate technology could be a realistic CDM project. As of 2006, twothirds of the world’s bikes were being made in China (Gardner, 2008).

Many people cannot save to buy a bicycle because they have little or no income, or a significant portion of their income is spent on transport. This issue can be addressed through the provision of low-interest micro-loans or through income generating projects. For example, a South African NGO, Qhubeka, has established small agri-business ventures to create income generating opportunities for subsistence farmers (Qhubeka). A bicycle is one of the first purchases for most participants in the program.

In Bogotá, Fundación Ciudad Humana, a local organisation, arranges for people participating in cycling education programs and city bike tours to get discounts on bicycles purchases from local vendors (Rogat, 2010).

Load-carrying bicycles or bicycle trailers, as illustrated below, can make a bicycle into a freight vehicle, allowing small farmers or traders to cart their produce to market at a fraction of the cost of motorised transport. Bicycles that can comfortably carry small loads and/or children (Figure 2) can increase the viability of cycling for trips to take children to school and do shopping, which are predominantly made by women (Emond et al., 2009). These bicycles may however not be affordable for many who might benefit from them, and so here too low-interest small loans and income generating projects can promote employment and assist micro-businesses in transport disadvantaged communities.

Figure 2: Cycles are a practical solution for small cargo loads in local areas as well as carrying people. (Picture credit: www.workcycles.com)

Good access to servicing and parts

A major impediment to cycling, especially in rural and outer-urban areas, is the difficulty of access to servicing and parts. Urban residents may be able to walk to a shop to get spare parts, whereas more isolated cyclists may need to make a long trip on foot or by public transport. Even in urban areas there may not be anyone to fix the bicycle, or to do so at an affordable price. If cycling is to be a viable mode of transport for both rural and urban communities it is vital that they have access to affordable bicycle parts and maintenance.

The South African Department of Transport’s Shova Kalula (Ride Easy) (World Bank, 2002) program establishes bicycle sales and servicing micro-businesses in transport disadvantaged areas, in partnership with the local community. The program establishes each micro-business in a recycled shipping container, trains a bicycle mechanic and shop manager/owner, provides start-up capital in the form of bicycles, and works with bicycle importers and distributors to ensure a sustainable supply chain. By creating a network of these micro-businesses throughout the country, cycling becomes far more accessible in small rural communities. The benefits to these communities include improved access to education, employment and markets.

Better security

Bicycle theft and vandalism are major disincentives for cycling, so there needs to be safe parking for bicycles. New commercial and residential developments can be required to provide secure bicycle parking for employees, customers, residents and visitors, and government should work with local businesses to improve the security and quality of bicycle parking. Security in informal settlements is often difficult and a bicycle can be especially vulnerable to theft. One strategy to reduce the risk of bicycle theft is to reduce the value of the commodity by making cheap bicycles readily available. The Bicycle Empowerment Network (BEN) in South Africa has partnered with non-government organisations in developed countries to recycle donated and discarded bicycles, and it sells or donates these iimpoverished urban communities in the Western Cape (Bicycling Empowerment Network).

Changing attitudes towards cycling (based on Rogat, 2010)

Among the biggest barriers to increases in numbers of people cycling are public attitudes towards it. The following are some attitudes, and some strategies for addressing these:

Individuals or cultural groups may believe any of the following, e.g. that cycling is just for poor people who can’t afford motorised vehicles, that it for children, for men only, or for sports or recreation purposes only. Ways to address this include:

Promotional campaigns showing males and females of all ages and socio-economic groups cycling to work or for other practical purposes in ordinary clothes and on ‘city cycles’ (that is, not sports or mountain-bike types). As part of this, people can be made aware of cycling’s popularity as a mode of transport for males and females of all ages and classes in Northern Europe and elsewhere.
Having political and community leaders and other high-profile people cycle themselves.
Guided city bike tours and ride-to-work days.
Being persistent and recognising that cultural attitudes rarely change overnight. But each person won over to cycling becomes, by their very example, a cycling campaigner with the potential to win over others.

People may believe that cycling is impractical because of the weather (too hot, too cold, too rainy), the terrain (too hilly), the exertion (it makes the rider sweaty), or the time it takes. Strategies for addressing these beliefs include:

Citing the experience of other countries in which people cycle in warm, cool or rainy weather, including those of northern Europe where it sometimes snows.
Identifying the proportion of days when the weather is actually unsuitable for cycling, as people may tend to exaggerate this. Many parts of developing countries have temperatures quite suitable for cycling. Cyclists can also check weather forecasts and use alternative transport on unsuitable days.
Promoting geared or electric bikes in hilly areas. This was an approach taken in Valparaiso, Chile, given its hilly terrain.
Provision of showers in workplaces.
Provision of information about the actual time required for trips by bicycle and alternative modes.
Encouraging people to try cycling out, individually or in organised cycling events.

People may see cycling as unsafe. Strategies for addressing this concert include:

All the measures already described to actually make it more safe.
Provision of information about the safest bicycle routes.
Education about its actual level of safety, and about benefits to health and well-being.

Measures like these to try and change attitudes to cycling should incorporate the following features:

Blending different methods: the affective (portraying cyclists as happy, free, modern, stylish, etc); the rational (presenting evidence-based arguments about cost, health, safety, the environment, etc); the practical (taking people on bike tours or showing them how to do basic repairs) and the social (doing things in groups, which reinforces the normality of cycling and makes it more fun).
Organising events that address the situation of particular groups of cyclists or promote cycling in particular ways. For women, recent studies have shown that group cycling and cycling events also provide an important socially supportive environment that can encourage more women to start and continue to ride bicycles for transport (Garrard et al, 2008). In Bogota, Lima and Quito, Sunday cycling events and festivals are organised. Bogota’s event, known as Sunday Ciclovia, involves the closing of 120 kms of city streets to other traffic.
Getting the media on-side, as well as other sectors of society, such as businesses, academics and community organisations. Cycling organisations can be encouraged to form and given support. Corporate sponsorship of cycling events can be arranged.
Educating motorists to respect cyclists and watch out for them.
Educating children. Positive attitudes to cycling can be instilled at an early age by by including cycling and road safety education in the school curriculum and ensuring the provision of safe cycling routes to schools.

Other ways of improving the accessibility of cycling

Improvements to bicycle taxis: Bicycle taxis have tended to be old, uncomfortable and seen as old fashioned. In some cities they are being phased out, supposedly for humanitarian reasons. The Institute for Transport and Development Policy (ITDP) has been working in India and Indonesia to improve the design, reputation and regulation of bicycle taxis, and to build their image as an efficient, environmentally friendly and equitable means of transport (Hook, 2003).
In cities such as Barcelona, Brisbane, New York, and hundreds more in Europe, America and elsewhere, bicycle taxis or pedi-cabs are a small but popular, environmentally friendly way of getting around. If well-regulated to ensure safety and order and avoid an over-supply of them, they can improve the image of cycling.
Bike share schemes: Bicycle sharing or hire schemes are very popular in European cities and are gaining popularity worldwide, with Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago implementing them (The Bike Sharing Blog). Most modern schemes require expensive infrastructure and extensive support but the cost of this can be partly met by membership fees and advertising on the bikes. If supported by a network of safe cycling routes they can raise the image of cycling and act as an extension to the public transport system. They are not as expensive as most urban road expansion programs and do offer considerable reductions in car use as has happened with Paris’s Velib scheme (Mairie de Paris).

Electric bicycles: As well as being useful for hilly terrain (as just noted), these are useful when there are heavy loads to be carried or when riders are not very fit. These may be more expensive than regular bikes, but they are less expensive than cars, motorcycles and motor scooters and so on balance are relatively cheap. In China the cost of an electric bicycle is 2,000 Renminbi ($290 US), which is cheaper than the cost of a scooter and faster than a peddle bicycle, at 20kph (Ramzy, 2009). They still provide exercise, and are relatively quiet and able to tap into renewable energy. Chinese cities have very large numbers of electric bicycles. In 2008, customers in China bought approximately 90% of the 23 million electric bicycles sold worldwide, and even though there are 25 million cars on their roads, they have four times as many electric bicycles (Ramzy, 2009).

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

Since the 1960s and 1970s many European countries and cities have decided to support more sustainable transport modes - public transport, walking and cycling - to address the multiple problems of car use. In the area of cycling, supportive policies and infrastructure that followed have now reversed the rapid decline in cycling in many localities. For example, Amsterdam and Copenhagen started supporting cycling in the 1960s and have seen continual growth in cycling ever since (Servaas, 2000)

In Germany, supportive planning and policy ensure that only 15% of trips between 1 and 3 km in length are made by car, bus, train or taxi (Hook, 2003). The rest are made by walking (55%) or cycling (30%) despite highlevels of car ownership and wealth. By comparison, in Surabaya, Indonesia, 60% of trips between 1 and 3 km are motorised, while walking (30%) and cycling (10%, including becak trips) play a smaller role due to unsupportive infrastructure and policies (Hook, 2003).

A number of developed countries have realised that cycling is a very efficient and feasible form of transport for short to medium distances. Where supported by governments and non-government organisations, cycling’s popularity and its contribution to the overall transport system have greatly increased. For example London has seen a 91% increase in cycling over nine years (Road Network Performance and Research, 2009) and New York has doubled the number of people cycling to work in four years, thanks to supportive policies, programs and infrastructure (New York City Department of Transportation).

In Latin America too there have also been concerted efforts to increase the popularity of cycling, for example, in Bogota, Colombia, in Concepción, Chile, in Lima, Peru, and in Quito, Ecuador. In Bogota 4% of travel is now by bicycle, compared with 0.58% in 1998 (Rogat, 2010).

Contribution of the technology to social development :

Cycling can make an important contribution, not only to the transport system, but also to the environment, the economy and the social fabric of communities.

Social benefits include:

Affordability: A bicycle provides high levels of personal mobility at very low cost. In Chile, the cost of a bicycle is the same as the cost of transport tickets for two months (Rogat, 2010). As well, there are no fuel or parking costs and no taxes. This gives individuals more disposable income to spend on other things.
Equity across localities: Cycling can provide high levels of personal mobility for negligible cost in dispersed settlements, including rural or peri-urban areas, where population densities make public transport economically less viable.
Health: Physical inactivity results in increased health problems such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, stress and high blood pressure. Cycling increases physical activity levels and reduces the economic cost of health problems. A study in Australia found that physical inactivity cost the healthcare system $1.5 billion per annum (Medibank. 2007). Traffic pollution also affects health. In Europe 310,000 people die annually from respiratory and circulatory disease caused by vehicle emissions (Rogat, 2010).
Education: in many rural areas children walk long distances to school as public transport is either an early age. A bicycle can significantly improve a child’s access to education opportunities.

Contribution of the technology to economic development (including energy market support) :

Economic benefits include:

Transport efficiency: cycling and walking are the most space efficient transport modes for short trips. Bicycles need less than a third of the space cars need to transport the same number of people (Hook, 2003).
High benefit to cost ratio from investment in facilities: the cost of building facilities for cyclists is small, compared to those for cars, but the economic benefit can be significant. Benefits include reduced road infrastructure, congestion and pollution; improved road safety for pedestrians and cyclists; and savings in private and public transport running costs. In Chile the cost of bicycle infrastructure is one tenth the cost of roads ($US 180,000 compared with $US 1.8 million per kilometre). Sao Paulo, with little cycling, loses 7% of its GDP as a result of traffic congestion (Rogat, 2010). Economic studies in four South American cities found that constructing cycleways had a benefit to cost ratio of 7.3:1 over a ten year period (VNG/I-ce, 2000)
Access to markets: Bicycles can transport small freight loads over short distances at little or no cost, allowing small subsistence farmers and traders to access markets and customers affordably.
Reduced reliance on fossil fuel: Increased use of bicycles reduces reliance on crude oil, which most countries must import.
Higher worker productivity: It has been demonstrated that cycling to work leads to better attention levels, higher productivity and reduced absenteeism (Rogat, 2010).
Greater economic inclusion: Because of its affordability, cycling gives more people access to jobs, education and services (Rogat, 2010).
Improved safety: Increased cycling reduces traffic fatalities and serious injuries because it reduces the number of car trips (which cause fatalities) and because – as experience in Copenhagen demonstrates – significant increases in cycling, along with better cycling infrastructure, can sharply reduce the absolute number of serious injuries to cyclists. Between 1996 and 2006 bicycle paths there increased by 20% and the number of cyclists increased by 25%, while in the same period serious cycling injuries were reduced by 62% (Gehl, 2010). Thus increased cycling reduces a significant economic and social burden (WHO, 2009).

Contribution of the technology to protection of the environment :

Environmental benefits include:

Emissions: a bicycle emits no greenhouse gases or local air pollution when operated and far less than a car when manufactured.
Noise and congestion: bicycles are far quieter than motor vehicles and take up less space. Electric bikes have similar advantages.
Sprawl: By requiring less road space and by reducing the average length of trips, cycling contributes to urban consolidation.

Climate :

A two kilometre bicycle trip saves 419 grams of CO₂, if it replaces a car trip, although there are some emissions generated in the production and distribution of bicycles.

Financial requirements and costs :

Bicycling is an inexpensive and efficient form of transport compared with most other modes, particularly car use. As already noted, the cost of constructing cycle paths or lanes is about one-tenth of the cost of constructing roads. If included as part of the design for a new or upgraded roadway the cost will be a small fraction of the total cost of the roadway. Providing cycling lanes on existing roads can be cheaply done when resealing or restriping roads as part of regular maintenance. Building and maintaining cycling paths are ideally suited for labour–intensive methods and can be part of a job creation program with tangible transport benefits to communities. A number of foreign and local non-government organisations assist people to meet the costs of buying bicycles, through low-interests loans. The development of cycling infrastructure can be financed from a range of sources. Concepcion, Chile, for example, obtained finance from the Global Environment Fund and the Chilean Government (Rogat, 2010).

References :

Bonham, J. & B. Koth (2010). ‘Universities and the Cycling Culture’, In Transportation Research - Part D, 15(2), 2010, pp 94-102

CROW (1993) Sign Up for the Bike: Design Manual for a Cycle-Friendly Infrastructure, The Centre for Research and Contract Standardisation in Civil and Traffic Engineering , The Netherlands, 1993.

Bicycling Empowerment Network: http://www.benbikes.org.za/, viewed 24 Feb 2011

The Bike Sharing Blog: http://bike-sharing.blogspot.com/2008/12/first-south-american-programs-underway.html, viewed 24 Feb 2011.
Emond, C., W Tang, & S Handy (2009). Explaining Gender Difference in Bicycling Behaviour. In Transportation Research Record, 2125, pp 16-25, 2009.
Gardner, G. (2008). ‘Bicycle Production Reaches 130 Million Units’, Vital Signs: Global trends that shape our future, Worldwatch Institute, 12 Nov 2008, http://vitalsigns.worldwatch.org/vs-trend/bicycle-production-reaches-130-million-units. Viewed 5 Dec 2010.
Garrard, G., G. Rose & S K Lo (2008). Promoting transport cycling for women: The role of bicycle infrastructure. In Preventive Medicine, 46(1), 2008, pp 55–59.

Gehl, J. (2010). Cities for People, Island Press, Washington DC, Linking cycling into urban design.

GIZ and I-CE (various authors), ‘Cycling Inclusive Policy Development: A Handbook’, Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in Developing Countries, GIZ, www.sutp.org, viewed 1 March 2011.

Hook, W. (2003), ‘Preserving and Expanding the Role of Non-Motorised Transport’, 2003, Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in Developing Countries, GIZ, www.sutp.org, viewed 23 Feb 2011.

ITDP News (2002). Basic Mobility Now Costs Less: Kenya and Tanzania Reduce Bike Tariffs, 1 Sept 2002, available athttp://www.itdp.org/index.php/news/detail/basic_mobility_costs_less/, viewed 24 Feb 2011.

Langen, M. de & R. Tembele (2001). Productive and Livable Cities: Guidelines for Pedestrian and Bicycle Traffic in African Cities, IHE Delft University, 2001.

Mairie de Paris. Velib: http://www.velib.paris.fr/, viewed 24 Feb 2011.
Medibank, (2007). The Cost of Physical Inactivity’, available at www.medibank.com.au, viewed 24 Feb 2011.
New York City Department of Transportation, ‘Bicyclists: Bicycle Statistics and Reports’, available athttp://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikestats.shtml, viewed 24 Feb 2011.

O’Hare, Michael. ‘Bogota – A good cycling city?’. Cities for people: towards the sustainable city, http://www.citiesforpeople.net/bogota-a-good-cycling-city, viewed 1 March 2011.

Pucher, J., J. Dill & S. Handy (2010). ‘Infrastructure, Programs and Policies To Increase Bicycling: An International Review’, Preventive Medicine, Vol 50, no S1, January 2010, (Prepared for the Active Living By Design Program),http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/Pucher_Dill_Handy10.pdf, viewed 1 March 2011.

Pucher, J. & R Buehler, ‘Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany’, Transport Reviews,http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/irresistible.pdf, viewed 1 March 2011.

Qhubeka: http://www.qhubeka.org/qhubeka/__home__.html, viewed 24 Feb 2011.
Ramzy, Austin (2009). On the Streets of China, Electric Bikes are Swarming, In Time Magazine, June 2009, available athttp://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1904334,00.html, viewed 24 Feb 2011

Ramesh, Rakshada (2011). MA Urban Design student at National University of Singapore. Personal communicationRoad Network Performance and Research (2009). Trends in Cycling Levels in London, RNPR Traffic Note 9, Transport for London, 2009.

Rogat, Jorge (2010). Planning and Implementation of Campaigns to Promote Bicycle Use in Latin America – guide for decision-makers, UNEP, UNEP Risoe Centre, GEF, 2010, http://www.unep.org/transport/PDFs/public_transport/bicycleguide.pdf, viewed 15 Jan 2011.

Schroeder, Bradley (2007). ‘Doing Business in Africa: The California Bike Coalition Comes of Age’, Sustainable Transport, No. 19; Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, Fall 2007, pp 18-30, www.itdp.org/documents/st_magazine/ITDP-ST_Magazine-19.pdf, viewed 1 March 2011.

Servaas, M. (2000). The significance of non-motorised transport for developing countries: strategies for policy development, Interface for Cycling Expertise (I-ce), 2000.
‘Sustainable City – Bogota, Colombia’, Sustainable cities net: a portal to the future of cities,http://www.sustainablecitiesnet.com/2007/06/28/sustainable-city-bogota-colombia/,viewed 1 March 2011.

VNG/I-ce (2000). The Economic Significance of Cycling, The Hague/Utrecht, available at www.cycling.nl, viewed 24 Feb 2011.

VTPI, ‘Cycling Improvements’, TDM Encyclopedia, Victoria Transport Policy Institute, http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm93.htm, viewed 1 March 2011.

World Bank (2002). ‘Cities on the Move: A World Bank Urban Transport Strategy Review’, available athttp://www.gtkp.com/uploads/20091105-144804-7923-cities_on_the_move.pdf, viewed 24 Feb 2011.
World Health Organization (2009). Global Status Report on Road Safety, available athttp://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2009/en/, viewed 24 Feb 2011.

Source:

Salter, R., S. Dhar, and P. Newman (Eds.) (2011). Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation –Transport Sector. UNEP Risø Centre, Roskilde, March 2011, available at http://tech-action.org/

Electric vehicles

2012-03-16T00:14:00.001+01:00

Electric vehicles are about 2.5 times more energy efficient than their counterparts which are powered solely by internal combustion engines. This high energy efficiency is the main reason why electric vehicles can contribute to lower the CO₂ emission and energy consumption of traffic substantially. Electric vehicles have zero tailpipe exhaust emissions and thus contribute substantially to a better air quality. Additionally, electric vehicles are inherently silent and can help to reduce the noise levels in cities. However, the market share of electric vehicles is currently still very small and consists mainly of small vehicles intended for urban transport. Purchase costs of electric vehicles are high compared to similar sized ICE vehicles. These high purchase costs are predominantly caused by the high costs of the battery pack needed in the vehicle. Moreover a recharging network with sufficient coverage is not yet available in most countries.

Introduction :

Electric vehicles are propelled solely by electric motors. There are three main types of electric vehicles:

Battery electric vehicles
Series Hybrid vehicles (see also description of Hybrid Electric Vehicles)
Hydrogen Fuel cell vehicles. (see also description of fuel cells for mobile applications)

The Battery Electric Vehicle does not have an internal generator to produce electricity, all the electricity has to be obtained from the power grid. Examples are the Citroen EVie, Mitsubishi iMiev and the Think (van Agt, 2010). The Chinese company BYD is planning to produce 100 electric cars in 2010, with the aim of using them as taxis in Shenzhen, where BYD is located. (Bloomberg News, 2010)
The Series Hybrid vehicle can obtain its electricity from the power grid but has additionally a small internal combustion engine which serves as a generator to recharge the battery and offers an extended driving range. The combustion engine does not directly propel the vehicle. Examples are the Opel Ampera, GM Volt and the Volvo Recharge. The third group of electric vehicles are hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. These vehicles can also obtain their electricity from the power grid but in addition, the fuel cell can serve as a generator to recharge the battery, which also extends the driving range. Examples are the Honda Clarity and the Toyota FCHV. In the following we focus on battery electric vehicles.
There are three main technical differences between a car run on an internal combustion engine and an electric car:

The internal combustion engine is exchanged for an electric motor.
The electric motor is powered by a controller.
The controller in turn is connected to rechargeable batteries, by which it is powered.

In addition, whilst an internal combustion engines contains lots of tubes, e.g. to transport the fuel, an electric engine contains a large amount of electric wiring. (Brain, 2005).
It is technically possible to convert a gasoline-powered vehicle to an electric vehicle; however, the associated costs are relatively high. (US Department of Energy, 2010) An explanation of how this conversion works can be found here.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

The main barriers for a wider user of electric vehicles are related to the batteries and to the recharging infrastructure. Batteries for use in electric cars are still expensive and have relatively limited driving ranges. Most existing EV need to be recharged after maximum 150 to 300 km. Completely recharging the batteries may take 4 to 8 hours. (US Department of Energy, 2010b) The widespread use of electric vehicles requires an extensive recharging infrastructure.

The absence of this infrastructure may lead to reluctance to buy electric vehicles due to the fear of getting stranded with empty batteries.

The main technical obstacles which hamper the introduction are how to standardize the cords and connectors used for recharging, the decision to employ an on- or off-board charger and to development of an accurate state of charge meter for the battery. (Markel, 2010)

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

The market share of battery electric vehicles is still very limited and comprises mainly of small vehicles intended for urban transport (van Agt, 2010). Moreover, the purchase costs for electric vehicles are still relatively high due to the high costs of the required battery pack. To lower the purchase costs of the vehicle only relatively small battery packs are installed, limiting the driving range, which makes electric vehicles currently only suitable for urban transport. Nevertheless, the technology used in electric cars is largely proven and a breakthrough can be expected when the costs and weight of the battery pack are lowered sufficiently.

Contribution of the technology to economic development (including energy market support) :

Depening on where a country sources its gasoline and how it produces electricity, electric vehicles may improve energy security, as they may lower the dependency on imported gasoline.

Contribution of the technology to protection of the environment :

The energy efficiency of electric cars is about 2.5 times better than their fossil fuel counterparts, which is the main reason why electric cars can lower the greenhouse gas emissions of road traffic and reduce the demand for oil. The actual greenhouse gas emission associated with the use of battery electric vehicles depends largely on the way the required electricity has been produced. Employing coal fired electricity plants to generate the electricity will marginally lower the CO₂ emissions of an electric vehicle compared to similar sized vehicles with an internal combustion engine. However, using renewable electricity will lower the greenhouse gas emissions considerably. Electric vehicles might even provide a way to make the electricity sector more sustainable, if the batteries in the vehicles could be used to store the variable output of wind and solar-based power generation (Nieuwenhout et al, 2009).
Electric vehicles have no tail-pipe emission of air pollutants such as NO_x and soot, which means that they can substantially contribute to improving local air quality, especially in urban areas. The global improvement of the air quality however, is determined by the way the electricity used is produced, e.g. fossil fuel fired power plants can have substantial emissions of NOx and soot when no appropriate measures are taken.
Road traffic is responsible for the majority of noise in cities. Electric vehicles are very quiet and can help to reduce noise levels in cities.

Financial requirements and costs :

The high cost of an electric vehicle over the conventional alternative is mainly determined by the costs of the lithium ion battery pack. Recent developments in lithium-ion batteries make it likely that these additional costs can be reduced from the current level of about €15,000 in prototypes to an expected level of around €3,000 in 2020. This requires the battery to be about €200-250 per kWh (Nieuwenhout et al, 2009). The 2007 prices for high energy batteries range from €800/kWh to €1000/kWh (Pesaran et al, 2009). The medium term cost goals of these batteries are €500/kWh in 2012 and €300/kWh in 2016. BYD’s first commercial electric car, the E6 model, is expected to be available for sale in the US for 40’000 USD in 2010. (People’s Daily Online, 2010)

In addition, there is a need for investment into the recharging infrastructure. This infrastructure needs to be standardized in a way that every brand of electric vehicle can recharge at every recharging station. A simple recharging point at a private house or at an office site costs about $ 1800,-. However, a public recharging station, with the necessary electronics to make contact with the bank is estimated to cost about $ 18.000,-. (Roeterdink, 2010).

Clean Development Mechanism market status :

[This information is kindly provided by the UNEP Risoe Centre Carbon Markets Group.]

Project developers of projects deploying electric vehicles can use the following CDM methodology: AMS-III.C.: Emission reductions by electric and hybrid vehicles.

References :

Bloomberg News (2010): BYD Scales Back Its Electric-Car Plans, Morning Post Reports. March 15, 2010. available athttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aNMr8oxbgSKo

van Agt, Jeroen (2010): Overview of electric cars, available at http://www.olino.org/us/articles/2008/10/26/overview-of-electric-cars

Brain, Marshall (2002): How Electric Cars Work, available at HowStuffWorks.com, http://auto.howstuffworks.com/electric-car.htm

Nieuwenhout, F., Kolokathis, C., Özdemir, Ö. and Schoots, K. (2009): Financial and economic analysis of electric vehicles and heat pumps. ITM WP3

People’s Daily Online (2010): BYD electric car to be sold in US for $40,000. May 19, 2010. Available athttp://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90778/90860/6990705.html

Pesaran, A.A., Markel, T., Tataria, H.S. and Howell, D.(2009): Battery Requirements for Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicles.

Roeterdink, W.G., Uyterlinde, M.A., Kroon P. and Hanschke, C.B. (2010): Groen Tanken: Inpassing van alternatieve brandstoffen in de tank- en distributie infrastructuur. ECN report E—09-082

US Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels and Advances Vehicles Data Centre (2010): Electric Vehicle Availability. Available athttp://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/vehicles/electric_availability.html

US Department of Energy, www.fueleconomy.gov (2010b): Electric Vehicles (EVs). Available athttp://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/evtech.shtml

Author affiliation:

Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Policy Studies

Source: http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/electric-vehicles

Charcoal production for cooking and heating

2012-03-16T00:02:00.000+01:00

Charcoal is used as a domestic fuel for cooking and heating in many developing countries. It is the most popular barbecue fuel throughout the world. Its advantages when used as a domestic fuel are that it: produces less smoke while burning, requires little or no preparation before actual use, has a higher energy content per unit mass, can be easily transported and stored, and reused when left over after cooking.

Introduction :

Charcoal production is done through a method called pyrolysis of biomass. Pyrolysis is defined as the irreversible chemical change brought about by heating the biomass in the absence of oxygen. During pyrolysis, biomass undergoes a sequence of changes and normally yields a black carbonaceous solid, called charcoal, along with a mixture of gases and vapors. Generally, charcoal production through pyrolysis is maximised in a process of low temperatures and slow heating rates, the so-called carbonisation.

Until now, the primary raw material for charcoal production has been fuelwood. However, considering the fact that supplies of wood are often limited, a variety of agricultural and forestry residues that often remain unused appear to be potentially important raw materials for charcoal production.

Several successful projects in the efficient charcoal production have been reported so far. The Mafia Pilot Project in Tanzania on the use of Coconut Industry Waste for Energy production was started in 1985 (Bhattacharya and Abdul Salam, 2006). It was funded by the German development agency GTZ and implemented by the Ministry of Water, Energy and Minerals of Tanzania, with the following objectives:

To produce high-quality charcoal from coconut shell and husk for local domestic and industrial use,
To utilise gas produced in the process of shell/ husk carbonization for copra drying to replace 80,000 liters of fuel oil consumed annually by Mafia Coconut Ltd. in Mafia,
To produce charcoal from coconut trunks that become available in the process of land clearing operations undertaken for the establishment of new plantations, and
To investigate the possibility of substituting a diesel powered thermal power plant with a coconut waste fuelled power plant.

The carbonisation plant consisted of sixteen carbo-gas-retorts (made of iron plates), which were made locally. The carbo-gas retort technology can produce high quality charcoal and combustible carbonisation gas from coconut shell and husk. The technology was transferred to the local personnel towards the end of the project and a number of retorts were set up and operated by them without further external technical assistance.

The Malawi Charcoal Project funded by the World Bank and the Malawi Government was initiated in 1986 to produce charcoal from wood wastes generated on the forest plantations owned by the government (Bhattacharya and Abdul Salam, 2006). Following the pilot phase of the project between October 1986 and January 1988, a commercialisation phase extended through August 1989. The project also built two Beehive brick kilns with an effective capacity of 35 m³.

The total investment cost of a full size production centre of this project were USD 10,000 on average in 1988. By mid 1989, the estimated cost of lump charcoal (>10 mm) and charcoal fine (<10 mm) were USD 36 and 26, respectively. The selected mode of charcoal production proved to be cost-effective and appropriate to local conditions. The construction and operation of the kilns was done by the trained local labour and all the necessary inputs and materials were procured locally.

