Could Your Problem be a Solution - to Another Problem

           http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladydragonflyherworld/4260236434/


Maybe you have heard lately about the problem that water hyacinth has brought to the people of Cotabato City. It clogged Rio Grande de Mindanao causing flooding problem on almost all areas of the city.


Well, President Aquino said Wednesday he will direct the Department of Energy (DoE) to review the possible use of water hyacinth as a source of biofuel.


But what is water hyacinth? (note: water hyacinth is not the same with water lily) According to wikipedia water hyacinth are a free-floating perennial aquatic plant. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter in height. The leaves are 10–20 cm across, and float above the water surface. They have long, spongy and bulbous stalks. The feathery, freely hanging roots are purple-black.


“Malaki yung incentives to go into biofuels under our various laws, so I will be asking the DoE to evaluate, tutukan kung pwedeng mai-transform, itong hyacinth into fuel, to generate electricity,” Aquino added.


I hope that this plan materialize sooner so that people from Cotabato City and nearby places would not suffer anymore from excessive flooding but would enjoy the benefits if ever all this water hyacinth are converted into biofuels.


This is an additional source of renewable energy.




source: Manila Bulletin and wikipedia

Grid Parity And The Future Of Renewable Energy

"Renewable energy is expensive right now because these are just emerging technologies. But for the long-term, we are looking at grid parity, if not, maybe renewable energy can even be cheaper,"
- Philippine Energy Undersecretary Jose Layug

                                 http://www.flickr.com/photos/mfl/216344689/


Wikipedia define grid parity as the point at which alternative means of generating electricity is at least as cheap as grid power. But what is grid power? We'll, grid power is the power or electricity supplied by conventional source like diesel fuel and for solar energy, it is achieved first in areas with abundant sun and high costs for electricity such as in California, Hawaii, Spain and Japan - none in the Philippines yet.


Many solar power advocates predict that grid parity will occur in the near future. Grid parity has been reached in Hawaii and other islands that otherwise use fossil fuel (diesel fuel) to produce electricity.


Here in the Philippines we are slowly gaining on grid parity momentum as the government has set its sights on achieving grid parity for the Philippines in 20 years with the launch of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) on Monday. Philippine Energy Undersecretary Jose Layug said that with the rising cost of fuel, grid parity is not difficult to achieve for the country. "Renewable energy is expensive right now because these are just emerging technologies. But for the long-term, we are looking at grid parity, if not, maybe renewable energy can even be cheaper," Layug said. He added that at its current state, non-renewable electricity sources cost about 5 to 5.50 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh). "But every time the oil goes up, we see electricity prices rising as well," he pointed out.


With the NREP, Layug said the government hopes to triple the country’s dependence on renewable energy to 15,000 megawatts in the next 20 years.


Department of Energy data shows that the total installed capacity in the country as of the first quarter of 2010 is 15,896 MW, led largely by coal-based power plants with an installed capacity of 4,523 MW.

Soure: gmanews.tv and wikipedia

The Real Truth About Solar Power

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In 10 years’ time, some 30 percent of households in the country will have their own solar panels, powering their electricity consumption via solar energy according to Theresa Cruz-Capellan, president of the Philippine Solar Power Alliance (PSPA). But misconceptions about solar power by Filipinos both from the private sector and the government maybe became a hindrance.


“Don’t discriminate technology that can benefit specific individuals,” she stresses, noting further that, over the long term, solar power will be the choice resource as this can be put up at the point of consumption or retail, unlike other renewable energy sources.


This statement from Capellan was also backed by Senator Edgardo J. Angara as quoted from the official press release from the Senate of the Philippines stating that:

"Market researchers and think tanks are predicting renewable energy sources to cost less than fossil fuels in the coming years, a development that should compel the government to invest in them as early as possible"

Angara also added that the multinational technology conglomerate General Electric Co. (GE) has issued a statement saying that solar power will be cheaper to produce than fossil fuels and nuclear reactors because of innovations in the field.


I also think that this will be the future of renewable energy not only here in the Philippines but also around the world because of the problem that was brought about by conventional energy sources.

Back-to-back Good News for Renewable Energy Industry

Solar energy is not a fashionable technology. Our country needs solar power because it provides solutions,’’
Tetchi Cruz-Capellan - President and Spokesperson of the Philippine Solar Power Alliance

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Its a good development - back-to-back that is, for the renewable energy industries here in the Philippines.


First is the completion of the Department of Energy's national roadmap for the renewable energy industry, providing a more stable direction toward the development and more efficient use of this sources.

“The National Renewable Energy Plan (NREP) outlines the policy framework that is in the law which will provide the strategic building blocks that would allow the Philippine renewable energy industry to fly," said Energy Undersecretary Josefina Asirit.

On the sidelines of a House energy committee hearing on Tuesday, Asirit explained that the NREP would provide a “continuing and well-coordinated effort to drive development in the RE industry, to promote technological advancements, and achieve economies of scale.”

Specifically, the NREP will contain targets for the renewable energy industry, the vision, mission and all other mechanisms and incentives as provided for under the Renewable Energy Law of 2008. Also included in the plan are timetables for these incentives and mechanisms, such as the RE market and RE registrar, feed-in-tariffs, renewable portfolio standards, green energy option program and net metering, among others.

In a nutshell, the NREP will allow the government to fulfill its targets, particularly when it comes to national energy security.

Second good thing is the first solar/photovoltaic summit in Pasay City from June 1-3, 2011.

