ECOTRICITY

ECOTRICITY

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Abstract

The use and cost of energy affects each of us every day of our lives. Many issues arise from the

use of energy: greenhouse gas emissions, acid rain, climate change, dependency on depleting

supplies of fossil fuels — especially from politically unstable regions of the world.

Today, 80% of the world's electrical production comes from fossil and nuclear fuels, and

virtually all transportation is fueled by liquid petroleum (gasoline).

The World Energy Council projects primary energy demand will triple by 2050, as population

grows to 8-9 billion and developing nations elevate living standards.

The fossil fuels by definition are nonrenewable and are destined to run out — so economies will

be forced to change as these fuels are depleted. Rich nations will be insulated a bit longer, yet

scarcity will surely create geopolitical tensions.

The emissions from the burning of fossil and nuclear fuels creates atmospheric, water, and land

pollution and toxic waste. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

(IPCC) says this combustion is causing a discernible change of the global weather and climate

patterns that will affect all humanity in decades to come.

The only hope for the critical future energy crisis will be the reliability on renewable resources.

There is a need to build energy efficient cities to reduce carbon footprint and as well as the

enormous amount of money spent on borrowing energy resources. “ECOTROCITY” – building

energy efficient cities which provide the means for solving the issues of climate change and

energy conservation.

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Contents

Introduction…………………………………………………………..2

Energy data…………………………………………………………...3

Population, Urbanization & Electrification………………………...7

Indian Power Sector………………………………………………..9

Electricity related pollution………………………………………….13

that is being produced around the world

ECOTRICITY………………………………………………………..17

City planning and design…………………..18

Buildings…………………………………….25

Transport……………………………………33

Energy supply……………………………….51

Conclusion……………………………………………………………55

Reference……………………………………………………………..58

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Introduction

Energy conservation is a real hot-button issue these days as more and more people become aware

of the negative environmental impact left by our modern energy usage and habits. This growing

awareness has only been exacerbated by skyrocketing prices in recent years and the geo-political

realities caused by our dependence on foreign resources. Of course, given that this problem

exists planet-wide, much of the solution to all this must come on a global scale. More the half of

the world's population live in cities. This trend will continue to increase, making energy

efficiency in cities a global and crucial theme for the future. Buildings contribute to almost half

of the energy consumption for any one country. It is, thusly, an appropriate starting point for

tackling energy efficiency on a large scale. These buildings have complicated automation

systems that consume a lot of energy. Yet, there is also a lot of potential to reduce energy

consumption with the help of various passive strategies. So there is a need to build energy

efficient cities to reduce carbon footprint and as well as the enormous amount of money spent on

borrowing energy resources. “ECOTROCITY” – building energy efficient cities which provide

the means for solving the issues of climate change and energy conservation.

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ENERGY DATA

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IEA Energy Data, and Economic Survey, GOI, 2006 India

INDIA Generation capacity (MW) Percentage (%)

COAL 68,434 55.5

NATURAL GAS 12,430 10.0

OIL 1,201 0.9

HYDRO 32,135 26.0

NUCLEAR 3,310 2.7

OTHER 6,158 4.9

Consumption per capita of 400 kWh in 2004-05, assuming 25% technical T&D loss; US

consumption per capita –13,000 kWh.

India sectoral consumption shares in 2004-05:

Industrial -35.6% --Average tariff about 7 cents per kWh

Residential -24.8% --Subsidized –average tariff about 6 cents/kWh

Commercial -8.1% --Maximum tariff, about 9 cents per kWh

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Agricultural -22.9% --Heavily subsidized –average tariff < 1 cent/kWh

Continued deficit supply in 2004-05:

Peak power deficit 11.6%

Energy deficit 8 %

Severe transmission and distribution (T&D) loss

About 50% in 2004-05 aggregate technical and commercial loss (AT&C)

Assuming 25% is technical loss --100 billion kWh or about $6 billion a year

Five year plan targets have not been met:

Against the 9thPlan (1997-’02) target of 40,245 MW new capacity, addition was about

21,000 MW

Private sector target: 17,589 MW vs. a realized addition of 6,735 MW

10thplan (2002-’07) target 41,010 MW, revised down to 36,956 MW, commissioned:

13,.416 MW

Deficits likely to continue in the near term.

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India is undergoing an energy crisis. 53% of the country’s current power needs come from coal.

This highly polluting source of energy is bound to run out someday. Compared to the West,

India’s energy consumption is growing at break-neck speed. As India’s poor millions advance

out of poverty, they are consuming more and more power, outstripping national power

production. The negative gap between consumption and production has been increasing

exponentially in the past two decades, forcing the government to buy increasing quantities of

power from abroad. This trend is set to continue, with the country doubling it’s energy

consumption in the next 20 years. Finding alternatives to fossil fuel-based energy sources is vital

to India’s future if it wants to continue sustained growth.

Electricity consumption in India has shown consistent growth in recent years.

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Access to electricity supplies in rural areas of India is still relatively low,

with 74% of villages (439,000 of the Indian total 594,000) having electricity,

but with only 44% of rural households being connected. Increasing the

availability of electricity supply is a key priority for the Indian government.

This extension will involve massive investment in power transmission and

distribution infrastructure.

Population, Urbanization and Electrification.

The Census of India provides population and urbanization projections to March 2026 (Census of

India 2006). This study extends the series to 2031, extrapolating the trends given by the Census

of India in 2006.

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According to the Census of India, India’s total population will reach 1.4 billion by 2026. This

study projects that the total population will continue to increase at a declining rate and reach

about 1.44 billion by March 2031. The urbanization rate is projected to rise from 29 percent in

2006 to 33 percent in 2026. Extrapolating this trend gives an urbanization rate of 35 percent by

2031. Graph shows urban and rural population projections to 2031. The 2031 urbanization rate

in India is low compared with those in other countries with current per capita income close to

India’s in 2031.

Electrified Households by Centile, Rural and Urban

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The analysis also allows for scenarios with target electrification rates. An exogenous future

electrification rates may be set, and the model uses an automated “goal seek” function in Excel

to adjust the distribution of electrified households such that it gives the weighted mean

electrification equal to the targeted levels in all years.

Projection of Electricity Usage for Lighting - Rural and Urban

INDIAN POWER SECTOR

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Demand Growth Outstrips Supply

Shortfalls in electricity supply and power cuts remain a problem in many areas of

India. Increases in capacity, through additional generation, transmission and

distribution facilities, continue to lag behind growth in demand. Over the period

April to October 2006 national peak demand was 98.5 GW, but peak supply was 86.5

MW, a shortfall of 12%. There has been a similar shortfall of supply against peak

demand in all recent years. Power generation in India is dominated by coal-fired

power stations (54% of total generating capacity). Hydro-electric resources are

mainly located in mountainous northern India, requiring long transmission lines to

reach the most important areas of consumption.

