Geothermal power heats up with newfound certainty

The Age reports the new carbon tax has increased interest in geothermal power companies - Geothermal power heats up with newfound certainty.

SCIENTISTS estimate there is enough energy stored in hot rocks beneath Australias surface to meet its power demands millions of times over, but bold prognostications have not been enough for the geothermal industry.

Kevin Rudds abandonment of Labors first proposed emissions trading scheme hit the industry hard, with share prices plummeting and investors baulking. "That policy backflip has hurt the industry, no doubt," says Terry Kallis, managing director of South Australian company geothermal Petratherm. Hot rocks power remains a highly speculative industry, but things are slowly looking up for Petratherm.

Last month, it began fracturing rock four kilometres beneath the Earths surface in the North Flinders Ranges using part of a $7 million federal government drilling grant — the key step in proving a geothermal reservoir can be created deep underground and the project has a future. Mr Kallis said he believes his is the only company with an active hot rocks project.
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Yesterday Petrotherms shares leapt 16 per cent, reaching a high of 23.5¢ before closing at 19¢. It is a far cry from its high of 92¢, but is an important reflection of the role the carbon price package — and a new $10 billion clean energy finance corporation, largely paid for with carbon tax revenue — could play in developing the industry.

"It has put us back on track, which is very important," Mr Kallis says.

"Every geothermal project will take a bit longer and cost a bit more because of the policy backflips that we have had, and we all rely on the equity market, which was hit with the financial crisis. [But] having a carbon price out there starts to create an investor framework and gives the industry some certainty — something we havent had."

Changes in government policy is not the only thing that has held up geothermal investment. Projects take a long time to get off the ground and the costs are considerable with no guarantee of success.

Petratherms project involves injecting water into rocks deep beneath the ground at high pressure in an attempt to create fractures. If successful, power will ultimately be generated by steam and hot water rising from a well and running a generator at the surface.

Petratherm has no short-term need for the new funding — it hopes to access an existing $63 million demonstration stage grant later this year. But Mr Kallis says the seed funding available from the corporation could prove valuable for the industry if well run.

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Oceanlinx moving forward with wave power project in South Australia

The ABC reports that wave power company Oceanlinx is moving forward with a project off South Australia, with construction due to be complete by the end of the year - Oceanlinx applies for licence to generate electricity using ocean waves off south-east coast of South Australia.

The Essential Services Commission (ESC) has received the first application in South Australia for a licence to generate electricity using the energy of ocean waves. The application has been lodged by New South Wales-based company Oceanlinx. A generator is being built off the coast from Port MacDonnell in the south-east of South Australia and all energy generated would be sold to electricity suppliers.

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Greening Shopping Malls With The Hungry Pig

The Climate Spectator has a post on a NSW shopping mall that is installing an "organic waste management system" called the "Hungry Pig". While it sounds like it will only be used for composting, youd think biogas production and cogeneration would be a worthwhile addition as well - Fair Enough.

Erina Fair – the shopping centre on the NSW central coast co-owned by GPT Group and Lend Lease-managed Australian Prime Property Fund Retail – is set to recycle 250 tonnes of waste (the equivalent to 20 garbage trucks, apparently) as part of its effort to meet a zero net waste goal. In what Lend Lease is describing as a world first, Erina Fair will install an on-site organic waste management system that uses in-vessel aerobic composting technology. The Australian-developed "Hungry Pig" technology could potentially recycle up to 40 per cent of the centre’s total food waste, transforming it into organic compost, to be used on the landscaped grounds of the centre and donated to local schools.

“The important aspect of the technology is that all the size reduction of food waste and mixing occurs inside the composting chamber, so there is no spillage or mess that would otherwise attract pests or cause odour,” said Angus Campbell from the Recycled Organics Unit, which has worked closely with Erina Fair to develop a system that meets the centre’s waste management needs. “The current capacity of the facility is five tonnes of food waste per week but we plan to expand this to manage the centres waste disposal costs and to further increase environmental benefit,” he said.

Erina Fair also plans to use a $652,000 grant it was recently awarded by the NSW government to install water harvesting systems that would reduce the centre’s annual water usage by more than 15 per cent. It has also installed LED lighting in its car park and emergency exits that will improve lighting efficient by up to 90 per cent in refit areas.

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A galaxy blooming with new stars

A galaxy blooming with new stars (12/15/11)

The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) has captured the beauty of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 253. The new portrait is probably the most detailed wide-field view of this object and its surroundings ever taken. It demonstrates that the VST, the newest telescope at ESOs Paranal Observatory, provides broad views of the sky while also offering impressive image sharpness.

NGC 253 gleams about eleven and a half million light-years away in the southern constellation of Sculptor. It is often just called the Sculptor Galaxy, although other descriptive names include the Silver Coin or Silver Dollar Galaxy. It is easy to get a good look at NGC 253 through binoculars as it is one of the brightest galaxies in the sky after the Milky Ways closest, big galactic neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy.