Another successful charcoal production project is Dandora Charcoal Plant which was established by the Kenya Planters Co-operative Union to produce charcoal briquettes from coffee husks (Bhattacharya and Abdul Salam, 2006).

Batch carbonisation of coffee husk is carried out in pit kilns to obtain charcoal dust. Maize starch is used as binder of briquetting the charcoal dust. The mass conversion efficiency of the kiln was 33%. The charcoal produced had a fixed carbon content of about 70% and a volatile matter content of about 10%.

In 1986, batch charcoal production from rice husk weighing 10 kg was performed in India, based on a concept developed at the Indian Institute of Technology. The best carbonisation sample had 33.9% ash, 22.5% volatile matter and 43.6% fixed carbon. In 1980, the design of a vertical packed bed, partial oxidation pyrolysis reactor was reported by Bhattacharya and Abdul Salam (2006). Different versions of this basic design that originated from Georgia Institute of Technology were developed and tested in Ghana, Thailand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines.

By the year 1996, five commercial Carbolisi Process Plants were installed in Europe. The capacities of these plants were in the range of 1500-6000 tonnes/year. Through the Carbolisi process, woody biomass such as stumps, coconut shell, vine prunings, branchlets, etc., can be converted into charcoal (Bhattacharya and Abdul Salam, 2006).

In 2003, the BOC Foundation awarded a grant of £ 26,175 to the UK-based environmental organization Bio Regional

Development Group to fund the development of regional charcoal production from UK woodlands. The BOC Foundation awards grants for projects proposing practical solutions to environmental problems in the UK. The project aims to prove that eco-products can deliver good returns whilst reducing pollution and helping biodiversity. With Bio Regional under operation, the CO₂ emissions due to transporting the charcoal are 85% less than when charcoal is imported from, for example, South Africa or South America. Currently, BOC is acquired by the Linde group after supporting 140 environmental projects.

Between 1993 and 1997, the Asociación de Productores Forestales de Villa Mills (ASOPROFOR-Villa Mills Forestry Producers Association) developed a production and commercialisation system of vegetal charcoal in the Villa Mills, Piedra Alta, and Alto del Jaular communities of Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica. The project was executed by producers, packers, and a local transporter who were seeking to commercialise charcoal produced in harmony with nature, using wood dead from natural causes or from sustainably managed forests. Traditional charcoal production techniques were investigated and improved techniques were proposed. It also created part-time employment possibilities for women, who traditionally lacked job opportunities until then.

Figure 1: Malawi Charcoal Project (Source: Global Envision)

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

Basically, the charcoal production has two technological routes for producing charcoal briquettes from waste biomass and residues:

i) the briquetting – carbonisation (B-C) option: the raw material is first densified and then carbonised to produce charcoal briquettes. Biomass densification can be regarded as an established technology and a wide range of techniques, raw material and capacity are available.

ii) the carbonisation – briquetting (C-B) option: the raw material is first carbonised and crushed if necessary to obtain powdered charcoal, which is then briquetted using a suitable binder.
Reactors used for biomass pyrolysis are most commonly classified depending on the way the solids move through the reactor. The reactors can be classified as follows:

Type A: No solid movement through the reactor during pyrolysis (batch reactors),
Type B: Moving bed (shaft furnaces),
Type C: Movement caused by mechanical forces (e.g., rotary kiln, rotating screw, etc.), and
Type D: Movement caused by fluid flow (e.g, fluidized bed, spouted bed, entrained bed, etc.).

Today, charcoal production is mainly based on Type A and Type B reactors; Type A reactors are quite common in developing countries. Several research organisations throughout the world are working on increasing efficient production of charcoal. For instance, the French organisation CIRAD is conducting advanced research into thermo-chemical biomass conversion processes, particularly pyrolysis. For several years now, it has been studying high-pressure pyrolysis, which boosts charcoal production, increases biomass conversion rates and reduces GHG emissions when compared to working at low pressure. In 2004, CIRAD used this experience the European project entitled ‘Ultra Low CO₂ emission Steelmaking’ (ULCOS), coordinated by the Arcelor-Mittal group, which set out to develop steel production processes (fuel use) within the next decade with much less GHG emissions than those processes currently used by the European steel industry. In particular, this involves substituting biomass, notably from plantations in the tropics, for fossil fuels.

In the Philippines, Approtech Asia, the country’s contact point of the Asia Regional Cookstove Programme (ARECOP), are involved in various programmes to improve the kiln construction for charcoal and briquette production. The Improved Cook Stove Programme of the Philippines (ICSP) promotes the use of ICS and improved fuel, such as quality charcoal, briquette from agri wastes and ‘wood vinegar’. This stimulates the rural industry and thus contributes to poverty alleviation. Approtech Asia, through ICSP, promotes the use of improved charcoal stove and quality charcoal and briquette from agricultural wastes available in the area. Local government units and co-operatives are encouraged to establish rural industries for high quality charcoal and briquette production using improved kiln technology. Surveys show that charcoal is still popular as cooking fuel, especially in roasting pigs and chicken in populated urban centres.
A process of carbonising sugarcane leaves has been developed in India. The process consists of packing sugarcane leaves tightly in stainless lidded cans. Heat for pyrolysis comes from burning cane trash on a grate below the cans; pyrolysis gases escaping from holes at the bottom of the stainless steel cans also contribute some heat for carbonisation. The results of thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis of bagasse, cane tops and leaves have been reported to yield lower volatiles and higher ash and char compared with wood (Deepchand, 1987).

Charcoal production of wood wastes has been studied by many researchers using different type of reactors. A conceptual design of a fluidised bed system for carbonising timber industry waste has been presented in Fung (1979). An economic analysis of the system showed that wood residues could be profitably utilised with a payback period of 5 years. Mass and energy balance on an experimental fluidised bed at 500⁰C showed that the charcoal recovered could correspond to 11% of the energy input.

A research project on the viability of charcoal production from wood wastes generated on government forest plantation in Sub-Sahara Africa successfully implemented a charcoal plant with a capacity of 9.5 ktonnes per year (Teplitz-Sembitzky and Zieroth, 1990).

A feasibility study on pyrolysis gas utilisation in the Philippines was conducted in 1991 (Apale et al., 1991), which showed that coconut shells could be converted to charcoal without wasting the resulting pyrolytic gases. Similarly, production of charcoal from coconut shell in various types of kilns was studied in Estudillo et al. (1977), which showed that modified drum kiln deliver a charcoal yield in the range 27-35%. A continuous retort designed by the Forest Product Research and Industries Development Commission was found to give better results than the masonry and earthen kilns (Estudillo et al., 1977).

The Thai programme of rice husk pyrolysis using vertical packed bed reactors was carried out at the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) in the early 1980s (TISTR, 1984). A demonstration plant installed in the framework of the programme at a rice mill showed that the charcoal yield was about 45% of the feedstock. On a dry basis, the fixed carbon content of the char was 34.7-59.8% (volatile matter 5.2-9.8%, and ash 33.9-58.6%).

Figure 2: Carbonized Rice Husk (Source: Rice Knowledge Bank)

Factors that could affect commercial charcoal production and trade include: scarcity of wood for charcoal making; inadequacy or flaws in government regulations; lack of understanding of local wood fuel systems which often tend to adapt themselves to changing situations; informal nature of operations and the market; variations in the systems to match specific site conditions.

Several barriers on the policy issues have been reported in various nations (Evans, 2002). In most developing countries, there is a greater need for official recognition of charcoal production and marketing by national energy policies. For instance, although energy policy in Kenya favours development and promotion of improved charcoal cook stoves and sustainable farm forestry for fuel wood, charcoal making remains illegal in the country. Only official policy recognition can realise community development initiatives, including capacity building in farm forestry methods, charcoal-making and stove fabrication, charcoal trade and entrepreneurship. Similarly, national energy and technology policies need to be harmonised to allow for cross border technology transfer and capacity building. Personnel exchanges among collaborating institutional entities would be promoted through such schemes. The land tenure policy in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa requires streamlining and is presently a source of conflict. But when a household has rights over a given land area, it can confidently develop it further through activities including modern farm forestry methods.

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

In many developing countries, e.g. Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, among the commonly used biomass fuels, charcoal has occupied a specific place specifically for cooking purpose. Some developed countries in Asia buy charcoal and charcoal briquettes from other countries in the region. Considering the specific requirements mentioned above, it can be concluded that there is a continued need for improvement in efficiency of production, unhindered, open and competitive trade, and optimal utilisation through technological innovations in the coming years.

In view of the shortage of fuel wood in most developing countries, biomass residues and wastes appear to be potentially important raw materials for charcoal making. Charcoal production from different biomass residues and wastes has been studied quite extensively. Also, a wide range of equipment is available for industrial charcoal making from these materials. Charcoal production from biomass briquettes to produce briquetted charcoal is commercially established in a number of Southeast Asian countries. Some important developments have taken place regarding charcoal making recently, which include torrefaction, carbonisation under pressure, and fluidised bed charcoal making.

Figure 3: Charcoal Briquette (Source: Wikipedia)

Currently, large fractions of biomass residues and waste generated annually remain unused and simply decay to release their carbon content as as GHG to the atmosphere. When these residues, including charcoal produced from them, are used for energy generation instead of fossil fuels, GHG emissions could be reduced. Also, the charcoal could be suitably stored, e.g. in soil, to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. These applications are likely to promote charcoal making from planted trees and herbaceous crops as well as residues and wastes in the years to come.

Video 1

How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protection :

There are several environmental and socioeconomic benefits associated with each stage (extraction, processing, use, and disposal) in the process of efficient charcoal production. With sustainable fuelwood production, there will be increased carbon sink and moisture reservoir, enhanced household energy security and greater entrepreneurial opportunities created through sales of poles and firewood. The efficient biomass harvesting helps to reduce wood residues and wastes on the one hand, and increases the sales of residues as firewood and wood chips on the other hand. Improved efficiency pyrolysis will reduce CH₄ emissions. The carbon sink potential of forests is preserved by avoiding tree cutting and less amount of wood is required to yield the same amount of charcoal.

Contribution of the technology to economic development (including energy market support) :

Due to increased on-farm availability of fuelwood, the time spent daily on gathering fuelwood is saved for use in more productive activities and higher incomes, which in itself could further improve livelihoods. Furthermore, the capacities of the locals to initiate and sustain biomass husbandry projects, charcoal production and stove fabrication would be strengthened. Other skills gained would include small business management and marketing. This life-cycle focused strategy is designed to minimise the loss of material and energy at the various life-cycle stages and this could supply extra wood for competing demands. It has the potential for application in the entire sub-Saharan Africa region with a wide array of social, economic and environmental gains. If well designed and implemented, the approach is potentially cost-effective with high chances of success due to local community participation.

Contribution of the technology to protection of the environment :

This technology will significantly reduce toxic indoor air pollutants which will result in improved health conditions, in particular for women and children. Acute respiratory infections rank fourth in the list of diseases in sub-Saharan Africa and cause reduced productivity and lower life expectancy. According to Domac and Trossero (2008), a small scale charcoal production unit can emit quantities of particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrate oxides (NOx) and sulphate dioxide (SO₂), hydrogen fluoride (HF), hydrogen chlorine (HCl), formaldehyde, phenol, acetic acid, xylene and toluene. There are still various technologies, which permit a cleaner production of charcoal, such as the Social for Profit project whose products can acquire Eco-label and Fair-trade labels.

Climate top:

Improved charcoal use will thus contribute to CO₂ emission reduction and fuel saving. For calculation of GHG emission reductions (mainly methane), it is recommended to apply the approved methodology for mitigation of methane emissions in the wood carbonization activity for charcoal production project (large scale activities) which has been developed under the Clean Development Mechanism of the UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol (CDM). This methodology helps to determine a baseline for GHG emissions in the absence of the project (i.e. business-as-usual circumstances), how emission reductions below this baseline can be calculated, and how these reductions can be monitored. General information about how to apply CDM methodologies for GHG accounting can be found at: http://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/PAmethodologies/approved.html.

Financial requirements and costs :

For the general cost assessment of the charcoal production process, an example is taken from operations in the Chaco forests of South America where charcoal is made on a large scale in a well organised manner. The unit operations include road construction, water supply, cutting underbrush, cross cutting with axes, primary extraction of mules, loading trailers, secondary transportation with tractor/ trailers, discharging trailers, loading kilns, carbonisation, unloading kilns to stockpile, loading trucks, transport to rail, unloading trucks, loading on rail, and rail transport to user.

For each unit, costs can be calculated, e.g. per ton of charcoal at the side of the kiln; total production cost is the sum of all unit costs. For example, the total costs per tonne saleable charcoal related to harvesting and delivering wood to the roadside would amount to USD 36.50 (see http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/docrep/x5555e/x5555e08.htm). This process must be repeated for all unit costs in order to determine their overall effect on production cost. It requires technical knowledge of the process and accounting skills. According to FAO, Where traditional clay brick kilns and a savannah forest yielding about 40 m³ of wood per ha are used, the following unit costs apply (expressed as a percentage of the cost of delivered charcoal): cost of wood of at kiln 60%, kiln labour costs 9%, working capital costs 3.5%, fixed investment costs 1.5%, transport costs of charcoal 26%.

The UN Foundation and the UNEP have undertaken an USD 8.6 million effort to help local entrepreneurs in Brazil, China and five African countries to create clean energy enterprises that deliver clean, affordable energy services to the rural and peri-urban poor. The Rural Energy Enterprise Development (REED) initiative with projects in Africa, Brazil and China is based on an enterprise development model pioneered by E&Co, a non-profit clean energy investor, and is being advanced at the country level in partnership with a diverse group of local NGOs (REED, 2003). The REED approach combines small amounts of start-up capital with extensive enterprise development services to help entrepreneurs create viable energy service enterprises, which offer a range of services and products including energy efficient cookstoves, solar dryers for food preservation, solar irrigation systems, wind pump repair services, the supply and service of solar home systems, LPG retail services, environmentally friendly charcoal production, etc.

In Africa, the African REED programmes promotes investment in charcoal cook stoves, LPG and biofuel. In China’s Yunnan Province, the Chinese REED programme is focused on financing fuel substitution enterprises, specifically those that help preserve the region’s rich biodiversity (REED, 2003). The Grande Caraj’s Programme in Brazil offers incentives to charcoal production for use in pig-iron mills; the first became operational on 8 January 1988. So far, incentives have been granted for eleven industries planned to function with charcoal. The contribution of charcoal to the energy demand in Europe is modest. Most of the charcoal produced is for private use (as fuel for barbecues) and for the production of active carbon (not for energy purposes).

Figure 4: BioCharcoal production (Source: Terra Preta)

References :

Apale, A.Y., Payawan, J.M. and Pelismino, D.G., 1991. Pre-Feasibility Study of Pyrolysis Gases Utilization from Coconut Shell Carbonization, Philippine Coconut Authority, Philippines (EC- ASEAN COGEN Programme through AIT, Bangkok).
Bhattacharya, S.C. and Salam, A.P., 2006. A Review of Selected Biomass Energy Technologies: Gasification, Combustion, Carbonization and Densification. A publication of Asian Regional Research Programme in Energy, Environment and Climate (ARRPEEC).
Deepchand, K., 1987. A Note on the Pyrolysis Behaviour of Sugar Cane Fibrous Products, Biological Wastes, 20, pp. 203-208.
Domac, J. and Trossero, M., 2008. Options for improved charcoal production in Belisce. North West Croatia Regional Energy Agency.
Estudillo, C.P., San Luis, J.M. , Amino, E.C. and Tamolong, F.N., 1977. Charcoal Production and Utilization of Coconut Shells and Trunk in the Philippines. NSDB Technology Journal, January- March 1977, pp. 35-46.
Evans K., 2002. Towards Sustainable Charcoal Production and Use: a Systems Approach, African Centre for Technology Studies, Nairobi.
Fung, P.Y.H., 1979. Carbonization of Timber Industry Waste and Heat Recovery in Fluidized Bed, in: Proceedings of Seventh Australian Conference on Chemical Engineering, pp. 130-134.
REED, 2003. A Focus on Household Energy, Rural Energy Enterprise Development, The REED Report.
Teplitz-Sembitzky, W. and Zieroth, G., 1990. The Malawi Charcoal Project Experience and Lessons, The World Bank Industry and Energy Department Working Paper, Energy Series Paper No.20.
TISTR, 1984. Feasibility Study on Rice Husk Pyrolysis Technology for Rice Mill Applications in Thailand, TISTR, Ministry of Science, Thailand.

Resouce: http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/charcoal-heating-and-cooking

Ocean energy: Tidal barrage

2012-03-15T23:42:00.000+01:00

Marine renewables, also known as ocean energy, refers to a broad range of technologies that extract energy from the ocean; this energy can be in the form of ocean waves, tidal movements or thermal gradients. Marine renewables are, in general, at a relatively early stage in their development and, as such, the methods of converting these potential energy sources into useful electrical power are still highly diversified, with many technologies competing for commercial viability.

When using a tidal barrage system the technology required to convert tidal energy into electricity is very similar to hydropower as water flows into and out of gates through turbines set along a dam or barrage built across a tidal bay or estuary. A 240MW commercial tidal barrage has been operating for more than 40 years in France (EDF); however globally there are few other examples of this technology.

Introduction :

Tidal barrage technologies exploit the movement of tidal waters induced by the interaction of the gravitational fields of the earth, moon and sun. A barrage, or dam, is built to enclose a body of water, or reservoir, that will fill and drain with the movement of the tides. The necessary large ranges in tidal height occur in limited places due to a favourable combination of bathymetry (subsea contours can act to damp or distort the tide as it moves; magnifying it at certain locations), geography and location. Tidal ranges have the benefit that they are generally extremely predictable: the movements of the sun and moon, and thus tides, can be accurately determined many hundreds of years into the future. This makes it relatively simple to determine the amount of power that can be generated at any particular time.

The method of extracting power from the water in the reservoir is very similar to that employed in conventional hydroelectric power. To create the necessary pressure for power generation, water is allowed to flow into or out of the reservoir through open gates before the barrage is closed/sealed. As the tidal cycle progresses a difference in water level, or head, is created between the inside and outside of the reservoir. The water is then permitted to flow from the high to low level through conventional turbines in the barrage. There are a number of approaches as to how this flow of water can be created and utilised:

Ebb generation

The reservoir is filled on the high tide then closed while the tide recedes. Generation then occurs as the reservoir drains to the sea before the incoming tide refills it. The La Rance power station in France operates on both ebbs of the daily tidal cycle (EDF).

Flood generation

This can be considered as the inverse of ebb generation whereby the reservoir is sealed at low tide once the water has flowed without restriction out of it. Then as the tidal height rises on the seaward side the turbines are started and water flows into the reservoir. This is less efficient than ebb generation due to the phenomenon whereby the reservoir fills during generation, reducing the available head/pressure difference.

Two-basin generation

Tidal barrage systems can also be built with two reservoirs. With this scheme one reservoir is filled at high tide while the other is used to generate at low tide. Turbines connecting the two basins allow generation to occur between the full and empty reservoir. This has the advantage of extending the times in which power can be produced; bringing the output profile closer to the desirable baseload, as opposed to the predictably intermittent ebb or flood generation schemes. However the high cost of construction limits its application. A two-basin system came close to construction in North West Australia before being rejected (Government of WA, 2000).

Tidal lagoons

Tidal lagoons have also been proposed as one potential way of overcoming environmental concerns with tidal barrage schemes. Rather than using the natural course of a river or estuary as the reservoir, a tidal lagoon requires that a fully enclosed area be fenced/barraged which can have its tidal height controlled independently of the surrounding water body. This would prevent the broader area from being effected by the control of the tides; however the system would occur significant additional capital cost in order to fence in such a large area of water.

There is also the potential with some of these schemes to run the turbines in reverse to pump water into the reservoir/lagoon to increase the available energy supply. This has been proposed to make use of other intermittent renewable energy sources as a form of pumped storage.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

Resource

There are limited opportunities for tidal barrage power due to the strict limitations on location. Not only must a site have a significant tidal range from low to high (La Rance has 13m range while the rejected site in Australia had in excess of this) but it must also have a suitable area that can be economically turned into a reservoir without undue environmental impact. The World Offshore Renewable Energy Report 2004-2008 (DTI, 2004) determines that although there is in the order of 3000GW of gross tidal power in the oceans, less than 3% is located in areas suitable for power generation and of this, only a subset would suit tidal barrage schemes. Eastern Canada, North West Australia, certain estuaries in the UK and areas in China and Korea, amongst others, are known to have the necessary large tidal fluctuations. The only detailed resource information that could be found was for the UK where there is an estimated 5.6GW of installed capacity available (CERG, 2009).

Location

As discussed above, the area should not only have a good tidal resource (in the form of a large tidal range) but also a suitable estuary or river that can be used as the containing reservoir. This can have significant effects on the flow characteristics and any proposed barrage scheme would require an extensive consultation process with all stakeholders including shipping/transport/fishing vessels and environmental groups. The restriction to craft leaving or entering the estuary would be controlled by a lock (due to the differing water heights at many times) and this may place a large restriction on the number or size of craft.

Technical Requirements

The installation of a tidal barrage system would typically involve a very large programme of civil works. Large numbers of huge concrete caissons would need to be produced locally and installed along with the fabrication and installation of the sluices/gates and locks. Much of the hydroelectric generation equipment such as the turbines would be imported in most countries but would require engineers experienced with hydroelectric power schemes to plan and implement the installation. Deployment methods must either be extremely robust to survive the fast flows or very rapid in order to deploy caissons during a brief period of low flow (slack tide).
Maintenance of tidal barrage systems is less of an issue and better understood than other forms of marine energy. The long experience with hydroelectric turbines and the inherent survivability of the concrete caissons means that maintenance requirements and costs would be relatively low for tidal barrage systems.

Legal/Regulatory

The installation of a tidal barrage system in a modern setting would now require an extremely rigorous programme of consultation and environmental impact assessments. The multi-year consultation periods of the proposed Severn Barrage in the UK, before environmental monitoring has even begun, hint at the huge amount of regulatory and legal requirements that must be satisfied for such large, and typically controversial civil projects. The regulatory framework in any particular country would very likely be untested in regards to tidal barrage power specifically; however it could be expected to be similar to any existing framework for large conventional hydro schemes.

Social Acceptance

The experience with public acceptability in relation to tidal barrage technologies has been mixed. Schemes such as La Rance which have operated reliably for long periods now have almost certainly improved perception amongst those that are aware of it; however there is often strong resistance to new schemes. The proposed Severn Barrage in the UK has proved to be a divisive and controversial project with disagreement between environmental groups and also amongst the public (The Independent, 2009). Getting public acceptance for a tidal barrage project would form a significant part of the challenge of implementation.

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

The 240MW barrage system at La Rance is by far the best known scheme and is an order of magnitude larger than anything else currently commissioned. There is also a 20 MW station in Annapolis Royal, Canada, and some much smaller systems in the Bay of Kislaya in Russia, in Jangxia Creek, China and in South Korea. All of these projects are in the order of 25 – 40 years old.

Although many tidal barrage systems have been investigated over the past 40 year, almost none have been built due to the high capital costs and potential environmental impacts (SEDO, 2001). The Severn Barrage, which could have a capacity of up to 8GW is undergoing a full public consultation in 2010.

At this stage there seems to be a very limited role for tidal barrage generation in the short to medium term energy mix due to the high cost and environmental impacts (see below). However should the Severn Barrage receive approval and gain public acceptance then the global potential for tidal barrage power may be revised.

Contribution of the technology to protection of the environment :

The environmental impacts of tidal barrage systems are similar to those of large-scale hydroelectricity. Effectively a large dam is built across an estuary, with similar ecological impacts to large dams on rivers. The main issue is the way in which the water flow changes due to the reduced tidal range which can lead to excessive silt build up in the river / estuary, damaging riparian communities and potentially requiring regular dredging (SEDO, 2001).

The reduction in tidal range also changes the size and distribution of the ecosystem around the fringes of the reservoir and the reduced flow could increase the concentration of suspended particles/pollutants in the reservoir which collect along the river and that would have been previously flushed out (Laughton, 1990).

Recent studies of proposed barrage schemes in the Bay of Fundy, Canada, have found that they would have a high environmental impact (Gordon, 2008).

Climate :

Tidal barrage systems directly contribute to climate change mitigation by providing a completely renewable energy source free of GHG emissions (beyond the significant initial GHG gases associated with construction due to the large volumes of concrete required). However, the relative lack of suitable energetic, environmentally suitable sites and political will means the total installed capacity of tidal barrage technologies will likely remain unchanged (barring possible developments in the UK) in the short to medium term, meaning that their overall contribution to mitigation in the next decades will be small.

Financial requirements and costs :

The installation costs of tidal barrage systems are very high compared to natural gas and other renewable energy technologies (Diesendorf, 2000). In spite of low operational costs the typically very high upfront capital costs make the delivered power relatively expensive at anything more than a modest discount rate (SEDO, 2001). This kind of investment profile with a very large upfront cost and a long payback period is unappealing to private investors. In the long term the delivered cost of energy at good sites is likely to be lower than other forms of marine renewable; however it is difficult to predict delivered energy costs because of this long wait for return on investment and the resulting sensitivity to monetary market fluctuations and discount rates.

In the meantime, this combination of borderline economic feasibility and environmental concern makes further barrage systems unlikely without direct government intervention and funding.

Clean Development Mechanism market status :

[This information is kindly provided by the UNEP Risoe Centre Carbon Markets Group.]
As of March 2011, there is one registered tidal barrage project in the CDM pipeline using the methodology ACM02: Consolidated baseline methodology for grid-connected electricity generation from renewable sources. This project is the Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station, which is under construction in South Korea.

References :

Diesendorf, M. 2000. Debate over Tidal Power in Western Australia, available at: www.sustainabilitycentre.com.au/TidalPowerWA.pdf, last accessed 17/05/2010
Claverton Energy Research Group (CERG), 2009. Tidal Barrage power generation potential in England, available at: www.claverton-energy.com/tidal-barrage-potential-in-england.html, last accessed 17/05/2010
DTI 2004, The World Offshore Renewable Energy Report 2004-2008, available at: www.berr.gov.uk/files/file43217.pdf, last accessed: 10/05/2010
EDF, The Rance tidal power plant, power from the ocean, available from: www.edf.fr/html/en/decouvertes/voyage/usine/usine.html, last accessed 17/05/2010
Gordon, D.C. 2008. Intertidal ecology and potential power impacts, Bay of Fundy, Canada, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, vol. 51, no. 1-2, pp. 17-23.
Government of Western Australia (WA), 2000. Comparison report on Derby Tidal Power and gas proposal released, available at:www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Lists/Statements/DispForm.aspx?ID=109902, last accessed 17/05/2010
The Independent, 2009. The great divide: Green dilemma over plans for Severn barrage, available at:www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/the-great-divide-green-dilemma-over-plans-for-severn-barrage-1516790.html, last accessed 17/05/2010
Laughton, M.A. 1990. Renewable Energy Sources, Elsevier Applied Sciences, Oxon, UK
Sustainable Energy Development Office (SEDO), 2001. Study of Tidal Energy Technologies for Derby, available at:www.clean.energy.wa.gov.au/uploads/Derby%20Tidal%20Energy%20Study%20-%20Executive%20Summary_21.pdf, last accessed 17/05/2010

Author affiliation:
Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Policy Studies

origin: http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/tidal-barrage

Pulverised Coal Combustion with higher efficiency

2012-03-15T23:32:00.000+01:00

Pulverised coal power plants account for about 97% of the world's coal-fired capacity. The conventional types of this technology have an efficiency of around 35%. For a higher efficiency of the technology supercritical and ultra-supercritical coal-fired technologies have been developed. These technologies can combust pulverised coal and produce steam at higher temperatures and under a higher pressure, so that an efficiency level of 45% can be reached (ultra-supercritical plants). Supercritical power plants have become the system of choice in most industrialised countries, while ultra-supercritical plant technology is still in the process of demonstration. Supercritical and ultra-supercritical plants are more expensive (because of the higher requirements to the steel needed to stand the higher pressure and temperature) but the higher efficiency results in cost savings during the technical lifetime of the plants. The emissions of CO₂ per MWh delivered to the grid could reduce from 830 kg to 730 kg.

Introduction :

Producing electricity in coal power plants can take place in a number of ways with varying degrees of efficiency. In conventional coal-fired plants coal is first pulverised into a fine powder and then combusted at temperatures of between 1300 and 1700^oC. This process heats water in tubes in the boiler so that it becomes steam at a pressure of around 180 bar and a temperature of 540^oC. This steam is passed into a turbine to produce electricity (see Figure 1). Pulverised coal power plants account for about 97% of the world's coal-fired capacity (IEA 2008, p. 225). The average net efficiency (energy produced minus energy used within the plant) is around 35%, which means that 35% of the energy in one unit of coal is transferred into electricity. Pulverised coal power plants can have a size of up to 1000 MW and are commercially available worldwide.

Figure 1: Lay out scheme of supercritical pulverised coal plant for electricity production

OECD/IEA, 2003

Over the years, improvements have been made to make the technology more efficient, including measures to minimise emissions of SO₂, NO_x and particulates and application of advanced steam cycles that allow for greater plant efficiency. An example of this improvement is the ‘supercritical’ pulverised fuel (SPF) technology which can reach efficiency levels of up to 45%. Further improvements can be made in ultra-supercritical plants, which are still in the phase of research and development but which could be deployed in the market around 2020. An example of a research project on this technology is AD700, which is supported by EU equipment manufacturers and several end users. It has been the subject of a significant EU cooperative R&D programme involving 39 companies from 12 Member States.