Power Consumption Well Behind China

According to international data reported by the EIA for 2004, Indian electricity

consumption in 2004 was 588 billion kWh, compared to 1927 billion kWh in China.

Average electricity consumption in India is low compared to China, with an annual

average of 550 kWh per person, compared to 1471 kWh per person in China. The gap

between India and China in terms of per capita power consumption has widened over

the past couple of decades. The difference is explained partly by the greatly

increased industrial output in China in the last fifteen years, but also by China’s

greater success in extending power supplies to its rural areas.

Village Electrification Not Complete

Access to electricity supplies in rural areas of India is still relatively low, with 74%

of villages (439,000 of the Indian total 594,000) having electricity, but with only

44% of rural households being connected. Increasing the availability of electricity

supply is a key priority for the Indian government. This extension will involve

massive investment in power transmission and distribution infrastructure. In China,

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as a result of rural electrification programmes that have already been implemented,

nearly 100% of villages have electricity supplies.

Infrastructure Development weak

Development of energy infrastructure in India has been weak.   Past limitations on

investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure means that losses due to

technical reasons are high. The Ministry of Power says that aggregate technical and

commercial losses are around 50% - and losses are even higher than this in some

Indian states. Over many years there has been a lack of investment in fundamental

improvements to the electricity system, with only lowest cost incremental

investments being undertaken. For example, power distribution lines at lower

voltages may have been extended in stages, and now reach to much longer lengths

than originally planned, resulting in excessively high resistive losses.  

Very High Electricity Losses

The overall level of electricity losses in India is much higher than in most other

countries. In addition to the losses that occur for technical reasons (e.g. resistive

losses in power lines and transformers), the main reason for the exceptionally high

losses in the Indian network is power usage that has not traditionally been metered.

Theft of power is everywhere in the world a potential problem, especially in poorer

countries, but in India the situation has been made worse by concessions that have

been made to encourage development of rural areas.  

Unmetered Power for Farmers

For many years, power utilities were required to supply electricity to farmers free of

charge, so as to encourage farmers to use electric pumps for irrigation and improve

agricultural production. Hence there was little incentive for utilities to meter power

usage by these consumers near the point-of-use. Why install equipment to measure

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power usage when no bills were issued to consumers?   Without proper metering near

the point-of-use it was difficult for utilities to monitor power usage, so electricity

intended for agricultural use could be illicitly switched to other applications, such as

small industrial premises. 

Financial Impact on Utilities

As power companies in the past did not get paid for electricity supplied to farmers,

in many cases their finances were in poor shape and they lacked resources for

investment. Furthermore, in many sectors electricity prices were controlled by the

state. In recent years the problem has been recognized, so the policy has changed.

More meters have been introduced into distribution networks and unmetered power

losses have begun to decrease. Rather than simply supplying power free to farmers,

the power utility will measure usage and recover the cost from the state government,

which will continue to provide the politically important subsidy.  

Distribution Reforms

A key element in achieving the turnaround of the distribution sector is the APDRP

(Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme). Projects covered by this

programme provide investment assistance to power utilities (e.g. for installation of

meters) and gives incentives to help the utilities achieve better financial

performance. The Indian states are being encouraged by the central government to

unbundle their power utilities and to establish these operations as separate

corporations.

Long Term Growth Plans

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Substantial capacity is being added to the Indian power system. The growth targets

for generation capacity and transmission networks in the central / state sector are set

out by the Central Electricity Authority in a series of five-year plans. Over the

period 2007 to 2012 (the 11th Plan) a tentative generating capacity addition of 66

GW is planned. During the following five years (2012 to 2017, the 12th Plan) a

further generating capacity addition of 86 GW is planned. The current total

generating capacity in India, including the central / state and private sectors, is 128

GW, so these capacity additions are substantial, and much higher than what has been

achieved during the period of the 10th Plan.

Transmission Expansion

In 2004/05 3,494 circuit-km of 400 kV lines were added (mainly in the national

Power grid system) and 3,554 circuit-km of 220 kV lines (mainly in the State

Electricity Boards). The programme for 2006/07 totals 8,058 circuit-km of 400 kV

lines and 3,643 circuit-km of 220 kV lines, compared to 5,331 circuit-km of 400 kV

lines and 7,618 circuit-km of 220 kV lines in the 2005/06 programme.

Private Investment in Power Sector

To give access to additional sources of finance there has been some private

investment in the power sector, mainly through independent power producers, though

this contribution is relatively small. Of total installed generating capacity of 128

GW, only 15 GW is in the private sector. Involvement of private investors (e.g. Tata

Power) in transmission projects is also beginning.   Setting the finances of the state-

owned power distribution companies on a sounder footing through reforms, such as

the ADPRP, should make these more attractive to investors, but there has been only

limited progress on privatization so far.

Electricity related pollution that is being produced around the world

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The world produced a combined 19,020,000 gigawatt hours of electricity in 2007.

Power stations produce nearly 10 billion tons of CO 2 per year and are the planet's most

concentrated source of greenhouse gases.

Global CO2 emissions in 2004 were 27,245,758 thousand metric tons.

In 2007, global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuel use and cement production

increased by 3.1%

Global CO2 emissions from coal combustion increased by 4.5% (+500 megatons CO2)

Global CO2 emissions from combustion of natural gas increased by 3.1% (+200 megatons CO2)

Global CO2 emissions from combustion of oil products increased by only 1.1% (+100 megaton

CO2)

World energy consumption is projected to increase by 59% from 1999 to 2020. Much of the

growth in worldwide energy use is expected in the developing world.

In 2006 the world consumed 5,164 Megatons of hard coal.

In 2007 the world consumed 5,522 Megatons of hard coal.

In 2006 Coal fired power plants produced 41% of the world's electricity.

In 2006 Natural Gas power plants produced 21.1% of the world's electricity.

In 2006 Hydro Gas power plants produced 16% of the world's electricity.

In 2006 Nuclear power plants produced 14.8% of the world's electricity.

In 2006 Oil power plants produced 5.8% of the world's electricity.

- The United States -

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In 2008 the US had a net generation of 3,771,908 gigawatt hours

In 2008 the US produced 1,824,137 gigawatt hours form Coal-Fired power plants.

In 2008 the US produced 28,390 gigawatt hours from Liquid Petroleum plants.