Astronomers have noted the widespread active star formation in NGC 253 and labelled it a "starburst" galaxy. The many bright clumps dotting the galaxy are stellar nurseries where hot young stars have just ignited. The radiation streaming from these giant blue-white babies makes the surrounding hydrogen gas clouds glow brightly (green in this image).

NGC 253 – click for 1280×1012 image

More: here

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Replacing coal with biogas

RNE has a look at some CEFC programs to increase the use of biogas in Australia - Major beef processor turns to biogas to halve power bills.

One of Australia’s largest meat processors – and a major regional employer, providing 830 jobs – is among the latest recipients of funding from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, in a deal to co-finance a major on-site energy project at northern NSW-based Bindaree Beef.

The CEFC announced on Tuesday it would provide up to $15 million, together with additional bank finance and an Australian Government Clean Technology Investment Program grant, to fund the installation of a biodigester and energy efficient rendering facilities to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of operations at Bindaree Beef.

As well as the biodigester, the funding will go towards development of an electricity generation facility using biogas (produced by the biodigester) as fuel, and a new more energy efficient rendering plant to replace the existing coal-fired plant and eliminate the use of coal. Screen Shot 2014-07-22 at 10.37.13 AM

The new equipment is expected to halve the company’s power bills and cut its annual carbon emissions by three quarters. The biogas plant will also create a new business revenue stream through sales of organic fertiliser – a by-product of the energy conversion process.

Bindaree Beef Director John Newton said securing finance from the CEFC – a $10 billion Labor government initiative, which remains on the Abbott government’s chopping block – had been integral to securing the interest of additional private finance, which, along with the government grant, would cover the total project cost. ...

In March this year, the CEFC contributed $20 million to a funding deal with Quantum Power Limited – Australia’s leading biogas company – to catalyse up to $40 million in biogas infrastructure aimed at helping farmers and manufacturers cut costs and boost productivity in the face of rising electricity prices.

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Funds log jammed with Pakistan findings on Bin Laden

World Bank team due in Pakistan on Friday

By Our Correspondent | From the Newspaper

(14 hours ago) Today

The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank had postponed their visits, all citing security risks caused by Bin Laden’s killings. – File Photo 

WASHINGTON: The World Bank is sending a delegation to 
Islamabad on Friday, ending a temporary travel ban on Pakistan 
imposed after Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s killing in a 
US raid last week.

International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank also are expected to send their delegations soon, diplomatic sources told Dawn.

An IMF delegation was scheduled to arrive in Pakistan in the first week of May to review economic and policy developments, and discuss the budget for the fiscal 2011-12.

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank also had postponed similar visits; all citing security risks caused by Bin Laden’s killings.

But the UNDP, which determines security risks for international organisations, has since reduced its security alert level for Pakistan, enabling the World Bank, IMF and ADB to reschedule their visits.

Last year, the IMF withheld $3.5 billion from an $11.3 billion loan package for Pakistan in a bid to persuade Pakistani authorities to cut their budget deficit.

Pakistan hoped that the talks would lead to a possible deal on the disbursement of the much needed loan. The World Bank, however, has assured Pakistan that the delay would not affect loan disbursements for development and social projects. Funding for rebuilding of areas devastated by massive flooding last year would also continue, the bank said.

The IMF – a major donor to Pakistan – worries that unless the Pakistani government boosts tax revenue, its economy may unravel through escalating inflation. Now, the government finances much of its budget by borrowing from the central bank – essentially printing money.

Bin Laden’s discovery in a compound in Abbottabad has further increased Pakistan’s economic concerns. US lawmakers have urged the Obama administration to reconsider billions of dollars of US military and economic assistance to Pakistan over Osama bin Laden’s presence in a garrison town close to Islamabad.

But Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh told reporters in Islamabad on Saturday that the United States would not suspend its assistance to Pakistan over the dispute.

“There is no threat to the assistance because economic relations with the US are at government to government level,” he said.

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Final Tests For Torresol’s CSP Plant With Molten Salt Storage Complete

The National reports that Torresol’s solar thermal power plant in Spain has completed testing - Spanish solar plant built by Masdar is well worth its salt. The plant includes 15 hours of storage, making it able to operate around the clock for much of the year.

A Spanish solar plant built by an Abu Dhabi company is set to power homes even during the night. Masdar, which is owned by Mubadala Development, and a Spanish joint venture partner have completed the final tests on a solar plant in Seville, in southern Spain. …

Thousands of mirrors at the plant concentrate the suns energy on a single tower holding molten salt, which developers believe is so effective at retaining heat that it will be able to produce power 24 hours a day from March to October. "Were basically decoupling the solar [input] from the electricity generation," said Frank Wouters, the director of Masdar Power.

The tower is the first part of Masdars €1 billion (Dh5.18bn) investment in Spanish power production. That includes two 50 megawatt solar parks being built by Torresol Energy, Masdars 40-60 joint venture with the Spanish engineering company Sener.