The program will feature local and foreign speakers which will share expertise on the manufacture and power generation of solar energy.

“The 2011 Philippine Solar/PV Summit will be the first to bring together government businesses, funding institutions, research agencies, and most of all, manufacturers, suppliers, and power generation companies, engaged in water slicing, cell fab, panel manufacturing, systems integration and renewable energy solutions,’’ said, Tetchi Cruz-Capellan which is the President and Spokesperson of the Philippine Solar Power Alliance, who also served as senior official in the Department of Agriculture as its youngest and female Assistant Secretary under the Cory administration (1990-1992) and the only female Undersecretary during the Arroyo administration (2003 to 2005).

Organized by the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI) and the Philippine Solar Power Alliance (PSPA), the summit will be participated in by solar and supplier companies from Asia, Europe, and North America.

With this developments pouring in from government and private sector it is safe to say that we are on the right way to a bright renewable energy future.


News courtesy of Manila Bulletin and Philippine Daily Inquirer

All You Need to Know About Feed-In Tariff Charges

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National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) adjust upwards the proposed feed-in-tariff (FIT) charges for renewable energy (RE) technologies. 

Feed-in-tariff is an incentive program under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 that aims to accelerate the establishment of renewable energy resources such as wind, solar, large hydro, biomass and ocean power in the country. 

FIT, as defined in the proposed rules, refers to a renewable energy policy that offers guaranteed payments per kilowatt-hour to renewable energy developers for the electricity they produce.

The tariff system will also require the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (N.G.C.P.), who operates and maintains the Philippine transmission network via the National Transmission Corporation, and other distribution utilities to incorporate renewable energy into their power networks. 

The tariffs will be applicable for 20 years, which will start once the renewable energy projects start commercial operations.

Here's the changes.

Of all the RE technologies, it was biomass which gained the highest adjustment on its proposed FIT at P7.00 per kWh, higher by P0.45 per kWh from the previous estimate of P6.55 per kWh. Nevertheless, that is still lower than the P8.50 per kWh being batted for by the Biomass Alliance.

The FIT charge for run-of-river hydro has also been scaled up by P0.22 per kWh to P6.15 per kWh from P5.93 per kWh previously. Solar’s feed-in-tariff similarly went up by P0.39 per kWh to P17.95 from P17.56 per kWh; wind has also been higher by P0.32 per kWh to P10.37 from P10.05 per kWh; while ocean had gone up to P17.65 from P17.38 per kWh.

Make Your Life Easier With Electric Tricycles

                                e-electric tricycle roaming Metro Manila


Quezon City government recently announces that it will be using the new electric tricycles on the streets of the city. This e-tricycles were developed by the Kasangga Party-list and Netherlands-based Technostrat Design and Research Corporation.

After the introduction of electric jeepneys widely known as e-jeepneys, the government fan-out the concept to smaller mode of public utility vehicle which in this case, were the tricycles.

The biggest question now with this development is whether this will click on tricycle drivers or not. The price per unit is P117,000, can travel from 100 to 130 kilometers and can accommodate four persons but needs to be fully charge 8 hours straight.

 If this project will push thru, it will be in no doubt, lessen the volume of smoke that was rapidly destroy the air quality of Metro Manila and the surrounding suburbs.

Let’s hope that this project will grow and be accepted not only in Metro Manila but also on the whole Philippine archipelago.

Homemade Wind Power - How to Generate Power at Home by Using a Homemade Wind Generator

By: Violeta Cutri

                   http://www.flickr.com/photos/elsie/2901527063/

Wind Energy is converted into electricity at home by making use of wind turbines. It is not that hard to construct a home made wind turbine. This homemade wind power helps us reduce our energy bills. There are a few tools that are required to build the wind turbines. These tools can be purchased from the market. The electricity can be used for all the electrical appliances, farms and other industries.

Wind energy does not produce air pollution. You can save the planet by generating wind power at home to make use of it for domestic purposes. We must not mount the wind turbine on the roof. This is because the winds near the roof are very slow and so the power generated is reduced. The home made windmills can be placed on an open land where there is maximum flow of wind. The pole must be fixed firmly on the ground to withstand strong winds.

To generate homemade wind power, a wind turbine must be setup which should have blades, a pole, a hub to hold the blades and a motor. The blades are actually used to catch the wind. The blades must be fixed with equal space on the hub. The blades are fixed in such a way so that more amount of wind is captured. They are mostly made from PVC pipes. The hub will connect all the blades. The blades must be cut such that they are of equal size.

The electric motor converts the wind energy drawn by blades to electricity. The tower or pole acts as the supporting element. It has to be fixed firmly on the ground. Finally Wires are used to connect all the devices to establish connectivity. The motor is connected to a battery to store excess electricity. Then finally the direct current is converted into alternating current and is made use at home.

You can check out whether the electricity is being generated with the help of the ammeter. You can either use the simple ammeter which is quiet cheap or you can buy the multimeter and then use it for ever. I would really appreciate the use of the multimeter. Homemade wind power is easy to generate. Initially it might be little difficult to construct the windmill but it gives a lot of motivation to you to generate power for your own use at home.

You can take the help of someone to build wind turbine to generate wind power. It would be beneficial for you to access all information regarding construction of homemade wind power at http://www.earth4savingenergy.info/windpower.php. You can also make others understand how useful it would if they also construct such a windmill. The whole setup can be placed at the back of the house. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Violeta_Cutri