Figure 2: AD 700 ultra-supercritical coal fired power plant

https://projectweb.elsam-eng.com/AD700/default.aspx

The eventual efficiency level that can be achieved depends on whether hard or brown coal (lignite) is used and on the quality of coal (e.g. high vs low ash content).

A summary of the performance of the differenct PF power plants is presented below:

Steam cycle	Subcritical	Supercritical	Ultra-supercritical (best available)	Ultra-supercritical (AD700)
Steam conditions	180 bar (540^oC)	250 bar (560^oC)	300 bar (600^oC)	350 bar (700^oC)
Net output (MW)	458	458	456	457
Net efficiency (%)	40.2	42.0	43.4	45.6
CO₂ emissions (t/MWh-net)	0.83	0.80	0.77	0.73

Source: IEA 2008, p.257, Table 7.2

Other higher efficiency coal-based techniques are Integrated Coal Gasification Combined-Cycle (IGCC) and Fluidised Bed Combustion (FBC).

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

Early supercritical steam-cycle plants in the USA and Europe in the 1970s had problems with operational flexibility and maintenance, but these problems have nowadays been largely solved. The technology is now considered reliable and economically viable. The main technical challenge with supercritical plants is that the higher steam pressure and temperature require components (superheaters, headers, water tubes, steam chests, rotors and turbine casings) which are produced from nickel-based alloys.

Nickel is an expensive commodity so that for an increased use of SPF at lower costs further developments are needed in new steels for water and boiler tubes and high-alloy steels that minimise corrosion.

Another operational aspect which would support the market penetration of supercritical and ultra-supercritical plants is the development of advanced control equipment and procedures (i.e. expert systems, condition monitoring) to operate a plant more flexibly.

With respect to developing countries with a high coal consumption, such as China and India, SPF technology transfers could take place by the sale of equipment, licensing, joint ventures, co-operative production, subcontracting of the manufacture of components, and co-operative research and development (Beijing Research Institute of Coal

Chemistry, 2000). Possible forms of co-operation between industrialised and developing countries in this context could be selling licenses to developing countries, mounting joint ventures, and agreeing co-operative production.

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

As explained above, approximately 97% of global coal-base power production capacity is based on pulverised coal combustion. Improvement of this technology can take place in different steps. Many conventional pulverised coal-fired power plants have been improved by upgrading the system so that emissions of several pollutants could be reduced, but the efficiency gains are minimal as the heat rates can only be improved at existing plants by 3 to 5%-points at best. This is because the heat rate is primarily dependent on unit design, specific fuel type, and capacity factor, and because the plant design cannot be changed once built.

Supercritical and ultra-supercritical pulverising coal technologies have been identified as major measures to achieve efficiency increases. In most industrialised countries, supercritical plants have become commercially viable, with capital costs only slightly higher than those of conventional subcritical plants, but with significantly lower fuel costs due to increased efficiency. Presently, over 500 SPF plants are in operation worldwide, including a number in developing countries. Most of the new power plants in Europe and Asia are equipped with supercritical coal-fired technology and in China this technology has become the standard on all new plants of 600 MW and more capacity (http://knol.google.com/k/supercritical-coal-fired-power-plant).

IEA Technology Perspectives 2008 shows a scenario where global GHG emissions peak between 2020 and 2030 and will be halved by 2050. In this scenario, ultra-supercritical steam cycle technology components that can withstand steam temperatures of 700^oC and up to 300 bar pressures are presently in the process of Research and Development (see the AD 700 example). By 2020 cost-efficient plant design could be demonstrated, after which the technology could be deployed in the market with an expected global capacity of over 100 GW by 2025. In the commercialization phase, ultra-supracritical coal plants would be applied with a capacity of 550 GW by 2050 (IEA 2008, p.149).
Nowadays, ultra-supercritical plants are operation in Japan, Denmark and Germany, whereas the 4x1000 MW Huaneng
Yuhuan power plant in Zhejiang Province in Eastern China is the world’s largest coal-fired plant using ultra-supracritical technology (IEA 2008, p.254). China had more than 18 GW of supercritical unit capacity installed in 2006.

The stimulation of SPF plants in developing countries could partly be supported through the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol (CDM). In September 2007, the CDM Executive Board decided to make supercritical coal-fired power plants eligible under the CDM. When the business-as-usual practice in a country is subcritical coal-based power plants, the introduction of supercritical power plants would ceteris paribus reduce GHG emissions. See 'Climate' below for a further explanation.

How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protection :

The main environmental benefit of the supercritical technology is that it uses less coal per unit of power production in comparison with subcritical coal technologies and thus results in lower pollution levels. Individual cleaner coal technology ‘components’, such as flue gas desulphurisation (FGD), low-NO_X burners and gas reburn technology, can be retrofitted to existing conventional plant to reduce emissions of SO₂ and NO_x. The addition of such abatement technologies could extend the life of existing plants. Environmental benefits can also be achieved by increasing the thermal efficiency of electricity generation. A next step in the development of coal-based power production technologies would be carbon capture and storage.

Climate :

In September 2007, the CDM Executive Board decided to make supercritical coal-fired power plants eligible under the CDM. When the business-as-usual practice in a country is subcritical coal-based power plants, the introduction of supercritical power plants would ceteris paribus reduce GHG emissions. As shown in the table above, CO2 savings could be significant when increasing efficiency of coal-fired power plants. An efficiency improvement from 30 to 45% would bring about a 33% decrease in CO2 emissions. As two-thirds of all coal-fired plants are over 20 years old with an average efficiency rate of below 30%, replacing this capacity with supercritical and ultra-supercritical plants could contribute significantly to global GHG emission reduction (IEA 2008, p.259).

The final decision of the CDM EB, which took the shape of approving a supercritical coal-plant methodology for baselines and monitoring (approved consolidated methodology 13 – ACM0013), is directed to greenfield fossil fuel plants (e.g. new plants, no retrofits of existing plants), and could thus also include natural gas-fired plants. However, in order to limit the applicability of the methodology and the scope for these projects, it was decided that the methodology can only be applied in those countries which generate more than half of the electricity using coal or natural gas. In practice, this limits this type of projects to China, India, and South Africa.

Moreover, within these countries the number of projects is also limited since the baseline for the GHG emissions in the absence of a CDM coal-fired plant (or gas) project must be determined using the data of the 15% most efficient coal-based (or gas-based) power plants. Therefore, if 15% of the most efficient coal-based power plants are CDM projects, then a new CDM coal-based power plant can only generate credits if it increases its efficiency even further so that it can reduce GHG emissions below the benchmark or baseline.

Financial requirements and costs :

It is difficult to determine a general cost figure for a supercritical power plant because of the high number of variables involved: location of the plant, domestic fabrication or import of components, construction time, separation of cost and price, environmental protection measures taken as part of the plant, etc. A study by IEA Coal Research, in collaboration with Sydkraft Konsult and the US Department of Energy, modelled the competitiveness of various coal-based power generation systems (Scott and Nilsson, 1999). All inputs to the model were selected to form a common set of ‘base assumptions’ on matters ranging from costs of finance to steam conditions to coal type and price. The outputs allow a range of clean coal technologies to be compared.

The report concluded that SPF plant costs are comparable with subcritical PF boiler technology. However, overall economics are more favourable because of the increase in cycle efficiency. In a typical case, fuel costs account for 60-80% of the total operating cost of a PF power plant. In the example above, an increase in cycle efficiency from 38% to 46% would result in an annual coal saving of 300,000 tonnes (17%). At a nominal coal cost of € 45/t, this would represent a saving of around € 15 million per year. This saving can more than offset the slightly higher capital cost of SPF technology.

Economic performance is also influenced by other factors, such as plant availability, flexibility of operation and auxiliary power consumption. Its operational flexibility makes SPF more favourable than subcritical PF plants. The SPF boiler design is inherently more flexible than drum designs due to fewer thick section components, which allows increased load change rates. Typical average availability is 85%, but with appropriate design and materials, a plant availability of over 90% is achievable. Therefore, SPF boilers would improve plant efficiency, so that fuel cost savings and lower emissions for each kWh of electricity can be generated.

Finally, the diagram below shows the investment, operation and maintenance costs, and fuel costs of coal-fired power plants in comparison to natural gas-fired plants. The diagram shows, a.o., that coal plants are relatively capital intensive, but less sensitive to fuel costs than natural gas-based plants (IEA, 2008).

Figure 4: Investment, O&M and fuel costs of natural gas and coal-fired power generation

IEA, 2008

References :

Beijing Research Institute of Coal Chemistry, 2000, Pressurised Thermogravimetric Analysis of Shenmu and Daw Mill Coal, November.
IEA, 2008, Energy Technology Perspectives 2008 – Scenarios and Strategies to 2050, in support of the G8 Plan of Action, International Energy Agency, Paris, France
Scott, D. and P-A. Nilsson, 1999, Competitiveness of Future Coal-fired units in Different Countries, Report no. CCC/14, IEA Clean Coal Centre, January 1999.
Partha Das Sharma, 2009, Supercritical coal-fired power plant, Knol – A unit of knowledge <http://knol.google.com/k/supercritical-coal-fired-power-plant#>

origin : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/sup_crit_coal

Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

2012-03-15T23:14:00.003+01:00

A plug in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle with the ability to recharge its energy storage with electricity from an off-board power source such as a grid. PHEVs have the potential to displace a significant amount of fuel in the next 10 to 20 years. It is estimated that they can reduce fuel consumption by up to 45% relative to that of a comparable combustion engine vehicle. However, the PHEV technique is still expensive compared to techniques which improve internal combustion engines, and additional infrastructure investments are needed for the recharging infrastructure. Moreover, the lifespan of the batteries has not been established, yet, for these types of vehicles.

Introduction :

A plug in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle with the ability to recharge its energy storage with electricity from an off-board power source such as a grid. (Pesaran et.al, 2009) The PHEV can run either on its Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) or on its battery.

A full electric vehicle uses its energy far more efficiently than a vehicle with an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and can drive about 2.5 times further with the same energy. For this reason it is expected that the electric vehicle will replace the ICE vehicle in the long run. However, in the coming 20 years or so vehicles will probably still be equipped with IC engines, possibly in combination with electric engines, because per unit of weight an ICE vehicle can still drive about 40 times further. In this 20 year period the IC engine is expected to improve substantially (Sharpe et al. 2009).

The key advantage of PHEV technology relative to full Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) is the fuel flexibility. PHEVs have no limitation of the driving range and if the recharging infrastructure is spatially or temporally unavailable, it doesn’t restrict the use of the vehicle. A possible drawback of the PHEV is that it contains two systems to propel the vehicle, making it more costly to build than a BEV. However, the car manufacturing industry expects that PHEVs will be introduced to the market first, and that the switch to BEV could be made when the PHEVs are found to be economically and technological viable. (Gilijamse,2009).

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

A main problem of the usage of PHEVs is the space required for the battery and the mass increase of the vehicle due to the batteries. However, for most commuters a relatively small 40 kilometer battery package will be sufficient to travel to work and back. The batteries can be recharged at night when the electricity demand is low.

The mass and volume of a 15 kilometer (the maximum distance it can drive electrically) battery is about 60 kg and 40 liters. The mass and volume of a 40 kilometer battery is about 120 kg and 80 liters. (Pesaran et al. 2009) In contrast, full electric vehicles need battery packages of more than 500 kg to obtain an action radius of about 160 kilometers.

To make the widespread use of PHEVs feasible, an infrastructure of recharging stations is needed. This infrastructure needs to be standardized in way that every brand of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle can be recharged at every recharging station.

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) have the potential to displace a significant amount of fuel in the next 10 to 20 years. The main barriers to the commercialization of PHEVs are the cost, weight, safety, volume and lifespan (combined shallow/deep cycle life and calendar life) of the batteries. It is expected that more and more car manufactures will bring plug in vehicles to the market in the coming years.

Contribution of the technology to protection of the environment :

A PHEV uses stored electrical energy to propel the vehicle which reduces fuel consumption by the combustion engine. This provides an opportunity to drive primarily in electric mode and reduce emissions in congested cities around the world.

The main air pollutants in congested cities are nitric oxide (NO_x) and small particulate matter PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 (10 and 2.5 are the average particle diameter in micrometer)

In the electric mode the vehicle does not emit any NO_x locally. The global emissions of NO_x depend on the way the electricity has been produced. Also the local emissions of small particulate matter is lowered significantly: In the electric mode there is no contribution from the exhaust PM₁₀. However, braking still causes the formation of some small particulate matter PM_2,5. However, hybrid cars use regenerative braking in which part of the kinetic energy lost during braking can be recovered. Using regenerative braking, the electric motors reverse the current, which slows down the vehicle. At the same time, it generates electricity to be returned to battery system. Regenerative braking can lower the formation of small particulate matter PM_2,5significantly (~ 60%) in comparison with conventional vehicles with solely an internal combustion engine.

Climate :

Studies estimate that a PHEV with usable electrical energy storage equivalent to 30 kilometers of electric travel would reduce fuel consumption by 36 - 45% relative to that of a comparable combustion engine vehicle assuming that the PHEV drives in full electric mode in the city and as a hybrid on rural roads and on the highway (Pesaran et al. 2009, CalCars, 2009). The final CO₂ emission reduction depends strongly on the source of the electricity used. A larger deployment of renewable energy sources would lower the CO₂emission of the PHEV further.

Financial requirements and costs :

The hybridization of the vehicle (not plug-in) adds costs, a full hybrid light passenger car offers 20% reduction potential for about US$ 4000 additional manufacturer’s cost. (Sharpe, 2009) Additionally PHEVs require a bigger battery which adds extra to the costs. The price of the battery system price is about $1700 for a 15 kilometer battery and about $3400 for a 60 kilometer battery. The specified distance is the distance for which the vehicle can drive in full electric mode. This brings the additional cost of a PHEV to $ 5700 to $ 7400 compared to a conventional vehicle with an internal combustion engine. However, the costs of the lithium ion battery are expected to decrease in the near future. . The 2007 prices for high energy batteries on a per kWh basis range from $800/kWh to $1000/kWh (Pesaran, 2009). The mid- and long term research and development cost goals of the battery are $500/kWh in 2012 and $300/kWh in 2016.

A big advantage of PHEVs is that the fuel costs are considerably lower the ones of a conventional ICE powered car. However, it depends strongly on the local fuel and electricity prices whether it is worth to invest the extra $ 5700 to $ 7400 compared to a conventional vehicle with an internal combustion engine.

In addition, there is a need for investment into the recharging infrastructure. This infrastructure needs to be standardized in a way that every brand of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle can recharge at every recharging station. A simple recharging point at a private house or at an office costs about $ 1800,-. However, a public recharging station, with the necessary electronics to make contact with the bank costs about $ 18.000,-. (Roeterdink, 2010)

Clean Development Mechanism market status :

[This information is kindly provided by the UNEP Risoe Centre Carbon Markets Group.]

Project developers of projects deploying plug-in hybrid electric vehicles can use the following CDM methodology: AMS-III.C.: Emission reductions by electric and hybrid vehicles.

References :

The California Cars Initiative (CalCars), (2009). All About Plug-In Hybrids (PHEVs). available at http://www.calcars.org/vehicles.html
Gilijamse, J. (2009). Elektrische Auto: inhaalslag van de Duitse auto-industrie, available at http://www.twanetwerk.nl/default.ashx?DocumentId=12362
Pesaran A.A., Markel, T., Tataria, H.S. and Howel, D. (2009): Battery Requirements for Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles, NREL/CP-540-42240. July 2009.
Roeterdink, W.G., Uyterlinde, M.A., Kroon, P. and Hanschke, C.B. (2010). Groen Tanken: Inpassing van alternatieve brandstoffen in de tank- en distributie infrastructuur. ECN-E—09-082
Sharpe, R. and Smokers, R.T.M. (2009). Assessment with repect to long term CO2 emission targets for passenger cars and vans. available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/transport/co2/pdf/Report%20LT%20targets.pdf

Author affiliation:
Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Policy Studies

Origin: http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/phev

Regenerative braking in trains

2012-03-15T23:03:00.000+01:00

Employing regenerative braking in trains can lead to substantial CO₂ emission reductions, especially when applied to full stop service commuter trains (8 – 17%) and to very dense suburban network trains (~ 30%). Regenerative braking applied to freight trains can also lead to CO₂ emission reductions, albeit considerably lower than for full stop service trains (~5%). When regenerative braking is employed, the current in the electric motors is reversed, slowing down the train. At the same time, the electro motors generate electricity to be returned to the power distribution system. Regenerative breaking is a mature technology. It can be more easily applied to AC powered trains than to DC powered systems. In DC powered railway systems usually higher investment costs are needed.

Introduction :

A conventional electric train braking system uses dynamic braking, where the kinetic energy of the train is dissipated as waste, mainly in the form of heat. When regenerative braking is employed, the current in the electric motors is reversed, slowing down the train. (UIC, 2003) At the same time, the electro motors generate electricity to be returned to the power distribution system. This generated electricity can be used to power other trains within the network or can be used to offset power demands of other loads such as lighting in stations. However, the power recovered via regenerative braking can only be used if that power is simultaneously being drawn somewhere else. In general no power is recovered when the overhead power is out.

The two main motivations to employ regenerative breaking are energy savings and reduced wear of mechanical brakes. The technique of regenerative braking is most effective in full stop passenger trains and subway trains (metro), because they stop often enough to make recovery worthwhile. Conventional freight trains only have a limited potential to recover power with the help of regenerative braking. (UIC,2002a) This is due to the high average weight of freight trains and the fact that only the locomotive axles are powered. The main share of braking is done by the mechanical brakes located on the freight cars, and only a small share originates from the locomotive itself.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

Various types of trains can be equipped with regenerative braking: electric trains, hybrid diesel locomotives and subway trains

The more frequently a train stops, the more it can benefit from regenerative breaking. Therefore the technique is especially valuable for commuter trains and subways, which both stop frequently.

Electric railway systems can be either DC or AC powered. It is much easier to implement regenerative breaking for AC powered systems. For DC powered systems, there are two main barriers: (1) Most DC powered systems use relatively low voltages and (2) often the generated electricity cannot be fed back into the public electricity grid. In very dense suburban DC powered networks, however, regenerative breaking can be an effective way to reduce the electricity demand. In all other cases, the effectiveness of regenerative braking is rather low but may be enhanced by technological upgrades of vehicles and/or substations. These upgrades are associated with relatively high investment costs.

Railway systems working with AC power can implement regenerative braking with almost no additional costs. Also the implementation of regenerative braking in diesel powered locomotives poses no obstacle. Virtually all locomotives are diesel-electric, so the capacity to do regenerative braking is available.

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

Regenerative braking is a mature technology. Within Europe, there is still a considerable difference between countries in the share of rolling stock that is equipped with regenerative braking, but the share is relatively high already.

Regenerative breaking is relatively standard in new trains.
It is also used in major new high-speed trains. For example the new N700 series of the Shinkansen in Japan, which became operational in February 2009, uses regenerative braking. However, friction brakes are still needed as backup in the case that the regenerative brakes fail. It is possible to use regenerative braking on these high speed trains because most cars have their own electric motors, this is in contrast to trains in which only the locomotive has electric motors. The fourth generation TGVs in France, which are expected to be commissioned in 2010, will also be equipped with regenerative brakes, as will the German ICE 3 trains which are to be commissioned in 2012.

Contribution of the technology to social development :

Contribution by the use of regenerative breaking to socio-economic development is expected to be low. The Delhi Metro CDM project (DMRC, 2007) argues for marginally improved local employment in the operation and maintenance of the trains, but does not go into details on this.

Contribution of the technology to protection of the environment :

The effects of regenerative braking on air quality depend mainly on the way the electricity is produced. In general, the introduction of regenerative braking on electric trains and subway trains will have no direct effect on the local air quality. However, lowering the electricity demand will lower the emission of air pollutants, like NO_x, SO₂ and particulate matter in power generation, if power generation is based on fossil fuels.

For diesel powered locomotives, hybridization can have a positive direct effect on air quality, depending on the usage pattern. Locomotives used solely on a marshalling yard can achieve very high reductions in emissions, due to frequent need for braking. However, the reduction in local air pollution will be limited when the locomotive is used in long-haul freight trains.

Climate :

The following lists some examples of energy savings in different types of trains using regenerative braking. The final effect of regenerative braking on CO₂ emissions depends on how the trains are employed, and on the generation mix of the electricity used.

Electric trains can recover 8 to 17% of electricity depending on whether the trains is used as long distance train or a full stop commuter train. In the United States, Amtrak introduced Acela Express high speed trains and other new and remanufactured electric locomotives in 2006. These trains use regenerative braking systems and have allowed Amtrak to reduce energy consumption by 8%, while in the UK Pendolino trains return up to 17% to the grid.

At the beginning of 2009, GE division Locomotive was designing a hybrid diesel locomotive for Indian Railways to capture energy dissipated during braking and store it in batteries to be used later. The new locomotive should reduce the fuel consumption by 15 percent and NO_x and fine particle emissions even by 50 percent. It is unclear whether this fuel consumption reduction can be achieved when pulling many freight cars. (UIC, 2003)
The use of regenerative braking in the New Delhi's metro cuts back on energy use of the trains by about 30%. (Ritch, 2009)

For high speed trains, the reduction in electricity use by employing regenerative breaking is in general a bit lower. The energy savings of the N700 series of the Shinkansen are estimated to be about 4.5%. (UIC,2009)
In general the highest amount of energy can be recovered on full stop service commuter trains and subway trains.

Financial requirements and costs :

Few explicit cost estimates for the incremental investment costs of a regenerative breaking system were found. In the case of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation CDM project which installed 25 kV AC powered coaches, the total additional investment costs compared to using 750 V DC rheostatic braking systems were reported to be in the order of 114mio Indian Rupees for 280 coaches (about 9200 USD per coach). (DMRC, 2007)

Cost benefits from the use of regenerative breaking stem from reduced energy costs and lower maintenance costs of the mechanical brakes. The full stop commuter services at Birmingham and Manchester in the UK are for example able to use regenerative braking. With regenerative braking being enabled, their disc brake pad life was around 18 months. When the electric braking was switched off, the pad life reduced to 18 days. (Ford, 2007) As a consequence of less needs for replacement, regenerative breaking also reduces the down-time of the train.

Clean Development Mechanism market status :

[Part of this information is kindly provided by the UNEP Risoe Centre Carbon Markets Group.]
Project developers of projects using regenerative breaking in trains under the CDM mainly apply the following CDM methdology: AMS-III.C.: Emission reductions by electric and hybrid vehicles

As of March 2011, there are 3 projects using regenerative breaking in trains in the CDM pipeline, out of which 1 project is registered and CERs have been issued for this proejct. The project deploys coaches with regenerative breaking in the Delhi Metro. The project was submitted to the CDM Executive Board in the beginning of 2007 (Ritch, 2009; DMRC, 2007).

References :

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) (2007) Installation of Low Green House Gases (GHG) emitting rolling stock cars in metro system. CDM project design document. Available athttp://cdm.unfccc.int/Projects/Validation/DB/VD46D5DZB8DYZZD5RDXA9RVFWBR3RQ/view.html
Ford (2007): Regenerative braking boosts green credentials. In Railway Gazette (online), available athttp://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view//regenerative-braking-boosts-green-credentials.html
Ritch, E. (2009): Delhi Metro earns carbon credits for regenerative braking system. Cleantech Group News. Available athttp://cleantech.com/news/4201/delhi-metro-earns-carbon-credits-re
UIC (2002): Regenerative braking in DC systems, available at http://www.railway-energy.org/static/Regenerative_braking_in_DC_systems_103.php
UIC (2002a): Regenerative braking in freight trains. Available at http://www.railway-energy.org/static/Regenerative_braking_in_freight_trains_43.php
UIC (2003). Energy efficiency technologies for railways. International Union of Railways. http://www.railway-energy.org/
UIC (2009) The energy efficiency days 2009. http://www.energy-efficiency-days.org/
UK Department for Transport (2007). Low carbon transport innovation strategy. Department of Transport, 2007. available athttp://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/scienceresearch/technology/lctis/lowcarbontis?page=9

Author affiliation:
Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Policy Studies

Origin : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/regenerative_braking_in_trains

Optimising aviation

2012-03-15T22:48:00.001+01:00

Improved air traffic management techniques like to avoid flying holding patterns, “green landings” and the use of relatively low speed airplanes for domestic aviation can reduce the emission of greenhouse gases substantially. Depending on their penetration up to 3% CO2 emission reduction can be achieved for green landings and 10-60% CO2 emission reduction for low speed airplanes. Moreover, these techniques will lower the NOx and soot emissions, thereby improving the air quality around the airport.

Introduction :

In 2002, aviation accounted for 3 trillion revenue passenger-kilometers (RPKs), or approximately 10% of world RPKs traveled on all transportation modes and 40% of the value of world freight shipments. Among all modes of transport, demand for air travel has grown fastest (Lee et al.). It is estimated that emission reductions of 70% per passenger kilometer in aviation are possible over the next 50 years, provided that technological and operational developments are fully pursued (PBL & ECN, 2009) including a switch towards low-carbon fuels. Airplane manufactures are targeting a 50% reduction in aircraft fuel consumption by 2020. The manufacturers are looking at airframe improvements (e.g. light weight materials and aerodynamic improvements) to provide about 25% of the reduction, while between 10% and 15% efficiency improvement should come from engine manufacturers. The remainder, about 10 % (European Commission, 2009), needs to come from air traffic control for example

by ensuring that the shortest route (direct routing) can be followed in between the origin and the destination,
by ensuring that aircrafts are not flying holding patterns around the airport before they land for too long and
by reducing the vertical separation minimum (RVSM -Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum). The vertical separation minimum is the vertical separation required between airplanes (IPCC, 2007)
by deploying airplanes with a lower average velocity, and hence a lower fuel consumption, like airplanes using turbo propellers for domestic aviation.

In this article only low speed airplanes, and improved landing procedures, as an example of air traffic control will be discussed.
The SESAR European Air Traffic Management Master Plan (Single European Sky ATM Research, 2009) lists many available techniques and suggestions to improve Air Traffic Management. This list of techniques includes pre- and post flight time management optimization, enhanced ground terminal design and on board flight dynamic optimization techniques.

Low speeds of airplanes can drastically reduce the fuel consumption. Employing the slower turboprop propelled airplanes can reduce the aviation fuel consumption in domestic flights (Smirti, M. et al, 2009) by about 30% compared to airplanes with small jet engines (Babikian et al).

Improved landing procedures can lower the fuel consumption. At present, aircrafts usually descend in stages with the engines at full speed. In many cases, they must circle the airport in order to time the approach. The so called green approach, where advanced computer technology makes it possible to save 100 kg fuel on each landing, has been tested by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). SAS performed its first green approach on a flight from Luleå to Stockholm and has implemented about 600 green approaches. The advantages of green approaches are reductions in emissions, fuel costs and noise level. With the new navigation system, the approach begins about 45 minutes before the aircraft lands, which results in the aircraft almost gliding down with very low engine revolutions.

Today, air traffic controllers use tactical speed, route, altitude and vector instructions, based on a first come-first serve principal (Oprins et al, 2009). Simulations show, that in highly automated future air traffic management systems aircrafts may be able to land within ± 30 seconds of each other, in contrast to 120 seconds in the current system. These automated air traffic management systems can minimize the time that aircrafts have to circle around the airport before they land.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

Slower speed turboprop airplanes are an alternative to jet airplanes for regional flights. The reduction in fuel consumption that can be achieved by deploying turboprop airplanes comes at the expense of longer flight times and thus higher personnel costs. Without any further support, the economic feasibility of deploying turboprop airplanes therefore depends on the ratio of the fuel prices and the cost of personnel.

Improved air traffic control and landing systems are principally possible at every airport. They require investments in software used in the airplane and in air traffic control and training of the pilots and air traffic control personnel.

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

The use of low speed airplanes implies using existing technologies in a more efficient manner. Improvements in air traffic management are ongoing; technologies and software are being developed to improve the possibility to manage airplane routes most effectively.

Contribution of the technology to protection of the environment :

Nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) are produced in the aircraft engine within the combustor and vary in quantity according to the combustor conditions. Nitrogen oxides are produced in the high temperature regions of the combustor primarily through the oxidation of atmospheric nitrogen. Thus, the NOx produced by an aircraft engine is sensitive to the pressure, temperature, flow rate, and geometry of the combustor. The emissions vary with the power settings of the engine, being highest at high thrust conditions (Baughcum et al, 1998). The NOx emissions of an airplane with turbo propellers is about equal to the NOx emission of a small passenger jet (90 passengers) expressed in grams of NOx per kilogram of jet fuel. However, depending on the flight conditions the regional jets can be 10% to 60% less fuel efficient than turboprops. Thus planes powered by turbo propellers can produce 10% - 60% less NOx, than their jet powered counterparts.

Climate :

Because a majority of aircraft emissions are injected into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (typically 9– 13km in altitude), the resulting impacts on the global environment are unique among industrial activities. Aircraft emissions have an impact on atmospheric processes beyond the positive radiative forcing effects of CO2. The mixture of exhaust species discharged from aircraft perturbs radiative forcing two to three times more than if the exhaust was CO2 alone. Even though most aircrafts fly in so-called 'flight corridors', the effects of their emissions on atmospheric composition and chemistry go far beyond these regions and may even directly affect climate. The CO2 emitted by aircraft contributes 2-3% to the total anthropogenic CO2 emissions. However, the techniques discussed here reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases only at a lower altitude.

The use of turboprop planes reduced CO2 emissions equivalent to the efficiency gains over regional jet aircraft
It has been estimated that green landing approaches can reduce the fuel consumption of the airplanes by about 3% (Stockholm Arlanda Airport, 2006). Clearly green approaches contribute more to reduction in fuel consumption per passenger-kilometer for short domestic flights than for long-distance intercontinental flights.