In 2008 the US produced 808,226 gigawatt hours from Natural Gas energy producers.

In 2008 the US produced 732,692 gigawatt hours from Nuclear power plants.

In 2008 the US produced 243,220 gigawatt hours from Conventional Hydroelectric turbines.

In 2008 the US produced 105,284 gigawatt hours from what is listed by the Energy Information

Administration as "other renewable." This includes solar, wind and geo-thermal energy

generation. This accounts for 10% of the electricity generated in the United States in 2008.

In 2006 the U.S. produced 5.8 billion tons of CO2.

In 2004 The U.S. produced 6.049 Billion tons of CO2.

Each American produces 9 tones of CO2 power sector emissions each year on a per capita basis.

Of the largest 1000 fossil fuel-fired power plants in the U.S., 77% are not subject to pollution

controls under the Clean Air Act's New Source Review requirements.

The U.S.'s population is 306,021,000 as of 2009.

 

- China -

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In 2007 China had a net energy production of 3,256,000 gigawatt hours.

In 2005 Coal-Fired power plants represented 69% of total generating capacity in China.

The IEA states that China will add 700 gigawatts electrical of coal-fired capacity to its

electricity network by 2030 and will be responsible for more than half of the increase in the

world’s coal-fired electricity generation.

In 2006 China produced 6.2 billion tons of CO2. Those CO2 emissions from China increased by

about 8% in 2007.

China's population is 1,335,962,132 as of 2009.

 

- Japan -

In 2007 Japan had a net energy production of 1,195,000,000,000 kilowatt hours.

In 2006 Coal-fired power generation accounted for approximately 25% of Japans power

generation.

In 2006 Natural Gas power generation accounted for roughly 24% of Japans power generation.

In 2006 Nuclear power generation accounted for about 26% of Japan's power generation.

In 2006 Hydroelectric power generation accounted for 9% of Japans power generation.

In 2007 Japan produced 1.37 billion metric tons of CO2.

In 2004 Japan produced 1.257 billion metric tons of CO2.

Japan's population is 127,630,000 as of 2009.

 

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- India -

In 2007 India had a net energy production of 665,300,000,000 kilowatt hours.

In 2004 India produced 1.34 billion metric tons of CO2.

India's population is 1,160,700,000 as of 2009.

Effects of CO2 emission:

Sea level rise - densely settled coastal plains would become uninhabitable with just a

small rise in sea level, which would result from melting of the ice caps

Impacts on agriculture - Global warming could have major effects on agricultural

productivity

Reduction of the ozone layer - Warming would result in increase high cloud cover in

winter, giving chemical reactions a platform in the atmosphere, which could result in

depletion of the ozone layer

Increased extreme weather - A warmer climate could change the weather systems of

the earth, meaning there would be more droughts and floods, and more frequent and

stronger storms

Spread of diseases - Diseases would be able to spread to areas which were previously

too cold for them to survive in

Ecosystem change - As with the diseases, the range of plants and animals would change,

with the net effect of most organisms moving towards the North and South Poles

As you can see, the effects of carbon dioxide emissions could be extremely far reaching and

cause major problems. Even a small reduction in household emissions could help to alleviate the

problems future generations are likely to face.

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ECOTRICITY

Ecotricity is an energy efficient city, which will facilitate deployment of energy efficient

buildings, transport, and energy supply technologies in city design, by developing quantifiable,

system-level models that assess their feasibility and implementation in the wider context of

socio-economic, physical, and regulatory characteristics of the city.

ECOTRICITY (Energy Efficient Cities) Initiative

City planning and design

Buildings

Transport

Energy supply

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CITY PLANNING AND DESIGN

As the main integrating module of the project, this work area aims to build a new generation of

conceptual and practical urban models that can be applied to assess the impact of different

technologies and policy scenarios in different types of cities. The EEC(Energy efficient city)

models will represent not only geographical patterns of land use and physical built forms, but

also business and household behavior so as to test in a realistic manner the impacts of novel

building, transport and energy technologies and associated policy measures on urban

development and the welfare of the citizens.

The urban models will thus be relevant to a much wider technology and policy context than

hitherto envisaged. This is appropriate for the complex nature of achieving energy efficiency in

cities.

The issues to be examined include:

Coordination with land use planning in city regions with potentially significant land

requirements for generating renewable energy.

Alternative building forms and density, and their impact on energy use for travel and

activities within buildings.

Appropriate geographic scales for implementing energy supply technologies,

especially distributed power.

The model output will inform medium to long term strategies for environmental improvements

in cities, under operative constraints of business efficiency and quality of life. Insights gained

from the urban models will be used to inspire new planning and design solutions that would

radically reduce energy consumption in cities.

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Climate-Sensitive Urban Design and Architecture

First priority for the urban design is to provide solutions which reduce fossil energy use

climatically on the one hand and creates an urban form which is adapted to the semiarid

conditions. For the built environment this means a dense (228 p/ha) and compact urban form

reducing thermal loss. The main housing typology on the 35 ha is a modern courtyard building,

combing the advantages of introversion (social and cultural aspects!), compactness and

orientation. This compact building configuration shadows neighboring buildings, which again

reduces the cooling demand (up to 6 %) of the respective building and creates a comfortable

microclimate. The predominant north-south orientation of the buildings also contributes to a

reduction of cooling demand of up to 23%. In the hot summer months the landscape and open

space configuration helps to create outdoor thermal comfort.

ENVI-met simulations show that a suitable vegetation (in this case trees) has positive

effects on the microclimate cooling down the area’s surface.

Ventilation: The site needs to be protected by the prevailing winds from west as well as

from the hot and dusty winds from the southeast but at the same time allow the

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cooler north-south winds to channel through the site. This has been achieved by grouping the

buildings according to wind. The quarter’s low skyline follows the topography, the buildings

have a maximum of three floors.

Solar Park

Solar Park are commercial solar power plants with a focus built in urban area. Solar parks uses

thin-film photovoltaic (PV) power system. Photovoltaic (PV) technology converts one form of

energy (sunlight) into another form of energy (electricity)using no moving parts, consuming no

conventional fossil fuels, creating no pollution, and lasting for decades with very little

maintenance. The use of a widely available and reasonably reliable fuel source—the sun—with

no associated storage or transportation difficulties and no emissions makes this technology

eminently practicable for powering remote scientific research platforms.

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SOLAR PARK

Indeed, numerous examples of successfully deployed systems are already available. The

completely scale able nature of the technology also lends itself well to varying power

requirements–from the smallest autonomous research platforms to infrastructure-based systems.