Bloomberg has a look at Masdar’s overall plans for clean energy - Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Has $5 Billion in Solar, Wind Power Projects.

In Spain, the company has three solar projects worth about $1 billion, Wouters said at a media briefing in Abu Dhabi today. A 20-megawatt plant will start producing power this month and two 50-megawatt facilities will start this year, he said. Masdar also has stakes in the 1-gigawatt London Array offshore windfarm and a 6-megawatt offshore wind project in the Seychelles.

Abu Dhabi, which holds almost all the oil reserves in the United Arab Emirates, is investing in solar and wind power all over the world to pioneer the use of renewable energy. The emirate is building Masdar City, a business and residential complex designed to minimize carbon emissions, and serves as headquarters for the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Masdar is a key component of Abu Dhabi’s aim to generate at least 7 percent of the power it uses from renewable sources by 2020. Growth in power demand to more than 20,000 megawatts by the end of the decade would require about 1,500 megawatts from projects such as wind and solar plants, according to data from Abu Dhabi’s utility.

The company’s domestic projects include the Shams 1 project, the largest concentrated solar plant in the Middle East, which is 45 percent complete and will be ready next year, according to a statement received by e-mail today. Masdar expects to award a construction contract for the 100-megawatt Noor 1 photovoltaic plant by the end of 2011 and may start building a 30-megawatt wind farm on Sir Bani Yas island

Renewable Energy World has a detailed look at the technology being used in the Spanish solar thermal plants - CSP: Targeting Grid-Parity in Spain

Concentrated solar power (CSP) uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight and generate heat and is typically used to generate electricity via a conventional steam cycle.
Unlike photovoltaic farms or wind energy — which has grown to become Spains third largest power source — CSP plants can cost-effectively store energy that cannot immediately be used. In Spain, which has a second demand peak in the evening, this is important. Most new CSP projects incorporate storage so they can keep generating electricity several hours after the sun has gone down, or even right through the night.

But, while CSP is more dispatchable than other renewable energy sources, it also currently costs more. So Spain is the focus for efforts to drive down costs, both through economies of scale and improvements in technologies.

All the CSP technologies are expensive so a lot of research seeks to reduce component costs and optimise production and installation, says Eduardo Zarza, head of R&D for solar concentrating systems at the Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA), Spains leading solar energy research centre, which researches all four types of CSP technologies. The most mature CSP technology is the parabolic trough design, which accounts for 93% of the 2500 MW of new CSP capacity that Spain has authorised up to 2013. While the other three technologies — solar tower, Fresnel collector and Stirling dish — all have commercial potential, the financial backers of Spains CSP projects have opted to reduce their risks through parabolic troughs longer track record. In the US, parabolic-trough plants date back to the 1980s.

With a tower system, for example, it is difficult to get project finance because no one knows how long the receiver will last, says Frank Dinter, head of solar at RWE, the German utility, which is investing in several Spanish renewable projects.

To benefit from Spains generous feed-in CSP tariff — currently 28 euro cents/kWh for 25 years — CSP plants cannot exceed 50 MW. This size limit is seen as less than optimal, given the current maturity of parabolic-trough technology, and limits potential benefits from economies of scale. Several costs in a CSP project are not proportional to its size. For example, a 200 MW turbine costs less than four times as much as a 50 MW turbine. Dinter estimates that a 200 MW plant would be about 25% cheaper per megawatt than a 50 MW plant. ...

The best places to locate CSP plants tend to be arid regions with little cloud, but such environments are often subject to water restrictions. A plant such as Andasol 3 consumes 500,000 m² of water a year, mostly to condense steam, but also to clean mirrors.Investors in Novatec Solars PE2 plant insisted on air cooling to avoid such controversy, even though reduces the economic return.

Air cooling costs much more and it reduces the output by 5%-6%, says Selig. Opinions are nevertheless divided on this issue. RWEs Dinter says water cooling is essential to boost the thermodynamic efficiency of the steam cycle of parabolic-trough plants like Andasol 3 with a relatively low inlet temperature. With dry cooling, you cannot reduce the outlet temperature as much as with water, he says.

Burgaleta of Torresol Energy says that even though the Gemasolar central tower plant works at higher temperatures, water access was not a problem, and so the designers opted for water cooling. But one of Torresols central tower projects planned for the future will have air cooling instead, he adds.

As Spain is now discovering, concentrating solar power is far from being a single technology, but rather embraces a wide range of designs and key technologies, each with different operating characteristics, risk profiles and trade-offs. There is no clear winner, clarifies Siemens Mürau.
Even without any radical technological breakthroughs, improvements in technologies and greater economies of scale are expected to drive a 30% reduction in the cost of CSP-generated electricity in Spain by 2015. And by 2025, costs may fall as much as 50%, at which point CSP plants will finally be in a position to substitute conventional sources in Spains energy mix.

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