Financial requirements and costs :

Slow-speed turboprop airlines: Analysis shows that the determination of minimum cost aircraft operations over distances of 1000 miles or less is highly sensitive to fuel prices and passenger costs (Smirti, M. et al, 2009). The results of the study show that the popularity of regional jets is due to their relatively low passenger costs when compared with the turboprop. Passengers value the faster flying time, the ability to fly on a jet aircraft, and also the potential for higher frequency service. The balance between operating and passenger costs is what makes the regional jet a lower cost aircraft for many stage lengths up to a fuel price of about $3.50/gallon. The market penetration analysis also indicates that at fuel prices just under $4.00/gallon, 90% of passengers can be served on a turboprop for a lower total cost per passenger compared with a regional jet. As fuel prices seen in 2008 were above $4.00/gallon, it is expected that where available turboprops replace regional jets over all distances up to 1000 miles if fuel prices return to their 2008 highs. As anticipated, the turboprop is very cost competitive over short distances because of the lower fixed and higher variable costs with distance.

The costs of the green landing technology are determined by the costs of the computer software in the airplane and at air traffic control and in training of the pilots and air traffic control personnel. No explicit cost estimates have been found.

References :

Babikian, R., Lukachko, S. and Waitz, I.A., The Historical Fuel Efficiency Characteristics of Regional Aircraft from
Technological, Operational, and Cost Perspectives, available at http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/people/waitz/publications/Babikian.pdf

Baughcum, S. L. et al, 1998. Year 2015 Aircraft Emission Scenario for Scheduled Air Traffic, NASA/CR-1998-207638, available athttp://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19980055200_1998120133.pdf

European Commission, 2009. Council Decision of 30 March 2009 endorsing the European Air Traffic Management Master Plan of the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) project

IPCC, 2007. Transport and its infrastructure. In Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [B. Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. available athttp://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg3/en/ch5s5-3-3.html

Lee, J. J., S.P. Lukachko, and I.A. Waitz, Aircraft and Energy Use, in Encyclopedia of Energy, Volume 1.

Oprins, E., Zwaaf, D., Eriksson, F., van de Merwe, K. and Roeavailable, R., 2009. Impact of future time-based operations on situation awareness of air traffic controllers. Eighth USA/Europe Air Traffic Management Research and Development Seminar (ATM2009), available at http://www.atmseminar.org/8th-seminar-united-states-june-2009/papers/paper_016

PBL & ECN, 2009. CO2 emission reduction in transport Confronting medium-term and long-term options for achieving climate targets in the Netherlands, PBL and ECN, ECN-B--09-015, available at http://www.mnp.nl/bibliotheek/rapporten/500076009.pdf

Single European Sky ATM Research, 2009. The European Air Traffic Management Master Plan, available at http://prisme-oas.atmmasterplan.eu/atmmasterplan/faces/index.jspx

Smirti, M. et al, 2009. The potential of turboprops to reduce aviation fuel consumption, University of California Transportation Center, UCTC Research Paper No. 883, available at http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/5131891j

Stockholm Arlanda Airport, 2006. available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/etap/inaction/pdfs/sept06_arlanda_airport.pdf

Author affiliation:

Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Policy Studies

Origin: http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/aviation

The Walkable Locality - Encouraging walking

2012-03-15T22:33:00.000+01:00

Walking is an inexpensive, efficient and healthy way to travel short distances, and to link up with mass transit in order to travel longer distances. In the right environment, walking can also be a very pleasant mode of transport, and cities that have good pedestrian facilities and high levels of walking are usually very pleasant places to live. In addition, walking produces no greenhouses gases and no local pollution, and it is not a danger to anyone else in the way that motorised transport can be. However, in order for walking to be a pleasant and practical transport option, and in order to encourage more people to walk, certain requirements have to be met. Well-designed, safe and well-connected walkways and pedestrian crossings need to be planned and provided. In particular, walkways should be connected to transit stations and to major residential areas and sites of human activity. And if urban areas are fairly dense and have mixed land uses, walking becomes a reasonable transport mode for many of the trips people make as they go about their daily lives.

More general information on non-motorized transport can also be found in the technology description 'Non-motorized Transport'

.ntroduction :

"At 6:00 on a Friday evening in 1972...the renewal of Curitiba began. City workmen began jackhammering up the pavement of the central historic boulevard, the Rua Quinze de Novembro. Working round the clock, they laid cobblestones, installed streetlights and kiosks, and planted tens of thousands of flowers. Fortyeight hours later, their meticulously planned work was complete. Brazil’s first pedestrian mall--one of the first in the world--was ready for business. By midday Monday, it was so thronged that the shopkeepers, who had threatened to sue because they feared lost traffic, were petitioning for its expansion. Some people started picking the flowers to take home, but city workers promptly replanted them, day after day, until the pillage stopped. The following weekend, when automobile-club members threatened to retake the street for cars, their caravan was repulsed by an army of children, painting watercolors on mall-length rolls of paper unfurled by city workers. The boulevard, now often called Rua das Flores (see picture above), the Street of Flowers, quickly became the heart of a new kind of urban landscape. The children of those children now join in a commemorative paint-in every Saturday morning. The city is blessed with twenty downtown blocks of pedestrian streets that have regenerated its public realm and reenergized its commerce and its polity." (Hawken et al., 1999)

This is just one example of how pedestrian facilities can transform a locality. The package of practices and technologies that enable cities and towns the world over – in developing and developed countries – to become urban communities of the future: communities that are better functioning, safer, more sustainable, better connected, more inclusive, healthier and more attractive. Walkable localities have networks of well-designed, well-connected walkways that enable people to get to their destinations or to public transit safely, pleasantly and without delay. This technology description outlines the concept of a walkable locality, and explains how it can be achieved, with attention to:

the provision of walkways that enable people to walk from one point to another as directly as possible
town planning measures to maximise the proportion of journeys that are walkable
the integration of walkway networks with mass transit routes and services
control of motorised traffic and non-transport land uses, and separation of walkways from motorised traffic, to ensure that pedestrian travel is safe and pleasant
the enactment and enforcement of laws and regulations to support these measures.

The technology description focuses on walking facilities in cities and towns, where problems of congestion, blocked pedestrian access, and danger from vehicles are most serious for pedestrians. Walking in villages is not such a problem as long as there is little vehicle traffic and as long as roads and paths are in reasonable condition. Walking long distances in rural areas is not a good transport solution. This is especially the case for women who spend many hours a day collecting water and firewood.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

The core of a walkable city is a well-functioning network of walkways. This should allow everyone in urban areas to walk wherever they want to go safely, pleasantly and fairly directly. The following considers in broad terms what this entails and how it can be achieved, but governments and city leaders wanting to improve walkways in particular localities may want to use a walkability auditing tool such as Is my area walkable? produced by Anne Matan (2011).

Location of walkways

Ideally, walkways should be at least as extensive as roads, so that pedestrians can easily walk between any two points. But a locality improving its walkways should give priority to the most popular routes, and to routes most likely to encourage people to use mass transit. There should be safe crossings at reasonable intervals on all major obstacles, such as main roads, railway lines and canals. Most walkways are located alongside roads (as footpaths or sidewalks) but there can also be separate walkways, which may or may not double as bicycle ways. Town planning changes that make urban locations more accessible on foot are also important, and these are described further on.

Width of walkways

Walkways should be at least two metres wide, and more if there is heavy usage, for example, 3.5 metres wide if 5,000 people pass per hour. Some sources recommend that they be much wider than this (Matan, 2011b), but in established high-density areas this may not be possible. Traffic route construction manuals give further details of width and other design requirements, and are listed e.g. in Honk (2003).

Freedom from obstacles

Walkways need to be free of obstacles, which can force walkers onto dangerous roads, slow them down, or deter them from walking altogether. Such obstacles include parked vehicles, street traders, animals, piles of rubbish, shanty dwellings, poles, signs, and building or road-repair materials. Bollards can be placed along the edges of walkways to prevent cars parking on them. Some of the uses of walkway space just mentioned, such as the street trade and shanty dwellings, may be an important part of street life or meet vital human needs, so they might simply need to be restricted to certain areas that don’t block pedestrians.

If other activities or objects are allowed on walkways, then the total width of the walkway may need to be increased so there is sufficient clear space for pedestrians. More space can be obtained for pedestrians and cyclists by narrowing roads, by creating streets free of motorised traffic, or by having streets that are shared by all modes, with vehicles travelling at pedestrian speeds. It is also necessary to ensure that the walkway surfaces are even, in good repair and cleaned regularly, and it’s best if there are no steps or steep curbs to obstruct pedestrians who have handcarts, wheelchairs or prams.

Ensuring that walkways are sheltered and attractive

Walkways should be sheltered from the sun and the wind by trees and buildings, and pathway materials should not absorb heat, which means they should be lighter colours. Walkways can be one part of a larger network of linked pedestrian areas that enhance a city’s liveability, areas that can include parks, squares, car-free streets and children’s playgrounds, and feature trees, lawns and other planting, ponds, seats and tables, and public artworks. The new local park network in New York has been linked to an expanding pedestrian system, including the closure to traffic of Times Square and much of Broadway (Gehl, 2010). And Indonesia’s Kampong Improvement Program has reduced traffic in laneways linking public courtyards and main streets (Newmanm & Kenworthy, 1999). In general, cities and nations will have varying budgets for these sorts of improvements, but the more walkways can be sheltered from the elements and made safe and pleasant places to be, the more they will attract pedestrians.

Protecting pedestrians from motorised traffic

A vital part of making walkways safe and pleasant is protecting them from traffic noise, pollution and danger. Means of crossing major roads and other barriers at reasonable intervals can include pedestrian crossings or traffic lights with pedestrian signals or phases. Signals should have tolerable cycle time (e.g. 90 seconds or less) and enough time for pedestrians to reach the other side at a moderate speed (e.g. 1 m/sec). Furthermore, if these signals show pedestrians how long they have to wait before crossing, and how long they have left to get across the road, unsafe crossing of roads can be reduced. However, it is vital that pedestrians can use these crossings safely. If drivers tend not to stop for pedestrians using them, stricter enforcement and heavier penalties are warranted. In some special cases, such as very wide roads and expressways, overpasses and underpasses could be provided to enhance pedestrian connectivity and avoid road safety hazards. However, many people do not use overpasses and underpasses if they are much higher or lower than the walkway level, so it is best to have crossings at the walkway level if this can be achieved safely. In some areas this is not possible, and pedestrian walkways may have to be built over busy traffic (Figure 2). To enhance accessibility overpasses or underpasses should have ramps, escalators or elevators.

Figure 2: An elevated walkway in Bangkok, sometimes the only solution to help pedestrians avoid the traffic. (Picture Credit: Karl Fjellstrom, itdp-china.org)

Car-free areas, especially in city centres and major shopping precincts, are becoming very popular in cities around the world (see e.g. Figure 3). Streets or localities can be car-free continuously, or for parts of the day or week. Bogotá, like Curitiba, the city cited at the beginning of this section, has made a strong commitment to pedestrianisation. It closes 120 kilometres of roads to motorised traffic each Sunday, allowing about two million people to cycle, rollerblade, jog and walk (Hook, 2003). Making commercial areas car-free can also dramatically improve their profitability, as cities in China, Colombia, Brazil and Europe have seen (Hook, 2003).

Figure 3: The Istiklal, a pedestrian-only street in the Beyoglu area of Istanbul, Turkey. The street has restaurants, coffee shops, clubs, shopping, movie theatres and embassies.(Picture Credit: John Walker)

There are many ‘traffic calming’ devices that restrict the number and speed of motorised vehicles, and help to ensure that drivers respect pedestrians and cyclists. These devices include very low speed limits, speed humps, ‘rumble strips’ (which make a noise when vehicles go over them), one-way or dead-end streets, and streets that are narrowed and may have curves added to the lanes. Any space freed up by these measures can then be used for trees, gardens and seats. There can be frequent pedestrian crossings, and if they are at the walkway level rather than the slightly lower road level it emphasises that this is ‘pedestrian space’. Different paving materials and the absence of road camber and curbing can suggest a driveway rather than a road and moderate driving behaviour accordingly. In these and other ways the appearance and configuration of streets can be changed to reduce speed and to signal that streets are used by other modes of transport with equal or even greater rights to the space (Newman & Kenworthy, 1999).

Further ways to encourage pedestrian travel

Many people avoid pedestrian travel because they have to carry luggage, shopping or other goods. But transporting such items is much easier with the use of some simple devices – things like trolleys, handcarts and cases with wheels. If these are not readily available, encouragement can be given to small businesses to manufacture or sell them. Encouraging the delivery of goods can also help.

Pedestrian travel can also be encouraged through public information and education campaigns, perhaps in conjunction with the promotion of mass transit use, because the two modes are so often used in the one trip. Maps of walkways can be sold or handed out in paper form, and they can also be available online and to mobile phone users.

A measure that encourages children to walk is the ‘walking school bus’ (see e.g. Starting a Walking School Busat http://www.walkingschoolbus.org/). This is an arrangement whereby groups of children walk to and from school together under the supervision of one or more adults, and it is described in the technology description 'Influencing travel choices'.

Town planning to promote walking

High density urban areas encourage pedestrian travel, because destinations – such as shops, workplaces, homes and transit stations - are likely to be closer and therefore easier to walk to (Cervero &Kockelman, 1997). ‘Transit oriented developments’ – which have shops, businesses, services, schools, health and entertainment facilities, and higher density residential areas close to train and bus stations – encourage both mass transit use and pedestrian travel (Figure 4). These are described in the technology description 'Transit oriented developments'.

Figure 4: Pedestrians feel at home in this Transit Oriented Development in Bogotá. (Picture Credit: Karl Fjellstrom, itdp-china.org)

Particular building designs can also encourage walking. Pedestrians feel safer if buildings are located closer to the street, and if each street has many homes or businesses with street frontages. In such an environment there is more social contact, and building occupants can have ‘eyes on the street’ and look out for neighbour and stranger alike.

Compare this with a street composed of the long blank walls of factories, businesses or residential enclaves, or one in which apartment blocks and other buildings are set back from the road and must be reached by isolated (and often unlit) paths. Unless people feel completely safe, especially at night, they will tend to use other forms of transport if these are available. Urban design to create safe, walking areas is a key element of ‘crime prevention through environmental design (see www.cpted.net, also Gehl (2010)).

Integrated transport planning to prioritise pedestrian travel

In transport planning the needs of pedestrians are often ignored because there may be quite separate planning processes for different transport modes, and in most cases no one government agency has particular responsibility for pedestrian travel. There is thus a need for transport master plans that integrate all modes of transport, including walking, in planning processes. Bogotá’s master plan, for example, stipulates that priority should be given to pedestrians (Hook, 2003). Such planning should include an explicit commitment to the provision of walkways that allow safe and fairly direct walking between any two points in a city.

Many cities are also appointing a coordinator for non-motorised transport, as well as a taskforce representing the many stakeholders in this area of transport, including transport and public works departments, police, city planners, business, travellers’ advocacy groups and other community organisations (Hook, 2003). These taskforces should have the power to ensure that transport projects meet the needs of pedestrians and cyclists, and they also have an important role in public education, promotion and safety campaigns for non-motorised transport. In Auckland, a walking coordinator has initiated 150 ‘walking school buses’ (described earlier).

In deciding where to start to improve pedestrian facilities, it is a good idea to select areas of high actual or potential pedestrian traffic as pilot projects. These are likely to be areas containing schools, universities, shopping centres, markets, factories or other large workplaces, mosques, temples or churches, or transit stations. Or they can be areas in which traffic accidents involving pedestrians are common. Design standards for walkways may need to be changed. Many existing design standards are derived from developed countries and based on very car-dominated transport systems.

As well as changes to physical infrastructure, building better pedestrian facilities may require changes to laws and regulations, increased penalties and better enforcement. Such changes may concern speeds on adjacent roadways, giving way to pedestrians at crossings and intersections, car-free areas, and prevention of car-parking and other obstacles on walkways.

Compared with other transport developments, improvements to pedestrian facilities can be achieved quite quickly.

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

Levels of non-motorised transport (walking and cycling) vary greatly across the world and within both high and low income groups of countries. Figure 1 shows these levels for cities in different regions of the world. Two things in particular are notable: the similarity of levels in cities of low income Asia and high income Asia, and the very different levels in cities of wealthier regions (USA, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Western Europe and high income Asia). This demonstrates that levels of walking and cycling have little to do with national wealth, and a great deal to do with the direction a country or city chooses to move in. If it has a commitment to promoting walking and cycling and designs its urban areas accordingly, then higher levels of these transport modes can be achieved.

Figure 1: Levels of non-motorised transport as a percentage of all transport in cities of different regions, 1995. (Data source: Jeffrey Kenworthy and Felix Laube (2001). The Millennium Database. UITP)

Contribution of the technology to social development :

Walking promotes physical and mental health. It reduces or prevents obesity, cardio-vascular disease, diabetes, depression and sleep disorders. As people switch from cars or motorbikes to walking, cycling and mass transit, asthma and other respiratory diseases aggravated by motor vehicle pollution are also reduced (Hook, 2003). Walking is a form of transport that everyone can afford and almost everyone can practise (and if users of wheelchairs and walking aids are accommodated in the walkway design, there are few indeed who cannot practise pedestrian travel). Adequate networks of functional walking routes mean that people on all levels of income have better access to employment, education, health care and other services vital to their wellbeing. Thus, good walking facilities promote equality and inclusion (Vasconcellos, 2001).

It is also a very safe form of travel, as long as pedestrians are protected from motorised traffic (and to a lesser extent from the weather). As people move from cars and motor cycles to walking and transit there are fewer vehicles on the roads to pose a threat to others. Road deaths in Bogotá were reduced from 2-3 a day to 1-2 a day largely as a result of major improvements in walking and cycling facilities (Hook, 2003). As well, walking is a very practical mode of travel, especially in urban areas. Over 60% of trips in cities of developing countries are less than 3 kilometres in length and therefore very suitable for walking, and in the most sustainable German cities now, 80% of trips within this range are taken on foot or by bike (Hook, 2003). With walking, there is no vehicle to be parked, damaged or stolen. And while the climate in developing countries may be cited as a factor that deters walking, average temperatures in these countries are about the same as summer temperatures in Europe, where walking is very popular as a means of transport (Hook, 2003).

If walkways are shaded, heat and direct sunlight are much less of a problem. And the difference in travel speed between walking and motorised transport is not as great as might be thought, given the reduced speed of motorised vehicles in cities as a result of either congestion or traffic calming measures (Great Britain Department of Transport, 2007). As well, walking builds community. Studies show that in neighbourhoods where walking is common people know their neighbours much better than in neighbourhoods where most people drive (McKibben, 2007). Pedestrian environments are great places for people to congregate, and for children to play (Gehl and Hook, 2010). Finally, when good walking facilities are combined with good mass transit a large range of destinations are within practical, safe and affordable reach.

Contribution of the technology to economic development (including energy market support) :

Good walking facilities can save time and money. Most trips – even those in private vehicles – involve some walking. Given that walking is a slower mode of travel, indirect routes resulting from a lack of walkways and crossings, and very slow walking speeds caused by congested walkways, represent a major loss of time and therefore a significant economic cost to individuals and cities of developing countries. This can lead people to choose motorised vehicles instead, but for middle and lower income families, the cost of such vehicle travel can eat up a large proportion of family income or important trips may not be taken because they are too expensive (Vasconcellos, 2001). Moreover, the pollution, road accidents and lack of exercise resulting from car and motorbike use lead to sickness and injury and thereby add to a country’s health costs and absences from work (Woodcock et al., 2009).

On the other hand, good walking facilities are far cheaper to provide than other transport infrastructure. What’s more, such facilities encourage and support mass transit use, and World Bank research shows that countries with higher levels of transit use spend much less on transport as a proportion of their total spending (McKibben, 2007), and help to reduce developing countries’ dependence on increasingly expensive foreign oil. And safe, attractive, pedestrian-and-transit-friendly cities can be more appealing to outside business and tourism (Gehl, 2010). Increasingly, people

working in the new knowledge economy are attracted to walkable urban environments.

Contribution of the technology to protection of the environment :

As stated earlier, walking produces no greenhouse gases and is completely non-polluting. Good walking facilities encourage and enable people to use mass transit, and every person who walks or uses transit instead of using a conventional car or other motorised vehicle reduces the production of pollutants, greenhouse gases and noise, and helps to conserve the world’s non-renewable resources. Cities with more pedestrians, and more public spaces suited to pedestrians, are also more attractive, safe and pleasant environments for people to live in (Gehl and Hook, 2010).

Furthermore, as a pedestrian occupies just one sixth of the space of a car, walkways occupy much less space than roads and thereby enable higher urban densities to be achieved, and these in turn have many other environmental advantages. Narrow pedestrian streets can also save energy by shading buildings. The new zero-carbon city of Masdar in the United Arab Emirates has such streets, and they shade both the pedestrians and the buildings, thus creating pleasant walkable areas that reduce motorised travel, and require less energy to cool buildings.

Climate :

Once walkways are in place, walking as a mode of transport produces no greenhouse gas emissions at all. A walking trip of 2 kilometres (a very feasible distance) reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 419 grams of CO_{2 equ.}if it replaces a car trip (Gehl and Hook, 2010).

Financial requirements and costs :

Improvements to pedestrian facilities can also be achieved at low cost, relative to other transport developments. Costs will vary greatly depending on the length and width of walkways, the extent of upgrading that is necessary, the kinds of road crossings put in place, the surfacing materials used, and a range of other factors. But in general, walkways cost only a small fraction of the cost of roads, and they can even be created with paint on pavement.

And while walking and cycling facilities have often failed to receive the attention they deserve, the tables are now turning. Many developed cities have recently accepted that they are not competing for global and local investment because they are not walkable enough in their major centres. Gehl (2010) cites examples from London, New York and Melbourne as well as the most documented example of Copenhagen. Similar trends in transport priority can be seen in Singapore and Hong Kong and now well-designed emerging cities like Curitiba, Guayaquil and Bogotá are gaining multilateral funds and international reputations as cities of the future, while their mayors have gained great popularity for the positive changes they have made to millions of lives. The likelihood that countries around the world will put a price on carbon means that this trend will become stronger, and localities with good non-motorised transport facilities and public transit will be the winners.

References :

Cervero, R. & K. Kockelman (1997). Travel Demand and the 3Ds: Density, Diversity and Design’, In Transportation Research, Part D, vol 2, issue 3, 1997, pp 199-219.
Gehl, Jan (2010). Cities for People, Island Press, Washington.
Gehl, Jan and Hook, Walter (2010). Our Cities Ourselves: 10 Principles for Transport in Urban Life. Institute for Transport and Development Policy, available at http://www.itdp.org/index.php/news/detail/10_principles/, viewed 23 Feb 2011.

Great Britain Department of Transport (2007). Traffic Calming. The Stationary Office.

Hawken, P., A. Lovins, H. Lovins (1999). Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution: Chapter 14 - Human Capitalism.

Hook, Walter (2003). Preserving and Expanding the Role of Non-Motorised Transport. In Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in Developing Countries. GIZ, available at www.sutp.org, viewed 23 Feb 2011.
Matan, Anne (2011). Is my area walkable? In Technologies forClimate Change Mitigation – Transport Sector, TNA Guidebook Series, available at http://tech-action.org/Guidebooks/TNA_Guidebook_MitigationTransport.pdf.
Matan, Anne (2011b). Personal communication.

McKibben, Bill (2007). Deep Economy: The Wealth of Community and the Durable Future, Holt, New York.

Newmanm P. & J. Kenworthy (1999). Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence, Island Press, Washington.

Vasconcellos, Eduardo Alcantara (2001). Urban Transport Environment and Equity: The Case for Developing Countries, Earthscan Publications Ltd.

Woodcock, James et al. (2009). Public Health Benefits of Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse-gas Emissions: Urban Land Transport, Health and Climate Change 2, 2009

Source:

Salter, R., S. Dhar, and P. Newman (Eds.) (2011). Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation –Transport Sector. UNEP Risø Centre, Roskilde, March 2011, available at http://tech-action.org/

origin : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/walking

Solar lanterns

2012-03-15T22:16:00.000+01:00

In developing countries the solar lantern is a cheap alternative to a Solar Home System (SHS) providing 4-5 hours of high quality lighting service. It provides higher quality light than the use of candles or kerosene lamps. They are also used to provide street lighting in rural areas. In this case Light Emitting Diode (LED) solar lanterns are usually used. In industrial countries solar lanterns are usually used outdoors to provide lighting in the garden or driveway or for other outdoors activities such as marine or camping applications. Solar LED lighting is also used for marine and aviation lights, road signs, road beacons, bus shelters, bus stops and many other applications. LEDs are durable and reliable surviving extremes of temperature and weather, vibration and Ultra Violet (UV).

Introduction :

In developing countries the solar lantern is a cheap alternative to a Solar Home System (SHS) providing 4-5 hours of high quality lighting service or 15 hours of listening to the radio. It provides higher quality light than the use of candles or kerosene lamps. They are also used to provide street lighting in rural areas. In this case Light Emitting Diode (LED) solar lanterns are usually used. The Glowstar lantern developed by Practical Action in the Kenyan context and now marketed by Sollatek is a good example of a robust version of a solar lantern, which can withstand harsh African conditions (see Practical Action). It uses a PV panel to charge up a 12-Volt lead-acid gel cell battery located in the base of the lamp which is designed to withstand many charge/ discharge cycles. Other manufacturers may have different battery specifications. The light source is a compact fluorescent tube which should last four years in normal operation.

There are many lamps on the market but the main working principles are the same.
Solar Lanterns are commercially available through a range of companies, such as from MFG in California with a Ni metal hydride battery and up to 24 hours light delivery (MFG, 2007). In India, locally manufactured solar lanterns are considered to be a mature market and capital subsidies for the lanterns have now been withdrawn. They have a range of features and designs as can be seen in the following Figure.

Figure 1: Solar Lantern Types (Source: Practical Action)

In industrial countries solar lanterns are usually used outdoors to provide lighting in the garden or driveway or for other outdoors activities such as marine or camping applications. Solar LED lighting is also used for marine and aviation lights, road signs, road beacons, bus shelters, bus stops and many other applications. LEDs are durable and reliable surviving extremes of temperature and weather, vibration and UV.

The LED lamp uses a very small silicon ‘chip’ made of a special blend of crystals. When a small electrical current is passed through the chip it generates light. The LEDs used with the solar panels as used in the industrial applications above have the advantages of a range of colours. Depending on the blend of crystals, almost all the energy is converted to light. LEDs have a long lifetime of 27 years. They are shock proof and durable and provide a focussed beam of light.

The PV panels can be monocrystalline, polycrystalline, amorphous or thin film which affects the lifetime and price of the unit. The lantern materials vary, but usually contain a mixture of plastics and metal such as stainless steel. With LEDs solar lanterns can provide high intensity light for longer times, e.g., 6 hours. The ‘COSMOS’ LED solar lantern uses a rechargeable NiCad battery pack which provides over a year and a half of use (Sustainable Village, 2007).

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

There are scattered data on the feasibility of solar lanterns in several countries. For instance, Velayudhan (2003) looked at the Indian government dissemination programme for solar lanterns. Solar PV is suitable where the cost of grid extensions is high, insolation levels high, and the receptor communities geographically scattered. In India only 365,000 solar lanterns have been installed under the programme despite the favourable conditions for adoption.

The programme allowed for a 50% subsidy by the government on the cost of the lantern with the remaining amount for the lantern and installation being met by the consumer and the state level government. Despite this, adoption was low. The acceptance of the technology is considered to be dependent on the relative advantage of the new technology over the alternatives and the process of communication flows through the community. The following lists the advantages and disadvantages of the solar lanterns from a survey of the adopters in India .

Figure 2: Solar Lanterns in India (Source: Velayudhan, 2003)

Velayudhan (2003) suggests that a focus on the relative advantages of the technology is important for dissemination and a subsidy is not enough. There needs to be consideration of the needs of different buyer groups and their ability and willingness to pay. Sources of information were limited to government and sources need to be much wider with proactive group meetings for dissemination.

Video 1

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

Statistics on solar lanterns tend to be aggregated into the SHS figures so that it is difficult to get data on the status of solar lanterns individually. The work by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on PV power systems does not discriminate in terms of SHS and solar lanterns. The technical potential of the technology is obviously high both in developing and industrialised countries, since solar lanterns are now regarded as a mature technology. In industrialised and in some developing countries such as India and China the solar lantern is now a fully commercial technology using an indigenous supply chain with no subsidies. In other countries such as Kenya the lamp is supplied to the Kenyan market from a UK supplier which has factories worldwide including Egypt, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Mexico, Thailand and Indonesia.

In India, solar lanterns represent 4.5% of the Indian solar module consumption of 110 MWp (Srinivasan, 2007). Most work has been carried out in India investigating the rebound effect when providing solar lighting in the context of unsatisfied demand (Roy, 2000).

In India and China solar lanterns are locally made and commercially available. They are also exporting solar lanterns to industrialised countries and to other developing countries. There are also export flows from industrialised countries to developing countries, so that there is already a global market. However, there is still a long way to go to reach potential adoption levels. The study by Velayudhan (2003) on the programme for adoption in India illustrates how programmes which are not well designed can be improved to maximise the chances of success.

Video 2

The case of Sri Lanka illustrates what is important for consumers. In Sri Lanka, the RERED project builds in consumer protection to ensure that the products being sold are of good quality and certified. The conditions also require that manufacturers provide efficient after- sales service and respond to complaints to enhance the social acceptability of the technology. This quality control, certification of products meeting their standards on quality, reliability, service and complaints procedures have been important in ensuring consumer confidence. Firms are also required to provide appropriate training in the use of the equipment for customers as well, so that they are protected from the problems which are beginning to show for CFLs where some sort of standardisation and quality control is needed.

