South Australia’s planned Virtual Power Plant appears to be largely misunderstood, as these things always are. It is basically a system that creates an energy supply from solar and batteries which is tied together by software. This allows the … Read More
Energy
Nuclear(Con)fusion – 024
Just over a hundred years ago, Albert Einstein came up with the notion that mass and energy are equivalent in his theory of Special Relativity. About twenty years later the idea that the sun was a nuclear reactor and provided … Read More
Energy Storage – 023
Energy Storage Energy storage and power generation are two separate issues that appear to be getting muddled by politicians and journalists. For example hydro power is essentially energy from the sun and therefore renewable. The solar energy lifts water into … Read More
Biofuel Crops – 022
Byogy Renewables announced recently that they are looking at setting up a $10 million test site to convert ethanol to gasoline. In Australia this could be from sugar cane or biomass from the grain industry and the site is likely … Read More
Biofuels – 021
I have just returned from a great month travelling in Far North Queensland, an area that is both very environmentally conscious and conservative. Bob Katter, a local MP is strongly pursuing an increase in ethanol production to improve the lot … Read More
Geothermal -017
Geothermal is an energy source that does not originate from the sun (along with nuclear) although the sun probably helped originally. The majority of the planet is very hot, molten rock with a thin, cool, solid crust. We can access … Read More
Wind – 016
Wind energy is another form of solar. The sun causes uneven heating across the earth’s surface, creating convection currents and pressure differences which result in air molecules flowing from high to low pressure regions. This is complicated by the earth’s … Read More
Hydro – 015
Heat from the sun evaporates vast amounts of water from the oceans which fall as rain and snow, creating large rivers and lakes. This process of evaporation creates potential energy when stored in lakes and kinetic energy in flowing rivers. … Read More
Energy Mix – 013
An article in today’s paper suggested that South Australia would be powered by 100% renewable energy. As no time frame was given, this may be perfectly correct in some distant future. But what is meant by the statement and how … Read More
Hydrogen – 008
Good to see that Honda has their new Hydrogen car the FCV Clarity for sale – expected price $60,000 (US?) and range over 700 km. There are only about 20 hydrogen (H2) retail outlets around the world but we do have … Read More
Hydrocarbons – 005
Hydrocarbons – What are they? As discussed in blog 3 solar energy, water and carbon dioxide create carbohydrates by photosynthesis in plants. Animals eat the plants creating more complex carbohydrates (carbon, hydrogen and oxygen molecules). When these decay without oxygen … Read More
Solar part 2 and Nuclear waste- 004
Nuclear Waste The International Panel on Fissile Materials has stated that “placing spent nuclear fuel in repositories hundreds of metres below the surface would be safer than indefinite storage on the surface”. Many countries have come up with experimental test … Read More