This technology can be limited, however, by annual fluctuations in solar insolation, especially at

extreme latitudes.

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Solar Tree

Photovoltaic system 'tree'

The PV Tree has solar panels arrayed at the top of its branches to generate energy from the sun.

Solar Street

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PV Panels

PV panels tend to work much better in cold weather than in hot climates (except for amorphous

silicon panels).Add a reflective snow surface and the output can sometimes exceed the rating for

the panel. Array currents up to 20% greater than the specified output.

In general, PV materials are categorized as either crystalline or thin film, and they are judged on

two basic factors: efficiency and economics. For remote installations where the actual space

available for PV panels is often quite limited, the greater conversion efficiency of crystalline

technology seems to have the advantage. It is also worth noting that the conversion efficiency of

thin-film panels tends to drop off rather rapidly in the first few years of operation. Decreases of

more than 25%have been reported. This performance deterioration must be taken into account

when sizing the array for a multi-year project. However, there are still applications where the

lighter weight and greater flexibility of the thin-film panels may be more suitable. Which PV

technology is more appropriate for a given application will need to be determined one case-by-

case basis.

Monocrystalline silicon panels should be utilized when a higher voltage is desirable. This would

be in an instance where the DC power has to travel some distance before being utilized or stored

in a battery bank. These panels are also the most efficient PV technology, averaging 14% to

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17%. New technology charge controllers, which allow for a higher array voltage than the battery

bank voltage, somewhat obviate the advantages of the monocrystalline panels.

Polycrystalline silicon panels have efficiencies of 12% to 14%and can often be purchased at a

lower cost per watt than monocrystalline silicon panels. This type of panel sees the widest use in

polar applications.

Thin-film technologies include amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, copper-indium diselenide,

and others. Although the cost of these panels appears attractive at first, it is important to note that

the efficiencies are comparatively low. The 8% to 10% efficiencies seen in new panels quickly

degrade to about 3% to 6% after several months of exposure to sunlight. Furthermore,

amorphous silicon and cadmium telluride modules are sensitive to a much narrower band of

colors, and the winter shift to redder sunlight results in slightly poorer performance (2). Newer,

triple-junction thin-film technologies appear to have higher efficiencies and less degradation

over time, but they are still subject to the same problems mentioned above, if to a lesser degree.

The somewhat flexible nature of thin-film technology may make it appropriate for some

applications, but in general, the higher efficiencies and more robust nature of the crystalline

silicon modules make them a better choice for polar applications. Regardless of the technology

employed, the researcher would be well advised to look for modules with heavy-duty aluminum

frames, UL ratings, easy-to-use junction boxes, and a long warranty (20+ years). All of these are

indicative of a quality unit that will withstand the rigors of the polar environment.

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BUILDINGS

Skyscrapers powered by wind turbine

The two towers are linked via three sky bridges, each holding a 225KW wind turbine, totaling to

675kW of wind power production. Each of these turbines measure 29 m (95 ft) in diameter, and

is aligned to the direction where wind blows heavily. The sail-shaped buildings on either side are

designed to funnel wind through the gap to provide accelerated wind passing through the

turbines. This was confirmed by wind tunnel tests, which showed that the buildings create an S-

shaped flow, ensuring that any wind coming within a 45° angle to either side of the central axis

will create a wind stream that remains perpendicular to the turbines. This significantly increases

their potential to generate electricity.

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The wind turbines are expected to provide 11% to 15% of the towers' total power consumption,

or approximately 1.1 to 1.3 GWh a year. This is equivalent to providing the lighting for about

300 homes annually.[4] The three turbines were turned on for the first time on the 8th of April,

2008. They are expected to operate 50% of the time on an average day.

Dynamic Skyscraper

Dynamic Architecture’s wind powered rotating skyscraper.

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The main idea behind their concept involves a central concrete core surrounded by 59

independently rotating levels. The skyscraper would generate its own electricity from the

massive horizontal wind turbines that would be stacked in between each floor. A central

concrete core is erected to house important static amenities like elevators, staircases, plumbing

and other utilities. This is the only part of the project which must be built on site. The 12

individual units that make up each floor are prefabricated in a factory in order to ensure safety,

cost effectiveness and quality control. Each unit is self-contained and includes all necessary

electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning. Units are hooked on to the building and hoisted up to

the top of the tower. It takes one week to rotate the entire floor into (watch the construction

animation). The tower is effectively built from the top-down. The fact that each unit is

independent and moves with the wind ensures a much higher resistance to earthquakes.

Self Powered Architecture

Neatly stacked in between each floor is a horizontal wind turbine (58 in total). Each turbine can

produce 0.3 megawatt of electricity and is said to be able to produce enough energy for 50

families. The turbines are integrated in such a way that they are hardly visible from the outside.

Their close proximity makes them easy to maintain. Producing that much electric energy without

any implication on the aesthetic aspect of the building is a revolutionary step in tapping

alternative energy sources. Dynamic Architecture’s website also claims that combined with solar

panels they could generate up to $7million worth of surplus electricity every year.

Each turbine can produce 0.3 megawatt of electricity, compared to 1-1.5 megawatt generated by

a normal vertical turbine (windmill). Considering that Dubai gets 4,000 wind hours annually,

the turbines incorporated into the building can generate 1,200,000 kilowatt-hour of energy. As

average annual power consumption of a family is estimated to be 24,000 kilowatt-hours, each

turbine can supply energy for about 50 families. The Dynamic Architecture tower in Dubai will

be having 200 apartments and hence four turbines can take care of their energy needs. The

surplus clean energy produced by the remaining 44 turbines can light up the neighborhood of

the building. However, taking into consideration that the average wind speed in Dubai is of only

16 km/h the architects may need to double the number of turbines to light up the building to

eight. Still there will be 40 free turbines, good enough to supply power for five skyscrapers of the

same size.

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ZEH (Zero Energy Home)

A ZEH (Zero Energy Home) is a popular term to describe a buildings use with zero net energy

consumption and zero carbon emissions annually. Zero Net Energy buildings can be used

autonomously from the energy grid supply – energy can be harvested on-site usually in

combination with energy producing technologies like Solar and Wind while reducing the overall

use of energy with extremely efficient HVAC and Lighting technologies. The Zero Net design

principle is becoming more practical in adopting due to the increasing costs of traditional fossil

fuels and their negative impact on the planet's climate and ecological balance.