There have been developments in almost all parts of the solar lantern. One of the main developments is the use of LEDs instead of CFLs with their longer lifetime and robustness advantages. Batteries have improved with time and charge controllers can prevent batteries from deep discharge and over charging. Controls can allow the light intensity to be varied to prolong lighting time and a good battery type such as NI –metal hydride can also provide long lighting times.

However, there seems to be no industry standard and no quality control along the lines of the RERED project in Sri Lanka. This would seem an area for improvement. There is still much to be done to reach the poorest but through markets for leisure and other uses and designs such as for the NEST lantern, the cost of these lanterns is decreasing making them more accessible to the poor.

How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protection :

In developing countries the provision of good light in the evenings allows many activities not usually available; children can do their homework, radio provides a link to engage people with the political process, savings can be used for education or health care, social gatherings can take place in the evening, night classes and economic activities are also possible. Since 2003, the Glowstar has been available in Ghana, Kenya, Europe, USA and Asia. The lanterns also deliver cost savings over its lifetime compared to a kerosene lamp. On average a family may spend USD 4-5 a month on kerosene so that on that basis alone the payback time could be 20-25 months. These savings would be delivered for every year of operation as there would be no other running costs except for intermittent battery replacement. There are local supply chains for spare parts so that jobs are created with the adoption of the solar lantern.

As they supply an independent light source, lanterns can be accessed in areas where there is no prospect of any other electrical light source. They can be used therefore in clinics and hospitals and schools. Increased use of the solar lanterns can lead to an increased manufacturing and supply system with increased employment and income. Another benefit to developing economies is the reduction in kerosene imports.

The leisure and industrial uses of LED solar in industrialised countries allows increased reliability of safety lighting devices and savings in operating costs. The lamps also deliver social benefits by enabling leisure activities. Jobs are created in the manufacture and supply of the unit and spare parts.

Contribution of the technology to social development :

In developing countries the technology delivers a high quality lighting service to the poor who cannot afford a SHS. In Kenya for example, 96% of householders use kerosene for lighting. Dry-cell batteries for torches are also used. These sources have significant costs on a monthly basis so that a solar lantern provides not only kerosene savings but dry-cell cost savings. LED lamps solar lanterns can be used as street lights providing security to householders.
In industrialised countries solar LEDs in outdoors and industrial applications provide savings in terms of long-term reliability compared to ordinary lamps and low power requirements saving energy and replacement costs.

Contribution of the technology to economic development (including energy market support) :

Solar lanterns such as Glowstar are currently more expensive, at about USD 100 each in Kenya, than originally envisaged, although it is still much cheaper than a SHS. Nevertheless, poor people may need microcredit facilities to be able to afford it. The lantern is robust and reliable and can be maintained locally with spare parts available. The lamp lifetime is expected to be 10,000 hours while the unit itself is robust over a much longer time. With LEDs replacing CFLs the lamp life can be much longer at 100,000 hours.

In industrialised countries for leisure and industrial use they act as an energy efficiency measure reducing the demand for grid electricity. They offer a secure, reliable and affordable option.

Contribution of the technology to protection of the environment :

In developing countries the solar lantern delivers a lighting service which is 500 times that for a kerosene lamp. At the same time, it saves the emissions from kerosene in terms of CO₂. For a monthly use of between 7-12 litre of kerosene, the average savings are 320 kg CO₂/household/year (Begg, K., 2003). This is relatively small per household, but when multiplied up over many homes it can contribute to a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions. For instance, the target sales for the Glowstar were 30,000, which would provide 9.6 ktonnes CO₂ reductions per year. It also avoids the fires and consequent burns injuries associated with kerosene, and it reduces exposure to air pollution.

In industrialised countries, LED solar for industrial applications will replace grid electricity for less efficient lighting systems, as well as reduce resource use with the long lifetimes of the LEDs. The amount of savings has not been documented and will depend on the emission factor for the grid electricity being saved which is country dependent.

Financial requirements and costs :

The cost of a solar lantern varies with the design features, materials used, light source (CFL or LED) and country of origin and application. A short Internet survey indicates that CFL lanterns for providing home lighting in developing countries or remote locations cost about USD 85-120; for LED lanterns it is more difficult to find such cost figures, with the exception of MFG lanterns which cost USD 110 with a no-memory effect NI-metal Hydride battery and up to 24 hours light. In terms of performance, LED technology seems to be superceding the CFL versions.
Most facilitative programmes (for the uptake of solar lanterns) refer to PV systems and not to simple solar lanterns.

However, there are some examples of explicitly solar lantern projects. The case of the solar lantern programme in India has already been described above in Section 25.2. Although it was directed at the very poor with no access to electricity, it was eventually taken up by agricultural and service people because the very poor could still not afford the equipment (Velayudhan, 2003). Practical Action has a programme of rural mass marketing of their specially designed Glowstar lantern which is affordable, accessible and appropriate. They hope to have 30,000 adopted in Kenya after an initial pilot programme.

The Bhopal solar lantern project in India is currently funded by a grant from Partners in Rural Development, which is part of CIREP (Canadian Indian Rural Energy Project). The project, run by Madhya Pradesh Gramin Vikas Mandal, has also received a soft loan from the US funding agency Winrock International, from their “Accelerating renewable energy commercialisation in India” fund. This loan is being used to support expansion of the solar lantern project in other cities. The project hires solar lanterns to market vendors and street hawkers who work at night in the street markets of Bhopal, a city in northern India. The idea is to provide them with a cleaner, cheaper, and safer form of lighting for their stalls instead of the kerosene and electrical lamps powered by diesel generators. This project hires out the lanterns at a cheap rate delivering the lanterns to the vendors each evening, and collecting them again at around 11.00 pm for recharging. The project is using 100 solar lanterns that were purchased using the CIREP grant. These have a 7-watt CFL lamp and are powered by a 12-volt battery. This project showed that it would be easy to cover all costs by charging less than the stall holders currently pay for lighting (MPGVM, 2003). A programme aimed at the very poor in Hyderabad is the NEST (Noble Energy Solar Technologies Ltd programme 2006). A solar lantern was designed to be affordable for the poor though even at USD 19 the poor still pay by instalments. The lamp pays for itself in 20 months through the savings in kerosene use. The distribution and payment collection network is local and reaches the very poor (NEST, 2006).

In Bangladesh there is a solar lantern programme aimed at the very poor with no access to electricity (LGED, 2007). This project is part of an overall sustainable rural energy programme funded under the UNDP supported Sustainable Environment Management Programme (SEMP). Government involvement is through the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) along with 21 ministries, divisions, departments and civil society bodies project. The solar lantern project is run under the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) as a sub-implementing agency of Sustainable Rural Energy (SRE). 70% of people in Bangladesh are without electricity and have no prospect in the near future of any connection. Remote households of the Tangail district are being targeted by the project which offers low cost solar lanterns with four configurations and prices and duration of light.

References :

Local Government Energineering Department (LGED), 2007. Available at: http://www.lged.gov.bd/
MFG, 2007. LED Solar Lantern.
NEST, 2006. Available at: http://www.ashdenawards.org/winners/nest
Practical Action. Available at: http://www.practicalaction.org
Roy, J., 2000. The rebound effect: some empirical evidence from India, Energy Policy, 28, 6-7, pp. 433-438.
Srinivasan, S., 2007. The Indian Photovoltaic industry: a life cycle analysis, Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 11, pp. 133-147.
Sustainable Village, 2007. Mighty Light LED Solar Lanterns. Available at:http://www.sustainablevillage.com/servlet/display/product/detail/41353
Velayudhan, S.K., 2003. Dissemination of solar photovoltaics: a study of the government programme to promote solar lanterns in India, Energy Policy, 31, pp. 1509-1518.

origin : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/solar-lanterns

Energy Storage: Compressed Air (CAES)

2012-03-06T04:35:00.000+01:00

Energy storage provides a variety of socio-economic benefits and environmental protection benefits. Energy storage can be performed in a variety of ways. Examples are: pumped hydro storage, superconducting magnetic energy storage and capacitors can be used to store energy. Each technology has its advantages and disadvantages. One essential differentiating characteristic of the different technologies is the amount of energy the technology can store and another is how fast this energy can be released. This technology description focuses on Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES).

introduction :

The technological concept of compressed air energy storage (CAES) is more than 40 years old. CAES was seriously investigated in the 1970s as a means to provide load following and to meet peak demand while maintaining constant capacity factor in the nuclear power industry. CAES technology has been commercially available since the late 1970s. One commercial demonstration CAES plant has been operating successfully for over 24 years, and another has been operating successfully for 11 years. In addition, many other CAES plants have been investigated via siting, economic feasibility, or design studies (EPRI, 2002).
The basic functioning of CAES is explained in Figure 1, while the introduction image above shows an artist's rendering of a CAES plant integrated with a wind turbine farm. Essentially, the term compressed air energy storage outlines the basic functioning of the technology. In times of excess electricity on the grid (for instance due to the high power delivery at times when demand is low), a CAES plant can compress air and store the compressed air in a cavern underground. At times when demand is high, the stored air can be released and the energy can be recuperated.
Because low cost electricity is stored at low demand times, and electricity is created, through releasing the stored energy, at high demand times at high prices, storing energy is not only motivated by environmental protection benefits, but is also strongly motivated by economic benefits the technology provides. In addition, the technology provides energy market support and socio-economic benefits. The essential components of a CAES plant are illustrated as well in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Basic functioning of a Compressed Air Energy Storage facility (click image to enlarge)

The compressed air is often stored in appropriate underground mines or caverns created inside salt rocks. The ground surrounding the cavern needs to be as air-tight as possible, which prevents the loss of energy through leakage. Storage in mined caverns (caverns excavated specifically for compressed air energy storage) is used for large scale CAES applications and it takes about 1.5 to 2 years to create such a cavern by dissolving salt. However, in addition to large scale facilities, CAES can also be adapted for use in distributed, small scale operations through the use of high-pressure tanks or pipes (APS, 2007)
In addition to large scale facilities, CAES can also be adapted for use in distributed, small scale operations through the use of high-pressure tanks or pipes (APS, 2007). Figure 2 illustrates a small-scale application of CAES. The process is essentially the same as for large scale CAES technology, it is just that the reservoir is smaller and above ground. The smaller reservoir limits the amount of electricity that can be stored with small scale technology.

Figure 2: Illustration of a small scale compressed air storage system. (click image to enlarge)

When the plant discharges, it uses the compressed air to operate the combustion turbine generator. Natural gas is burned during plant discharge, in the same fashion as a conventional turbine plant. However, during discharge, the combustion turbine in a CAES plant uses all of its mechanical energy to generate electricity; thus the system is more efficient. (Schoenung, 2001)

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

As mentioned, the CAES technology concept is more than forty years old. The first and longest operating CAES facility in the world is near Huntorf, Germany, The 290- MWe Huntorf plant has operated since 1978, functioning primarily for cyclic duty, ramping duty, and as a hot spinning reserve for the industrial customers in northwest Germany. Recently this plant has been successfully leveling the variable power from numerous wind turbine generators in Germany. In the U.S. a 110 MWe plant has been constructed near McIntosh, Alabama and has been in operation since 1991. A third CAES facility is being planned in Norton, Ohio, USA. This facility will be the largest ever with a 2700 MWe capacity which will compress air to 1500 pounds per square inch (psi) in an existing limestone mine some 2200 feet under ground.
Several other CAES plants have been designed and/or investigated but were not built for a variety of reasons (EPRI, 2002). Several examples are:

During the Soviet era, a 1050 MWe CAES plant using salt cavern geology formations for the air storage was proposed for construction in the Donbas area of Russia. Undeground geological development of the air storage was initiated. However, when the Soviet Union collapsed, the construction was terminated.
In Israel plans were developed for several CAES facilities, including a 3 x 100 MWe CAES facility using fractured hard rock aquifers.
Luxembourg designed a 100 MWe CAES plant sharing an upper reservoir for a water compensation system with a pumped hydro plant located in a hard rock cavern at the Viendan site.
Soyland Electric Cooperative, contracted for the construction of a 220 MWe hard rock based plant. Plant engineering and the cavern sample drilling/rock analysis was completed and all major equipment had been purchased when the project was terminated due to non-technical considerations.

While most projects were not completed, the examples above show that CAES technology is clearly beyond the developmental phase. In addition, the technology is capable of establishing large scale energy storage, ranging up to 1000 MWe. Table 1 illustrates the development phase of several energy storage technologies. The APS panel on public affairs (2007) recommends further research and development efforts in CAES technology in the fields of establishing additional demonstration projects and computer modeling (APS, 2007).

**Table 1. Development status of several key energy storage technologies. Source: APS, 2007**
Commercial	Pre-commercial prototype	Demonstration stage	Developmental stage
Pumped hydro Flywheels for power quality applications at the consumer site	CAES Lead-acid battery NI-Cad battery Flywheel (as load device) Micro - SMES (as load device)	Zinc-bromine battery Flywheel (as grid device) Vanadium redox battery Electrochemical capacitor	Lithium-ion battery for grid applications SMES (as grid device) Electrochemical capacitors Other advanced batteries

As illustrated in Figure 3, CAES technology is relatively slow in disharging the stored power capacity, but has among the highest system power rating together with batteries and pumped hydro storage technologies.Therefore, the amount of energy this technology can store in a large scale system is among the highest of the energy storage technologies currently available. Being relatively slow in the discharge of the stored energy, this technology can provide energy market support up to several hours.

Figure 3: System power rating and discharge times of several key energy storage technologies. Source: APS, 2007

Operational necessities
Also illustrated in Figure 1, for a conventional CAES plant cycle the major components include (EPRI, 2002):

A motor/generator with clutches on both ends (to engage/disengage it to/from the compressor train, the expander train, or both).
Multi-stage air compressors with intercoolers to reduce the power requirements needed during the compression cycle, and with an aftercooler to reduce the storage volume requirements.
An expander train consisting of high- and low-pressure turboexpanders with combustors between stages
Control system (to regulate and control the off-peak energy storage and peak power supply, to switch from the compressed air storage mode to the electric power generation mode, or to operate the plant as a synchronous condenser to regulate VARS on the grid).
Auxiliary equipment (fuel storage and handling, cooling system, mechanical systems, electrical systems, heat exchangers).
Underground or aboveground compressed air storage, including piping and fittings. Undergound storage is often performed in aquifers or mined caverns, while aboveground air storage is executed within specially designed holding tanks.

Several key features and limitations of CAES (EPRI, 2002).

The CAES technology can be easily optimized for specific site conditions and economics.
CAES is a proven technology and can be delivered on a competitive basis by a number of suppliers.
CAES plants are capable of black start (further discussed below). Both the Huntorf and McIntosh plants have blackstart capability that is occasionally required.
CAES plants have fast startup time. If a CAES plant is operated as a hot spinning reserve, it can reach the maximum capacity within a few seconds. The emergency startup times from cold conditions at the Huntorf and McIntosh plants are about 5 minutes. Their normal startup times are about 10 to 12 minutes

According to the 2002 EPRI study, the main reason for the currently limited market penetration of this technology is likely to be the lack of awareness of this option by utility planners. In addition, the underground geology is likely perceived as a risk issue by utilities. Moreover, very few engineers are aware of the fact that CAES sites are actually relatively common. The 2002 EPRI study notes that approximately 80 % of the United States contains suitable CAES sites. Due to these reasons, the market potential for CAES is not used to its full capacity.
Table 2 illustrates some of the common parameter ranges for CAES plants.

**Table 2. key features of a CAES plant. Source: EPRI, 2002**
Feature	Parameter range
Space requirements	A 100 MWe plant requires approximately 1 acre
Effective efficiency	85 %
Lifetime of the plant	About 30 years
Maintenance requirements	Same as a simple cycle combustion engine: about US$0.30/MWh generated
Environmental impact	Minimal
Auxiliary equipment needs	Water if wet cooling is used; no water if dry cooling fans are used
Power conditioning needs	None

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

As mentioned, several CAES facilities are already operational but several limitations are currently limiting the market penetration of this technology. However, the CAES technology future market potential is substantial. This is largely due to the fact that renewable energies are expected to realize an increasing market share in the future. Being intermittent sources, energy storage is an essential aspect for high penetration rates of technologies such as wind and solar energy.

The APS (2007) study notes that CAES seems to be a natural partner to the wind farms currently under development. This is due to the characteristics of CAES in that it can operate on a short enough time scale to smooth out fluctuations in the energy grid caused by wind fluctuations, in that it meets the storage capacity required by wind farms, and that the technology is applicable more uniformly across the countries compared to pumped hydro storage (which requires elevation). In addition, the APS (2007) study notes that the CAES technology and the pumped hydro storage technology are very suitable for load management as long as the geology is available and response time in the order of minutes is acceptable.

How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protection :

A California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) 2010 study details on the economic benefits of CAES technology. The study notes that economic benefits mainly occur from energy bill savings, lower future energy storage costs as the market matures and employment and other economic growth opportunities.
Energy storage enables customers to change when they draw power from the grid to meet their demand. For customers on dynamic rates energy storage allows energy arbitrage opportunities. In other words, customers that pay flexible rates based on the time of purchase of electricity energy storage allows for energy bill savings due to shifting the timing when energy is drawn from the grid. The energy storage system charges when the cost of energy is low and discharges when the cost of energy is high. As such, the installation is able to provide economic benefits to its owner.
It is expected that the energy storage market will mature, especially driven by the increasing implementation of intermittent renewable energy technologies. As such, while the energy storaga technology market is currently an emerging market, it is expected that costs will be lower in the future as a result of learning-by-doing. Economies of scale will be developed and additional research and development is also expected to further lower the costs of energy storage technologies. Adding the expected rise in energy costs over time, energy storage technologies are likely to become important technologies in the future. Policymakers will need to consider these market transformations.
Energy storage technologies will provide employment and other economic growth opportunities. Energy storage technologies are currenlty not uniformly deployed, but will create jobs in manufacturing and installation as the technology market penetration expands. In addition, through energy grid stabilitzation and smoothening, the technology is expected to support economic growth objectives.

Socio-economic development is further supported through the technical benefits the energy storage technology offers. A 2008 National Energy Technology Laboratory study on the market of emerging electric energy storage systems provides extensive details on the technical benefits provided by energy storage technologies in general, and for emerging electric energy storage systems in particular. This section focuses on the technical benefits provided by CAES technology, although several benefits also apply to other energy storage technologies.

Energy storage technologies, through drawing energy and supplying energy to the grid at chosen times, can support grid stabilization. The energy grid can destabilize after a disturbance, and the stored energy can support stabilization efforts. For instance, in the case of a high power peak in the grid, energy storage technologies can store the energy and release it more gradually into the grid. Alternatively, in the case of a sudden drop in power on the grid, energy storage technologies can provide energy to the grid. In the case of CAES technology, this benefit is only really practical if the drop in power or the surge in power is expected to continue for longer time periods as CAES technology is not very suitable for very fast discharges. Instead, CAES technology can provide prolonged discharges. The NETL (2008) study notes that energy storage technologies in general can remedy three forms of grid instability: rotor angle instability; voltage instability and frequency excursions.

Energy storage technologies can be used to support the normal operations of the grid, and as such provide grid operational support. Grid operational support can be divided in four types of support operations:

Frequency regulation services: energy storage can be used to inject and absorb power to maintain grid frequency in the face of fluctuations in generation and load.
Contingency reserves: at the transmission level, contingency reserve includes spinning and supplemental reserve units, that provide power for up to two hours in response to a sudden loss of generation or a transmission outage.
Voltage support: energy storage can support the injection or absorption of reactive power into the grid to maintain system voltage within the optimal range. Energy storage systems use power-conditioning electronics to convert the power output of the storage technology to the appropriate voltage and frequency for the grid.
Black start: black start units provide the ability to start up from a shutdown condition without support from the grid, and then energize the grid to allow other units to start up. A properly sized energy storage system can provide black start capabilities.

Moreover, energy storage technologies can improve power quality and reliability. However, since the vast majority of grid-related power quality events are voltage sags and interruptions with durations of less than two seconds, CAES technology is not very suitable for this function. Instead, superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) or capacitors are more suitable.

One function the CAES technology is very good at is load shifting. Load shifting is achieved by storing energy during periods of low demand and releasing the stored energy during periods of high demand. The NETL (2008) study notes that load shifting comes in several different forms. The most common of these forms, in which CAES technology can be suitably applied, is peak shaving. Peak shaving describes the use of energy storage to reduce peak demand in an area. It is usually proposed when the peak demand for a system is much higher than the average load, and when the peak demand occurs relatively rarely. As such, capacity upgrades are very expensive as they permanently upgrade the grid's capacity in order to tackle rare peak demand events. Peak shaving allows a utility to defer the investment required to upgrade the capacity of the grid. The EPRI (2003) study notes that the economic viability of energy storage for peak shaving depends on several factors, particularly the rate of load growth. Fast load growth improves the economic viability of capacity upgrades as the rare events are likely to become increasingly more common as load grows. In contrast, low load growth improves the economic viability of energy storage technologies as the rare events need to be addressed, and energy storage is suitable for addressing rare and infrequent peak demand through peak shaving.

A key characteristic of energy storage technologies is the capacity to support the integration of renewable energy sources. With wind power currently being the largest and fastest growing renewable power source, and solar PV and CSP expected to play increasingly more substantial roles in the energy grid, this is an important characteristic. The following applications for energy storage technologies are described in the context of wind power. Similar applications also exist for other renewables such as PV.

Frequency and synchronous spinning reserve support: In grids with a significant share of wind generation, intermittency and variability in wind generation output due to sudden shifts in wind patterns can lead to significant imbalances between generation and load that in turn result in shifts in grid frequency. Such imbalances are usually handled by spinning reserve at the transmission level, but energy storage can provide prompt response to such imbalances without the emissions related to most conventional solutions. As mentioned, CAES technology is not very suitable for fast-discharge.
Transmission Curtailment Reduction: Wind power generation is often located in remote areas that are poorly served by transmission and distribution systems. As a result, sometimes wind operators are asked to curtail their production, which results in lost energy production opportunity, or system operators are required to invest in expanding the transmission capability. An energy storage unit located close to the wind generation can allow the excess energy to be stored and then delivered at times when the transmission system is not congested. CAES technology is very suitable for this application.
Time Shifting: Wind turbines are considered as non-dispatchable resources. Energy storage can be used to store energy generated during periods of low demand and deliver it during periods of high demand. When applied to wind generation, this application is sometimes called “firming and shaping” because it changes the power profile of the wind to allow greater control over dispatch.

Environmental protection benefits occur due to the socio-economic benefits mentioned above. Peak shaving and other technical benefits result in lower emissions of greenhouse gases and other emissions, energy market support functions delay energy grid expansions which saves natural resources, and the storage capacity provided by the technology delays energy power supply expansions which saves both natural resources and reduces emissions from power production. In addition, as renewables like wind increase as a percentage of the off-peak power mix, the emissions benefits of EES will continue to grow.

Financial requirements and costs :

The CAES plant is the only technology that can provide significant energy storage (in the thousands of MWhs) at relatively low costs (approximately $400 to $500/kW ). The plant has practically unlimited flexibility for providing significant load management at the utility or regional levels.

The CAES cost curve is not straight because it has a significant per-kWh operating cost (it requires natural gas fuel). While the other energy storage technologies' costs are almost completely dependent on installed capacity, the CAES cost depends on both installed capacity and the amount of energy that passes through storage (Schwyzer, 2006).

Capital costs

The capital cost of a CAES plant is a function of the storage medium, the plant capacity (power), and the energy stored in the storage medium. (EPRI, 2002).

**Table 3. CAES Plant Costs For Various Storage Media And Plant Configurations. Source: EPRI, 2002**
Storage medium for CAES plant	Size (MWe)	Cost for power related plant components ($/kW)	Cost for the energy storage components ($/kWh)	Typical hours of storage for a plant	Total capital costs ($/kWe)
Salt	200	350	1	10	360
Porous media	200	350	0.10	10	351
Hard rock (new cavern)	200	350	30	10	650
Surface piping	50	350	30	3	440

Operating costs

The 2002 EPRI study identifies the following rule of thumb for a generic CAES plant: The operating cost per kWh delivered during power generation mode is 0.75 times that of the incremental cost per kWh of off-peak power purchased during the compression mode, plus the cost of the fuel (in $/MMBTU) times 4000 BTU/kWH generated.

Illustrated in a formula:

Cost of electricity generated ($/kWh) = (0.75) (Incremental cost of electricity purchased, $/kWh) + (Cost of fuel purchased, $/MMBtu) (4,000 Btu/kWh) / (1,000,000 Btu/MMBtu)

The factor “0.75” includes the ratio of generated electricity to purchased electricity and the energy lost to pipe friction, air leakage, pressure regulation, and compressor/expander component efficiencies. The heat rate of 4,000 Btu/kWh is typical for an expander-generator set operating without the compressor during the generation mode.

References :

EPRI, 2002. Handbook for Energy Storage for Transmission or Distribution Applications. Report No. 1007189. Technical Update December 2002. Document can be found at: www.epri.com
NETL, 2008. Market Analysis of Emerging Electric Energy Storage Systems. National energy technology laboratory and Department of Energy report with code DOE/NETL-2008/1330 of July 31, 2008. Document can be found online at: http://www.netl.doe.gov/energy-analyses/refshelf/PubDetails.aspx?Action=View&PubId=212
Schoenung, 2001. Characteristics and technologies for long vs short term energy storage. A study by the U.S. department of energy (DOE) Energy Storage Systems Program. A SANDIA report with code SAND2001-0765. Document can be found online at: http://www.doe.gov/bridge
CPUC, 2010. Electric Energy Storage: An Assessment of Potential Barriers and Opportunities. A Policy and Planning Division White Paper of the California Public Utilities Commission. Document can be found online at: www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/reports.htm
Schwyzer, 2006. “The Potential of Wind Power and Energy Storage in California,” Diana Schwyzer, Masters Thesis for Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley. November 2006. Document can be found online at: www.iaee.org/en/students/best_papers/Diana_Schwyzer.pdf
APS, 2007. Challenges of Electric Energy Storage Technologies: A Report from the APS Panel on Public Affairs Committee on Energy and Environment. Document can be found online at: www.aps.org/policy/reports/popa-reports/upload/Energy_2007_Report_ElectricityStorageReport.pdf

origin : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/jiqweb-caes

Electronic Road Pricing

2012-03-06T04:12:00.000+01:00

Road pricing is an effective economic instrument to reduce congestion, and to limit the growth in private vehicle travel demand. It has been successfully implemented in cities such as Singapore and London, resulting in substantial improvements in the urban environment and transport system. The largest barrier for ERP is public opposition by car users. However acceptance often increases after implementation. Important success factors are clear communication of the benefits to society and complementary policies regarding public transport and parking.

Introduction :

Road pricing is an economic instrument that applies direct charges for the use of roads. It can serve three purposes: 1) as a tax to manage travel demand, 2) as an incentive to guide more efficient investment decisions, and 3) as a source of public revenues, e.g. to finance roads and public transport (Lindsay, 2009). Road pricing can be implemented in several ways, including (VTPI, 2010):

Road tolls: a (usually fixed) fee paid for driving on a particular road
Congestion pricing: a variable fee depending on the level of congestion in a certain area
Cordon fees: a fee applied to a certain area, e.g. an urban centre
Distance-based fees: a vehicle fee based on the number of kilometres travelled

Toll booths or vehicle passes are common methods to collect the road fees, and have been used for decades in countries around the globe. A strong drawback is the inconvenience to the user, as the vehicle has to stop for paying the fee, possibly adding to congestion. Electronic road pricing (ERP) aims to minimise the inconvenience to the user, as well as providing flexibility as to the level of the charges. ERP methods include (VTPI, 2010):

Electronic tolling, which bills a charges to users when passing a point on the road;
Optical vehicle recognition, which uses an optical system to bill the user;
GPS, which tracks the location of vehicles and bills based on the distance driven.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

The largest barrier for ERP is probably political and public acceptance, particularly before implementation (Gehlert et al, 2008). In general vehicle users are considering themselves worse off when charged for something previously perceived as being free of charge. In addition, there may be a general distrust in government agencies resulting in a fear that the instrument only serves to increase public revenues (VPTI, 2010). In developing countries car drivers are often a small but rich and politically influential minority, rendering political support difficult (Mahendra, 2008). Stockholm is the only city where road pricing was decided after a referendum, and after a trial period Stockholm’s citizens voted for its permanent adoption (Harsman and Quigly, 2010). However in cities where initial public acceptance was low, acceptance has been found to increase after its implementation (Gehlert et al., 2008; Mahendra, 2008).
To secure public support and successful implementation of road pricing or congestions the following issues need to be taken into account (Mahendra, 2008; VTIP, 2010; Pike, 2010):

Clear communication about reasons behind the policy and the benefits to society, including congestion reduction and public health benefits;
Implementation of complementary policies such as public and non-motorised transport, flextime, ride sharing and parking fees;
Transparent decision about road pricing, and based on public trust;
Variable but predictable fees based on the level of congestion;
Convenient system, which is easy to understand for the user;
Protection of privacy of the user;
Development of a ‘knowledge culture’ among politicians and experts on alternative pricing mechanisms, based on systematic transport policy analysis;
Use of public ERP revenues for public and non-motorised transport.

In relation to political and public opposition against ERP systems, questions of equity are frequently raised. The impact of ERP on equity, i.e. the costs it imposed on various income segments of society, is a matter of debate. However, although there may be equity issues related to road pricing, it is believed that the instrument can be designed intelligently so as to minimise those impacts, including reduced charges and reducing other taxes for low-income groups (Levinson, 2010). Equity concerns often raised in developed countries were found to play a smaller role in Latin American cities (Mahendra, 2008).

