Solar power to run telecom towers, agricultural pumps

The government is exploring options of running agricultural pumps and telecom towers on solar power, Union Minster for New and Renewable Resources Dr. Farooq Abdullah said here on Monday.

Dr. Abdullah said that the Punjab and Haryana governments alone had spent Rs. 6,500 crores as diesel subsidy to farmers for running sets to pump groundwater for irrigation.He said that his Ministry was exploring the possibility of using solar power to generate energy to operate these pumps.

Fossil fuel

“Apart from bringing down the spending on diesel subsidy, this would reduce the use of fossil fuel,” Dr. Abdullah said at a meeting organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry on ‘Opportunities and Scope of Renewable Energy in West Bengal'.

Dr. Abdullah also said that his Ministry had invested in a project to run 100 telecom towers on solar power.

“There are 8,000 telecom towers in the country that have generator sets running on diesel….If the project is effective, it will gradually be extended to develop others,” he said.

Important mission

Describing the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission as the “most important” of the eight missions in the National Action Plan for Climate Change, Dr. Abdullah said that expertise had to be found to achieve the mission's goal of producing 20,000 MW by 2022.

Charting the progress of the mission launched in January this year, Dr. Abdullah said that while allocations for projects of 100 MW had already been given, projects worth another 750 MW would be allotted by the end of September.

“The sky is the limit for energy from renewable resources in the country,” Dr. Abdullah said, adding that an estimated 87,000 MW could be generated from renewable energy.

Wind energy

He said that the country had done well in developing wind energy that has a potential of 48,000 MW.

“West Bengal will have to play a major role in the tidal wave energy sector,” he said, adding that a 100 MW demonstration project had already been set up in the Sunderbans. 

 By Traffic Pulse

Source: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Reports_of_Google_acquiring_Slide_emerge-nid-70410-cid--sid-.html

Scientists revisit Tesla's electricity-from-air ideas

Harnessing the electrical power that is generated naturally when water vapor collects on microscopic particles of dust and other material in the air could provide an alternative to solar power and reduce the incidence of lightning strikes, say scientists at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

"Our research could pave the way for turning electricity from the atmosphere into an alternative energy source for the future," said study leader Fernando Galembeck, from the University of Campinas in Brazil. His research may help explain a 200-year-old scientific riddle about how electricity is produced and discharged in the atmosphere. "Just as solar energy could free some households from paying electric bills, this promising new energy source could have a similar effect," he explained. "If we know how electricity builds up and spreads in the atmosphere, we can also prevent death and damage caused by lightning strikes."

Electrical impresario Nikola Tesla was among those who dreamed of capturing electricity from the air. This is the electricity formed when water vapor collects on microscopic particles of dust and other material in the air. But until now, scientists lacked adequate knowledge about the processes involved in the formation and release of electricity from water in the atmosphere.

Galembeck and his colleagues have been performing laboratory experiments that simulate water's contact with dust particles in the air. They used tiny particles of silica and aluminum phosphate, both common airborne substances, showing that silica became more negatively charged in the presence of high humidity and aluminum phosphate became more positively charged. High humidity means high levels of water vapor in the air - the vapor that condenses and becomes visible as "fog" on windows of air-conditioned cars and buildings on steamy summer days.

"This was clear evidence that water in the atmosphere can accumulate electrical charges and transfer them to other materials it comes into contact with," Galembeck explained. "We are calling this 'hygroelectricity,' meaning 'humidity electricity'." He proposes that it may be possible to develop collectors, similar to solar cells that collect sunlight, to capture hygroelectricity and route it to homes and businesses. Just as solar cells work best in sunny areas of the world, hygroelectrical panels would work more efficiently in areas with high humidity.

Galembeck said that a similar approach might help prevent lightning strikes. He envisions placing hygroelectrical panels on top of buildings in regions that experience frequent thunderstorms. The panels would drain electricity out of the air, and prevent the build-up of electrical charge that is released in lightning. His research team is testing metals to identify those with the greatest potential for use in capturing atmospheric electricity and preventing lightning strikes. "We certainly have a long way to go. But the benefits in the long range of harnessing hygroelectricity could be substantial," Galembeck said in conclusion.

 By Traffic Pulse

Source :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100622081359.htm