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The ZNE consumption principle is gaining considerable interest as renewable energy harvesting

as a means to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Traditional building use consumes 40% of the total

fossil energy in the US and European Union. In developing countries many people have to live in

zero-energy buildings out of necessity. Many people live in huts, yurts, tents and caves exposed

to temperature extremes and without access to electricity. These conditions and the limited size

of living quarters would be considered uncomfortable in the developed countries.

Design and Construction

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The most cost-effective steps toward a reduction in a building's energy consumption usually

occurs during the design process. To achieve efficient energy use, zero energy design departs

significantly from conventional construction practice. Successful zero energy building designers

typically combine time tested passive solar, or natural conditioning, principles that work with the

on site assets. Sunlight and solar heat, prevailing breezes, and the cool of the earth below a

building, can provide day lighting and stable indoor temperatures with minimum mechanical

means. ZEBs are normally optimized to use passive solar heat gain and shading, combined with

thermal mass to stabilize diurnal temperature variations throughout the day, and in most climates

are super insulated. All the technologies needed to create zero energy buildings are available off-

the-shelf today. Sophisticated 3D computer simulation tools are available to model how a

building will perform with a range of design variables such as building orientation (relative to

the daily and seasonal position of the sun), window and door type and placement, overhang

depth, insulation type and values of the building elements, air tightness (weatherization), the

efficiency of heating, cooling, lighting and other equipment, as well as local climate. These

simulations help the designers predict how the building will perform before it is built, and enable

them to model the economic and financial implications on building cost benefit analysis, or even

more appropriate - life cycle assessment.

Zero-Energy Buildings are built with significant energy-saving features. The heating and cooling

loads are lowered by using high-efficiency equipment, added insulation, high-efficiency

windows, natural ventilation, and other techniques. These features vary depending on climate

zones in which the construction occurs. Water heating loads can be lowered by using water

conservation fixtures, heat recovery units on waste water, and by using solar water heating, and

high-efficiency water heating equipment. In addition, day lighting with skylites or solartubes can

provide 100% of daytime illumination within the home. Nighttime illumination is typically done

with fluorescent and LED lighting that use 1/3 or less power then incandescent lights, without

adding unwanted heat. And miscellaneous electric loads can be lessened by choosing efficient

appliances and minimizing phantom loads or standby power. Other techniques to reach net zero

(dependent on climate) are Earth sheltered building principles; super insulation walls using

straw-bale construction, Vitruvianbuilt pre-fabricated building panels and roof elements plus

exterior landscaping for seasonal shading.

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Zero-energy buildings are often designed to make dual use of energy including white goods; for

example, using refrigerator exhaust to heat domestic water, ventilation air and shower drain heat

exchangers, office machines and computer servers, and body heat to heat the building. These

buildings make use of heat energy that conventional buildings may exhaust outside. They may

use heat recovery ventilation, hot water heat recycling, combined heat and power, and absorption

chiller units.

Hybrid Solar Lighting

The hybrid lighting technology was originally developed for fluorescent lighting applications but

recently has been enhanced to work with incandescent accent-lighting sources, such as the

parabolic aluminized reflector (PAR) lamps commonly used in retail spaces. Commercial

building owners—specifically retailers—use the low-efficiency PAR lamps because of their

desirable optical properties and positive impact on sales. Yet the use of this inefficient lighting

results in some retailers’ spending 55–70% of their energy budgets on lighting and lighting-

related energy costs. Hybrid lighting has the potential to significantly reduce energy

consumption while also maintaining or exceeding lighting quality requirements. Artificial

lighting accounts for almost a quarter of the energy consumed in commercial buildings and 10–

20% of energy consumed by industry. Solar lighting can significantly reduce artificial lighting

requirements and energy costs in many commercial and industrial buildings and in institutional

facilities such as schools, libraries, and hospitals.

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Conceptual illustration of a hybrid solar lighting system.

Principle of Operation

The hybrid solar lighting system uses a roof-mounted solar collector to concentrate visible

sunlight into a bundle of plastic optical fibers. The optical fibers penetrate the roof and distribute

the sunlight to multiple “hybrid” luminaries within the building. The hybrid luminaries blend the

natural light with artificial light (of variable intensity) to maintain a constant level of room

lighting. One collector powers about eight fluorescent hybrid light fixtures, which can illuminate

about 1000 square feet.

When sunlight is plentiful, the fiber optics in the luminaries provides all or most of the light

needed in an area. During times of little or no sunlight, a sensor controls the intensity of the

artificial lamps to maintain a desired illumination level. Unlike conventional electric lamps, the

natural light produces little to no waste heat, having an efficacy of 200 lumens/Watt (l/W), and is

cool to the touch. This is because the system’s solar collector removes the infrared (IR) light

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from the sunlight— the part of the spectrum that generates much of the heat in conventional

bulbs. Because the optical fibers lose light as their length increases, it makes sense right now to

use hybrid solar lighting in top-story or single-story spaces. The current optimal optical fiber

length is 50 feet or less. The hybrid solar lighting technology can separate and use different

portions of sunlight for various applications. Thus, visible light can be used directly for lighting

applications while IR light can be used to produce electricity or generate heat for hot water or

space heating. The optimal use of these wavelengths is the focus of continued studies and

development efforts.

TRANSPORT

Research in the transport module will extend bottom-up models of current and possible future

ground transport technology with the aim of estimating:

Energy use and emissions

Embodied energy and environmental impacts (climate and air quality)

Capital and operating costs

The system-wide impact of technological interventions will be studied, for example, in the case

of road transport: battery electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, hybrid electric power trains, use of

light-weight materials, downsizing, alternative fuels and reducing non-CO2 emissions. The

demand for transport and fuels under different technology-policy scenarios will be predicted by

the EEC (Energy efficient city) urban models, incorporating the influences of building forms,

densities and the energy supply networks. Transportation fuels including energy carriers, such as

electricity and hydrogen, will be examined in the context of lifecycle energy and greenhouse gas

emissions in order to determine vehicle-fuel combinations that reduce transportation energy use

and emissions. Options for transport innovations will be examined in conjunction with urban and

energy supply design, e.g.

Will transition to electric cars lead to more 'open' city centers with improved

public places and natural ventilation within large buildings?

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Maglev Transport

Maglev (derived from magnetic levitation), is a system of transportation that suspends, guides

and propels vehicles, predominantly trains, using magnetic levitation from a very large number

of magnets for lift and propulsion. This method has the potential to be faster, quieter and

smoother than wheeled mass transit systems. The power needed for levitation is usually not a

particularly large percentage of the overall consumption; most of the power used is needed to

overcome air drag, as with any other high speed train.