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

Electronic road pricing, that uses electronic or optical tolling, is a mature technology. It has been successfully implemented in cities such as Singapore, London and Stockholm, and for highways, e.g. in Canada and the US (VPTI, 2010). Several countries in the developed and developing world, including Indonesia and the Netherlands, are considering ERP.
In some cities the implementation of ERP on certain roads simply shifted traffic to non-priced roads, thereby hardly affecting overall congestion.
Singapore is the first city in the world implementing ERP in 1998, after using a paper system for over a decade. In-vehicle “charge units” communicate with overhead gantries at all charging points and the appropriate amount is deducted from a smart card. The charge is dependent on the level congestion, and is reduced when traffic speeds increase (Pike, 2010). The policy measure and electronic technology has successfully reduced congestion both in the passenger and freight transport sector (Hin and Subramanian, 2006). It has been successful mainly due to Singapore’s widely accessible public transport system, which is both road and rail-based, supporting a modal shift away from private vehicles. Singapore is considered to be a potential example for other Asian cities, where rapidly growing traffic volumes pose an acute problem.

Figure 1: Traffic jam in Jakarta

How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protection :

In order to move to a more sustainable transport system, a combination of strategies is required, also called the Avoid-Shift-Improve approach, which 1) avoids or reduces the need for unnecessary travel (Transport Demand Management), 2) shifts private vehicle use to more sustainable modes, and 3) improves the environmental performance of modes. ERP is considered an important and effective instrument in the ‘Avoid’ strategy, i.e. limiting the growth in travel demand, while also contributing to a modal shift.
Vehicle use has been shown to be rather sensitive to tolls, with price elasticity from -0.1 to -0.4 for urban highways, i.e. a price increase of 10% results in a 1-4% automobile use reduction. The impact is however highly case specific, and may depend on many factors such as the type of toll, the availability of alternatives and on consumer preferences. Estimates for impacts of road pricing on vehicle trips vary widely, from 3% to 15% (VPTI, 2010; Dalkmann, 1010). However even if total travel demand was affected only to a limited extent, road pricing could significantly reduce congestion if only a small share of total traffic shifted from peak to off-peak hours with estimates for several cities in the range of 10% to more than 30% (VPTI, 2010; Pike, 2010). In Singapore, the ERP has decreased road traffic by 25,000 vehicles in peak hours, and increased average road speeds by 20%. Bus travel and car-pooling also increased.
By reducing and spreading travel demand, the benefits of ERP include (see e.g. Pike, 2010; VTPI, 2010):

Congestion reduction, i.e. travel time savings
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
Air quality improvement
Increased road safety

Financial requirements and costs :

The costs and benefits of ERP can be looked at from different perspectives, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Costs and benefits of ERP to governments and users or society

	Benefits	Costs
Government	Increased revenues	Investment and system operation
Users / society	Reduced travel time Better air quality Increased road safety	Increased vehicle travel costs

Although the investment costs of ERP equipment are high, the cost-benefit ratio to the government is often positive – obviously depending on the level of user fees (Pike, 2010). A study for the ERP considered by the Jakarta government indicates a 4 years payback time (Dalkmann, 2010).
In Stockholm and Santa Clara County in California the benefits in terms of time savings were shown to substantially exceed the operating costs. In London and Stockholm no difference was found in economic growth and retail sales inside and outside the ERP perimeter (Pike, 2010).

References :

Gehlert, T., O. Nielsen, J. Rich, B. Schlag (2008) Public acceptability change of urban road pricing schemes. Proceeding of the institution of civil engineers – transport 161 (3) 111-121.
Hin, L., R. Subramaniam (2006) Congestion control of heavy vehicles using electronic road pricing: the Singapore experience. International Journal of Heavy Vehicle Systems 13 (1-2) 37-55.
Lindsay, R. (2009) Introduction to the Special Issue on Road Pricing and Infrastructure Financing. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation 3 (5-6), 285-292.
Mahendra, A. (2008) Vehicle restrictions in four Latin American cities: Is congestion pricing possible? Transport Reviews 28 (1), 105-133
Menon, G., S. Guttikunda (2010) Electronic Road Pricing: Experience & Lessons from Singapore. SIM-air Working Paper Series: 33-2010. Available at http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/ERP-Singapore-Lessons.pdf
Olszewski, P, L. Xie (2005) Modelling the effects of road pricing on traffic in Singapore. Transportation Research Part A 39 (7-9) 755-772.
Pike, E. (2010) Congestion pricing. Challenges and opportunities. International Council for Clean Transportation. Available at http://www.theicct.org/pubs/congestion_apr10.pdf
VPTI (2010) Road pricing. Online TDM encyclopedia. Available at http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm35.htm
Harsman. B., J. Quigley (2010) Political and Public Acceptability of Congestion Pricing: Ideology and Self-Interest. Journal of policy analysis and management 29 (4) 854 – 871.
Dalkmann, H. (2010) Case study of a transport MRV NAMA: TDM Measures in Jakarta, Indonesia. Applicability of Post 2012 Climate Instruments to the Transport Sector (CITS) Project. Available at http://www.slocat.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/TRL-Jakarta-final-report.pdf

Author affiliation:
Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Policy Studies

origin : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/erp

Methanol cook stoves

2012-03-06T03:23:00.004+01:00

Alcohol burning stoves based on methanol can be used to supply a cooking service, water heating and heating of buildings. The technology can be applied in households, institutions (e.g. schools) and industries where it is used for boiler heating. Methanol is derived from natural gas and therefore still results in emissions of CO₂, whereas the biomass gasification stoves convert biomass into a mixture of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and methane, which can be burnt for cooking. An important advantage of the technologies is that ethanol and methanol burning and biomass gasification do not have the air pollution problems of simple biomass burning for cooking purposes. Ethanol and methanol provide a higher heat flux with no soot or smoke that means that cooking and hot water production can take place faster and pollution free.

Introduction :

According to Practical Action (2007), 2.4 billion people use traditional biomass for cooking, either wood, crop residues, charcoal, or animal waste. IEA (2006) states that an extra 200 million people worldwide will rely on biomass for their cooking and heating needs by 2030. Switching to cleaner fuels and having access to those fuels is one strategy for dealing with the problems of the health effects caused by the smoke and other pollutants released in enclosed cooking areas. The UN millennium project aims to half the number of households using traditional biomass.
Improved biomass cookstoves can aim for 30% efficiency and reduces the amount of wood fuel used and thus decreases pollutant emissions. Methanol is derived from natural gas and therefore still results in emissions of CO₂, whereas the biomass gasification stoves convert biomass into a mixture of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and methane, which can be burnt for cooking.
Methanol as a fuel is cheaper than ethanol. It can be produced from natural gas in a simple process at about half the cost of ethanol. Its potential is therefore particularly large in countries with natural gas supplies. Methanol can also be used by most ethanol stoves, such as the ‘dometic cleancook’ stove shown below, since the methanol stoves work on the same principle as ethanol. Although some of the stoves have been developed and designed in the EU, they are generally used for remote areas and leisure activities.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

The equipment required for methanol burning stoves is similar to existing kerosene stoves. The NARI stove is made of stainless steel to minimise corrosion. It has been field tested on a pilot scale and is undergoing large scale testing. In addition, supply chains for the ethanol and methanol stoves need to be put in place.

Methanol either from biomass sources or from natural gas supplies. This has been done in Nigeria where gas was being flared off. It means that local communities can benefit (e.g., Shell foundation project; Shell Foundation, 2006). The costs of production are low in both cases.

Also, in urban areas income levels are on average higher so that more expensive technologies are more easily available. Another factor playing a role in the decision on whether to switch to a different fuel or stick to the traditional biomass-based cooking technique is the sometimes complex social behaviour in terms of the status of women and their role in decision making and cultural practices related to the fuel used for food preparation. Finally, for rural areas the distance to major ethanol supply centres is generally longer than for urban areas, with corresponding cost differences. In many developing countries, as Elias and Victor (2005) point out, multiple fuels are used, indicating that traditional biomass sources are only partly replaced by cleaner forms. According to Messiri (2006), it takes about 8 years for permitting and construction of a large world scale methanol plant. A small scale methanol plant can be up and running in about 2 years.

In some countries the implementation of methanol stoves may be hampered by regulatory or institutional structures. For example, the Gaia project in Ethiopia had a problem with contradictory government regulations which caused problems in implementing a household pilot study (Stokes and Ebbeson, 2005).

However, it was found that institutional investors like UNHCR actually provided a more reliable and less risky basis for starting up a market than creating a domestic market alone.

Barriers and drivers for establishing markets are similar to other technologies with quality control service back up, spare parts and maintenance being important for establishing a customer base. The RERED project in Sri Lanka is a good example of requiring good standards when setting up a market.

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

The technology of alcohol burning stoves is developing all the time and there is a variety of stoves available on the market. In the EU the technology is mainly used for marine and mobile leisure applications while for developing countries it represents a chance to replace traditional firewood cook stoves. However, the lack of awareness of their benefits and the limited availability of microcredit could be a problem in adopting the technology. In rural areas where the firewood is still collected and 'free of charge', the economic incentive for changing cooking stoves might be smaller. In these areas, a stronger incentive could be the possible health improvements from cleaner cook stoves. For example, informational health effect campaigns could be helpful here. Consequently, the uptake of ethanol stoves may be larger in urban and semi-urban areas where people need to buy their fuels anyway and where income levels are higher.

As indicated by the range of stoves which are commercially available now or which are being developed, there are many successful stoves already available on the market. However, lack of awareness of their benefits and limited availability of microcredit may still be a problem in adopting the technology. In developing countries the ethanol/methanol and biogasification stoves can be used to replace traditional wood burning stoves or kerosene stoves and can be used with ethanol from existing sources or as in the case of the NARI stove from new plant sources and at a 50% concentration. Methanol is a good and cheap alternative though currently not carbon free as it is mainly produced from natural gas. The stoves therefore have to be marketed in conjunction with their fuel supply chain.

In general, markets exist in developing countries, but an important aspect of their applicability is that they must be coupled to the supply chain for the fuel. These stoves are competing with the improved cookstoves which use 30% of the biomass for the same cooking service provided by an open fire. In Kenya, for instance, ethanol stoves have not been widely used. Instead, the Upesi improved cook stove is popular and interventions include hoods and windows in the kitchen (ENTTRANS, 2008). Improved cookstoves are very cheap but do not last as long as the ethanol stoves.

Grimm et al. (2002) describe an EU-China joint venture on the development of a biomass heating and cooking stove project under the EU-China Local Authority linking programme. The available stoves are low efficiency (15-25%) and by producing air pollution these stove contribute to air pollution. Grimm et al. (2002) quote the annual market capacity in Beijing for stoves at 10 million according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture. In 2002 only, 3 million units were being produced commercially so that a large market for efficient low emission stoves in China remains to be explored.

Project Gaia supported by the Shell Foundation is a good example as are all the stoves mentioned above (Stokes and Ebbeson, 2005). The project involved technology transfer of alcohol burning stoves already developed in Europe and North America to the developing world. The company involved in making the stoves is Domestic which supplies a range of equipment for the recreational market including stoves for marine and RV applications. The project particularly emphasised the use of methanol as a fuel available from natural gas in large quantities and available at lower costs than kerosene (Stokes and Ebbeson, 2005). It is envisaged that eventually the methanol would be produced from the lignin and cellulose in biomass crops and thus be carbon neutral. The project therefore involved not only the stove technology but also the supply chain for the fuel. To stimulate demand for this locally-produced methanol, Project Gaia is working to introduce the CleanCook stoves to families in the Niger Delta.

In general, methanol and biomass gasification cook stoves are of most interest to the poor in developing countries. Technology transfer has been successful in some projects such as the Gaia project but also south-south transfers could be encouraged, such as Malawi/Africa ethanol/methanol to China and Chinese biomass gasifiers to Africa.

How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protection :

As explained above, switching to cleaner fuels and having access to those fuels is one strategy for dealing with the problems of the health effects caused by the smoke and other pollutants released in enclosed cooking areas. Some alternatives are not necessarily affordable for the poor, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or biogas, but ethanol, as well as methanol and biogasification are good alternatives. Introduction of chimneys and smoke hoods are also viable options.
With respect to emissions of non-greenhouse gas pollutants, Warwick and Doig (2004) show that the smoke and other pollutants from cooking on open fires is a major cause of disease and death in developing countries and especially for those in poverty. The level of particulates and products of incomplete combustion to which mainly women and children are exposed, leads to respiratory and eye disorders with a high incidence of death (1.6 million/year).

Contribution of the technology to economic development (including energy market support) :

Methanol is derived from fossil fuel (i.e. natural gas). This gives an abundant supply of methanol and allows gas supplies to be distributed and used in an easy form. Methanol production costs are less than half those of ethanol (Stokes and Ebbeson, 2005). Methanol makes the gas as by-product from oil available for local communities.

Climate :

The greenhouse gas emission reduction effect from using biomass for energy production is subject to some controversy as it is important to consider the full life cycle of the fuel and the materials used in the technology and the products of incomplete combustion. Important aspects to consider are:

the feedstock used (by-product of sugar production, biomass distillation or from sorghum, or raw materials which could have been used for food production). If methanol is produced from a raw material that would otherwise have been used for food production, then the greenhouse gas emissions related to producing this food in an alternative manner need to be incorporated as well.
the supply chain: the distance to transport feedstock to methanol production site (or whether produced domestically or imported) and the transport mode used,
the production process itself, and
what is replaced by the methanol: e.g. unsustainably harvested wood stove or fossil fuelled kerosene stove.

Financial requirements and costs :

As explained above, costs and availability of the stoves will also depend on in-country conditions, such as differences between rural and urban areas, 'competition' from 'free-of-charge' firewood, decision making responsibility of women, and availability of materials. Based on Messiri (2006), the DTSG/OPTS Initiative in Nigeria estimates some costs for methanol from modular plants (see Figure below).

Figure 1: Projected cost for methanol from modular plan (Source: Messiri 2006)

The European Commission finances the Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) programme, the EC Buildings directive, the Sustainable Energy Europe programme and Concerto (sustainable energy for communities initiative), with the objective to promote the development of sustainable energy technologies and systems. However, methanol stoves are not currently featured as these are commercially available within the EU and regarded as suitable for remote areas or leisure activities. The biomass gasification model, especially that for China, where local gas supply systems are used, could be applied to the EU and especially in rural areas and perhaps could be considered under the sustainable energy and community programmes.

The activities to develop and implement ethanol/methanol and biomass gasification stoves in developing countries have been financed either by national governments in developing countries (e.g. the ethanol stoves in Malawi and South Africa), or have resulted from an EU technology transfer partnership (Grimm et al., 2002), or been funded by charitable organisations such as the Shell Foundation. REEEP is another possible partner for promoting these technologies in a developing country. NGOs concerned about the health effects of 3-stone fires could also engage in the use of these stoves.

References :

ENTTRANS. 2008. Promoting Sustainable Energy Technology Transfers through the CDM: Converting from a Theoretical Concept to Practical Action, EU 6th Framework Programme, contract number: 022673.
Grimm, H.P., Helm, P., Grassi, G., Lutter, E., Fjaellstroem, T., Dong, W. 2002. Fostering EU-China cooperation in the development of the biomass fuelled heating and cooking stove market in China, 12th European Conference on Biomass Energy, Industry and Climate Protection.
IEA, 2006. World Energy Outlook 2006, OECD/IEA, Paris, France.
Messiri, T. 2006. Mini-methanol plant. DTSG/OPTS Initiative. Available at: http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/ggfrforum06/belguedj/messiri.ppt
Practical Action, 2007. Avalaible at: http://practicalaction.org/?id=energy
Stokes, H., Ebbeson, B. 2005. Project Gaia: Commercialising a new stove and new fuel in Africa, Boiling Point, No. 50, pp. 31-33.
Warwick, H. Doig, A. 2004. Smoke: the Killer in the Kitchen, Indoor Air Pollution in Developing Countries, ITDG Publishing, London, United Kingdom.

origin : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/methanol-cook-stoves

Liquefied Natural Gas in trucks and cars

2012-03-06T03:11:00.002+01:00

The use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in transport is a suitable option to power, large long distance trucks in areas where gas is transported as LNG because there are indigenous gas supplies and no gas network. The use of LNG in passenger cars is far less viable because on average passenger cars stand idle more often, which would give rise to high evaporative losses. The use of LNG requires storage facilities for the cold (-162 ⁰C) liquid natural gas at the roadside refueling stations and special fuelling equipment which can handle cryogenic temperatures. In addition, the trucks must be equipped with special dual fuel engines to be able to use LNG. Moreover, the fuel tank on board of the truck needs to be adapted for LNG usage. These requirements make the use of LNG relatively expensive. Nevertheless, the use of LNG in the transport sector can still have substantial environmental benefits. It is reported that a truck powered by a dual fuel LNG-diesel engine can emit up to 75% lower NO_x emissions and about 13% lower Well-To-Wheel CO₂ emissions compared to diesel powered trucks. Overall, the technology to use LNG as a transport fuel is well developed, but is expected to remain a niche market.

Introduction :

Although natural gas is a fossil fuel, it is the cleanest burning fuel available today. The increasing world wide demand for cleaner energy gives leads to an increasing trade in liquefied natural gas. The natural gas is liquefied by cooling it to approximately −162 °C. Liquefied natural gas occupies a much smaller volume than compressed natural gas which makes it much more cost-efficient to transport over long distances to places without a local source for natural gas, and where pipelines do not lead to. Where moving natural gas by pipelines is not possible or economical, LNG can be transported by ships or by trucks equipped with special cryogenic containers. At its destination the LNG is re-gasified and distributed as pipeline natural gas, but using LNG in heavy duty trucks can be a viable option as well.
Special LNG trailers can deliver the liquid fuel from the storage tanks to LNG fueling stations. At the site of the fueling station the LNG has to be stored in very well insulated tanks. The insulation only, however, will not keep the temperature of LNG low enough. LNG is stored as a so called "boiling cryogen", a very cold liquid at its boiling point which stays at the low temperature by evaporative cooling. (McMullen et al, 2002) As long as the LNG vapor is allowed to leave the storage tank, the temperature will remain constant. At the refueling site this boil off natural gas vapor can be compressed to CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) and be sold to passenger cars. This fuel type is called “LCNG”, Liquefied Compressed Natural Gas and is preferable for passenger cars.
The use of LNG in vehicles is a tradeoff between the duty cycle (i.e. the time in operation) of the vehicle and the evaporation rate (boil off rate). In general the annual mileage of passenger cars is too low to compensate for the boil off losses. However, the direct use of LNG can be an attractive alternative for heavy duty vehicles, which travel high mileages in one go.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

LNG is essentially a fuel for the niche market (McPherson,1999). Liquefying and shipping natural gas is expensive, making the LNG route only attractive for areas where there is a shortage of indigenous gas supplies and where competition from pipeline gas is limited. In addition, the use of LNG requires large investments in terminal and fueling infrastructure. In large quantities LNG can only be transported by sea, so its large-scale use is confined to locations which are accessible via a port. There are only a few LNG projects worldwide, and most of them supply East Asia, which lacks local resources.
Boil off (evaporation) losses in the fuel tank of the vehicle require a high mileage of the vehicle and make the direct use of LNG only economically feasible for Heavy Duty trucks. LNG has a much higher storage density than compressed natural gas, making it more suitable as an alternative to diesel fuel than compressed natural gas (California Energy Commission, 2006). However, the heavy duty trucks need to be equipped with a special natural gas diesel dual-fuel engines (Frailey, 1998). Moreover, sufficient special refueling stations are needed with a storage tank for the cold liquid natural gas. The boil off losses at the site of the fueling station can be compressed to CNG and be used in passenger cars.

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

Although the technology is mature, it is a niche technology to be used for trucks in areas where there is access only to liquefied natural gas. There are a few pilot projects in the world which supply LNG to trucks such as the Clean Energy California LNG Plant (Clean Energy, 2008). The new Clean Energy California LNG Plant in Boron, California began startup operations in November 11, 2008. It was built to produce up to 160,000 gallons of LNG per day and has a 1.5-million-gallon LNG storage tank for reserves to meet unexpected LNG demand from customers and to accommodate plant maintenance procedures. The plant is expected to be the major supplier for the Clean Truck Program of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Within this program, it is envisioned to add up to 8,000 LNG trucks to serve the need for moving goods at the ports.

Contribution of the technology to protection of the environment :

Although natural gas is a fossil fuel it is the cleanest burning fuel available today. It can be used in the form of liquefied compressed natural gas (LCNG) to fuel cars or liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel trucks, or as compressed natural gas. LNG is a much cleaner burning fuel than diesel. Nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions reductions of over 75% (Dual Fuel technology) compared to the diesel vehicles being replaced have been reported by the manufacturers (Frailey, 1998). Therefore LNG and LCNG can be used to improve the local air quality in urban environments. LNG can for example be used to power refuse collection trucks, in urban settings, because of their high duty cycle.

Climate :

It has been shown that the Well to Wheel (WTW) CO₂ emission of LNG can be about 13% lower than the WTW CO₂ emission of a diesel powered truck (Kroon, 2009). However, this percentage may differ depending on the origin of the LNG and hence the energy it takes to transport the LNG to its destination.

The LNG transport ship can lose up to 6% of the natural gas due to evaporation. Furthermore it is assumed that the efficiency of a LNG truck engine is equivalent to the efficiency of a diesel truck engine. This is only the case for so called natural gas diesel dual fuel engines (Frailey, 1998). The natural gas diesel dual-fuel engine combines the advantages of natural gas with the diesel engine’s high efficiency rating, which is about 20 percent superior to that of the compressed natural gas engine. However, few truck manufacturers are building these natural gas diesel dual-fuel engine. It is estimated that the he overall greenhouse gas emission saving of LNG powered trucks compared to conventional diesel trucks is about 10%. (Kroon, 2009)

Financial requirements and costs :

Most LNG in the world is transported via ships equipped with special cryogenic tanks. A 2006 study estimates that natural gas can be economically produced and delivered as LNG in a price range of about $2.5-$4.6 per Giga Joule, depending largely on terms established by producing countries for exploration and production investment and shipping distance and cost (Centre for Energy Economics, 2006). In most cases the LNG is re-gasified in the port and transported further inland via pipelines. However, when the LNG is to be used directly in trucks, it has to be transported via special LNG trailers to the inland refueling sites. A 2006 case study in Sweden reported the following investment costs for infrastructure with a capacity of 2,4 TWh/year (Petterson, 2006) (Fig 1)

Figure 1: Investment costs for LNG production and distribution according to a Swedish case study (source: Petterson, 2006)

In comparison a conventional CNG fuelling station where the natural gas is supplied by pipeline costs around $ 500.000 (Roeterdink et al, 2010). The financial benefit of LNG usage over CNG lays mainly in the lower transport costs, which makes to use of LNG only cost effective in large countries.

Figure 2: Distribution costs as function of the transport distance

References :

Clean Energy (2008): The Clean Energy California LNG Plant. Available at http://www.cleanenergyfuels.com/pdf/CE-OS.Boron.pdf
California Energy Commission (2006): Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a transportation fuel. Available at http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/afvs/lng.html
Centre for Energy Economics (2006). How much does LNG cost. Available at http://www.beg.utexas.edu/energyecon/lng/LNG_introduction_09.php
Frailey (1998): Development of LNG-powered Heavy Duty trucks in Commercial Hauling. M. Frailey, NREL/SR-540-25154, December 1998
Kroon, P. (2009): Ketenemissies van nieuwe transportbrandstoffen: Broeikasgasemissies van winning tot verbruik (Concept rapport). Unpublished
McMullen et al, (2002): New technologies and alternative fuels: Working paper on Alternative propulsion and fuel technology review. John J. McMullen Associates Inc with Booz Allen Hamilton
McPherson, C. (1999): Natural Gas, private sector participation and market development,
Petterson (2006): LCNG Study - possibilities with LNG supporting supply of methane as a vehicle fuel in Sweden. Vattenfall 2006-11-21: A. Petterson, S. Liljemark and M. Losciale.
Roeterdink, W.G., Uyterlinde, M.A., Kroon P. and Hanschke, C.B. (2010): Groen Tanken: Inpassing van alternatieve brandstoffen in de tank- en distributie infrastructuur. ECN report E—09082

Author affiliation:
Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Policy Studies

origin : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/lng

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in transport

2012-03-06T02:53:00.000+01:00

Liquefied Petrol Gas (LPG) is a widely used alternative fuel. It has substantial reserves due to its dual origins from natural gas processing and crude oil refining. Liquefied Petrol Gas (LPG) powered passenger cars have about 10% lower tailpipe CO₂emission than comparable gasoline powered cars. When compared to a diesel car, there is no significant CO₂ emission reduction per km driven; however, LPG powered vehicles do have substantially lower NO_x emissions than diesel powered vehicles.

Introduction :

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) (also called autogas) is a liquefied mixture of propane and butane. It is an inevitable side product of the crude oil refining process and of natural gas processing. In natural gas processing, the natural gas is cleaned off heavy hydrocarbons such as propane and butane before distribution. In crude oil refining, LPG is a by-product of the refining process. LPG is gaseous at room temperature and becomes a liquid at moderate pressures.
LPG can be used as an alternative fuel in vehicles, and may lead to lower vehicle maintenance costs, lower emissions, and fuel costs savings compared to conventional gasoline and diesel.
An important difference between LPG and conventional vehicles is the method of fuel storage. LPG is gaseous at room temperature and a pressurized storage tank is required at the fuelling station as well as in the vehicle. In the vehicle, liquid LPG is converted to vapor in the vehicle’s engine. The vapor is then mixed with filtered air before it enters the combustion chamber where it is burned to produce the energy to propel the vehicle. There are also liquid propane injection engines, which do not depend on vaporizing the LPG, but instead burn the liquid fuel (US DOE, 2010).

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

LPG can be used in dedicated LPG vehicles or in vehicles converted from gasoline use. The availability of dedicated LPG models is limited, and most LPG powered passenger vehicles have a modified combustion engine. Such converted vehicles normally operate in bi-fuel mode, using either LPG or regular gasoline. Older bi-fuel passenger cars often had poor performance because the engine was optimized for gasoline and not for LPG, resulting in relatively high NO_x emissions and no tailpipe CO₂ emission reduction. However, modern bi-fuel vehicles use electronically controlled gas injection systems lowering the NO_x and CO₂ emissions substantially. However, bi-fuel cars rarely achieve the full emission benefits because a compromise in engine tuning is required for the two fuels. The advantage of a bi-fuel vehicle is that the car owner is less dependent on a LPG refueling infrastructure with sufficient coverage. In areas, where LPG is not available, regular gasoline can be used. A drawback of the bi-fuel vehicle is that two fuelling tanks need to be available, lowering the available space in the vehicle. Figure 1 shows an LPG tank in the position where normally the spare tire is located, saving space in the trunk of the vehicle.

LPG also has a lower energy density than gasoline, and therefore requires more storage volume for an equivalent drive range.

Figure 1: Car retrofitted with an LPG tank

The safety risks of LPG is higher than of other (alternative) fuels, although LPG liquefies at moderate pressures (just over 10 bar). In Europe, the number of accidents with LPG is very low, however, the effect of an accident may be large. Pressurized storage of liquid can give rise to a so called Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion (BLEVE). These type of explosions occurs when the storage vessels ruptures. Moreover, LPG has a higher density than air which means that in case of a leak there can be a buildup of the gas around the fuelling station (Roeterdink et al, 2010). In the past, most accidents have happened during the transport of LPG. These safety problems make it generally necessary to locate an LPG fuelling station well outside an urban location.

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

The use of LPG as a transport fuel is a well developed technology, and LPG is a widely used alternative fuel. According to an industry organization, the European LPG Association (AEGPL) (AEGPL, 2009), there are more than 7 million LPG powered vehicles in Europe, and LPG accounts for about 2% of the fuel mix of passenger cars in Europe. AEGPL (2009) also estimates that LPG could account for 10% of Europe’s passenger car fuel mix by 2020.
Figure 2 shows the 10 largest markets for the use of LPG in vehicles globally. In 2007, more than 13 million vehicles were powered by LPG worldwide. LPG has substantial reserves due to its dual origins from natural gas processing and crude oil refining

Figure 2: The ten largest markets for the use of LPG as transport fuel in 2007 (source: AEGPL, 2009)

How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protection :

The energy efficiency of modern LPG powered passenger cars is comparable to the energy efficiency of gasoline powered vehicles (JRC,2007). LPG has a lower carbon content (i.e. higher hydrogen-carbon ratio) than gasoline, leading to about 10-12% lower tailpipe CO₂emission than for gasoline powered cars (RDW,2010). The tailpipe CO₂ emission of LPG powered vehicles are higher than from comparable diesel powered cars. However, replacing diesel powered passenger cars by modern LPG powered passenger cars can reduce NO_x emission by almost 90% (see Table 1).

Fuel type	CO₂ [g/km]	NO_x [g/km]	PM [g/km]
Gasoline	209.8	0.032	-
Diesel	156.5	0.210	0.022
CNG	174.5	0.019	-
LPG	178.7	0.025	-

Table 1: Comparison of emissions of Euro 4 passenger cars as approved by the European Union (AEGPL, 2003).

