Techo-leapfrogging at its best: 2,000 Indian villages skip fossil fuels, get first electricity from solar

By Matthew McDermott, New York, NY
09.22.10

If you ever need a great example of technological leapfrogging in practice, here it is: In the Indian state of Orissa, the state government has decided to electrify approximately an additional 2,000 villages by March 2012. But rather than hook them up to coal-fired power plants, it will be using decentralized solar power. Biomass, wind power and a variety of small-scale hydropower projects are also in the mix.

Express Buzz reports that currently there are 395 villages powered through solar, with an additional 205 to be completed by the end of the year. Detailed reports to deploy solar to at the remaining villages are being drawn up.

Further renewable energy development in Orissa includes 118 MW of biomass plants, with 20 MW of that to be completed soon. Two wind power projects, 150 MW in size are in the works, with surveys for 22 more locations underway. Micro, mini and small-scale hydropower projects are also planned for deliver an additional 300 MW. …

Techo-Leapfrogging At Its Best: 2,000 Indian Villages Skip Fossil Fuels, Get First Electricity From Solar

Technorati Tags: solar power,wind power,biomass,India

Scientists crack sustainable plastics puzzle

By Tom Young, BusinessGreen, Tuesday 24 November 2009 at 00:15:00

A team of South Korean scientists have produced the polymers used in conventional plastics through bio-engineering processes, in a breakthrough that promises to significantly cut the cost of so-called bioplastics.

The technique could allow the production of environmentally friendly plastics that are fundamentally the same as conventional plastics, but are biodegradable and do not use oil during their manufacture.

The research focused on polylactic acid (PLA), a bio-based polymer which can be used as an alternative to petroleum-based polymers to produce plastic.

"The polyesters and other polymers we use everyday are mostly derived from fossil oils made through the refinery or chemical process," professor Sang Yup Lee, who led the research, said in a statement.

"The idea of producing polymers from renewable biomass has attracted much attention due to the increasing concerns of environmental problems and the limited nature of fossil resources. PLA is considered a good alternative to petroleum-based plastics, as it is both biodegradable and has a low toxicity to humans," he added.

Until now, PLA has been produced in a two-step fermentation and chemical process of polymerisation, which is both complex and expensive. …

Scientists crack sustainable plastics puzzle

Technorati Tags: biotechnology,biomass

New Tacoma biomass plant starts churning power

A Tacoma plant that generates power by using wood waste products recovered from the paper pulping process has started generating commercial power.

According to plant owner Simpson Tacoma Kraft Co. LLC, the plant still produces liner board and paper pulp, but the 55-megawatt power generator, which cost $90 million to build, now generates renewable power that will be used in Sacramento, Calif. The wood waste products generate steam that spins a steam turbine to make the renewable power and power used at the mill. …

New Tacoma biomass plant starts churning power

Technorati Tags: biomass

Energy-pioneering Austrian town exports its model

After 20 years investing in renewable energy, the small Austrian town of Guessing, a model of energy self-sufficiency, is spreading its pioneering technology far and wide.

A town of 4,300 inhabitants near the Hungarian border, Guessing launched into renewable energy in the early 1990s and now produces more than it can consume.

The latest project, opened last week, is a one-megawatt plant capable of producing gas from wood chips.

According to its backers, this gas can be used in normal gas networks, urban heating systems, and cars or power stations that work on gas.

The technology, developed jointly with Switzerland, has already attracted attention from major energy companies.

"Vattenfall (from Sweden), EDF (France) and E.ON (Germany) are all interested in the plant," Guessing's mayor Peter Vadasz noted proudly.

A similar plant to the one in Guessing -- which can heat 150 homes on a cold winter's day -- but 25 times more powerful is already in the works in Goeteborg, Sweden.

About 20 years ago, Guessing was still a sleepy town in the eastern Austrian province of Burgenland, but its foray into renewable energy soon turned it into a pioneer. … The town now produces more energy than it can use …

Energy-pioneering Austrian town exports its model.

Technorati Tags: renewable energy,biomass