The highest recorded speed of a Maglev train is 581 kilometers per hour (361 mph), achieved in

Japan in 2003, only 6 kilometers per hour (3.7 mph) faster than the conventional TGV wheel-rail

speed record.

We have always thought of aero planes as the fastest mode of transportation. As it travels

thousands of miles in an hour we do not mind the flight delays and also the risk in flying. There

is no other alternative to planes that can travel such a great distance in minimum amount of time.

Buses, cars, boats and even conventional trains seem to be too slow in comparison to planes.

Now a new transportation mode has occurred that can clearly compete with planes in both speed

and safety. They are called MAGLEV trains. The full form and the basic working principle of

MAGLEV is called magnetic levitation.

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Magnetic Levitation

The principle of magnetic levitation is that a vehicle can be suspended and propelled on a

guidance track made with magnets. The vehicle on top of the track may be propelled with the

help of a linear induction motor. Although the vehicle does not use steel wheels on a steel rail

they are still referred to as trains as by definition they are a long chain of vehicles which travel in

the same direction. This is the definition of a MAGLEV train.

MAGLEV Train

As the frictional parts are minimum in this type of technology, the MAGLEV trains are known to

have more speed, smoothness and less sound.

Working of MAGLEV Train

The train will be floating about 10mm above the magnetic guiding track. The train will be

propelled to move by the guide way itself. Thus, there is no need of any engine inside he train.

The detailed working of MAGLEV train is shown in the figure below. The train is propelled by

the changing in magnetic fields. As soon as the train starts to move, the magnetic field changes

sections by switching method and thus the train is again pulled forward. The whole guide way is

run by electromagnets so as to provide the magnetic effect.

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Working of MAGLEV Train

Thus the power needed for the whole process is less when compared to a conventional electric

train. Amongst the power used, only a little is used for the levitation process. But a higher

percentage of power is needed to overcome air friction.

MAGLEV v/s Conventional Train

The main difference between both the trains is that conventional trains need steel wheels and a

steel track for their movement and MAGLEV does not need wheels. They travel under the

principle of electromagnetic suspension.

Another difference is in the engine used. MAGLEV trains do not need engines like conventional

trains. The engine used for conventional trains provide power to pull a chain of compartments

along steel tracks. In MAGLEV trains, the power to propel the train is provided by the magnetic

fields created by the electric coils kept in the guidance tracks which are added together to

provide huge power.

MAGLEV Track

The track along which the train moves is called the guide way. Both the guide way as well as the

train’s undercarriage also have magnets which repel each other. Thus the train is said to levitate

about 0.39 inches on top of the guide way. After the levitation is complete, enough power has to

be produced so as to move the train through the guide way. This power is given to the coils

within the guide way, which in turn produces magnetic fields, which pulls and pushes the train

through the guide way.

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MAGLEV Track

The current that is given to the electric coils of the guide way will be alternating in nature. Thus

the polarity of the coils will be changing in period. Thus the change causes a pull force for the

train in the front and to add to this force, the magnetic field behind the train adds more forward

thrust.

Commercial use of MAGLEV Trains

The first known commercial use of MAGLEV train was in the year 1984 in Birmingham,

England, and the train was named MAGLEV itself. But due to less reliability, the train

was stopped by 1994.

The most famous commercial MAGLEV train is the Shanghai MAGLEV train in

Shanghai, China. The train can go in a top speed of 270 miles/hour with an average speed

of 160 miles/hour.

Since these trains move on a cushion of air, there is no friction at all [except air friction].

The trains are also aerodynamically designed which enables them to reach great speeds

like 300 miles/hour and so on. At 300

Miles/hour you can travel from Rome to Paris in about 2 hours.

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Advantages of MAGLEV

The main advantage is maintenance. There is no contact between the guide way and the

train which lessens the number of moving parts. Thus the components that wear out is

little.

Another advantage is the reduction in noise. As there are no wheels running along there is

no wheel noise. However noise due to air disturbance will still be there.

The next advantage is high speed. As there are no frictional contacts, the train is prone to

have more speed.

Another advantage is that the guide way can be made a lot thicker in uphill places, after

stations and so on. This will help in increasing the speed of the train further.

Disadvantages of MAGLEV

The initial cost of MAGLEV trains is highly expensive. The guide paths are also supposed to be

more costly than conventional steel railways.

Solar Road Ways

The Solar Roadway is a series of structurally-engineered solar panels that are driven upon. The

idea is to replace all current petroleum-based asphalt roads, parking lots, and driveways with

Solar Road Panels that collect energy to be used by our homes and businesses. Our ultimate goal

is to be able to store excess energy in or alongside the Solar Roadways. This renewable energy

replaces the need for the current fossil fuels used for the generation of electricity. This, in turn,

cuts greenhouse gases literally in half.

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The Department of Energy just gave $100,000 to upstart company Solar Roadways, to develop

12-by-12-foot solar panels, dubbed "Solar Roads," that can be embedded into roads, pumping

power into the grid. The panels may also feature LED road warnings and built-in heating

elements that could prevent roads from freezing.

Each Solar Road panel can develop around 7.6 kWh of power each day, and each costs around

$7,000. If widely adopted, they could realistically wean the US off fossil fuels: a mile-long

stretch of four-lane highway could take 500 homes off the grid. If the entire US Interstate system

made use of the panels, energy would no longer be a concern for the country.

In addition, every Solar Road panel has its own microprocessor and energy management system.

Materials-wise, the top layer is described as translucent and high-strength. Inhabitant says its

glass, which seems odd, especially since Solar Roadways claims the surface provides excellent

traction. The base layer under the solar panel routes the power, as well as data utilities (TV,

phone, Internet) to homes and power companies.

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Each individual panel consists of three basic layers:

Road Surface Layer - translucent and high-strength, it is rough enough to provide great traction,

yet still passes sunlight through to the solar collector cells embedded within, along with LEDs

and a heating element. It is capable of handling today's heaviest loads under the worst of

conditions. Weatherproof, it protects the electronics layer beneath it.

Electronics Layer Contains a microprocessor board with support circuitry for sensing loads on

the surface and controlling a heating element. No more snow/ice removal and no more

school/business closings due to inclement weather. The on-board microprocessor controls

lighting, communications, monitoring, etc. With a communications device every 12 feet, the

Solar Roadway is an intelligent highway system.

Base Plate Layer - While the electronics layer collects energy from the sun, it is the base plate

layer that distributes power (collected from the electronics layer) and data signals (phone, TV,

internet, etc.) "Down line" to all homes and businesses connected to the Solar Roadway.

Weatherproof, it protects the electronics layer above it.