A study by Hanschke et al. (2009) compared Well-to-Wheel (WTW) CO_{2 emissions of LPG vehicles with gasoline and diesel powered vehicles.}Well-to-Wheel (WTW) CO2 emissions also consider the energy which is needed to extract and refine the fuels. This study concludes that the corresponding WTW CO₂ emissions per MJ of energy content are lower for LPG than for gasoline and diesel (see Table 2). As the energy efficiency of an LPG powered car is comparable to the energy efficiency of a gasoline powered car, the WTW CO2 emissions per km are calculated to be about 11% lower for LPG than for a gasoline powered car. The WTW CO2 emissions per km of an LPG powered vehicle are comparable than for a diesel powered car. This mainly due to by the higher vehicle efficiency of the diesel powered car.

Fuel type	WTW CO₂ emission [g/MJ]	WTW CO₂ emission [g/km]
Gasoline	82.8	185
Diesel	85.4	165
LPG	73.4	165

Table 2: Comparison of Well-to-Wheel (WTW) CO₂ emissions (Hanschke et al, 2009).

Other benefits of using LPG as an automotive fuel include lower maintenance costs and a longer engine life-time. This is due to LPG’s high octane rating and low carbon and oil contamination, which puts less pressure on the engine.
Using LPG may also increase energy security as it may be available domestically or, if it’s imported, may diversify a country’s fossil fuel sources.

Financial requirements and costs :

The initial infrastructure costs required to expand the sales of LPG in the transport sector, are mainly determined by the investment costs of the LPG refueling infrastructure.
In Europe the purchase cost for an LPG vehicle is estimated to be € 1.500 to € 2.500 higher than for a comparable fossil fuel powered car (Roeterdink et al, 2010). However, fuel costs are considerably lower . In 2008 the average price for LPG was estimated to be only about half the price of gasoline. Most of the price difference in Europe is due to lower fuel taxes.
Depending on the (road) tax regimes for LPG vehicles and on fuel prices, the financial breakeven point for the initial additional investment for an LPG vehicle mostly lies within several years.

References top:

AEGPL (2003). Automotive LPG, the practical alternative motor fuel
AEGPL (2009). Autogas in Europe, The Sustainable Alternative – An LPG Industry Roadmap. Available at http://www.aegpl.eu/media/16300/autogas%20roadmap.pdf
Hanschke, C.B., M.A. Uyterlinde, P. Kroon , H. Jeeninga, H.M. Londo (2009). Duurzame innovatie in het wegverkeer. Een evaluatie van vier transitiepaden voor het thema Duurzame mobiliteit. Energy research Centre of the Netherlands, ECN-E—08-076, 2009.
JRC (2007). Well to Wheels analysis of future automotive fuels and power trains in the European context. Tank to Wheels Report Version 2c EUROCAR, CONCAWE Institute for Environment and Sustainability of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy, 7 March 2007.
RDW (2010). Brandstofverbruikboekje 2010. Available at http://www.rdw.nl/SiteCollectionDocuments/Over%20RDW/Brochures%20en%20folders/Brandstofverbruiksboekje%202010.pdf
Roeterdink, W.G., M.A. Uyterlinde, P. Kroon, C.B. Hanschke (2010). Groen Tanken: Impassing van alternatieve brandstoffen in de tank- en distributie infrastructuur. Energy research Centre of the Netherlands, ECN-E—09-082, Mei 2010.
US DOE (2010). What is a propane vehicle? US Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center. Available at http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/vehicles/propane_what_is.html

Author affiliation:
Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Policy Studies

origin : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/lpg

LPG and LNG for Household and Commercial Cooking

2012-03-06T01:47:00.000+01:00

LNG consists mainly of methane, which has a boiling point of –164 ⁰C and for liquefaction requires cryogenic insulated tanks at about atmospheric pressure. Recent practice has been to liquefy the gas that is normally flared in oil fields in remote areas, but it can also be made from landfill gas when purified. LNG is about 1/614th the volume of natural gas at standard temperature and pressure, making it much more cost-efficient to transport over long distances, especially where pipelines do not exist. Similar to LPG, this portability is a major asset. LNG is used in transport and in heating and cooking as well as in industry and as a chemical feedstock.

Introduction :

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a mixture of propane and butane, which are gases that become liquid under pressure and can then be stored in pressurised containers (Dell and Rand, 2004). The proportion of each gas varies depending on the source and climate. Propane is preferred where the climate is cold and butane where it is warm. LPG has a high energy per unit volume and is convenient to use. Its calorific value per unit volume is about 2.5 times larger than that of natural gas (methane). It is used for road transport, cooking, heating, refrigeration, air conditioning and in spray cans. It is a portable source of energy used for remote and leisure applications in the EU and in cooking and transport in developing countries. LPG is manufactured during the refining of crude oil (40%) or from natural gas during extraction (60%).

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) consists mainly of methane. Recent practice has been to liquefy the gas that is normally flared in oil fields in remote areas, but it can also be made from landfill gas when purified. LNG is about 1/614th the volume of natural gas at standard temperature and pressure, making it much more cost-efficient to transport over long distances, especially where pipelines do not exist. Similar to LPG, this portability is a major asset. LNG is used in transport and in heating and cooking as well as in industry and as a chemical feedstock.

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

The reliability of LPG/LNG cook stoves is generally considered high as the technology is mature and applied widely across the world (ENTTRANS, 2008). The same could be said about the supply chains for the LNG and LPG, although LNG transport could be vulnerable for security reasons. For example, IEA (2006) highlights supply problems due to hurricanes in North America. IEA (2006) also points out that the gas supply infrastructure is becoming more complex and more investment is required, in particular to increase transport skills and reduce investment costs. For importers there needs to be local distribution infrastructure development both for the fuel and for new stoves and stove conversions. Where LPG or LNG has been used in developing countries, as in the examples in China and Brazil below, then the governments in each case have subsidised the price of the gas and/or the price of conversions to burn LPG or LNG.
Although many developing countries already have access to LPG and LNG, the applicability of the technology to the rural poor is hampered by the required import facilities and distribution systems and complexities related to the poor quality of roads and relatively high per capita costs if the population density is low. The other main problem with LPG and LNG is that they can be expensive relative to other fuels and thus less attractive for the poor. In addition, the prices of LPG and LNG could be more volatile than the price of other fuels and feedstock for cooking. For example, in China, in the Fujian province, it was reported by Peoples Daily (2006) that people were switching from LNG stoves to electromagnetic stoves as LNG prices had been increased by the government. In Guangzhou, in south China, a LNG price increase resulted in some residents turning to honeycomb coal briquets for cooking. These possible price impacts could negatively affect the affordability of the technology and LNG/LPG fuels, in particular to rural area households (IEA, 2006).

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

LPG is seen by the IEA as the main means for moving away from unsustainable use of biomass for cooking: the target expressed in IEA (2006) is to reduce the use of biomass in cookstoves by 50% by stimulating 1.3 billion people to switch from biomass to LPG. The future market potential for LPG could thus be huge. However, other technologies and fuels (e.g., ethanol/methanol, Biomass gasification stoves, ICS, solar-based cooking) could serve the same purpose. LPG price increases could make LPG-based cooking less accessible for the poor, particularly in the rural areas. The scope for LPG/LNG for cooking is therefore not clear in developing countries, but it seems that it will be concentrated on the middle and high income groups in urban areas.
Existing gas stove burners can be easily adapted to burn LNG and LPG. Below are some examples of LNG/LPG applications in developing countries:

In Brazil, 98% of the households have access to LPG through government policies to develop the required infrastructure in all urban and rural regions, in combination with an LPG subsidy. Recently, due increased LPG prices, residents have begun switching back to woodfuel (IEA, 2006).
In 2001, 17.5% of Indian households (33.6 million households) used LPG as cooking fuel. Around three-quarter of these households were in urban areas; only 5.7% were rural households. Again, the LPG price is subsidised by the government. Increases in LPG prices are politically sensitive in India because of their effect on the middle classes, and recent increases in LPG prices have caused a move away from LPG. For instance, Climate Care is supporting a project in the Punjab to promote the use of briquettes made from biomass crop residues in cook stove. These cookstoves are half the price of the existing LPG stoves, and the payback time from the savings made is 18 months.
In China, 80,000 housing estates in Shenzhen have been converted to LNG. The price of natural gas was claimed to be lower and more stable than that of LPG and would not exceed 5 RMB/m³ (€0.43/m³). This is probably the result of the deal between China and Australia for the annual import of 3.7 million tons of LNG with a pricing mechanism that will ensure that the price is much lower than the current price for natural gas on the world market. However, the price of natural gas in Shenzhen would be higher than in Beijing and Shanghai due to the differences in the source and quality of gas, purchasing cost, construction and labour costs. In addition, the government supplies a subsidy for purchase of new equipment for LNG burning (Peoples Daily, 2006).

How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protection :

In developing countries the main benefits of LNG/LPG are in helping people to switch from unsustainable biomass use to a clean and safe cooking fuel. This provides enormous health benefits helping to avoid the 1.6million deaths/y from respiratory problems caused by smoke and other pollutants released by inefficient biomass burning in enclosed spaces (Warwick and Doig, 2004). It also releases women and children from the drudgery of collecting firewood and health problems associated with carrying heavy bundles long distances. There are also benefits for the local ecology and biodiversity. The UN Millennium project recommends that globally the number of households using non-sustainable biomass for cooking should be halved by 2015.

LNG and LPG provide a ‘clean’ burn with almost complete combustion of the fuel so that there are only low pollutant emissions from NOx and very low particulate or other hydrocarbon emissions. There are no quantitative figures for the overall amounts of pollutants reduced by LNG and LPG, but considering the 2.5 billion people who currently rely on biomass-based fuels in the developing world, the potential for reductions in local smoke and volatile organic compound pollution is very large.

In order to get an overall perspective of the environmental benefits of LNG/LPG, a whole life cycle assessment is needed to consider the supply chains for the fuels. The supply chain for LNG requires pipelines for the gas, liquefaction plant, port facilities, and cryogenic tankers to transport the LNG where the gas is onshore. If the gas is offshore or where port facilities are not available, then floating liquefaction plants can be built. LNG plant design and LNG shipping are the other key links in the chain. The LNG is loaded directly onto ships from the production platform.

However, LPG is not commonly found in rural areas where biomass use tends to be highest and where the health effects of smoke are also highest. Nonetheless, it is used amongst middle or high income groups in urban areas of developing countries. The high initial cost of purchasing appliances and cylinders, the relatively complex technology, irregularity of supply and risk of explosion mean that it is not widely used in the majority of poorer areas of developing countries (IEA, 2006). The LPG supply chain is not practical for the poor as cylinders are usually exchanged at filling stations. Since there are not many of these in rural areas and since transport is poor, access to LPG is very difficult.

India has had an aggressive LPG promotion campaign for years and announced in February 2010 that there will be a program to provide free stoves to households below the poverty line (Energy for Development, 2010).

Climate :

The overall environmental impact of fuel switching to LNG/LPG can be positive or negative in terms of GHGs depending on the efficiency of combustion and sustainability of the fuel used. However, ICS and greater combustion efficiency generally would be expected to lead to larger reductions (IEA, 2006).
An interesting example of exploring the environmental effects of LNG is the KOGAS Environmental Load project, launched by the Government of Korea in 2002 to collect the environmental load information on a range of industrial chemicals. KOGAS, the Korean company for power production, also undertook a lifecycle analysis on the fuel cycle for the LNG it produced or imported compared to coal and oil for the production of 1GWh of electricity in order to conform to the government initiative and to maintain ISO 14001 certification standards. The results apply to the fuel cycle and give an indication of where problems may arise. These results show that LNG generates less CO₂ as predicted from the low carbon/hydrogen ratio of the fuel. Production of CFCs is also much less than for other fuels. Similarly, acidification from sulphur dioxide and eutrophication from NOx levels are lowest for LNG. Finnegan (2004) shows that LPG extraction and refining contributes to SO₂, NMHC, methane and NOx emissions, while transport of the LPG contributes to carbon monoxide and CO₂ emissions. Reinaud (2005) gives figures for CO₂ emissions from LPG refineries. Depending on the location of the refinery and the particular configuration the CO₂ emissions associated with refining are 0.586-0.715 tCO₂/t LPG.
For calculation of these GHG emission reductions, it is recommended to apply the approved methodology for thermal energy production with or without electricity project (small scale activities) which has been developed under the Clean Development Mechanism of the UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol (CDM). This methodology helps to determine a baseline for GHG emissions in the absence of the project (i.e. business-as-usual circumstances), how emission reductions below this baseline can be calculated, and how these reductions can be monitored. General information about how to apply CDM methodologies for GHG accounting can be found at: http://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/PAmethodologies/approved.html.

Financial requirements and costs :

LPG and LNG are already commercial activities. As mentioned above they are used in remote locations and for leisure in the EU.
The LPGas Rural Energy Challenge initiative from the UNDP is engaged in activities to make LPG affordable. This can involve microfinance initiatives to make the equipment cost affordable over a period of time or fee for service operations. Even so, the cost of the fuel is still high for the poor. The recent Millenium Development Goals carbon initiative of the UNDP aims to provide finance in recognition of the need to tackle both poverty and mitigate climate change effects (UNDP, 2007).
Some examples of costs of using LPG/LNG in developing countries can be found above under Status of the technology and its future market potential

References :

Dell, R.M. and Rand, D.A.J., 2004. Clean Energy, RSC Clean Technology Monographs.
Energy for Development, 2010. Cooking with LPG: Climate and Poverty Issues. Available at: http://www.energyfordevelopment.com/2010/02/lpg-cooking-poverty-climate-change.html
ENTTRANS, 2008. Sustainable, Low-Carbon Technologies for Potential Use under the CDM – A description of their environmental, economic, and energy aspects, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Finnegan, S., 2004. LCA of alternative fuels. Available at: http://www.ecotravel.org.uk/sf_work.html
IEA, 2006. World Energy Outlook 2006, OECD/IEA, Paris, France.
Peoples Daily, 2006, Issue of 12-01-2006. Available at: http://english.people.com.cn/200601/12/eng20060112_234940.html
Reinaud, J., 2005. The European Refinery Industry under the EU Emissions Trading scheme, IEA information paper.
UNDP, 2007, MDG Carbon Facility: Leveraging Carbon Finance for Sustainable Development. Available at: http://www.mdgcarbonfacility.org/
Warwick, H. and Doig, A., 2004. Smoke: the Killer in the Kitchen, Indoor Air Pollution in Developing Countries, ITDG Publishing, London, the UK.

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origin : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/lpg_lng_cooking

Hydro Dams for Large-Scale Electricity Supply

2012-03-06T00:54:00.000+01:00

Hydro power plants capture the energy released by water falling through a turbine and converts this into mechanical power, which drives generators to produce electricity. Today’s hydropower turbines are capable of converting more than 90% of available energy into electricity.

Hydropower is currently the second most used renewable energy source in the world, just behind solid biomass. In terms of electricity production, hydro power is the most important renewable energy source, both in the EU and globally. About 20% of globally supplied electricity is generated by hydropower and in some countries it provides more than 50% of electricity supply.

Introduction :

Approximately 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water, a resource that has been exploited for many centuries. The first recorded use of water power was a clock, built around 250 BC. Since that time, people have used falling water to provide power for grain and saw mills. The first use of moving water to produce electricity was a waterwheel on the Fox river in Wisconsin, USA, in 1882, and shortly thereafter the first of many hydro electric power plants at Niagara Falls was completed. Hydro power has played a major role in the expansion of electrical services since then, both in North America and around the world (Oud, 2002). Hydro power plants capture the energy released by water falling through a turbine and converts this into mechanical power, which drives generators to produce electricity. Today’s hydropower turbines are capable of converting more than 90% of available energy into electricity, which is more efficient than any other form of generation (the best fossil fuel power plant is only about 50% efficient) (Bartle, 2002).

The use of hydropower has been characterised by continuous technical development and it is currently the second most used renewable energy source in the world, just behind solid biomass. In terms of electricity production, hydro power is the most important renewable energy source, both in the EU and in the World: in 2004, 90% of renewable electricity in the World was produced with hydro power (IEA, 2006). About 20% of globally supplied electricity is generated by hydropower and in some countries it provides more than 50% of the electricity supply. In Norway 99% of the electricity production is generated by hydropower and New Zealand uses hydropower for 75% of its electricity (WIVC, 2004).

Presently, at least 35,000 large dams exist in the World. The number and size of large dams have increased in recent decades, with most of them in developing countries. Most industrialised countries have either developed larger prospective sites or have excluded them from development due to environmental concerns (Bartle, 2002). An overview of different sizes of hydro power installations is shown in the table below.

TYPE	Hydro power category description
Large hydro	More than 100 MW and usually feeding into a large electricity grid
Medium hydro	15 - 100 MW (usually feeding into a grid)
Small hydro	1 - 15 MW (usually feeding into a grid)
Mini hydro	Above 100 kW and below 1 MW (either stand alone schemes or more often feeding into the grid)
Micro hydro	From 5 kW up to 100 kW (usually providing power for a small community or rural industry in remote areas away from the grid)
Pico hydro	From a few hundred watts up to 5 kW
Source	Egre and Milewski (2002)

The most common type of hydroelectric power plant is an impoundment facility, which typically uses a dam to store river water in a reservoir (see Figure 1 below). Electricity is produced when water is released from the reservoir and spins a turbine to activate a power generator. The water may be released either to meet changing electricity needs or to maintain a constant reservoir level (US Department of Energy, 2005).

Figure 1: Large Hydro-scheme components (Source: US Geological Survey, 1997)

The amount of electricity which can be generated at a hydropower plant depends on two factors: the vertical distance through which the water falls (the ‘head’), and the flow rate, measured as volume of water per unit time. ‘High head’ power plants are the most common and generally utilise a dam to store water at an increased elevation. The dam is also used for providing the stored water during rainy periods and releasing it during dry periods. Sometimes the heads for this type of power plant may be larger than 1000 m. High-head plants with storage are very valuable to electric utilities because they can be quickly adjusted to meet electricity demand.
‘Low head’ hydro plants generally have heads of only a few meters or less. These may utilise a low dam or weir to channel water, or no dam and simply use the ‘run of the river’. A large volume of water must pass through a low head hydro plant's turbines in order to produce a useful amount of power (Oud, 2002).
Pumped hydro requires an upper and a lower storage reservoir with an initial water charge. After that, it only requires topping up. When there is a sudden power demand, water is released from the upper reservoir passed through the turbines to generate electricity, which commands a premium price At night when there is an abundance of cheap electricity the turbines are reversed and become pumps to pump the water from the lower to higher reservoir for use in the next peak in demand (University of Strathclyde Glasgow, 2004).

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

Large-scale hydropower systems require a very large dam, or series of dams, to store the enormous quantities of water they need. For example, when full, the Kariba dam between Zimbabwe and Zambia holds 160 billion m³ of water. Such dams are often used as a resource for irrigation and fishing as well as supplying the water for power generation (Boyle, 2004).

Video 1

Figure 1 above shows how the dam keeps the water upstream in a reservoir, or large artificial lake. By opening the gates, the water from the reservoir flows downwards through a penstock and eventually reaches a turbine. The vertical blades of the turbine are connected to a generator located above of it. Each turbine can weight as much as 172 tonnes and turn at a rate of 90 revolutions per minute. The turbine blades turn in unison with a series of magnets inside the generator (see Figure 2). The large magnets rotate past copper coils which produce alternating current and which is converted into a higher-voltage current to be delivered to the grid. The water used flows to the river downstream. There are various types of turbine and their applicability depends mainly on the pressure head available and the design flow for the proposed hydropower installation.

Figure 2: Hydro-scheme generator (This diagram is courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). (Source: Ontario Power Authority, 2007)

While hydropower turbine manufacturers have incrementally improved turbine technology to improve efficiencies, the basic design concepts have not changed. Improvement can be achieved with respect to:

Performance and production;
Environmental issues;
Innovative operations and maintenance; and
Advanced hydro turbine development and deployment.

When considering a site for hydropower generation it is essential to explore whether the landscape is suitable for dam building and whether the potential output of a scheme is attractive. No project can proceed unless there is a right to utilise all the land concerned and it is important to find out how contractors will access the different parts of the scheme with the necessary equipment. It is therefore wise to approach the relevant land-owners at an early stage to identify any objections to the proposed scheme and to negotiate access. Since water courses often form property boundaries, the ownership of the banks and existing structures may be complex. Failure to settle this issue at an early stage may result in delays and cost penalties later during a project.
Although large hydropower is considered to have large potential for further deployment, there are some barriers that must be taken into consideration:

Economic barriers: Large hydropower projects require very high initial investment cost.
Technical barriers: There is still need for R&D activities with respect to new and better materials, more efficient, cheaper and environmentally-friendly equipment, and better design. Hydropower is only suitable for sites with large volumes of flowing water (Boyle, 2004).
Regulatory barriers: There is limited legislative support for hydro dams, especially in developing countries, which is mainly due to difficulties related to gaining permission to use water from rivers.
Environmental barriers: Hydroelectric projects can be disruptive to surrounding aquatic ecosystems as it could degrade the habitat for fish and other aquatic organism, increasing the undesirable growth and spread of algae and aquatic weeds since the reservoir is stagnant compared to a free-flowing river and block upstream and downstream movements of migratory fish. Large-scale hydroelectric dams are more likely to be involved in these environmental issues, as in the case of the Aswan Dam (Egypt) and the Three Gorges Dam (China), which have created environmental problems both upstream and downstream (Sternberg, 2008).

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

Large hydropower remains one of the lowest-cost energy technologies, although environmental constraints, resettlement impacts, and the availability of sites have limited further growth in many countries. IEA (2008) reports a global, technically-feasible hydro-electricity potential of some 14,320 TWh per year. In a speech to the World Congress on Advancing Sustainable Hydropower in Antalya, Turkey, 2007, International Hydropower Association (IHA) Executive Director Richard Taylor stated that about 6000 TWh per year are considered to be realistic and cost-effective. Presently, 'only' 808 GWe of hydropowercapacity in operation or under construction worldwide. In Africa, Asia and Latin America most large scale hydro power resources have been developed (WEC, 2006). In developing countries, the development of hydropower is now focused more on smaller sites, on refurbishing and upgrading existing hydropower plants, and on retrofitting dams constructed for other purposes. Large and intermediate-scale dams, however, will continue to be very important in developing countries, the former Soviet Union and in some other industrialised nations, such as Canada, which has a long tradition with hydropower (Taylor and Upadhyay, 2005).
Naturally, hydro power is highly dependent on a country’s geography, which implies that in Europe over 80% of hydro capacity is installed in Italy, France, Spain, Germany and Sweden. Asia, especially China, is set to become a leader in hydro-electricity generation. Present developments in Australia and New Zealand are focussing on small hydropower plants. Canada is developing small hydropower as a replacement for expensive diesel generation in remote off-grid communities (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2005).
Canada is the world's largest hydroelectric power producer. In 1999, it generated more than 340 billion kWh of power, or 60% of its electric power. In the USA over 2,000 hydropower plants are operational which produce around half of the country’s renewable energy; in 1999, these plants produced 8% of the total US electrical power (US Department of Energy, 2005). The largest US hydropower plant is the 6,800 MW Grand Coulee power station on the Columbia River in Washington State. Completed in 1942, the Grand Coulee today is one of the world’s largest hydropower plants, following the 13.3 GW Itaipu hydroelectric plant on the Paraná River between Paraguay and Brazil.
In Uganda, currently, only about 15% of existing hydropower potential (300 MW) in Uganda is utilised, and power demand, which is growing at a rate of 8% per year, exceeds available supply. The shortage in generation capacity limits growth in many sectors of the Ugandan economy. The Government has formulated a Hydropower Development Master Plan to guide the hydropower planning and development process in the country. The plan includes a comprehensive study of all the potential large- and small-scale hydropower schemes in the country and outlines the energy development strategy based on criteria such as power demand forecast, project generation potential, environmental effects, and cost criteria (UNESCO, no date).

Video 2

By 2020, China aims to produce 200–240 GW of hydroelectricity, which means adding 7–9 GW of new hydropower capacity per year. To meet this goal, China will need to build the equivalent of roughly one Three Gorges dam every 2 years. There is an enormous potential for hydroelectric power in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, especially in the section of the mainstream above Yibin and below Yushu, namely the Jinsha River. Flowing for 2,360 km from the eastern Tibetan Plateau to the low-lying Sichuan Basin, with a drop of 3,280 m, the Jinsha River has an enormous potential to supply hydropower — as high as 112.4 GW, of which about 75.120 GW is exploitable (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, 2006).
The hydropower capacity in Africa and the Middle East have not yet been widely exploited. Most of the hydroelectric power projects in the Middle East are located in Turkey and Iran. In Africa, the largest installed hydroelectric capacities are in Egypt and Congo (Kinshasa). Although several African countries – including Ivory Coast, Kenya, and Zimbabwe – rely almost exclusively on hydropower for commercial electricity generation, this is mainly because of the absence of an electricity infrastructure in these and many other African countries rather than the presence of an extensive hydroelectric system (Water Institute of South Africa, 2006).
The technology is commercially and technically mature. Innovations in design, equipment and control/instrumentation could improve performance and increase access to export markets, as would systems to mitigate environmental impact. In general, large hydroelectric plants have little difficulty in competing in the market place with conventional generation technologies, because of its relatively low operational costs.

How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protection :

Hydropower has contributed to economic growth through regional development and expansion of industry (International Hydropower Association, 2002). Dams often have multiple tasks, including supplying water for irrigation, industrial production, and residential use, as well as flood prevention and habitat maintenance. In many developing countries, demand for water is increasing and competition for water resources is most likely to intensify (United Nations, 2004).
Hydro-dam large hydropower is a relatively cost-effective and reliable energy technology, which could result in the following socio-economic and environmental beneftis (Boyle, 2004):

The power source is domestic and secure since it is not subject to foreign supply disruptions, cost fluctuations, and transportation issues.
It is highly efficient with turbines capable of converting more than 90% of available energy into electricity, which is more efficient than any other form of generation.
It is climate-friendly and does not produce air pollution or create any toxic by-products.
It is a long-lasting and robust technology - most turbines have a lifetime more than 40 years, although this could be lengthened with proper maintenance (Astrom, 2006).
Hydroelectric energy has relatively low operating and maintenance costs.
Hydroelectric energy technology is a proven technology that offers reliable and flexible operation.
Hydropower offers a means of responding within seconds to changes in load demand.
A dam can be a useful resource for leisure, fishing, irrigation or flood control.

However, before selecting an appropriate site, several geologic, social, and environmental factors need to be evaluated. The process of damming a river and creating a reservoir can pose its own environmental, economic, health and social problems, among which are the displacement of floodplain residents and the loss of the most fertile and useful land in a given area.

Climate :

Hydropower can achieve significant GHG emission reductions as it, depending on the energy mix of the country concerned, could replace fossil based technologies for electricity production. However, in the case of large scale dams emissions of methane from biomass decay in the water reservoirs need to be considered.
In addition, as the water in the reservoir is stagnant compared to a free-flowing river, water-borne sediments and nutrients can be trapped, resulting in the undesirable growth and spread of algae and aquatic weeds. In some cases, water spilled from high dams may become supersaturated with nitrogen gas and cause gas-bubble disease in aquatic organisms inhabiting the tailwaters below the hydropower plant.

For calculation of GHG emission reduction of a large hydro power project, it is recommended to apply the Approved Consolidated Methodology ACM0002, which has been developed for grid connected renewable energy production projects under the Clean Development Mechanism of the UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol (CDM). This methodology helps to determine a baseline for GHG emissions in the absence of the project (i.e. business-as-usual circumstances), how emission reductions below this baseline can be calculated, and how these reductions can be monitored. General information about how to apply CDM methodologies for GHG accounting can be found at: http://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/PAmethodologies/approved.html

Financial requirements and costs :

Hydropower projects involve large up-front investments costs, most of which are related to financing the dam and plant construction. The capital required for large dam hydro plants depends on the effective head, flow rate, geological and geographical features, the equipment (turbines, generators, etc.) and civil engineering works, and whether water flow is constant throughout the year. Moreover, there is a common lead time of approximately four to six years before a plant becomes operational, depending on the geological and geographical features. The capital investment cost varies from minus € 1400/kWh to € 1900/kWh, so that the payback period largely depends on the project case (Idaho National Laboratory, 2005). Apart from the investment and production costs, another principal cost element is operation and maintenance, including repairs and insurance. About € 0.033/kWh of electricity produced by a hydropower plant is needed to finance its operation and about € 0.025/kWh for its maintenance (EUSUSTEL, no date).
Because of the very high initial investment costs, large hydro power production is mainly feasible for big utilities with a large credit capacity . The main project risk for hydro power plants lies in varying electricity prices. Therefore, in countries with stable price agreements, projects are easier to be financed than in countries with volatile energy prices.
Some examples of large hydropower projects in developing countries, including information about costs, are described below:
In 1994, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a loan of USD 60 million to the Lao Government for the 210 MW, USD 280 million Theun-Hinboun hydropower project. The project was co-financed by NORAD, the Norwegian Government’s aid agency. Despite the problems that have arisen during the implementation, ADB considers the Theun-Hinboun a ‘good example’ of how aid and private sector can co-operate in hydropower development in the region (International Rivers Network, 2000).
In Africa, several hydropower projects are either planned or under construction. In 2002, the construction of the 300 MW Tekeze hydroelectric project in Ethiopia began, which, with an investment of USD 224 million, is the largest African joint venture with China. The China National Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Corporation built the dam, which will be higher than China’s own Three Gorges Dam. The project will supply both electricity and water for irrigation to large parts of northern Ethiopia.
Mozambique plans to construct the Mepanda Uncua hydroelectric project, which will be located about 45 miles downstream from the existing 3.75 GW Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi River (construction started in 2005). The cost of the project has been estimated at USD 1.8 billion and its construction is to be completed in two phases, adding 1.3 GW in the first phase and another 1.1 GW in the second phase (Water Institute of Southern Africa, 2006).
For many nations in Africa, future hydroelectric projects depend on the ability to attract investment dollars. Due to their possible negative environmental and social impacts and the risks of defaulting on agreements, it has become increasingly difficult to find investors for such projects and for the instituations such as the World Bank to provide loans.