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Piezoelectric systems for green environment

Electricity, as we all know, isn’t easy to generate and even the power that reaches our wall

sockets isn’t always green. In an era where everybody seems to be getting interested about

renewable energy, there is no dearth of systems that harvest seemingly unconventional forms of

energy like kinetic energy, human energy and piezoelectricity. Piezoelectricity is based around

the ability of some materials, notably crystals and certain ceramics, to generate electrical field in

response to applied mechanical stress. Though piezoelectricity doesn’t seem practical enough for

portable electronic devices, certain designers are working to make it feasible not only for

portable gadgets but also on a much larger scale. Here is a list of such systems that rely on next-

gen piezoelectric technologies which might well be the future of clean energy:

Streetlights powered by sidewalks

Recently Toulouse, France became the first city to stick these piezoelectric pressure-sensitive

modules on the sidewalks so that residents can generate power by simply walking down the

street. The technology being used comes from a Dutch company Sustainable Dance Club and

features embedded micro-sensors that generate electricity whenever pressure is applied on them,

which can then be used to power streetlights.

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Innowattech’s Energy Generating Roadways

Innowattech is developing technology that would enable a ten-meter strip of asphalt to generate

about 2000Wh of clean energy. The plan is to install piezoelectric crystals 5cm below the upper

layer of asphalt on open highways. A 1km stretch embedded with these crystals would be able to

generate about 200KWh of energy, while a four-lane highway would produce about 1000MWh

of energy, sufficient to power about 2500 households.

Speech-powered Cell phones

Scientists at Texas A&M University in Houston have found that certain piezoelectric systems

become more efficient when they are manufactured at a very small size and they can be used to

provide electricity for portable electronic devices. These scientists discovered that when the

materials are made extremely thin, their electricity conversion efficiency increases dramatically.

Making these materials thin also enables those to be moved by sound or speech, which makes

them envision cell phones that will be powered by nothing other than sound.

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P-Eco Concept Car

Envisioned by industrial designer Jung-Hoon Kim, P-Eco is a sustainable concept vehicle that

will rely on renewable energy produced by solar panels, wind turbines and above all –

piezoelectricity. The car is equipped with multiple chords that vibrate at a high frequency,

whenever the vehicle is in motion, to produce electrical energy.

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Powering iPods with heartbeat

Scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed new nano

sized generators that can convert the energy of movement into electricity, which can then be fed

into any portable gadget, including your cell phones and iPods. The newly developed

technology, which is based on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires, can harvest energy from even the

slightest of movements. The researchers associated with the findings claim that devices carrying

ZnO nanowires just 25% longer than the diameter of human hair will be able to generate

electricity from slight movements, including your heartbeat or the flow of blood in your body.

These nano generators could have countless applications, the most serious being their use by

military personnel, which in most cases are far away from a wall socket.

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Zeri Phone

The Zeri Phone by industrial designer Paul Frigout is one such cell phone that gets powered by a

thermoelectric and piezoelectric system. The cellphone’s piezoelectric system comprises of hair-

like generators that produce electricity from the vibration produced by air.

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Portable Power Generator

Designed by Deco Goodman, this portable energy source relies on piezoelectric devices to generate electricity from the bike’s motion. Energy generated by the system is stored in an onboard battery that can later be used to juice-up several portable electronic devices.

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STREAM

The STREAM concept is designed for highways of the future, which will be able to generate

electricity from renewable sources and waste energy for electric car charging stations. The

concept will also enhance the aesthetic sense in the range of regenerative energy usage. The

system incorporates various elements that are coated with a sturdy piezoelectric foil, which is

stretched with it is moved. As a car passes by, the air stream causes the elements to stretch and

bend, which generates electricity.

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Tokyo Railway Station

East Japan Railway Company has deployed piezoelectric devices in the floors at ticket gates and

other areas of Tokyo railway station. The system is intended to generate power as passengers

walk through these gates. The electricity-generating piezoelectric devices will cover the area of

25-square meters in total and will be installed at seven ticket gates and seven steps of a staircase

inside the gate on the railway station. JR East is expecting that the setup would be able to

generate 1400KW/sec of electricity each day and could potentially be used to power the

electronic displays of the railway station in the future.

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Hybrid Electric Vehicle

The rapid growth and development of HEVs has also spurred the development of other emerging

technologies that share critical components (e.g. electric motors, batteries) with HEVs, i.e. plug-

in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles. Both plug-in hybrids and fuel cell

vehicles require technologies for electric propulsion. However, as these emerging technologies

are still expensive and require a reliable supply of electricity or hydrogen, these technologies are

not expected to play an important role in developing countries soon. ‘Ultra cheap’ cars are more

likely to enter these markets in the interim due to their fuel efficiency and low cost. Plug-in

hybrid electric vehicles The plug-in HEV (PHEV) is a HEV with a larger battery pack, with

battery ranges of 30-60 km. This range should be enough for the majority (if not all) of vehicle

kilometers traveled on a daily basis in urban centers and shorter commutes; more than 70% of

all road trips are below 50 km. Under average conditions, half of the vehicle kilometers driven

by a PHEV could be driven on battery power alone with a range of 50 km. In addition to

recharging the battery by use of the combustion engine, the PHEV can also be recharged with

electricity from a normal wall plug, reducing fuel consumption tremendously. Overall emission

reductions and efficiency improvements will vary based on the way in which electricity is

produced (fossil fuel or renewable) and transmitted (smart grid technologies will make a big

difference in overall efficiency). Plugging in reduces air pollution at the vehicle tail pipe, but it

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may increase emissions at the power plant. A number of major vehicle manufacturers have

announced their plans to develop and market PHEVs in the near future.

Fuel cell vehicles

A fuel cell is a chemical engine that produces electricity from hydrogen, emitting only water

vapor. The electricity produced is used for driving a vehicle with an electric motor. The

hydrogen fuel can be produced in various ways, but currently the most viable method is steam

reforming of fossil fuels using a nickel catalyst. However, in the future, the plan is to produce

hydrogen from solar power, biomass, or even coal with carbon capture and storage technology.

Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) can be fueled with pure hydrogen gas stored onboard in high-pressure

tanks. They can also be fueled with hydrogen-rich fuels including methanol, natural gas, or even

gasoline; these fuels must first be converted into hydrogen gas by an onboard device called a

“reformer.” This will add cost, complexity and weight to the vehicle but will make the fuel

distribution easier. FCVs fueled with pure hydrogen emit no pollutants, only water and heat,

while those using hydrogen-rich fuels and a reformer produce only small amounts of air

pollutants. In addition, FCVs can be twice as efficient as similarly sized conventional vehicles

and may also incorporate other advanced technologies to increase efficiency. The power required

for HEV function is supplied by large battery stacks, usually between 50-70 kg for passenger

cars and 250-600 kg for bus batteries. Most HEV buses today are fitted with a lead acid battery,

but the use of more advanced and expensive but better and longer lifetime nickel metal hydride

batteries is increasing for buses as is already the case for passenger cars. Battery life - Most HEV

manufacturers provide long lifetime guaranties (e.g. 8 years or ~ 250,000 kms) for their batteries

and electrical systems. The cost of replacing a HEV battery pack is now 2,000 USD to 3,000

USD including labor costs but prices are falling. The purchase price of a hybrid vehicle is higher

compared to a conventional vehicle, both for passenger cars, buses, and trucks. However, given

the lower fuel consumption, the total cost of ownership or life cycle cost of buying and using a

hybrid can be equal to or even lower than buying and using a conventional vehicle - depending

on yearly mileage and fuel prices. The life cycle cost does not only include the cost of

purchasing the vehicle but also the cost of fueling and maintenance.

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Energy Supply

This module of ECOTROCITY will assess the feasibility and environmental benefits of district

power systems and alternative energy supply technologies on different scenarios of building

configurations and their energy demand in an urban context. The feasibility of energy supply

systems is in principle influenced by physical and geographical characteristics of the context, but

most failures are recorded at the operational level -due to imbalances between total supply and

demand, demand variability resulting from seasonal cycles, heat loss coefficient of the building,

and mismatch between peaks in supply and demand. In addition to efficiency of its own system

components, the effectiveness of a district level power supply system will be thus assessed

against set of interrelated parameters including urban microclimate, the building's heat capacity,

seasonal energy demand, as well as any variability in the heating and cooling requirements of the

building. In addition, system installation will address constraints associated with land use

patterns and urban density.

Technologies investigated in this remit will include:

Solar fusion.

Geothermal systems, including ground source heat pumps integrated with building

foundations (also known as energy piles).

Combined heat and power (CHP) systems - especially those that run on alternative

biofuels. In addition to district heating, the viability of emerging micro-CHP for

domestic applications will also be assessed.

Models developed for assessing energy supply technologies will be assimilated into a larger,

urban-scale modelling framework to allow comparisons with other alternative systems in terms

of environmental impacts and investigate influences of socio-economic and other regulatory

factors on the feasibility of the system.

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SOLAR FUSION

The Sun is the Power House for the entire Solar System. It is a fairly typical star that is not

burning, but is fusing together Hydrogen to form Helium. In so doing, it releases energy in vast

quantities. The process that powers the Sun is called nuclear fusion. It works by releasing nuclear

energy as other forms of energy. To get the amount of energy (E) released, take the mass lost (m)

and multiply it by a huge number (the speed of light squared). E = mc2.

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Fusion of Hydrogen into Helium

Fusion is the power that fuels stars. Its fuel is two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium.

While it takes fantastically elaborate technology to force the two to “fuse” into a plasma at

temperatures in excess of 150 million degrees Celsius (ten times hotter than the sun’s core),

laboratory tests using a variety of techniques have proved that it is doable. Despite the huge

energy input required to power the lasers which generate this fusion reaction, the beauty of

fusion is that it generates anything from 10 to 30 times the amount of energy it takes to initiate

and sustain the reaction. Moreover, there is little or no radioactive waste left from the reaction

and the materials required are abundant and can be found everywhere around the globe. The

fuels needed to create a nuclear fusion reaction—the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium—

are abundant in seawater and thus are virtually limitless. And there are no harmful byproducts of

the reaction: no radioactive, toxic wastes to dispose of. Fusion power is a clean, renewable

energy source with the potential to dramatically change how we generate electricity.

There is no “Chernobyl-like” potential downside to a fusion reactor and the nuclear disaster that

occurred in Japan’s Nuclear Power Plants due to earthquake and tsunami. It can’t “blow” and

scatter radioactive dust across three continents and it doesn’t create a mountain of lethally

radioactive spent fuel rods over the course of its operating life. But the technology does not come

cheap. The US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Lawrence Livermore

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National Laboratory (LLNL), working jointly on a project involving the world’s largest and

highest-energy laser system, called the National Ignition Facility, has completed tests with a 192

beam laser system. This fires laser energy into a tiny gold containment vehicle that holds a

peppercorn sized “target” nugget of deuterium and tritium, triggering a fusion reaction. This is a

completely different approach to ITER’s tokomak and is called inertial confinement fusion. The

NNSA was able to demonstrate a power output 30 times greater than the input. Other

laboratories have come up with a successful way of “firing” a stream of deuterium and tritium

“targets” into a reactor space where they will each be hit by high energy lasers, creating a steady

stream of short lived energy bursts. The heat would then in turn be used to generate steam, much

as in a nuclear power station, which would then drive turbines to create electricity.

Photo inside the Joint European Torus (JET), which was built to explore the possibility of providing energy

from fusion reactions here on Earth. The machine has a diameter of about 15m and, during operations, the

gas inside reaches a temperature of 300 million degrees.

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CONCLUSION

The Green kind – energy which won’t run out or pollute – from the Wind, the Sun and the Sea.

We have coastline from which to harness the Sea, some Wind energy and, though it doesn’t

always seem so, we even have the Sun.

We can use these three forms of energy to run our country, to power our lives and to be Energy

Independent again.

The Way it is Now

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Coal

We import – nearly 100 million metric tons of coal for power generation.

Gas

We import 12.62 billion cu m. India ranks 17th in gas import in comparison with other countries.

Oil

We now import oil of 2.9 million bbl/day. India ranks 5 th in oil import in comparison with other

countries.

The Way it Could Be

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Wind

The more ambitious among us say we could provide 50 per cent of our countries energy needs

from the Wind. And we’re all for being ambitious.

Sun

Up to one quarter of our electricity needs could currently be met by putting solar panels on our

roofs, so imagine the potential once solar parks become the norm.

Sea

Once the technology is right, we could generate as much as 20 per cent of our energy using tidal

power, and then there are the waves.

Ecotricity is the future of the mankind in building healthier and energy efficient planet.

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Reference

http://ies.lbl.gov

http://moef.nic.in

http://www.unep.org

http://www.styleofdesign.com/tag/costly-resource

http://www.eeci.cam.ac.uk

http://www.pub.gov.sg

http://www.popsci.com/scitech

http://infonet.thatbest.com

eBook: Powering low power electronics

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