Clean Development Mechanism market status :

[this information is kindly provided by the UNEP Risoe Centre Carbon Markets Group]
Project developers of hydro projects in the CDM pipeline mainly apply the following CDM methdologies:

ACM2 “Consolidated baseline methodology for grid-connected electricity generation from renewable sources”

AM52 “Increased electricity generation from existing hydropower stations through Decision Support System optimization”

AMS-I.D. “Grid connected renewable electricity generation”

AMS-I.A. “Electricity generation by the user”

Further information on these metholodogies can be found here.

CDM projects based on hydro represent 27.4% of all CDM projects in the pipeline and, as such, are the most common project type in the pipeline. The geographical distribution of hydro projects is concentrated in Asia, particularly in China.

Figure 3: Overview of hydro projects in the CDM (Source: UNEP Risoe CDM/JI Pipeline Analysis and Database, February 1st 2010)

Example CDM project:

Title: “Santa Cruz I Hydro Power Plant” (CDM Ref. No. 2405)

The CDM project is a run-of-the-river hydropower plant, located north east of Peru’s capital city of Lima at 1,985 metres above sea level, in the basin of the Blanco River (Santa Cruz) in the district of Colcas. The plant will have an installed capacity of 5.9 megawatts and a projected yearly average generation of 35,827 megawatt hours. The objective of the Santa Cruz I Hydroelectric Power Plant is renewable electricity generation to be supplied to the Peruvian National Inter-connected Electric Grid.

Project investment: USD 7,500,000

Project CO2 reduction over a crediting period of 7 years: 118,490 tCO2e

Expected CER revenue (CER/USD 10): USD 1,184,900

References :

ASTROM, 2006, Perspectives and Challenges of Large Francis Turbines. Available at: http://www.hydro.power.alstom.com/home/technology_centers/technical_articles/francis/_files/file_28839_12495.pdf
Bartle, A., 2002. Hydro 2002 will debate the way forward for hydropower. International Journal On Hydropower And Dams, Vol. 9, p. 37.
Boyle, G., 2004. Renewable Energy Power for a Sustainable Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford, the UK.
Egre, D. and Milewski, J.C., 2002. The diversity of hydropower projects, Energy Policy, 30(14), pp. 1225-1230.
EUSUSTEL, no date, EUSUSTEL: European Sustainable Electricity; Comprehensive Analysis of Future European Demand and Generation of European Electricity and its Security of Supply, EU - FP6. Available at: http://www.eusustel.be/
IEA, 2006. World Energy Outlook 2006, OECD/IEA, Paris, France.
IEA, 2008. Energy Technology Perspectives 2008, International Energy Agency (IEA), Paris, France.
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, 2006. Large-Scale Hydroelectric Projects and Mountain Development on the Upper Yangtze River. Available at: http://www.igsnrr.cas.cn/xwzx/jxlwtj/200608/P020090715580631150974.pdf
International Hydropower Association, 2002. Hydropower - a Key Tool for Sustainable Development. Available at: http://www.hydropower.org/downloads/F3%20Hydropower%20A%20Key%20Tool%20for%20 Sustainable%20Development.pdf
International Rivers Network, 2000. The Asian Development Bank: Financing Destructive Development in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Available at: http://focusweb.org/governance-and-the-adb-complicity-and-conflict-of-interest.html?Itemid=152
Oud, E., 2002. The evolving context for hydropower development, Energy Policy, 30 (14), pp. 1215–1223.
Sternberg, R., 2008. Hydropower: Dimensions of social and environmental coexistence. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 12(6), pp. 1588–1621.
Taylor, R., 2007. Hydropower Potentials, International Hydropower Association.
Taylor S.D.B. and Upadhyay, D., 2005. Sustainable markets for small hydro in developing countries. Hydropower & Dams. Available at: http://www.esha.be/fileadmin/esha_files/documents/publications/articles/IT_Power_final.pdf
Union of Concerned Scientists, 2005. How Hydroelectric Energy Works. Available at: http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/renewable_energy_basics/how-hydroelectric-energy-works.html
United Nations, 2004. Beijing Declaration on Hydropower and Sustainable Development. Available at: http://unhsd.icold-cigb.org.cn/english.html
University of Strathclyde Glasgow, 2004. Typical Hydro Electric Scheme. Available at: http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/03-04/wind/content/storage%20available.html
U.S. Department of Energy, 2005. Types of Hydropower Plants. Available at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/hydro_plant_types.html#sizes
Water Institute of South Africa, 2006. Vital water statistics, WISA. Available at: http://www.wisa.org.za/announce/waterstats.htm
WVIC, 2004. Facts about Hydropower, Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company. Available at: http://www.wvic.com/hydro-facts.htm

origin : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/hydro_large

Hydrogen technologies

2012-03-05T23:24:00.000+01:00

Hydrogen is considered an important fuel for future use in transportation, central and distributed electric power, portable power and combined heat and power for industrial development. The plethora of sources for hydrogen production, along with the variety of methods to extract it, makes hydrogen a very promising fuel. The introduction of hydrogen can be feasible in both industrialised and developing countries.
Chemically bound hydrogen is found everywhere on Earth: in water, fossil fuels and all living things. Yet, it rarely exists free floating in nature. Instead, it has to be extracted from water or from hydrocarbons. Today, nearly half the hydrogen produced in the world is derived from natural gas via a steam reforming process. The natural gas reacts with steam in a catalytic converter. The process strips away the hydrogen atoms, leaving carbon dioxide as the byproduct (and, unfortunately, releasing it to the atmosphere as a global warming gas). Coal can also be reformed through gasification to produce hydrogen, but this is more expensive than using natural gas and also releases CO₂, which scientists hope to keep earthbound through a process called “carbon sequestration.” Hydrogen can also be processed from gasoline or methanol, though again CO₂ is an unwanted by-product.

Introduction :

Hydrogen is a fuel for future use in transportation, central and distributed electric power, portable power and combined heat and power for industrial development (Lymberopoulos, 2005). It can be made in several different processes and the plethora of sources for hydrogen production, along with the variety of methods to extract it, makes hydrogen a very promising fuel. The introduction of hydrogen can be feasible in both industrialised and developing countries.
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in nature, accounting for 90% of the universe by weight (Lymberopoulos, 2005). However, it is always found in the form of compounds and its production for energy purposes is energy intensive. Hydrogen can mainly be produced from water through electrolysis or from fossil fuels through the process of reforming, whereby water (H₂O) is dissolved into oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H). The hydrogen can be stored and transported and used as energy source elsewhere and/or at a later time. Potential other ways to produce hydrogen are biogenic production, thermolysis and pyrolysis. The energy required for these processes can be obtained from various sources, such as fossil fuels, nuclear energy and renewable energy sources, including bio-fuels.

Figure 1: Hydrogen production pathways (Source: Turner 1999)

This plurality in terms of energy sources is one of the main advantages of the hydrogen energy vector. In order to introduce and apply hydrogen in the marketplace, it has to be conditioned, i.e. transformed into a transportable and/or storable form. For transportation in gas pipelines, hydrogen must be compressed or admixed to natural gas. For long-distance transport in smaller quantities, the most practical as well as economical way is to transport hydrogen in liquid form at cryogenic temperatures. If hydrogen needs to be stored for longer periods (e.g. for seasonal storage), it can be transformed into liquid hydrides (methanol, methyl-cyclohexane, ammonia) or stored as pressurised gas in underground caverns. For mobile as well as stationary small-scale storage, hydrogen has to be conditioned preferably to either pressurised gaseous hydrogen, bound to metal hydrides, liquefied at cryogenic temperatures or cryo-adsorbed at an optimised pressure/temperature balance.

Hydrogen has several important properties that have an impact on its applicability as a fuel (see http://www.chfcc.org):

It combines with oxygen to form water.
It has a high energy content per weight (nearly three times as high as gasoline).
It is highly flammable – it only takes a small amount of energy to ignite it and make it burn – and it has a wide flammability range so that it can burn when it makes up 4 to 74 % of the air by volume.
The combustion of hydrogen does not produce CO₂, particulate, or sulphur dioxide (SO₂) emissions. It can produce nitrous oxide (NO_X) emissions under some conditions.
Hydrogen can also be produced from renewable resources, such as by reforming ethanol (this process emits some CO₂) and by the electrolysis of water.

As stated above, one advantage of hydrogen is that it can be produced with different energy sources. Consequently, hydrogen can also be produced in remote parts in the world, regardless of the level of economic development and the quality of local infrastructure. Indeed, vast quantities of hydrogen as an industrial gas are nowadays produced around the world. Total annual production amounts to 500 billion normal cubic meters per year (Nm³/yr), which is equivalent to around 10% of the world oil production in 2002. Almost all of this hydrogen is produced by using fossil fuels. Only 5% of hydrogen production is commercially used and distributed, whereas the remainder is consumed internally in refineries or chemical plants. The US space programme has been the only case where hydrogen was used as a fuel. Hydrogen can very well be burned in suitably modified boilers, gas turbines and internal combustion engines. However, it is the development of fuel cells with which hydrogen can be combusted with minimal or no emissions that has opened new horizons for its energetic use in transport, mobile, portable and stationary applications, spanning all types of human activities (Lymberopoulos, 2005).

In industrialised countries hydrogen can be used in conventional power generation technologies, such as automobile engines and power plant turbines, or in fuel cells, which are relatively clean and more efficient than conventional technologies. Examples of applying hydrogen are:

Transport – Transportation applications for hydrogen include buses, trucks, passenger vehicles, aircrafts, and trains, with technologies being developed to use hydrogen in both fuel cells and internal combustion engines, including methanol systems. Almost all major carmakers have a hydrogen-fuelled vehicle demonstration programme. Hydrogen-fuelled, internal-combustion engine vehicles are viewed by some as a near-term, lower-cost option that could assist in the development of hydrogen infrastructure and hydrogen storage technology (Sapru et al., 2002). A key advantage of this option is that hydrogen-fuelled internal-combustion engines vehicles can be made in larger numbers. Since the early 1990s, several car makers (BMW, Daimler-Benz, Mazda) have developed and tested prototype hydrogen-powered passenger cars with internal combustion engines (piston, rotary). In addition, first fuel-cell hydrogen passenger cars are under development (e.g. Renault/Volvo - France/Sweden) (see http://www.fuelcells.org). To date, first city bus prototypes are under development. Hydrogen application in the aerospace sector occurs only in space applications due to its specific energy/weight ratio. In aircrafts no commercial use has occurred yet. In the Russian Federation, in a modified Tupolew 154 experimental aircraft, the starboard jet engine was successfully operated with liquid hydrogen over the full operating range during several test flights.
Stationary power generation – Stationary power applications include back-up power units, grid management, power for remote locations, stand-alone power plants for towns and cities, distributed generation for buildings, and co-generation (in which excess thermal energy from electricity generation is used for heat). Although some commercial fuel cells are on the market, the industry is still in its infancy. Most existing fuel-cell systems are used in commercial settings and operate on reformatted natural gas. Widespread availability of hydrogen would allow the introduction of direct hydrogen units (simpler systems with lower cost and increased reliability). In general, combustion-based processes, such as gas turbines and reciprocating engines, can be designed to use hydrogen either alone or mixed with natural gas. These technologies tend to have applications in the higher power ranges of stationary generation.
Portable power generation – Portable applications for fuel cells include consumer electronics, business machinery, and recreational devices. Many participants in the US fuel cell industry are developing small-capacity units for a variety of portable and kilowatt systems for critical commercial and medical functions. Most of these portable applications will use methanol or hydrogen as the fuel. In addition to consumer applications, portable fuel cells may be well suited for use as auxiliary power units in military applications.
Other industrial sectors - Hydrogen is used in ammonia (NH₃) production that in turn is used for the production of fertilisers. In refineries, hydrogen is used for the upgrading of fuels, mostly for the removal of sulphur. Hydrogen becomes the single most important product of the refinery; however it remains an internally consumed product and rarely exits the refinery (Lymberopoulos, 2005). The petrochemical industry uses hydrogen to produce methanol, which is sometimes used in fuel cells where it is reformed to release its hydrogen content. Hydrogen is also used in the food industry for the hydrogenation of fats. Some other uses derive from the physical properties of hydrogen, like lubrication, heat transfer (cooling of power plant generators) or buoyancy (meteorological balloons).

Video 1

Feasibility of technology and operational necessities :

Public acceptance: The use of hydrogen is well established in chemical industry. Its use, starting in first niche markets, with selected automotive and utility applications will introduce the handling and application of hydrogen into the public sector step by step. Similar concepts and standards as for natural gas may be developed and introduced for gaseous and liquid hydrogen, thereby creating confidence in its safe, efficient and environmentally compatible application among its users as well as acceptance of the public and authorities.
Technological and technical challenges: The four fundamental technological and technical challenges related to hydrogen are: to develop and introduce economic, durable, safe, and environmentally acceptable fuel cells and hydrogen storage systems; to develop the infrastructure to provide hydrogen for the light-duty vehicle user; to reduce the costs of hydrogen production from renewables over the next few decades; and, if politically feasible and acceptable, to capture and store the CO₂ by products of hydrogen production from coal (National Academy of Engineering 2004).
The challenge of transition: The transition period to a hydrogen fuel system is likely to be lengthy. It will probably best be accomplished at first by distributed production of hydrogen using small natural gas reforming and electrolysis units, possibly using distributed renewable energy (e.g. wind or direct solar). A distributed system can allow time for development of the new technologies and concepts needed for widespread use of hydrogen. Such an approach, however, cannot yet be fully defined.
Infrastructure requirements: Hydrogen as a fuel will not be widely used until a nation-wide safe and efficient infrastructure is in place. The main infrastructural components are pipelines, compression, liquefaction, tube trailers, liquid and gaseous tanks, geologic storage, separation/purification, dispensers, carriers and carrier charging and discharging (Freedom Car Fuel Partnership 2005). There are significant opportunities for large improvements in infrastructure and delivery, and nations should put greater emphasis on storage requirements, hydrogen purity, pipeline materials, compressors, leak detection, and permitting (National Academy of Engineering 2004). In addition, exploratory research on new hydrogen deliver concepts needs additional funding.
Safety challenges and requirements: Safety will be a major issue for commercialisation of hydrogen applications and this requires an early discussion of safety policy goals with stakeholder groups, continuing work with standards development organizations, the inclusion of safety in systems analysis, a physical testing program to resolve safety issues, and public education focusing on hydrogen safety.
Regulatory issues: In the special case of hydrogen, existing codes and regulations usually do not include or reflect hydrogen as a product itself. For instance, the codes for the maritime transportation of liquid gases as established by the International Maritime Organisation only refer to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG), but not to liquefied hydrogen (LH₂). For a successful and efficient planning and design process for a new technology or concept to be applied on a worldwide basis as well as for a successful marketing, an extension of such codes to the technology or concept in question is needed.

Several researchers have argued that the implementation of hydrogen technologies in developing countries should start in remote areas or countries that do not have access to the electricity grid (Lymberopoulos, 2005). Specific support (economic and technological) to implement new energy technologies in developing and transition countries can be the starting point to create a market which also can be progressively extended to developed countries. Another favourable factor for the transfer of hydrogen technology to the developing countries is the local availability of bio-resources which can be exploited this way and which could also be a solution for waste disposal problems in many of such countries, e.g. with developed agriculture and forestry. Therefore, there is a great opportunity to foster the transition to more sustainable energy use by combining hydrogen technology promotion and aid to developing and transition-economy countries to the necessity of creating the market incentives, to the use of these new sustainable energy technologies, such as sustainable and decentralised production of hydrogen and integration of fuel cells for transportation, housing, and other applications.
All in all, hydrogen may be a good long-term option for certain types of trucks, depending in part on the evolution of hydrogen storage technologies. For medium and heavy trucks, natural gas (eventually partly substituted by bio-synthetic gas, bio-SG) gains some market share by 2050, as do hydrogen fuel cells. Diesel engines and diesel fuel remain dominant, particularly for long-haul trucks. For these trucks, refuelling needs to be high-capacity, quick and available on motorway networks. These factors limit the viability of fuels such as natural gas or hydrogen, given their low energy density and long refuelling times (IEA 2010).

Status of the technology and its future market potential :

Driven by recent technical advances in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies and the need for diversified and sustainable technologies, OECD governments are intensifying their R&D efforts (Lymberopoulos, 2005). Almost € 1 billion per year are invested globally in hydrogen and fuel cells research, mainly in the USA, Japan, and Europe. Half of this amount is spent on fuel cells R&D and the rest on technologies to produce, store and use hydrogen in other energy conversion devices like internal combustion engines. The respective investment from the private sector is considerably larger (approx. € 3-4 billion/yr), including major oil and gas companies, car manufacturers, electrical utilities, power plant component developers, and a number of small and medium enterprises in the current hydrogen and fuel cell market. According to the IEA (2010), hydrogen can be introduced globally after 2030, with almost 200 Mtoe used in transport.
For EU countries in particular, hydrogen and fuel cells have received increased attention in order to meet policy objectives at the EU or member state level. For instance, in the 6^th Framework Programme (FP6), the EC has approved for funding the following projects (see Figure below), with an indicative EU funding of € 60.8 million.

Figure 5: Funding for hydrogen and fuel cells under the 6th Framework Programme

In the field of hydrogen and fuel cells the European Commission has helped the launch of the hydrogen and fuel cells technology platform. This platform has been a major instrument for steering EU efforts in this field and it is expected that in the context of FP7, the platform will evolve into a Joint Technology Initiative, a new kind of framework for fostering technological development through public private partnerships.
In developing countries, R&D in hydrogen technologies is mainly carried out within individual nations’ planning and not in the framework of a joint initiative. The main aim of this R&D is to develop deliberate, socially acceptable strategies to stimulate and sustain institutional R&D in the perspective of commercial hydrogen applications. For instance, China’s R&D programme aims at developing advanced hybrid-electric and fuel-cell vehicles and involves a large number of universities, public sector research institutes and private firms (Lymberopoulos, 2005). India too is rolling out hydrogen-fueled two- and three-wheeler vehicles, while at the same time exploring ways of tapping hydrogen for stationary power. South Africa’s R&D programme covers a range of alternative applications, with a major emphasis on exploring opportunities to exploit its vast platinum reserves in fuel cell catalysts. Nigeria has put in place a comprehensive energy strategy aimed at expanding its production of natural gas, which among others serves as a basis for creating methanol and hydrogen. Finally, Malaysia has adopted a dual strategy to simultaneously develop hydrogen and solar energy as alternative fuel sources.
While most fuel cell and hydrogen activities are taking place in countries that experience a sustained economic development, such as Japan, USA and the EU, there are some hydrogen activities that take place in developing countries (Lymberopoulos, 2005). Research on fuel-cell and related technologies is being carried out in several developing countries, e.g. Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa, and a few of these are also developing demonstration projects for fuel-cells in buses and cars, as well as hydrogen stations. At present, China carries out fuel cell vehicle and refuelling station demonstration projects in Shanghai and Beijing, and the country also undertakes its own national research and development activities. India has developed a clean fuel motorbike driven by metal hydride, which is presently a rather expensive technology, but in the longer run may become cheaper due to the lower cost for hydrogen fuel and durable storage tanks for metal hydride. Besides that, India has made progress with research on powering/fuelling cooking stoves, generators and illuminations with hydrogen. In Mexico, the potential of hydrogen as a major component in the Mexican energy scene has been acknowledged both by researchers and the academic community. Since its creation in 1999, the Hydrogen Mexican Society has promoted the potential benefits that the inclusion of hydrogen in the Mexican energy sector could represent (Lymberopoulos, 2005).
Indicative case studies of hydrogen technologies’ applications are:

Utsira, Norway – Norske Hydro in co-operation with Enercon developed a combined wind and hydrogen energy system as a pilot demonstration project on the island of Utsira, whose municipality has an ambition to be self-sufficient with renewable energy (Eide et al., 2004). Utsira is located a one hour and a half by boat from the western coast of the Norwegian mainland. It has the smallest population of all municipalities in Norway (about 230 inhabitants) and a total area of only 6.15 km². The island is presently connected to the main land through a sea cable, but it used to produce its energy with diesel electric generation. The wind-hydrogen option was examined in order for Utsira to become self-sufficient with renewable energy and independent of a cable to the main land. The autonomous system developed on the island aimed to cover the loads of ten customers both in terms of peak load and energy consumption, with the same power quality as the energy delivered through the cable. Under these constraints and after detailed simulations, the system consisted of the following components.

Figure 2: Overall View of the Utsira Wind-Hydrogen Site (Source: Lymperopoulos 2005)

Hysolar, Saudi Arabia – The HYSOLAR project was carried out by German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the University of Stuttgart, Germany, in co-operation with three Saudi universities. Phase I of the programme lasted from 1985 to 1989 and consisted of the following activities:
- Design and installation of a 350 kW demonstration plant in the ‘Solar Village’ near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, consisting of a concentrating photovoltaic (PV) power system, an advanced electrolyser system with power supply system, a grid operated rectifier, and the necessary gas handling and storage system in order to collect experience in technical scale application.
- Design and installation of a 10 kW test and research facility in Stuttgart, consisting of a multi-crystalline photovoltaic generator system, a power conditioning system, two electrolysers of 10 kWe and one electrolyser of 2 kWe and a PV-simulator in order to do systems development for advanced hydrogen equipment.
- Basic research and system studies to assess the HYSOLAR project and a utilisation programme for the evaluation of safety, reliability and environmental aspects of the selected hydrogen application technologies, as well as of an educational and training programme.

Phase II lasted from 1992 to 1995 and its major focus was on hydrogen production and utilisation. In particular, the 350 kW electrolysis demonstration plant in Riyadh was put into continuous solar-connected operation. From the long-term experience thus accumulated, performance data were obtained for optimisation and scaling up of the system. In the 10 kW research and test centre in Stuttgart, several different electrolyser concepts were investigated. For solar operation the electrolysers could be connected to the photovoltaic generator with or without power a conditioning unit. Furthermore, the electrolysers could be operated with any other controllable current or power profile fed by grid connected power supplies, thus simulating wind energy profiles from wind turbines located at different sites worldwide. A comprehensive simulation code to calculate system efficiency and annual hydrogen production rate from individual characteristics of components and climatic data has been developed.

Figure 3: The 350 kW Electrolyser in Riyadh (left) and the Stuttgart HYSOLAR Building (right) (Source: Lymberopoulos 2005).

In the field of hydrogen utilisation technologies, basic theoretical and laboratory research was performed on alkaline fuel cell concepts (e.g. characterisation of gas diffusion electrodes), as well as on catalytic burners (reaction kinetics of H₂/air mixtures). Experimental investigation of instationary combustion phenomena was performed. Practical tests were carried out on internal combustion engines, also of the compression ignition type.
In OECD countries, multi-annual programmes have been announced for hydrogen development, including a USD 1.7 billion over 5 years in the USA, € 2 billion in the EU 6^th Framework Programme and the Growth Initiative of the EC and ¥ 30 billion per fiscal year in Japan, as well as programmes in Canada, Germany, and Italy. These efforts are complimented by three major international co-operation initiatives (Lymberopoulos, 2005):

The IEA has formed in April 2003 the Hydrogen Co-ordination Group to enhance co-ordination among national R&D programmes, building on the IEA co-operation framework, including the Implementing Agreements on Hydrogen, Advanced fuel cells and others.
In November 2003, sixteen countries including the non-OECD countries Russia, Brazil, India and China formed the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy (IPHE).
In January 2004, the EC established the European Hydrogen and Fuel cells technology platform (HFP), which is a cluster of public and private initiatives aiming to co-ordinate and promote the development and application of hydrogen energy technologies including fuel cells.

Apart from those initiatives under development in Europe, many developing nations also share an interest in hydrogen and have invested in hydrogen R&D. Significant momentum for the introduction of hydrogen energy systems is currently being generated by government policy developments, capital market participation and industry programmes.
Hydrogen could be an important energy carrier in the future, largely due to its unique physical properties and ability to convert energy to useful work cleanly and efficiently. A great deal of work has been undertaken on the integration of hydrogen into transport and power generation, but more opportunities exist beyond these sectors. The new and sustainable technologies of hydrogen production, such as gasification of biomass, reforming of fossil fuels, transformation solar and other types of renewable energy, coupled to the technologies of hydrogen use as an alternative green fuel, e.g. in fuel cells, now constitute the cutting edge topics of R&D for sustainable energy production and a cleaner environment. Many hydrogen technologies still need to be improved in terms of performance and cost reduction in order to be considered best available options.
Currently, there are large, small, portable, mobile and stationary hydrogen applications operational. Some are based on mature, proven technologies and others are evolving as conceptual hydrogen projects across an expanding number of research centres around the globe (Lymberopoulos, 2005). The combustion-based hydrogen conversion technologies developed during the 1980s showed a high degree of maturity and displayed a broad range of practical applicability. Yet, their global advancement in response to the need for improved air quality was rivalled by the development of low-cost emission reduction strategies, and the very low costs of fossil fuels. The technical progress of fuel-cell technologies over the past fifteen years, however, has given the electrochemical hydrogen conversion path a significant foundation to become a versatile, clean and ultramodular future technology option. However, besides the technical challenges, the economic viability of hydrogen as an energy carrier must be proven. Europe has been the leader in technologies like electrolysers and reformers and similarly in technologies related to renewable energy sources. For a successful uptake of the technology in developing countries it is important that economic and non-techno-economic barriers to hydrogen’s penetration into the energy and fuel markets will be overcome. In general thus the success of a sustainable hydrogen application depends on the following key factors:

A scientific and technical basis for approved codes and standards;
Reduction of hydrogen production cost;
Promotion of hydrogen infrastructure for supply, maintenance and operation of the technology;
Pursue technologies that will lead to increased market penetration for hydrogen; and
Initiate safety-related educational and technology assessment activities.

Regardless of the above mentioned evolutions in the sector, according to the IEA (2008), the development of a hydrogen infrastructure will depend on developments in the transportation sector. It seems unlikely that a hydrogen network will develop solely for stationary applications.

How the technology could contribute to socio-economic development and environmental protection :

Regarding the structure of the existing energy economy, hydrogen could contribute to sustainable development objectives in four main ways:

The use of hydrogen reduces pollution and improves air quality: When hydrogen is combined with oxygen in a fuel cell, energy in the form of electricity is produced which can be used in several economic sectors. The advantage of using hydrogen as an energy carrier is that when it combines with oxygen the only by-products are water and heat. No GHGs or other particulates are produced by the use of hydrogen fuel cells.
Hydrogen can be produced locally from numerous sources: Hydrogen can be produced either centrally, and then distributed, or decentrally for on-site use (see http://www.hydrogenenergycenter.org). Hydrogen gas can be produced from methane, gasoline, biomass, coal, or water. Each of these sources brings with it different amounts of pollution, technical challenges, and energy requirements, but would also contribute to diversifying energy infrastructures.

If hydrogen is produced from water, the production system would be sustainable: Since electrolysis (to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen) uses electricity as an input, it does not have the geographical restrictions that alternative ways of producing energy do. It also allows flexible and remote siting of hydrogen generators, providing distributed generation of this energy carrier, without requiring physical transport and large scale storage. Renewable energy can be used to power electrolysers which would provide a sustainable system that is independent of petroleum products and free of pollution.

Figure 4: Sketch of an Electrochemical Cell (Source: Neagu et al. 2000)

Climate :

When hydrogen is produced through the reforming of fossil fuels, then CO₂ is released. Nuclear energy, although CO₂-free, still faces nuclear waste disposal. When hydrogen is produced through water electrolysis, then the GHG emissions related are those associated with the power used. According to the IEA (2008), the contribution of hydrogen in the reduction of GHG emissions in the transport sector (estimated to 12.5 GtCO2 if all technologies are implemented) for the year 2050, can be quite substantial. In order to achieve these savings, R&D expenditures for the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can amount from 3,500 to 4,500 billion USD.

Figure 6: Contribution to emissions reductions by 2050 in the transport sector (Source: IEA 2008)

For calculation of these GHG emission reductions, it is recommended to apply the approved methodologies for switching fossil fuels and hydrogen production using methane extracted from biogas project (large scale activities) which has been developed under the Clean Development Mechanism of the UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol (CDM). This methodology helps to determine a baseline for GHG emissions in the absence of the project (i.e. business-as-usual circumstances), how emission reductions below this baseline can be calculated, and how these reductions can be monitored. General information about how to apply CDM methodologies for GHG accounting can be found at: http://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/PAmethodologies/approved.html.

Financial requirements and costs :

The costs of hydrogen technologies refer mainly to the processes necessary to produce, distribute, and dispense the hydrogen. Currently, most hydrogen is produced with natural gas close to where it is needed for industrial purposes. However, as mentioned before there are other pathways of producing hydrogen as well. The major factors that will affect the cost of delivered hydrogen are the following:

The feedstock and/or the major energy source with which the hydrogen is produced,
The size of the facility at which the hydrogen is produced and the transportation requirements to deliver it to the customer,
The state of the technology used and future improvements, and
Whether or not the CO₂ by-product is sequestered when hydrogen is produced using fossil fuel.

However, it should be noted that there remains significant uncertainty about the actual costs of the technologies under current conditions. Costs are site-specific, particularly for wind and solar-based technologies. Moreover, the uncertainty about possible future technologies is substantially greater. Concerning the hydrogen production, storage and distribution, some indicative costs are presented in the table below.

Figure 7: Costs of hydrogen technologies

References :

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origin : http://climatetechwiki.org/technology/hydrogen